2. Chapter 2
Chapter two
T he first week of class is always a marathon run at sprint speed for our staff team. We’re focused on meeting new students by spending extra time on campus, helping freshmen feel welcome at Townsend, and easing their anxiety about starting college.
Throughout the week, the notes app on my phone fills up with dozens of entries like “Samantha, brown hair AOPi, third floor of Boyd Hall, from Wichita, likes skiing and hot tea.” It’s the only way I can hope to keep track of all the faces and names.
This is typically my week to shine—welcoming people and figuring out how to make their lives more fun is one of my favorite pastimes. Coming into the week on the verge of a burnout breakdown has put a damper on my sparkle, though. But whenever that overwhelmed sensation starts to take over, I let my mind fly away to the church small group social that I’m anticipating.
Thursday night brings our first large-group Arrow meeting. It’s pretty much a church service tailored specifically to college students. There’s worship music, a message designed to help everyone grow in their faith, and lots of socializing. Ever since my senior year of college, I’ve been in charge of planning the After Party following the weekly meeting—a fun activity or special location for Arrow students to hang out and have fun.
There are several favorite activities or restaurants around town that we cycle through, but it’s been a personal challenge to come up with new and more fun ideas for the first After Party each year. Unfortunately, I outdid myself last year planning a massively popular glow paint war at City Park. I’m worried that people will be expecting something even more epic this year—the year that my creative social juices have been running dry. If so, they’ll be disappointed when they find out we’ve rented out the bowling alley in the basement of the student union, exactly like I did my senior year of college.
I’m trying not to fixate on the potential disappointment as I help set up chairs before the meeting begins. The band is rehearsing, and the new Maverick City Music song they’re trying out has me singing along and calming down.
I head out to the lobby of the student union to make sure the welcome team is ready to go with name tags, and I see Rachel come in pushing her double stroller. Kent and Rachel have been the directors of Arrow at Townsend for the past decade, even before I was a student here. They had their first baby this summer—surprised to find out they were having not one, but two. The twins were healthy but spent a couple of weeks in the NICU to grow a little bigger before they could go home.
Rachel’s lack of consistent sleep has meant I haven’t seen much of her the past month, so I’m extra excited to see her here with the twins tonight. I rush over to greet her with a huge hug.
“Oh my goodness, look at their adorable mini headphones!” I exclaim, cooing over the tiny sleeping babies in the stroller.
“They’re adorable when they’re sleeping. Now if only they’d do more of it!” Rachel sighs. “Speaking of sleep, I wanted to ask you a favor. I know I usually lead the morning leadership book study for the senior girls, but I was hoping you could do it this year, at least for this fall semester? I don’t think I’ll be functional enough to lead them well.”
“Of course I can!” I respond, forcing my usual enthusiasm into my voice. “I’d love to spend time with those girls.”
“You’re a lifesaver, Teegan. So glad we have you on the team,” Rachel says appreciatively. Just then, the first wave of students arrives at the meeting, and all the girls swarm around us to get their first glimpse of the twins. I back away from the group, using the fact that all the attention is on the babies as an opportunity to retreat to the restroom.
I’m alone, so I talk out loud to myself in the mirror. “This is great, Teegan! You love those senior girls! They were your little freshman babies your first year on staff—how special to get to end their college years with them! This is going to be so much fun! Sure, early mornings are hard for you, but you can do anything in the name of having a good time with people!”
The door starts to open, so I quickly clam up and pretend I’m washing my hands. I need to get back out to the lobby anyway because I promised Lana I’d watch out for Sofia tonight. Sofia was one of the English Language Learner students Lana tutored through an after-school program in the Brooklyn school district, starting when Sofia was just a sixth grader. Now, she’s starting as a freshman at Townsend, which officially makes me feel old.
I greet students in the lobby while keeping an eye out for Sofia. She’s still living at home with her parents, so she may not have had as many opportunities to meet new friends.
A few minutes before the meeting begins, I see Sofia come up the stairs, laughing with a group of six other girls. So much for not meeting new friends yet. Considering how Lana used to describe Sofia’s spunky personality, I shouldn’t be surprised.
I wave to Sofia, and she runs forward to hug me, despite us only having met a couple of times. “Teegan!” she exclaims. “It’s so fun to see you! Have you talked to Lana lately? How’s she doing?”
Smiling, I tell Sofia, “It’s good to see you too! And Lana’s doing great. I mean, she’s in the thick of her final year of law school, which is apparently the hardest, but you know Lana. She’ll meet the challenge head-on.”
“Oh, I do know,” Sofia affirms. “And what about that hot husband of hers?” She waggles her eyebrows, causing me to burst out laughing.
“As far as I know, Mateo’s doing great too,” I say. “He’s fully recovered from his injury. But he’s focusing on the youth soccer program he started instead of playing soccer professionally. I think he’s starting classes towards his master’s degree too, but I’ll have to ask Lana. Now, how are you doing? How was your first week of class?”
Sofia fills me in on her start to college and introduces me to the friends she brought with her. Music streams from the meeting room as the band starts playing the first song, so we make our way into the room.
I take a seat next to a group from AOPi, my old sorority. Although I lead Bible studies with girls from multiple sororities now, old habits die hard. Especially when your sorority pride runs deep, thanks to your best friend being the greatest sorority president ever. No one has been able to live up to Amaya’s legacy, but AOPi is still going strong.
As the meeting winds down, the student emcee shares the final announcements. I steel myself for a lackluster response to the After Party activity. The enthusiastic cheer from the crowd causes me to breathe a sigh of relief. I forget that college students can be pretty easy to please when it comes to social activities.
I make my rounds at the bowling alley, taking time to converse with everyone I know and introducing myself to the new faces. Despite the exhaustion I feel, I maintain my flawless social performance—asking interesting questions, telling funny stories, drawing quieter girls into the conversations, and smiling broadly the entire night.
When I fall into bed at 1:00 a.m., knowing I have to meet Rachel and the senior girls in six hours, the suffocating overwhelm creeps its way into my mind. I push the stifling thoughts away, focusing on Joy’s smile on Sunday and the possibility of making new friends at next week’s social. It’s enough to quiet my mind and to fall into a deep sleep, however short it may be.
I stand in front of my full-length mirror and consider my reflection. A pile of clothes sits discarded on the bed behind me, the collateral damage of finding just the right outfit for my first small group social.
It’s not a church service, so a dress seemed a little too much. But most people my age are working in office buildings, schools, or hospitals. You know, grown-up places of employment. Not hanging out with college students all day. So I’m not quite sure what my peers would wear to a casual social gathering.
After cycling through shirt combinations with jean shorts, leggings, and an athletic skirt, I finally settled on a pink sleeveless jumpsuit. It’s airy enough that I won’t get too hot, even in the Kansas heat, and I’m dressing it down with light makeup and tiny rose gold hoop earrings.
I straighten my blonde hair enough to tame the frizz from the lingering summer humidity. It falls to my shoulder blades now, slightly longer than I used to wear it in college. I consider tying half of it back with a bow but decide against it. I’m not sure if my peers embrace the same style as college girls. Amaya and Lana are too busy revolutionizing the world to give me fashion advice.
Rolling my shoulders back, I lift my chin and meet my own gaze in the mirror, staring directly into my blue eyes. “Let’s do this, Teegan Jones. It’s time to go make friends!”
Ten minutes later, I park in front of the address Joy sent me. There are a few other cars in the driveway and on the street already, assuring me I’ve found the right place. I make my way up to the porch of the remodeled craftsman house. It’s a heck of a lot cuter than the half of a duplex that Gina and I share.
As soon as I set foot on the porch, Joy opens the door and pulls me into a hug.
“Teegan! I’m so glad you’re here! Come in and let me introduce you to everyone,” she exclaims, guiding me through the entryway. In the living room, Joy introduces me to a young married couple and two single guys. I try to remember names, but I know I’m going to need to write them down before the end of the night.
Joy leads me to the kitchen where the snacks and drinks are located. There are three other women filling plates and talking. One woman looks to have come straight from work, dressed in a perfectly-tailored gray pantsuit. Her microlocs look so immaculate that she should be featured in every advertisement for whatever stylist she sees. A second woman is dressed casually in jean shorts and a top, her brown hair pulled back in a low bun, and the redheaded woman is wearing scrubs.
“Hey there, ladies. I want you to meet Teegan!” Joy says. I reach my hand out to each as they introduce themselves—Catherine, Sarah, and Natalie. “Grab some food and get to know each other a little. I’m going to go check in with Caleb.”
I take a Spindrift from the giant bowl filled with ice and various drinks. Sarah, the brunette, hands me a plate, which I begin filling with vegetables, pita bread, and hummus. I start peppering the girls with questions about how long they’ve lived in Brooklyn and what they do for work.
Natalie, the one wearing scrubs, says she works as a labor and delivery nurse at the local hospital. Sarah is an office assistant at a pediatric practice, and Catherine works at an engineering firm in town. When they ask what I do, I try to concisely sum up my hard-to-describe job.
“I work with college students full time, meeting with them in small group Bible studies or mentoring them one-on-one to help them grow in their faith,” I explain.
“So is your schedule consistent?” Sarah asks.
“Oh no, each day is a little different. It’s far from a nine-to-five job because everything depends on students’ schedules. I fit in my one-on-one meetings with girls between their class schedules on the weekdays. Most of my small group Bible studies happen in the evenings, and sometimes I hang out socially with students on the weekends to reinforce those relationships. But I do have some consistent blocks in my schedule—staff meetings twice a week plus our weekly large group gathering on Thursday nights,” I expound.
“Wow, I don’t know that I could handle the lack of routine,” Catherine admits. “I need a well-ordered calendar to maintain my sanity. But it sure sounds like a rewarding job!”
I swallow a bite of pita before responding. “It definitely is. I thrive off of spontaneity, so it’s a good fit—most of the time.”
Joy steps up to our group and places a hand on my shoulder. “I’m officially rounding everyone up to the living room. We’re expecting one more person, but we’re going to go ahead and start getting settled.”
We nod and turn to follow her, but Sarah stops me.
“Wait, you have to try one of my chocolate chip oatmeal cookies,” Sarah says, handing me a giant cookie. “I’ve been on a quest to perfect my recipe, and I think this is my best batch yet.”
“Well, feel free to make me your test subject. I love dessert!” I smile and take a bite as she watches for my reaction. I make a big show of swooning over the cookie. “ So good. I think you’ve achieved cookie perfection, if that’s what you were going for. ”
Sarah grins proudly, and I follow her to the front entryway toward the living room. But not before taking another huge bite. I wasn’t overreacting—this cookie really is incredible.
Caleb opens the front door for the final guest, and I’m suddenly choking on that perfect cookie.
Because Brooks Murphy just walked through the door.