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Still, my intuition told me to go for it and figure out the cost later.
I headed down to the travel group’s office, hoping someone would be there, with a wad of cash in my purse. It was exactly half of what I had secretly stored in my closet, which I planned on using for personal expenses while Blade covered my tuition. A trip overseas was well worth giving up a few shopping trips and dinners at sushi restaurants. It was well worth continuing the charade with Blade.
A girl with short, jet-black hair was typing away in the office as I walked inside. “How can I help you?”
I sat down in the uncomfortable wooden chair next to her desk, nervously twiddling my fingers as I clutched my purse. “I’m interested in the trip next summer, but I’m not a member of the travel group yet. Is that a problem?”
The girl shook her head and reached for a brochure.
“Not at all. In fact, several students have had to drop out of the group due to finances. We still have a few seats left.”
I glanced over the brochure, which went into more detail than the ones I had back at the sorority house. “I’m Isabella Dayton, by the way.”
“Karen,” she said before reaching her hand out to mine.
“So, what do I need to do to join?”
Karen pulled up a website and started keying again, her black-painted nails typing faster than I’d ever seen before. “It’s pretty simple. All we need is half the cost of the trip and the other half by January 31st.”
I didn’t need to recount my money to know that I didn’t have all of it.
“Oh, um, is there any way I could make another arrangement? I’m a little short.”
She regretfully shook her head. “Unfortunately, no. It’s a hefty down payment, but if you can come up with the funds, it’ll be more than worth it.”
The thought of waitressing like Emily came to mind, although at $200 a night in tips-if I were lucky-I’d need at least until the end of the year. “What’s the deadline for the down payment?”
“I need it by the end of this week.”
Karen folded her hands and looked at me, realizing that she might be wasting her time.
“Okay, let me see what I can do, and I’ll get back to you.”
That was a crock of shit. I left the travel group’s office back at square one, as though my parents were once again in control of my life. I was an idiot to think for a second that I could afford that trip without a job and what little money I’d saved up. It would have been an easier task if tuition wasn’t so damn expensive. I made a mental note to lobby Congress about the outrageous costs of college, but that’d have to wait until I had free time which would be no time soon.
Instead of going back to the sorority house and sulking about it, though, I asked myself, What would Blade do? He was a guy who seemed to always get what he wanted in life: a promising football career, president of the most prestigious fraternity on campus, and practically any girl he encountered.
That last thought made me cringe since he never disclosed his official body count. And I’d only caught the tail end of his conversation with Aiden the other night at the bar, but apparently, the female employees knew him quite well.
Several of my sorority sisters claimed that working out helped clear their minds, but I had never set foot in the campus gym with so much on my plate. The only physical exercise I did was sit-ups in my bedroom. I knew that one day my metabolism would run out and I would need to make a concerted effort to stay in shape, but thankfully that could wait. In the meantime, I settled on the idea that a one-time trip to the gym might’ve been just what the doctor ordered to clear my head.
A few minutes later, I found myself at the campus gym, reminding myself that Blade was dedicated to physical fitness. Aside from hungover breakfasts at Lenny’s and pizza at parties, the guy followed a pretty healthy diet and worked out regularly.
The smell of rubber gym mats and metal hit me in the face as I walked through the glass doors. A ripped, muscular jock smiled at me from behind the front desk.
“Good morning, ma’am. Is this your first time here?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
The guy walked out from behind the desk and shook my hand, smiling down at me a little too intensely. “My name’s Kevin, and I’m a personal trainer. Would you like me to show you around?”
After showing Kevin my campus identification, he took me on a quick tour of the place. It was hard to hear anything he said over the clanking of weights, though. Several girls running on treadmills stared at Kevin, practically undressing him with their eyes as I learned what each machine did. Not that it mattered, though. I only wanted to get in a cardio workout, not bulk up.
After the tour, Kevin leaned up against a mirror and smiled at me.
“So, what are your workout goals?”
“Um, honestly, I came here today on a whim. I’ve heard exercise helps you think more clearly, so….”
Kevin chuckled and walked me over to an elliptical trainer, where I spent the next thirty minutes getting my heart rate up. I had to admit, being physically active again was defogging my brain. As I worked up a sweat, I realized that maybe traveling overseas the following summer just wasn’t in the cards for me.
At least I was still free from my parents, though, which was all that mattered.
