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1KaraCollege, I am learning, introduces a young woman to several rites of passage. One of them is subjecting herself to cafeteria food twice a day. Another is writing five-page essays the night before they’re due.
And the most important, most sacred, most exciting of all?
The college party.
I’ve always been a social butterfly. My mom has endless stories about me at age three, interrupting strangers at restaurants and asking if I can sit with them. When I got a little older, I started taking dance classes, and hogged center stage during the recitals. I’ve always loved attention--my best friend Bailey says I need people like a plant needs sunlight. But I’ve also always loved giving attention to others, listening to their innermost thoughts, and finding out what makes them tick.
The college party, I found out shortly after arriving with Bailey at Middleton State, is the ideal place to meet a dizzying number of people at once. So much is happening simultaneously: the music bumps, the dance floor hops, all the while people drink and laugh and kiss. Admittedly, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. However, now that I’m a sophomore, I’ve learned the best method to really get to know people is to pretend like you don’t care, but only up to a point. It’s a fine line to walk, and I’ve mastered it.
As we walk into the frat house--our first party of the new school year--I immediately adopt a practiced gaze, expertly surveying the room as if I am an assassin on the hunt.
“A lot of cute li’l freshmen are here!” I yell over the music to Bailey, who is looking decidedly less excited to be here. Bailey is the yin to my yang, and the introvert to my extrovert. She would rather be at home with her hot older boyfriend, Christopher, than at this raucous celebration. When I tactfully reminded her that she’d been spending all her time with Christopher, and very little with me, she reluctantly agreed to attend. I know she’d never forget me and that she’s just happily in love, but I miss our time together — even if it takes place while partying with hundreds of other people.
“Oh, joy,” Bailey sighs. “More new friends, huh?”
I grin at her.
“But of course. I am sure they’re all dying to make friends with non-freshmen. They need to start climbing up the social ladder somehow.”
“I am not sure we’re more than a rung above them,” Bailey says, unconvinced, but I stick my tongue out at her.
“Look at them,” I sigh as we grab our drinks (non-alcoholic for Bailey--she’s expecting, and I am ready to be the best aunt). A small group of terrified people stand in the center of the room, wearing the slack-jawed gazes of deer in headlights. “Obviously, they’re freshmen. Should we say hello?”
“No,” Bailey replies, casting a sidelong glance at me. “You’ll just scare them even more with your pep.”
“My pep,” I say with a haughty sniff, “is contagious, and is one of my best features, thank you very much. Come on. Let’s make some new friends.”
Before Bailey can respond, I grab her hand and we wade through the throngs of people.
“Is this your first college party?” I yell over the music, bestowing my most dazzling grin on the group of freshmen.
One of them nods.
“What are we even supposed to do?” she asks, plugging one of her ears with her finger to hear over the thumping bass line.
It’s time for my foolproof getting-to-know-you plan. My grin widens.
“I’m Kara, and this is my bestie Bailey. Follow us!”
After we saddle the four freshmen with cans of cheap beer, I guide us all out to the best spot at a party: the deck. You have to deal with the smoking or vaping crowd, admittedly, but you can also actually carry on a conversation out here. Stars twinkle sweetly in the night sky, welcoming us outside. I feel Bailey immediately relax at my side--the excessively loud music inside always grates on her nerves.
“Thanks again for coming with me,” I whisper to my best friend, pecking her on the cheek. “I am so glad to be here with you.”
Bailey’s warm brown eyes smile along with her mouth. “I am glad to be here with you, too. I promise.”
We chat with the freshmen for a while, enjoying the warm breeze that carries with it the vestiges of summer. I definitely enjoyed summer vacation; it was great to be home with my family, even though they’re only an hour away. It was great, too, to see a certain someone on a regular basis--someone who makes my heart beat a little faster, my cheeks grow a little warmer. Not that he knows it. Not that anyone knows. And I’d prefer to keep it that way, at least for now.
“So what do you study?” one of the freshmen asks.
