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I hide a smile. It usually takes me a while to warm up to strangers, but their light-hearted banter is easy to feel at ease among.
“So what made you choose Clarkson?” Amanda asks once we’re inside the theater, waiting for tickets. “Transferring for senior year must have been a hard decision.”
“Uh, yeah, it was,” I reply. “But my old school didn’t have a great journalism program. Plus, my boyfriend goes here, so that’s helped with the adjustment.”
I pretend I don’t see the disappointment flicker across Eric’s face.
“Oh, cool,” Amanda replies. “You should have brought him along.”
I’m tempted to laugh at the thought of Caleb sitting through the documentary we’re about to watch. If it’s not baseball or an action thriller, he couldn’t care less.
“Not really his thing,” I respond.
“Joe didn’t want to come either,” Abby says. “I basically dragged him along. Some feminist you are,” she tells her boyfriend.
“Iama feminist!” Joe insists. “I believe in equal rights. So much so I was going to support awomen’s sports event.”
Abby looks unimpressed. “You were going to stare at Sophie St. James, you mean.”
“Sophie St. James?” I repeat.
“She’s on the women’s soccer team. Looks like a supermodel. I have yet to encounter a guy on campus who doesn’t have a thing for her,” Amanda supplies.
“Oh.”
“It’s impossible to keep track of all the sports teams, but there are a few athletes you can’t help but hear about. Over and over again.” Amanda’s voice makes it clear she’s not an avid fan.
“Oh,” I say again.
We get our tickets and then head inside the dark theater. The documentary is engaging, splicing news coverage and reporter research on issues like healthcare, racial injustice, and voting rights. It’s the exact sort of work I’d love to be doing but never thought I’d be able to.
As much as I resent Landry’s elitism, I recognize it just represents one microcosm of society. Big, important newspapers hire graduates from big, important universities. I didn’t have a prayer of getting hired anywhere beside theLandry Gazettewith a degree from Richardson Community College. Like it or not—and I don’t—that’s simply the way the world works.
But now…I will be the graduate of big, important university.
And Matthews Farm sold.
I haven’t told Caleb yet. I found out right before his scrimmage yesterday. The realtor called to tell me. It sold for a mind-boggling amount of money. I’mrich, by most people’s measure. I’m no longer tied to Landry and I have the funds to live in a big city on a journalist’s salary.
I have options, and depending on where Caleb gets drafted, I also have decisions to make.
A discussion of the film dominates the conversation as our group exits the dark theater and emerges back on the street. I blink at the sudden sunshine. The painkiller Caleb gave me helped with the headache—and so did the sex—but there’s still a dull throb in my right temple.
Abby suggests heading to a pizza place just down the block. I quickly agree, since I’m starving. I didn’t have time to go to the dining hall after showering and before heading here.
The pizzeria is clearly a popular off-campus hang-out, judging by the number of college students packed inside.
Despite the crowd, the line moves quickly. We all order slices, managing to snag one of the few open booths.
The steaming pizza arrives, and we all dig into the hot food immediately, continuing to talk about the documentary we just saw. For the first time, my comments aren’t being met by bored stares. Aside from Andrew, no one at Landry High shared my passion for journalism. And RCC was known for its business and computer classes.Usefulskills. I’m pleasantly surprised how Abby, Amanda, Joe, and Eric all seem just as interested and engaged in writing as I am.
“Great. Baseball team is here,” Joe drones, right as I’m taking a bite of my third slice.
My head snaps to the left, looking at the entrance. The pizzeria’s front door is open, a stream of sweaty guys wearing grass-strained clothes walking in with red faces and joking smiles.
Caleb isn’t with them, but both Garrett and Drew are. I glance back at my pizza.
Clarkson is a big campus. I wasn’t expecting to see the team here, and I feel awkward seeing them without Caleb around. Most of the guys are ones I met last night.
