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The next morning, I’m back at Sassy’s dorm to walk her to classes now that she’s recovered from the mother of all hangovers.
“Better today?” I ask as she joins me downstairs.
“Yep. Thanks for coming over yesterday, and um, taking care of me and stuff.” She looks so uncomfortable thanking me. I smother a laugh.
“You’re welcome. Hey, I noticed the graffiti is gone from your building?”
“Is it?” Sassy glances over to the wall that used to have the offensive slurs spray-painted on it and see’s that it’s now plain brick again. If she’s relieved, she doesn’t show it.
“Campus was pretty normal yesterday afternoon when I got there, too. Hopefully, it’s blown over now. Maybe another scandal has replaced you.”
“Hope so,” she murmurs, and even though she’ll never admit it, hope flashes in her eyes. For the rest of the walk to class, only one person sniggers at us. This is a vast improvement compared to the past week or two. We make plans to catch up at lunch and go our separate ways.
I can see the dark look on Sassy’s face before I reach her. She’s sitting on the bench where we often meet at lunchtime, aggressively biting into her sandwich as though it’s done something wrong to her.
“What’s up?” I ask as soon as I’m close enough.
“Nothing.” She answers curtly.
“Sass, just tell me.” I say, exasperation in my voice. She snaps her head up to me, her eyes flashing.
“Why? It’s not your problem and I don’t need you to save me or fix me or whatever it is you goody-two-shoes guys like to do.”
“Whoa.” I hold my hands up in surrender. “Where is this coming from? I just want to know what’s upsetting my girlfriend.”
“Girlfriend?” Her voice is sharp and I frown.
“I mean, isn’t that what this is?” I’m worried she’s about to lose it at me for assuming we’re an item, but then, something softens her features ever so slightly. If I blinked, I would have missed it, but a flash of vulnerability passes across her face and it makes my heart ache.
“I don’t know,” she mumbles, looking down. “I guess. Whatever.”
I smile. She can’t help but try to be tough even when we’re having a conversation about our relationship.
“Now,” I say patiently, taking her hand in mine. “Tell me what’s wrong. I won’t even try to fix it if you don’t want me to.”
“Promise?”
“Fine. I promise I won’t try to help my girlfriend feel better.”
Sassy sniggers at this. “It’s really nothing. My day started off normal and I let myself believe the stripper stuff had blown over. But in my last class, it started up again. Just stupid stuff.”
“Like what?”
“The usual whispering and things. But this asshole, who I don’t even know, walked past my desk and dropped a lacy g-string next to me. Then he made a big show of picking it up and holding it up and saying loudly that he thinks it belongs to me.”
“What the fuck? Who is he?” I’m livid.
“Just an idiot. It doesn’t matter. I’m only pissed because it got everyone riled up again. Now the shit has started back up.”
“I could kill him,” I say through clenched teeth.
“It’s such a lame prank, but everyone was in hysterics. So annoying.”
“Did the professor do anything about it?”
“Kind of,” Sassy shrugs. “He just told everyone to settle down, and that’s it. Anyway. Whatever. It’s not a big deal, it just pissed me off, that’s all.”
“It is a big deal though,” I say, seething. “This is bullshit. Teachers always say they’re against bullying, but when it actually happens, no one does anything about it.”
