24
Since Gia is having company at our dorm (Kevin, Ricky, and Hope), I decide to go to the campus library to get my reading assignment in for my anthropology class. I don’t mind her visitors, but Gia is some kind of super-smart mutant who can finish her assignments in minutes when it takes me hours or days to do the same tasks. I need a little bit more quiet time than she does.
When we move into the house next weekend, I’ll have all of the space and quiet I need. I hired an interior designer to come in and decorate everyone’s room to their specifications. My friends look at it as a gift, and I look at it as protecting my investment. I want every area of the house to look like a model home, which is also the reason I hired a full housekeeping staff.
As I walk across campus, I see Meagan and her Gamma Phi Gamma crew. They’re laughing, joking, and all wearing some shade of turquoise except Meagan. She’s sporting all royal blue. I guess blue is close enough to the sorority colors without disrespecting their tradition.
I try to rush past without Meagan seeing me, and I’m almost successful, but someone shouts, “I love you, Sunday!” and she jerks her head around. Then, this chick starts waving and walking in my direction as if everything is all cool with us.
I pretend not to see her and speed up, but she is determined and unhindered by a backpack full of books so she catches up.
Out of breath she says, “Sunday! Didn’t you see me waving at you?”
“Oh. Hey, Meagan.” I hope my lackluster greeting is enough to run her off.
It isn’t. She says, “I haven’t seen or talked to you in a minute. Heard you guys are moving off campus.”
“We are. Next weekend.”
“I thought I was supposed to be a part of the off-campus crew, but I guess that’s changed, huh?”
Does she even have to ask?
“You’ll be moving into the Gamma Phi Gamma house soon enough, right?”
“Yes. Next year.”
“So . . . you shouldn’t care about us then. You’ll have your sorors.”
“But I consider you and Gia my sisters too.”
I bite my lip, pause and shift my backpack to one arm before responding. “Piper is our friend, Meagan, and you are dead wrong for staying with that guy. How can you still date him anyway after you found out about him and Piper?”
“Because boys play games all the time. That’s what they do. College is like an all-you-can-eat buffet for boys. But at some time they’ll pick the right girl—the one who was down for them during all of their player days.”
“There are too many diseases out here for me to fool with a player,” I say. “I don’t roll like that.”
Meagan chuckles. “You’re not giving it up anyway, Sunday, so that shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Well, if I was, I’d want to know that I wasn’t exposing myself. I’ve got a long and hopefully disease-free life ahead of me.”
“Linden will get his act together, and by senior year I’ll have an engagement ring. He’s here to find a wife, just like I’m here to find a husband.”
“At least you know what’s important to you. Bye, Meagan. See you around campus.”
“So that’s it?”
I nod. “Yeah. I’m cool on the whole sorority thing, so . . . you know.”
Meagan backs away from me. The expression on her face is stunned, but she doesn’t try to convince me anymore. She abruptly turns her back on me and goes back to the Gamma Phi Gamma girls.
I continue on to the library, where my study partner, DeShawn, is waiting in front. Did I forget to mention that DeShawn was my study partner? Maybe because this is more of a study date, and I don’t know how I feel about this yet. The date part—not the studying, because I need to do as much of that as possible.
“Hey, DeShawn,” I say.
“Hey, slow poke. What took you so long to get here?”
“Ran into Meagan on the way over here.”
He frowns. “You mean Benedict Arnold. Why did she hold you up? I can’t even believe you were talking to her.”
“I don’t hate her or anything like that. I mean, she didn’t do anything to me, but I don’t like how she played my girl.”
“Right. She kind of put a dent in the crew.”
“She did.”
“Good riddance,” DeShawn says. “Let’s get our date popping. I brought you a present.”
I smile up at him (because he’s tall, and I have to look up to enjoy his face). “You shouldn’t have.”
He pulls a candy bar out of his jacket pocket. “This is for you to eat during our study session, because you turn crazy when you’re hungry, and there will not be any middle-of-session Busy Bee Café runs. We’ll never get any studying done that way.”
I take the Three Musketeers (my favorite) candy bar from him and slide it in my purse. The thought of the chocolate and fluffy marshmallow center make my stomach growl, but I’m just going to try to hold off until we’ve been here for an hour. Then, after I eat my candy, I’ll convince him to take me for real food.
“Did you bring me something?” he asks.
“Uh no! No one said that there would be a gift exchange.”
DeShawn shakes his head. “I’m going to need you to step your gift game up, Sunday. I’ve hand delivered food to your dorm, commandeered a limo to take you to a restaurant in the middle of the night, and anticipated your study hunger and brought you a snack.”
“Dang. I suck, don’t I?”
“Yes, you do, Sunday. Handle your business.”
I burst into laughter. DeShawn is a straight-up fool. “But for real though, why do all of your gifts have something to do with food?” I ask.
“Because your two weaknesses are food and money, and I’m broke so . . .”
“My mother says to never say you’re broke, but that you’re between blessings.”
DeShawn gives me a big smile. “I don’t think I’m between blessings. I’m here with you, so I’m pretty much right in the middle of a blessing.”
I feel myself blush, and I look at the ground. “Come on, boy. Let’s get this studying done.”
DeShawn places his hand on the small of my back and nudges me up the library steps. I feel a jolt as his hand connects with my body. It’s a good jolt, one that doesn’t make me pull away.
I think DeShawn missed one of my weaknesses. Food and money definitely can have me twisted, but I’m pretty sure my third weakness is really cute guys who know exactly the right thing to say.