“That was fun,” Callie mused.
Jacob scoffed. “For you,” he said.
She giggled. “What, is there something wrong with your lab partner?” she teased.
“It’s fine,” he rolled his eyes with a smirk. “I’m used to doing things on my own.”
Jacob held the door to their next class open for Callie, and she smiled coyly at the gesture.
They settled into their seats, the quiet, tired mutterings of their fellow classmates filling the room. The professor, Doctor Bell, clapped her hands together, calling the class to attention.
“Alright, alright, people, let’s get this party started,” she announced. “Okay, so first things first…,” she trailed off, pushing her frizzy bangs out of her eyes as she rapidly scanned her notes for the day. “Oh! Right!” she exclaimed, punctuating the action by tossing the notebook haphazardly onto the desk behind her, knocking over a stack of papers in the process. “Have I told you guys about the final project yet?” she asked, squinting as she tried to remember.
The class exchanged glances, a few shaking their heads.
“No? I didn’t think so. Okay, well, here’s the deal,” she began, pacing across the front of the room as she explained the assignment. “In groups of two or three, I want you all to start thinking about a social experiment you’d like to conduct over the course of the semester.”
Jacob’s stomach contracted at the notion of a group project. He gave a sidelong glance to Callie, hoping she didn’t have any other partners in mind.
“More instructions to come on that. You don’t have to worry about it too much yet, but I wanted to give you a heads up, so you can let those wheels start turning,” Doctor Bell continued, making wheel-turning motions by her temples. “But!” she clapped her hands together. “For now, let’s jump into Chapter Two. Thoughts? Anyone? Bueller?” she chuckled at her own joke.
The class discussion was lively, which seemed to be the only way Doctor Bell knew how to teach. By the time the clock struck noon and the students began gathering their belongings, boisterous conversations were already filling the room with noise, everyone having gotten a second-wind from the class. Jacob picked up his books and headed for the door, Callie trailing just behind him.
“What’s your next class?” she asked when the door shut behind her, burying the noise behind it.
“I have a free period ‘til one, so I’ll probably get some food,” he answered.
“Oh, cool,” she replied.
“Are you headed that way, too?” he inquired.
“No, I have a study group,” she ran her fingers through her hair, looking down at the cracks in the pavement as they walked. “So… I guess I’ll see you around,” she said when they reached the fork in their path.
“Yeah, I, uh…,” he paused, mulling over his conflicted thoughts about the party that evening. “I’ll see you tonight,” he decided.
She smiled brightly. “Oh, really? You’re coming?”
“Yeah, I’ll stop by,” he clarified noncommittally.
“Great,” she grinned. “Well, I’ll see you then,” she said with a small wave.
“See ya,” he reciprocated.
Throughout lunch and his last class of the day, Jacob fidgeted as he anticipated his new evening plans. He thought about his limited wardrobe, pondering whether something more formal than a plain t-shirt and jeans was required for such an event. He had never been one for crowds. Even in high school, when he was more accustomed to being around large groups of strangers, he didn’t have much experience with parties. He was rarely invited to any, aside from the few that his sister would drag him to, and even then, he usually spent most of the night huddled in a corner somewhere, watching the clock and wondering when she would be ready to leave. But this was a new life, a new Jacob, and if he was going to make friends here, he knew he had to make an effort.
By the time he made it back to his dorm, he had had enough time to appraise the attire of the men around him on campus, and he deemed his black t-shirt appropriately comparable to the formality of his fellow students. He vaguely recalled his sister educating him on the custom of being “fashionably late” to such events, so he tried to focus on his homework until the clock ticked past 9pm.
Triple-checking his campus map one last time before ducking out the door, he made his way to the pond on the back end of campus. It was a bit of a trek down the bike path that weaved through ripe fields of wildflowers, and a family of geese waddled alongside him for a few minutes of the journey. He stuck to his side of the path, avoiding eye contact with the mother of the gaggle, as he had overheard several stories since he arrived there that eluded to the violent nature of the campus creatures. Apparently, they were known to strike at a moment’s notice.
Thanks to his caution, the birds eventually trotted off, and he made it through the maze of tall grass and cottontails unscathed. The path opened up to a spacious patch of dirt that surrounded nearly half of the large, oval-shaped body of dark water. Despite the late hour, the party was illuminated well by the light of the moon shimmering on the nearly-still water and, most prominently, the massive fire burning hot and bright in the center of the space.
The area was already swimming with bodies, many of them grinding along to the loud, pop music blaring from a nearby radio. He said a silent thank-you to Maggie for passing on her wisdom when he noted that he was far from being the first person to arrive, and he scanned the faces of the crowd for his new friends.
“Jacob!” someone called out from across the field, catching his attention.
His eyes settled on a table of drinks and snacks, close to the water, and he saw Angela, waving him over exuberantly. Her braided hair was free from its usual pile atop her head, and it fell down to her hips, just a half a foot above the hem of her snug, cerulean dress. Callie was sipping from a red, plastic cup by her side, sporting a modest black dress and a pair of strappy, red heels that made her legs wobble on occasion and raised her up to a height equal to her taller friend.
He weaved through the crowd and made his way to the table.
“You made it!” Angela greeted brightly upon his arrival, raising her voice to surpass the volume of the music.
“I did,” he replied. “The geese tried to keep me away, but I was determined,” he joked.
“Ugh, those geese,” Angela rolled her eyes dramatically. “I heard two different people were attacked just last week.”
“Yeah, I heard that, too,” he said.
“Well, I’m glad you made it out alive,” she chuckled. “Oh! Hey!” she called over Jacob’s shoulder, waving someone else over to them with a wide grin.
Jacob turned around when the man approached, stepping aside to make space for him in their circle.
“Hey, babe,” the man greeted, pulling Angela in for a hug and kiss handsy enough to compel Jacob to look away. His eyes settled on Callie, who gave him a playful eyeroll that indicated this kind of PDA wasn’t an uncommon occurrence. Jacob chuckled in response.
When she finally came up for air, Angela said, “Brandon, this is Jacob,” remembering her manners.
The man reluctantly tore his eyes away from Angela long enough to appraise Jacob.