“Weird question, bro,” Beck says, laughing, but I lift my chin.
“Pursuing the finest arts education money can buy in this beautiful free nation,” I say, dropping his hand. “You?”
His gaze narrows. “Same.”
“I’m Elle,” my new friend volunteers cheerfully. They shake hands, then she turns to my mentor. “You’re only second year. Do you really know that much?”
Beck flashes an easy grin. “You know how to score practice rooms during midterms? Get bottomless soda from the vending machine in the library? Hack the staff and faculty meet-and-greet invite list so you can get free booze and mingle with famous alumni?”
She blinks. Even I’m impressed.
“Unofficially, you can be my mentee too,” Beck offers generously, stopping to scratch his head. “Wait, isn’t that an animal?”
“That’s a manatee,” Elle says.
His eyes light up. “Right. You can be my manatees. You manatees need anything, you let me know.”
“You live in the dorms?” I ask, avoiding Tyler’s gaze.
“Nah. They’re mostly for first years. We live about a dozen blocks from here, and only the last four are sketchy. Just a booty call away.”
“Presumptuous, but I like your style,” Elle says. “She’s six-oh-six. I’m six-oh-four,” she volunteers before I can stop her.
“Six. Got it,” Beck continues, and my gut twists sharply as I remember what Tyler used to call me.
“We should get going,” I say. “But I’m sure we’ll see you around.”
“No doubt.”
I meet Tyler’s gaze again, and reality slams into me.
Of all the issues I thought I’d have in a new city at a new school starting a new part of my life, he wasn’t one of them.
But the guy who destroyed me a year and a half ago… he’s here. Judging by the fact that he’s my mentor’s roommate, I’m going to be seeing him.
And judging from the look on Tyler’s face, he’s as pissed about it as I am.
3
After the assembly, I head to my room to grab my bag for class.
But as I get to the top of the stairs and glance down the hall, I realize my door is ajar. What the…?
I push it wide.
Inside is a girl with long, dark hair up in a giant topknot. She has on Beats headphones, and she’s brought a backpack and a single trunk that’s wedged at the end of the second bed that’s been untouched since I moved in yesterday.
“Hey,” I volunteer. “I’m Annie. I guess we’re roommates.”
The girl doesn’t answer or take off her headphones but reaches for an earpiece to touch a button.
“Are you Raegan Madani?” I try again. This time, she cuts a glance over her shoulder.
“Rae.”
According to the scant roommate info form that included names, contact emails, and majors, she’s in contemporary music like me.
Rae opens her backpack, takes out a bunch of tiny figures, and sets them on the top of her headboard. They’re little knitted dolls with yarn hair.
Before I can ask, Rae pulls something else out of her bag. “In or out?” she asks.
When I don’t respond, she grabs a clean shirt, twists it into a roll, and lays it along the bottom of the door.
My eyes widen as she lights the joint.
“I’ve heard stories of students getting expelled for less. It would be awesome if you could do that outside.”
Rae heaves out a sigh. “Whatever.” She grabs her keys off her desk and brushes past me.
Shit. I’m not here to make friends, but I don’t want to commit social suicide on day one either. From the look Rae tosses me as she heads down the hall, my new roomie might as soon push me in front of a subway as ride it with me.
“Nice meeting you!” I call as I grab my things, then lock up.
With the help of the map on my phone, I find my way on the subway over to the Columbia campus for my first class.
The excitement that’s been missing since running into Tyler this morning slowly returns, giving my step extra bounce.
“I haven’t seen you since the weekend!” Pen wraps me in her arms when we spot one another outside our lecture hall, and I hug her back. “It sucked we came in on the same flight only to go different directions at the airport,” she accuses.
“Gah, I know. I’m sorry.”
“Whatever. Gotta pursue your dreams, right? Anyway, glad you made it early so we can grab coffee. There’s a café in the same building as our lecture.”
We head into the building, and she steers me toward a line of students in front of a counter.
Pen and I scored the same sociology section. I have that, plus English, at Columbia on Tuesday and Thursday. Their campus is only a quick subway ride away, and Vanier has some deal with them so Vanier can focus on arts education while still producing well-rounded grads.
“My clothes don’t fit in my room,” she goes on. “I might have gone overboard now that we don’t have uniforms.”
“At least you have a single,” I tell her as we order Americanos. “My roommate showed this morning, and I managed to piss her off by telling her to smoke her joint outside.”
Pen waves me off. “Etiquette 101. Thou shalt not smoke up in thine dorm room without roommate consent. Or before eleven in the morning because it’s tacky.”
I sigh. “I missed you.”
“Have you talked to your dad and Haley?” she asks as we grab our coffees and head and toward the lecture hall.
“I called them when I got in and texted Dad this morning. Which means I’ve gone nearly forty-eight hours without blowing cover.”
Pen shakes her head. “I still can’t believe you didn’t tell him about Vanier.”
“He wouldn’t have let me come. I pitched it to him five times last year. He said if I wanted his support, I would get a real undergraduate degree before deciding whether to, and I quote, ‘piss it all away.’”
She drops her bag, settling into a seat. “Daddy J is not the best recruiter for the industry.”
“I know he’s had issues, but they can’t be that bad. Even if they were, he never talks to me about them, so how am I supposed to decide for myself?”
I take the chair next to her.
“There’s something else,” I say under my breath. “I ran into Tyler Adams this morning.”
Pen’s nails dig into my arm. “What the hell?”
Heads swivel toward us.
“I told you about at auditions, but I never thought I’d see him on day one.”
Before she can respond, the professor at the front clears his throat. “Welcome to Sociology 101. If you’ll take your seats, we can begin.”
After a moment of looking torn as the prof talks us through the course outline, my friend pulls her phone from her pocket.
Mine buzzes in my bag a moment later.
Pen: AND HOW WAS SEEING HIM???
So many emotions flood me I don’t know how to respond.
Annie: Weird. Horrifying. Exciting. Scary.
The third word slips out without me meaning to type it.