Chapter One
Clark
Streaking the football field during a game. The impromptu road trip to Mardi Gras where we only stayed for twelve hours before we had to drive back to school. Sneaking into a concert on campus because we knew the security guard. Random midnight trips into Washington, D.C., just to walk around the monuments instead of studying. That time my pledge brothers and I had to serenade the girlfriend of the fraternity president and the video went viral. Sneaking vodka popsicles into class because we were bored. Memories flood my mind as I stand in my apartment bedroom. I’m about to unpack here for the very last time.
I toss my bag on my bed. I spent a lot of my summer at my parents’ house, but now I’m back at my apartment for my final semester of college.
I look down at my phone and grin when I see my sibling chat is blowing up with messages.
Kent: You sure you want to graduate a semester early?
Lanie: Kent raises a valid point.
Di: Don’t listen to them, do what you want.
Kylie: Stay in school!
Tabby: We’ll miss you at the pool party.
Brixton: Wait. There’s a pool party?
Garrett: Brix, there’s always a pool party.
Di: Fine, if you don’t want to go.
Garrett: I WANT TO GO!
Lanie: Uh, do we need to set up a pre-marital counseling session?
Kylie: OMG! Guys, I swear Vera just said Kylie.
Di: Wait? You’re watching Vera? Like right now?
Kylie: Uh, yeah.
Di: I want to watch her! And there’s no way she said Kylie. I’m her favorite aunt. And besides, she’s like what, three months old?
Kent: Two and a half
Tabby: Technically, she’s nine weeks and six days old.
Kent: Technically? Really?
Tabby: What? She’s young. She still goes by weeks.
Di: Let’s get back to the fact that I’m not watching my niece!
I grin and reply.
Me: Thanks for your Ted Talks, but I’m going to finish early. Later.
I already miss them. I’ll have to get home next weekend to visit. I don’t want to miss seeing my little chubby-faced niece and playing some video games with my nephew.
“C-Dog!” my roommate, Evan Samuels, says as he walks into my room.
“Dude, I didn’t think you were going to get here until tomorrow,” I reply as I lean in to give him a bro hug.
He shrugs as he pulls back. “Last minute switch-a-roo. Is Grif here yet?”
I shake my head. Our third roommate, Griffin King, is always notoriously late for everything. Yet, he has twice the charm of any one human, so somehow he manages to get away with it.
“He claimed to be driving down this afternoon,” I state as I start unpacking my stuff. We’d all stayed here over the summer. I had been back and forth at my parents’ house. Grif is from New Jersey and just went home for a long weekend to visit his family. Evan, or Sammicakes as I call him, lives in California. He’s back after spending three weeks there visiting with his family.
“I hear APT’s having a welcome back party tonight,” Evan says as he turns and heads into his bedroom. We have one of the coveted three-bedroom apartments that are right next to campus. Grif had to pull a shit ton of favors to get it for us, but we’ve lived here year-round for over a year now in order to keep our place.
“Yep, that’s the word on the street.”
“I can’t believe this is your last semester,” he says as he pokes his head back in my room.
“Believe it. I’m ready to blow this joint.”
Laughing, he walks toward the kitchen. “Hey, did Kathy send us food, or do we need to go to the grocery store?”
“Pie is in the fridge. There are three bags of groceries on the counter, and two pints of ice cream in the freezer,” I yell.
“Apple pie?” he asks.
“Dude,” I say because he knows that I know what he’s referring to.
He laughs. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to try and recreate any scenes from our favorite movie.”
I roll my eyes and put my earbuds in as I crank up some music and put my clothes away. A part of me could stay here forever, just being a student and living the good life. But a bigger part of me is ready to move on to the next thing in life, whatever that may be.
Megan
I should have chosen to live alone for my final semester. But fucking Stella talked me into living another semester in the Sigma Omega Rho house. I wasn’t going to but then last semester we had gotten a new house mom, Rita Clarence, and she changed my mind. Not because she was persuasive or even friendly, but because she was a total stickler for rules. And that meant that the sorority house was quiet. And quiet equals concentration, which adds up to me getting straight As. So, here I am, living a double life as a sorority girl.
I flop onto my bed and stare up at the glow-in-the-dark stars that I had stuck on the ceiling last semester. I’m half-surprised Rita didn’t rip them down. Shrugging, I sit back up and look around at my meager accommodations.
“Hey! You’re back!” Stella squeals as she walks into my room and pulls me into a hug.
“Hi,” I say.
She rolls her eyes as she steps back and looks at my bags. “Did you just get here?”
I nod. “Yep.”
“Lots of parties this weekend! You should come out. You never have fun. You don’t want to miss the last moments of being able to enjoy life without a full-time job, do you?”
“I’m good, thanks,” I reply as I turn and start unloading my bags.
Stella sits on my bed. I’ll give it to her that she does not give up easily. “One party. Promise me that you’ll go to one party this semester and I will leave you alone.”
Weighing my options, I study her for a minute. I don’t have to agree to anything, but I also know that Stella will not give up until I say yes, and I’d rather unpack in peace and quiet. “Fine. One party.”
She fist-pumps in the air. “Yes! I’ll let you unpack.”
She skips, yes literally, out of my room. Sighing, I start to put my clothes away in the dresser. Maybe I should go to that one party this weekend. Classes don’t start until Monday, and after that, I’ll be too busy to even think about it.
I debate whether to go as I finish putting away my things. Glancing at my watch, I decide to head over to the bookstore to pick up a few things before they close. I need to get myself situated because everything is riding on what happens this semester.
Chapter Two
Clark
I sink into a patio chair that is probably older than me. I’m surprised that I don’t end up on the ground. Beer in hand, I peruse the partygoers. Alpha Psi Theta or APT is notorious for its parties. It’s one of the main reasons I pledged with them, much to my siblings’ dismay. Having four older siblings and two parents plus three living grandparents is total overkill in the life coach department. They all think they know what’s best for me and none of them are afraid to voice their opinions. But I also love them all, and at times, I will admit begrudgingly that I do like their advice.
“Gentlemen, let the party begin,” Grif says as he walks out of the broken sliding door onto the patio with a beer in each hand. I roll my eyes.