Page 73 of The Summer of ’98

The walk to the college wasn’t long, but I was sweating by the time I got there, and it felt disgusting. The office was air-conditioned, and surprisingly there were a lot of people hanging around the photocopiers and desks. I thought for sure that because of the summer break, it would be mostly empty. I suppose even the staff still had things that needed to be done before the new semester commenced.

The conversation with the receptionist was brief. She handed me some information booklets and applications to fill out. I stuffed the papers into my bag and left, feeling grateful for a distraction in the form of reading material and applications.

I’d planned for that to take a lot longer than it did, so as I walked back to the bus stop, I wondered if there was anything else that I could do in town. And then the aroma of a café hit me, making my mouth water—the smell of fresh bread, the hot savories, the coffee. I stared through the windows with longing, feeling resentment toward the people who could consume caffeine without guilt.

Realizing that I had enough cash for a bus home and that was it, I kept walking and had gone about four feet when a masculine voice called out for me.

“Ellie!”

Turning around, I saw Amber and Eric walking hand in hand. They waved when I stopped, waiting for them to catch up. “Hey,” I said. “What’s going on?”

Eric beamed as he pointed over his shoulder. “You want to grab some lunch with us?”

“Oh . . . I don’t have any cash right now.”

“My treat,” he held up his hand when I tried to argue. “I got it, girl. Come on, Amber told me that she wants hot fries and soft serve. As in . . . together. Is that normal?”

Amber and I looked at each other and laughed as we headed back to the café that I had been lingering outside of just a few minutes earlier. “I don’t think it’s normal,” I said. “But it’s more popular than you’d expect.”

“Sounds awful,” he held the door open and we headed inside. My stomach rumbled and I hadn’t realized how starved I was until the aroma of hot food was all around me.

“You’re going to try fries dipped in soft serve,” Amber pointed at Eric. “And you’re going to love it, I promise.”

His narrow stare was disbelieving as we stood in line. “We’ll see, Prez.”

We ordered our food and sat down at a free table with the number card. As hungry as I was, I didn’t want to order too much, considering I wasn’t paying for it. A bowl of fries and a soda would do for now. I was just grateful to be with friends after the week that I’d had. Isolation was draining. It took a huge toll on a person and I hadn’t realized how desperate I was to be with familiar people until we were sitting across from one another.

We made small talk while we waited for our food. What we’d been up to for the last week, what our plans were for the rest of summer. Amber was kindly acting as though nothing was out of the ordinary in front of Eric too. The food came to our table after a long ten-minute wait.

“All right,” Amber said, pushing her locs behind her shoulder as she twisted in her seat to face Eric. She ran a fry through her soft serve and held it out to him, disgust twisting his mouth. “You promised that you would taste it. It’s good. You’ll be surprised.”

He was reluctant but he finally let her pop it into his mouth, and after he’d made a big show of chewing and tasting, he shook his head. “Nope, not a fan. I don’t dig the sweet and savory thing. It’s weird.”

“I agree,” I said.

“You two are so plain,” Amber dismissed and helped herself, enjoying her combination.

“So,” Eric said and looked at me. “Heard Cass and Noah made it official. Yikes. How’s that going?”

“Oh . . . it’s going fine, I suppose. The dysfunction is still the same but I can tell that Noah is trying. I think that’s what counts.” I hadn’t talked to any of them in a week, so I didn’t even know if they were still a thing, but I suspected Eric didn’t know what was going on and didn’t want him to wonder why I hadn’t called Leroy.

“Cass is the one that was on the call with you, right?” Amber asked and I nodded.

“That girl has been a good friend since I was a kid, but damn, she has never known how to pick them.” Eric wistfully shook his head.

“Aren’t you and Noah friends too?”

“Ha,” Eric basically shouted. “No. I put up with him because he’s Leroy’s brother, but that fool does my head in. Arrogant little shit. Plus, the way that he treats Cass.”

That wasn’t entirely surprising. I could see how Noah and Eric would clash but Eric did well at hiding how he felt. Although, I’d only seen them in the same setting once so that might have been the reason that I’d been oblivious to the animosity.

I didn’t want the afternoon to end when we’d finished eating and stood up to leave. Outside on the pavement, I asked Eric for the time and he lifted his wrist to check his watch.

“Just after two.”

“You should come and hang out with us.” Amber gave me a nudge. “We’re going to the hotel that Eric is staying at and having some drinks. A few more friends will be coming over later tonight for a little party, I guess. It’ll be tame, though, I promise.”

“It’s fine,” I said, knowing that she was assuring me it would be safe for my pregnant condition. “You’re staying at a hotel?”

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