Page 40 of The Very First Night

“We’re down.”

We pack up our study supplies before heading across the street to the student center. As we approach the big glass doors, I groan, realizing the door is locked.

“What the hell?” I mutter.

“‘Closed due to maintenance issues,’” Elijah reads off the paper taped to the inside of the window.

“Busted pipe,” Marcus interjects as he looks down at his phone with his email open.

“But…I wanted a bagel.” I pout, and Elijah laughs.

“I’m sure they have something that will fulfill your cravings over at Rosie’s. Let’s go.” He slings an arm around my shoulders and we all start walking.

Rosie’s Diner is located right in the heart of the Tri-Towers Rotunda, one of the clusters of dorm buildings on campus. It is also the only restaurant on campus that is open twenty-four hours a day, so it tends to be best eaten at two in the morning when you’re slightly too tipsy. The food is better that way.

Either way, greasy diner food will always sound good, even if you’re fully aware it might not feel all that great in an hour or two.

We order at the kiosk and grab drinks from the fountain before entering the campus diner, a familiar spot for Jenna and me. It’s our go-to late-night hangout, where we sit at the bar-style counter facing the bustling kitchen. But today, with the bright midday sun streaming through the windows, we opt for a table along the far wall. The four of us squeeze into a booth as we await our orders to be called.

“Sooooooo,” Jenna says, overdramatically dragging the word out until we all look her way.

“What?” I ask.

“What are we thinking for spring break?”

“Spring break is next month—wouldn’t we have needed to book something already?” I ask.

“Not necessarily,” Elijah chimes in as he leans forward in his seat, his arm resting on the back of the booth. “My parents have a beach house in Myrtle Beach; they’re never there in March. We could all go there.”

Jenna stares at him, her mouth agape. “How is this the first time I’m hearing about this?”

“Because you never asked,” Elijah laughs.

She turns to Marcus with the same shocked expression, but he just shrugs in response.

The three of them start discussing spring break in more detail, but I can’t help but feel a rush of anxiety about it. I can’t put my finger on it, but the idea of going to the Hanases’ beach house has me ready to vomit all over this table.

“Are you down?” Jenna asks me.

“Hm?”

“Are you down to go to Elijah’s parents’ beach house for spring break?”

“Oh, yeah, it sounds fun.” I take a massive gulp of my pop, trying to satisfy my suddenly dry mouth.

“Are you good?” Elijah asks quietly.

I nod in response, not sure how to convey how I’m feeling. I must be having an off day.

“Fantastic!” Jenna squeals. “I’ll start looking at flights tonight.”

“No need—we’ll drive!” Marcus says with a grin.

EIGHTEEN

KAT

Kent State is known for a few things, but no historical event eclipses May 4th, 1970. It’s so highly regarded in campus history that there was a memorial garden erected on campus in the eighties.

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