Page 3 of Courting Clemson

Well, shit.

I hated when people cried. It was such a huge turn-off. I wanted to bolt from the room and let her get her shit together on her own. I grew up in a household with a very dramatic sibling, so I was conditioned to respond to emotional expression in a very uncompassionate way.

Despite knowing this, I couldn’t change the habit. It was like my body was reacting on its own. If I got my mind involved, I could rationalize that it was reasonable to offer the person kindness and understanding, but when left on autopilot, I just wanted to bolt.

I tilted my head slightly to ask her to explain, but her parents barreled through our front door, and she snapped her attention their way. Her entire demeanor changed like a digital filter was applied to her physical existence. Now she was bright and cheerful. Positive and upbeat.

It was fascinating to watch—in a disturbing way—but I’d never witnessed anything like it. Even my sister Agatha’s similar way of handling things couldn’t compete with Grace’s skillset.

“Girls!” her mom proclaimed in a loud, singsong voice that actually gave me the chills. Apparently putting on masks was a family thing.

Avery and I both shrank back from the woman while Grace intercepted her exaggerated energy.

“Mom, Jeeezus. So loud,” she groaned.

“Oh, nonsense, darling. I’m so excited. This is such an exciting day!” the woman nearly shrieked. Her voice was like nails on a chalkboard, and I couldn’t decide if it was the extreme volume or lack of authenticity that irritated me more.

“Tell me everything! Have you met your neighbors? Are there cute boys next door? Are you girls planning on rushing? Oh my God, I remember my first year of university like it was yesterday!”

“University?” her daughter scoffed with sky-high skeptical eyebrows. “Mom, be real. People say college in this country, and you know it. Especially in the deep south where you went to school.”

Her mom turned stern in a heartbeat. “Don’t be sassy with me, young lady.”

My roommate said nothing and picked up her suitcase and headed toward her room. Fortunately, her mother followed right behind her with a much smaller bag rolling behind her, leaving Avery and me staring at the now-closed door.

“Not my monkeys, not my circus,” I mumbled and set the stuff I was carrying outside the door.

Avery and I lugged all the stuff Grace’s dad proceeded to dump inside the front door down the hall to her room. By the time her mother emerged, she had to carefully maneuver her body through the stack to get back into the living room.

We gave them privacy to have their final goodbye by camping out in my room. I unpacked my clothes while Avery spread out on my bed and prattled on about the guy she left behind when leaving for San Diego.

Apparently the guy was heading across the country to attend an East Coast school, and they were sad to say goodbye but knew staying together wasn’t right for them either.

“The minute you spot a new one, you’ll forget all about him,” I assured in support.

Her deadpan stare made me quickly scan what I had just said, though, because her facial expression was anything but confident.

“Sorry?” I croaked.

“You are not,” she teased back, instantly lightening the mood in the room.

“Seriously, I meant that in a supportive way, not an insensitive one. I’m sorry if that came off as rude.”

She waved her hand in my direction. “I get you, Clemson. Don’t stress about it.”

I smiled her way and ducked as far as possible into my closet to hang up a few tops and breathe a little. The odd emotional ups and downs of this day were exhausting me.

Grace wandered in and sat down on the brightly colored area rug in the center of my room. She dropped her face into her palms and shook her head from side to side.

“Ohhhh my God, that was every bit as bad as I expected it to be. Now do you see what I’ve been talking about? She’s so embarrassing.” She lifted her face from her cradled palms and looked between us with pleading eyes.

“Nah, she just loves you. It probably seemed worse to you than it really was,” Avery assured her.

I had to ask… “Did she chew your ass when you guys were in your room with the door closed?”

“Of course she did. So ridiculous,” she muttered and shook her head again. “But I learned how to block her out a long time ago. Just plain survival.”

“You know, she did get me thinking…” Avery began.

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