Page 5 of Freshmeet
This year has not gone to plan.
It all started last spring when I was pushed out of my rightful place in Frattic. Everything just snowballed from there. I didn’t get the room or the guy, but at least I could still get the presidency.
Shoving off the wall, I stumbled up the narrow stairs off the kitchen to Sarah’s room. My big had lived in that room for two years, and I had always assumed I would move in when she graduated.
I flicked on the lamp on Sarah’s desk and flopped down on her bed. Glow-in-the-dark stars covered the ceiling, and I smiled, remembering the night we put them up after a drunken trip to the twenty-four-hour supercenter.
“Look at the stars. The great presidents of the past look down on us from those stars. Whenever you feel alone, justremember that those presidents will always be there to guide you,” Dee said, falling off her bed laughing.
“I think you’ve had enough.” I took the bottle of Popov from her hand.
“You’re probably right.” She yanked her comforter from the bed and rolled herself up like a burrito. “I’m going to miss this place.” Sighing, she peered up at me from her blanket cocoon. “At least I know I’m leaving it in good hands.”
Things were so much easier when Dee was around. With a heavy sigh, I rolled off the bed and shuffled to the window. Cracking it open, I took a deep breath. The crisp air filled my lungs, and I shivered. The warm weather was clearly on its way out.
I snagged a throw blanket and clumsily climbed onto the roof. The sky was clear, and despite the bright lights of the university buildings, you could still make out the stars.
Wrapping the blanket around my shoulders, I shut my eyes and enjoyed the distant noise coming from the various parties. Up on the roof, I wasn’t weighed down by midterms, boy drama, or Panhellenic bullshit. I could just breathe.
“I can’t believe she left without saying anything.”
“Not exactly the smartest move.”
I knew those voices—Kat and Mona.
“Bitches,” I muttered and glanced down the alleyway.
Gravel crunched under their feet as they strutted past dumpsters, talking shit about the party.
“Carter’s so pathetic,” Kat scoffed, and I sat up a little straighter. “How many different ways can Sarah tell him to fuck off before he finally listens?”
Mona chuckled, stopping in the middle of the alley. “I stopped trying to understand rich kids in high school. Best to just let them do whatever they’re going to do.” She bent over and tied her shoe.
Kat looked up at the roof and spotted me. “Hey! Who’s up there?”
“So much for peace,” I groaned, waving at the two of them. “Just me.”
Mona jumped, and the glow of her phone lit her face. “I’ll let the girls know we found you.”
“Perfect,” I breathed out as I stood to meet them inside. The roof had lost much of its appeal if Ms. Perfect and her sidekick Queen Cunt would be joining.
I turned toward a scuffing sound from the other side of the pitch. Swallowing, I peeked over but saw nothing.
“Damn squirrels.”
The stairs creaked under Mona and Kat’s drunken stomping as I carefully inched toward the window. The shots and beers were finally catching up with me, and all I wanted was to be in my bed, wrapped in thousand-thread-count sheets.
The blanket slipped from my shoulders and tumbled off the roof onto Mona’s head.
“Hey!” She laughed, balling up the expensive throw.
I peered over the edge and said, “Sorry.”
“You’re just lucky I caught it. Sarah would freak if one of her precious soft blankets hit the mud.”
Rolling my eyes, I said, “Like she doesn’t have?—”
Something hit the middle of my back, and I stumbled forward, flailing my arms in a worthless attempt to regain my balance. My foot caught in the gutter, and I went headfirst over the edge of the roof.
