College Days - Chapter1 and Chapter 2

COLLEGE DAYS
ByJames Fineman

Chapter One: The Mix-Up

Jack got out of the taxi in front of the Queen’s University. After retrieving his luggage from the trunk, Jack paid the driver and looked around. “Well,” He sighed, “This isn’t high school anymore.” Jack glanced at his new campus and headed for the dorm offices to get his room assignment. Behind the counter was a bored-looking young woman, only a couple of years older than himself.

“Name?” She said, yawning without looking up from her magazine.

“Jack Ferris.” He said.

The woman looked through a several-page registry. “Ferris. Persephone Hall, room 14-C. That’s the third floor. Your roommate is Blake Augustine.” She handed him a key. “Welcome to college life.”

Jack was tall, about 6 feet, with messy red hair and freckles. His most striking feature, however, were his eyes. Like his sisters, and his father before him, Jack had heterochromia, manifesting itself in the form of a green right eye and a purple left eye. His twin sister, Lynnie, had eyes that matched his, but his younger sisters had purple right eyes and green left eyes.

Outside the office, Jack consulted his campus map and found the dormitories. Persephone Hall was not too far away. He carried his luggage up to the third floor and found his room already open. He stepped inside carefully. “Hullo?” He called.

The dorm room seemed more akin to a small apartment. There was a tiny kitchen, a decent-sized living area, a bathroom, and a single bedroom. A brown-haired girl poked her head out from the bedroom.

“Oh, um, sorry,” Jack said, “I guess I have the wrong room.” He looked at the door. 14-C. Jack was confused.

“Oh, which room do you need?” The girl stepped out into the living room. She was slender, dressed in baggy cargo pants and a small t-shirt. A black choker circled her neck, framed by tousled brown hair that fell just past her shoulders. Her pale blue eyes flashed as she smiled at him. She was shorter than Jack, about 5’3”, the same height as his twin sister. Something about the girl’s smile made him blush.

“Uh, 14-C.” He stammered.

“This is it! I was hoping for a cute guy.” She laughed and held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Blake. Blake Augustine.”

Jack took her hand. “Blake? I thought...”

“That I’d be a guy? I get that a lot.”

“Ah, sorry.” Jack said, embarrassed.

“It’s okay. C’mon, I’ll help you unpack.” She took one of his bags into the bedroom, which had two twin beds on either side of the room.
“Y’know, if we’re gonna be bunking together, it’d be easier if I knew your name.”

“Sorry! I’m Jack Ferris.” He followed her into the room. “I’ll, um, sleep on the sofa.”

“Pfft. Don’t be silly. I’m just one of the guys, okay?” She set the bag on one of the beds and opened it. “Sweet! You brought video games!”

They unpacked and put their belongings away. Blake was eager to get Jack’s gaming systems hooked up, though Jack reminded her it was time for freshman orientation. They went downstairs and walked to the auditorium. An hour later they returned to their dorm room. Blake picked up a controller. “No classes til Monday? I say we veg out and play games all weekend.”

“Sounds good,” Jack said. “And if we get hungry?”

“I’ll get us a pizza.” Blake flashed her smile again. Something about it was vaguely familiar about it, but Jack couldn’t place it.

“Sounds good.” He said.

That first weekend, they left the sofa only use the restroom and pay the pizza delivery girl.


Chapter Two: Jack and Blake and the Terrible,
Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Dates

Blake was in her usual spot on the couch, engrossed in Final Quest 6 when Jack came home. “You’re back early.” She said.

“She didn’t show up.” Jack collapsed on the sofa next to Blake.

“Ugh. Bitch.” Blake set the controller down. “Wanna get pizza, Babe?” She’d taken to calling him this over the last few weeks, after his first several bad dates. Jack found it strangely comforting.

“I guess. I’m starting to wonder if there’s something wrong with me. They keep either not showing up, or bringing dates with them.”
Blake hit speed dial on her phone and placed their usual pizza order. “It’s not you. We keep trying to date the wrong people. Speaking of which, I actually have a date tomorrow.”

“Good luck,” Jack picked up the controller and looked at the
game’s status screen. “You’ve been busy.” He said, noting their character’s progress. They often played single-player RPGs together, both working on the same game when the other wasn’t around.

“Yeah, I skipped class today.”

“Again?” Jack sighed and shook his head.

“I’ve got a 4.0. I’m coasting.” Blake sat sidewise and rested her head in his lap.

“Must be nice.” Jack resumed the game where Blake left off.

Early the next evening, Blake was getting ready to go out. Jack looked up from his homework. “Where are you going tonight?” He asked.

“That little Mexican place off-campus. El Manana.” Blake finished her makeup. “I’ll text you around eight o’clock.”

“Have fun.” Jack went back to his homework.

Blake kissed his cheek and grabbed her courier bag. “Don’t wait up, Babe.” She left their dorm room and walked to the restaurant, which was a block away. A well-built guy with short-cropped blonde hair was waiting for her just inside. “Wow, you look hot.” He said. “I got us a table.” They followed the host to a corner boothand sat down. “So, how was your week?” He asked.

“Oh, it was good, Sean. I passed my...”

Sean interrupted. “Right on. I didn’t need to take any tests this week. Trig prof didn’t have it ready.”

Blake, stunned at the interruption, said nothing. She looked at her menu as a waitress came to take their order. Sean took the menu from Blake and handed it to the waitress.

“We’ll both have the steak fajitas.” He said.

“Actually, I’d like the chicken quesadilla...” Blake said as the server walked away to place their order.

“Don’t be silly. You’ll love the fajitas.” Sean started the rather one-sided conversation again, talking about his scholastic and athletic accomplishments. Whenever Blake tried to get a word in edgewise, she was promptly cut off by her date. Blake was silently fuming.
She stood up.

“I just got to, ah, powder my nose.” She walked to the front of the restaurant, where the restrooms were. Certain her rude date couldn’t see her (she noticed his attention was on the ass of one of the waitresses anyway), she slipped out the door and walked home.
Jack looked up as she came in. He had finished his homework
and was playing Secret of Magick. “Short date?” He asked.

“No, he was tall. He was also an asshole. Kept talking the whole time, one-upping me any time I tried to talk.” Blake stormed into the bedroom and changed her clothes. She came out with her hair in a ponytail, wearing nothing but overalls. She resumed her usual spot on the sofa and picked up the other controller and joined the game.

“What a dick. Pizza?” Jack asked.

“Yes.” Blake controlled her game character as Jack ordered the pizza. “Y’know. Fuck it. We don’t need to date. We can just stay in every night, play games, eat pizza, and just hang out together.”

Jack chuckled as he sat back down. “What about homework? And class?”

“Meh. I’m coasting on a 4.0.” She answered.

“Must be nice.”

They later fell asleep on the sofa, Blake with her head in Jack’s lap, Jack with his arm around her.