moon river | paige bueckers

chapter two

It was 9:30 p.m., and we were pregaming.

Pregaming for what? This beautiful July night, I presumed.

I wasn't a heavy drinker, so I sipped on a Sprite after my first drink, but everyone else was going wild in apartment 209.

The plan was to head to the bar around 10. It was within walking distance, but by the looks of the group, we weren't making it past the elevator.

"Wait, so you moved from Texas to Michigan to here?" I winced as beer breath hit my nose. Jrue, who I barely remembered upon meeting him, was loud—inebriated or not.

"Yeah. I was at Michigan for three years, then here." He nodded with his mouth and eyes wide open.

"WHY?" The music had increased in volume. "Because UConn is basically giving me a job once I graduate," I shouted back.

He silently mouthed, "Ohhh," and I gave him a nod.

"Guys—oh, whoops," an intoxicated Nazzy grabbed our attention while tripping over someone's shoes. "We should probably head out in a couple of minutes."

The group shouted "OK" in unison.

Jrue and Kyla were there, but so were four other people. While everyone danced to Sexxy Red, I tried my hardest to remember all their names.

Sammy had the green shirt, Jrue was the tallest, Kyla had bleach-blonde hair and a tongue piercing, Roman wore the socks-and-sandals combo, and Serena and Katie were twins. I was proud of remembering that, although I couldn't tell which twin was which.

"Ok guys, let's go." We all stood up and followed Nazzy out the door. As we piled into the elevator, she found her way to me.

"Soo, are we cool enough for you?" She linked her arm with mine as we packed in tighter. "Cool is an understatement for you guys," I said, throwing up my hands. "I didn't expect a whole party on my first night here."

She erupted in laughter. "Girl, you're funny. This is just a regular Thursday." I gave a dry chuckle. "Should I be concerned, then?" My voice trailed off as we reached the bottom floor.

Jrue gave a loud whoop, causing a few heads to turn. I giggled as everyone tried to quiet him down.

—

Somehow, we made it safely to the bar. "This bar is filled with athletes, so that's why it's so live right now," Kyla said as she gave me the rundown. I hummed in agreement.

Upon entry, some dudes shouted as Jrue walked in, matching the energy he'd had since 6:00 p.m. "We'll be over here," Nazzy attempted to yell at Jrue, but he was far too infatuated with the group of guys shouting his name.

We found a table in the corner, lit by a single light hanging from the ceiling. The bar was as nice as it could be. It seemed like there were obvious groups within the bar, with a few people who didn't care and just wanted to dance. With the neon signs and sticky floors, it felt just like a bar in Ann Arbor after a game.

"Do y'all want shots?" Everyone nodded. I looked around the table, thinking they were the last people on Earth who needed more shots. I leaned over to Kyla. "I'm going to the bathroom," I said. She gave me a thumbs-up.

On my walk to the bathroom, I saw Jrue still in the middle of his friends, making a poor attempt at a TikTok dance. I just shook my head.

—

Admittedly, I was hiding in the bathroom. I didn't hate the group—they were just a little too much for me at 10:25 p.m. on a Thursday. Only when I heard the door open did I decide to finally get up.