Weekend Friend

15.

GAMEDAYS AT CLAREMONT University are not for the faint of heart. Sure, watching a competitive D1 football team play in one of the most aesthetically pleasing stadiums in the country is exciting, but it's hardly the main event. At least for non-football obsessed individuals like myself and countless other students.

What really makes Gamedays at Claremont so gruelling yet simultaneously iconic is tailgating. Most students start drinking well before noon, and the bars around campus modify their opening hours to accommodate the crowds. Campus becomes a sea of purple and gold, with students and proud alumni who bring their portable grills, young kids wearing 'Future Husky' t-shirts, and lots and lots of booze.

I'd missed the home opener against the University of Colorado while I was in California, but I don't feel left out. In fact, I'm genuinely relieved to have avoided the chaos associated with that game. Big crowds full of drunk people aren't compatible with my anxiety, and drinking to cope with that anxiety isn't healthy.

But even though today is just a regular game against Oregon State, some enthusiastic students will arrive at the stadium hours before kickoff to secure coveted spots in the first few rows of the student section, bringing glittery posters and megaphones with them. Those are the people you'll see on all of the glossy university brochures, smiling and invested in school pride. Parker and I aren't those people. We'll never be early birds.

Instead, we take our time getting glammed up at our apartment and take Bear out for a walk before meeting up with Corinne and Elsa in the backyard of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity to pre-game. Due to some long-standing rule, only fraternities are allowed to host parties, which means us girls have to fraternise with them on gamedays.

But after drinking enough canned G&Ts to sedate a small animal, we make our way into the stadium, filing into the upper rows of the student section. I try to give the game my full attention, but football always seems to look like a group of fit guys in pads standing around and occasionally tackling each other. Corinne's insightful remarks on strategy prevent me from feeling completely lost, but she gave up on trying to make me a student of the game two years ago.

The Huskies end up winning by a touchdown, and I practically drag us out of the stadium the second the clock runs out. There's no way I'm getting caught up in the absolute mosh pit that's about to form around the exits, and I know Parker feels the same because she's right alongside me as we march out of the stadium and start jetting down the sidewalk.

"I am once again asking for you both to stop walking too damn fast," Elsa calls out from behind us, doing her best Bernie Sanders impression.

"I second that motion," Corinne chimes in, and lifts up one of her left foot. "I'm still trying to break in my new Pumas."

"If we don't get to the Purple Dog in the next fifteen minutes, there's going to be a massive line and entry fee," Parker says before gesturing up at the sky. "And do you see those dark clouds? It's about to pour, and I spent way too long on my hair just to have it ruined by the elements."

As I stare up at the dark clouds brewing overhead, I'm struck by just how heavy the various puffs look. It's as if rain is their burden to bear. I'm still gazing at the clouds when the tip of my shoe hits a raised crack in the pavement, causing me to stumble forward, off balance.

"Whoa," I gasp, my vision blurring as I fight gravity. Thankfully, my hand finds Parker's arm, preventing me from face-planting.

"Jesus, Jensen!" Parker yelps and steadies me with both hands.

I exhale a breath. "That could've been bad."

"Very," Parker states, her feet firmly planted on the ground. Even though she's almost a whole head shorter than me, she's far stronger. All of the time she's spent training in the weight room has paid off.