Framed

Chapter 6

Two and a half hours, the rest of the campus tour, and an English and math placement test later, Gemma and I found ourselves sitting in what we were told was known as "The Quad". Despite the fact that the calendars said summer wouldn't officially be arriving for another month and a half, the air was thick with heat and, in true Georgia fashion, laden with moisture. Taking in a decent breath had become a feat. I glanced down at the salad I had purchased for lunch only 10 minutes before, wilting and untouched on the plate. 

"Good gosh, this heat is ridiculous." Gemma complained as she massaged the tanning lotion she'd pulled from her purse onto her arms and exposed chest.

"You're making the most of it, though."

"Yeah, well, always gotta find that silver lining, eh?" She asked with a laugh. "So, what's on the rest of the agenda for today? I'm hoping it'll be over soon. I wanna be checked into the hotel by the time Hollywood: Revealed comes on at 7." 

"You would." I responded, rolling my eyes as I fished the itinerary from the bag Kale had given us earlier. Once I found it, my eyes scanned the page. "Let's see... 1:00-1:30 Lunch, 1:45-4:00 Adviser and Mentor Meetings, 4:00-4:30 Bookstore Tour- Optional." 

"Optional? What does that mean?"

"It means it's not required." 

"I get that Trinity." Gemma scoffed. "I meant what does it mean in this context?"

"I guess it means we can leave after our adviser meetings if we want. After the bookstore, there's nothing else listed until the Freshman Welcome Breakfast tomorrow morning at 9:00." 

"Bomb. I say let's ditch. You've been in enough bookstores in your life to figure out how it works, right?" 

"I guess." Sighing, I agreed despite the fact that seeing the bookstore was the event I had been looking forward to the most since receiving the schedule. 

"What time is it?" Gemma asked, reaching for her phone. "1:30. Guess we'd better get moving, huh?"

"Yeah. I think the advising building is...Right over..." I craned my neck, scanning the sides of each building in an attempt to find where we would be heading. 

"There." Gemma said, nodding towards the building located directly in front of us. "That's where everyone else is headed, anyway." Nodding, I threw the bag over my shoulder, picked up my plate, and waited for Gemma to join me. After allowing herself thirty more seconds of sun time, she sighed before standing to join me. I tossed my uneaten lunch in a trashcan positioned next to the door of the advising building.

"Not hungry this afternoon?" I jumped as a familiar voice rang in my ear. 

"Oh God, not you again." Gemma moaned. In that moment, I knew exactly who had spoken. 

"Kale, is it?" I asked, turning only to find myself face-to-face with our facetious, rude, arrogant, if not the slightest bit handsome tour guide. 

"That's what I've been told." He retorted, a sly smile making its way across his lips. "Though, I must say, I do find it quite rude that in all this time, you've failed to introduce yourself to me." 

"Rude? You find her rude?" Gemma interjected, folding her arms across her chest. 

"Yes, actually. I do. Is there a problem with that?" Before Gemma had the chance to respond, I had hooked my arm through hers and was dragging her into the building. The last thing we needed was to be kicked out of orientation for instigating an altercation with a guide. 

"Trinity! Trinity, stop!" Gemma protested, yanking her arm free of my grasp. "What the hell was that? Are you just gonna let him talk to you that way?"

"Yeah, Gem. I am." I responded before turning and making my way towards the already half-full waiting area. 

"You can't be serious." She scoffed. The flap-flap-flap of her flip-flops slapping against her heels echoed off the concrete walls as she hurried to catch up to me. 

"I am serious. Why? Because he's not important. You know what is important? Making sure I get into the classes I need for first semester." Gemma's mouth fell open as she stopped in her tracks.

"Trinity. Are you seriously telling me that you think getting into Calculus Level 5,003 is more important than demanding the respect you deserve?" 

"Yeah, I am." I responded pointedly, lowering myself into one of the black plastic chairs. After several silent moments, Gemma sat in the vacant seat to my right. 

The chatter filling the space around us made the air buzz. I could hear snippets of various conversations. Although my mother had raised me to believe that eavesdropping was something of a sin, I had always been fascinated with other people and their lives. It was something I couldn't stop myself from doing. Eavesdropping was like reading a good book. I became engrossed in whomever I was listening to- silently laughing when they laughed, crying when they cried, and rejoicing when they rejoiced. And, over the years, I'd managed to learn plenty of valuable information from doing it. After all, who was I? Even when people did notice me, it wasn't as if they gave me a second thought. Being a wallflower has its perks, and the ability to feast on the lives of others was my favorite one. 

Listening to the families and friends seated in the waiting area around us, I gathered tidbits of information about the people I would soon be sharing classes and dorms with. I learned that Mr. Argyle Sweater in 90 Degree Heat, who was situated across from me, wasn't pleased with his math placement test scores. I learned that Nicholas-with-the-black-boating-shoes, situated to my left, wished the process would speed up because of the enema he had ingested at lunch. And, I learned that Tanya-in-the-stilettos, standing diagonally from where Gemma and I were seated, was just happy her chlamydia test had come back negative. 

"Trin?" Gemma's voice drew my attention from Mr. Argyle, Nicholas, and Tanya. 

"Yeah Gem?"

"What'd you think of Nathan?" My eyebrows furrowed as I wracked my brain.

"Nathan? Who is Nathan?" 

"You know, the guy from the name tag table." Images of our earlier activities sped through my mind as I attempted to recall precisely who Gemma was asking me about. A vague image of a thin guy in a black shirt began to form. 

"Oh, Nathan? With the black Vermillion shirt? I mean...He's okay I suppose. Why do you ask?" 

"N-no reason." Gemma stuttered, lowering her chin to her chest in an attempt to hide the smile I knew would be creeping across her face. Her round, doe-like eyes turned upward, and I followed her gaze to the wall to our far right. Sure enough, there stood Nathan in all of his lanky, mild acne spotted, science geek glory. 

"Oh you can't be serious Gem!"

"Well why not?" She spat, her voice having risen two octaves.

"Because he's not your type! In all our years as friends, I've never seen you go for anything less than a Channing Tatum knockoff." 

"Yeah, well..." With a shrug, Gemma seemed to dismiss the topic. Before I could probe the situation further, the bag at my feet began to tremble. The sound my phone made as it vibrated across the building's tiled floor was amplified by the whitewashed concrete walls surrounding us, and everyone in the immediate area turned to stare. 

"Sorry." I muttered, leaning down to silence the call. Glancing at the phone as I pulled it from the bag, I realized the name flashing across the screen read, 'Justin'. Rolling my eyes, I ran my thumb along the flashing red 'X' button.

"Justin? Again? How many times has he called now?" Gemma asked.

"Six since this morning. I told him not to. Jesus, he just won't quit."

"I told you, girl. Norman. Friggen'. Bates."