Second Lanark

Night Out - Part 2

There were girls everywhere in our room, and I was having trouble keeping names straight. My roommate had made our room the drinking hub for our floor, and everyone had migrated to us after getting ready.

I took another sip of my cooler and tried not to make a face at the taste. I wasn't much of a drinker, but I wasn't going to let that stop me from getting my money's worth tonight. I was on a budget now, and if I was using my limited money on alcohol, I was damn well going to drink it.

Thankfully, I'd had a chance to stuff the last of my things under the bed in a tote my parents had left behind for extra storage. Outside of our room was a huge common area with a few chairs and all the boys were out there, laughing and telling, from what I could hear, a series of increasingly disgusting jokes.

"Where are you from again?"

I swallowed another sip of my drink and turned to the girl next to me. She was in the room next to mine, and we'd be sharing a bathroom for the rest of the year. I thought her name was Lark. She seemed nice so far; outgoing, a little loud, and I wondered how much we'd have in common.

"A small town, about seven hours south of here." I took a bigger drink, and then asked, "How about you?"

"Northern British Columbia. Small town." She grinned and flicked her long, dark brown hair over her shoulders with one hand. Her face was freckled lightly across her nose and cheeks and her blue eyes had a greyish cast to them. "Like two thousand people."

I laughed. "I can't believe you're from a place even smaller than me." I took another drink; the warmth of the alcohol was loosening me up a little. "Are you homesick yet?"

I remembered watching my own parents descending back down the stairs earlier today, and there was a pang, deep in my stomach. This wasn't like summer camp; this was my real life now.

Lark shrugged and took a swig of her own drink. "A little. I've been here a few days though. I've got a job on Parliament Hill."

I gaped at her. "Really? That sounds amazing. What are you doing?"

"I'm a Senate Page. I had to come early to do a bilingual test and fill in some other paperwork. Learn the ropes of the job." She leaned in close to me. "Have you seen some of the boys on this floor?"

I turned to look over my shoulder and out the door. Patricia had taken me around to a few of the rooms, but I certainly hadn't met everyone.

"Why? Who looks good?" I asked.

"There are two guys from England at the end of the hall." She pretended to swoon, her blue eyes fluttering. "Their accents alone are enough to get a peek in my pants."

I laughed, not sure if she was joking or not, and I took a bigger drink of my cooler. It was starting to taste a bit better, and I held it back a little from my face to try to read the label.

"You don't have a boyfriend, I guess?" I asked.

Lark shifted a little beside me and chugged her cooler in big, impressive gulps. She held the empty bottle between her index and thumb and swung it idly back and forth.

"I do have a boyfriend. I love Cal a lot. He's back home," she said.

There was something about the way she said it, an edge like it was a sore subject or she was defensive about him or the relationship, and I decided to let it drop. I wasn't drunk enough to pursue a conversation beyond the comfort zone yet.

"My boyfriend and I broke up over the summer. I don't know; we were always better friends than anything. Small towns, you know?" I asked, hoping she did know. "I'm not really interested in starting up another relationship with anyone at this point."

I took another swig of my drink and when my eyes caught Patricia's from across the room, we both raised our bottles in a mock cheers. I really needed to stop seeing meat patties every time I looked at her.

"Your roommate seems nice?" I asked Lark.

She rolled her eyes. "Jill? I guess. I don't think we have much in common. I have no idea how the university decides these things. Not much choice but to stick it out."

I looked across the room to the girl with long, wavy, dark brown hair and a heart shaped face framed by bangs who was loudly chatting with someone about how great it was that university was so different from high school. I'd only spoken to her briefly so far, and she'd seemed nice, if a bit fake. It was hard to get a read on so many people so quickly, so I kept reminding myself not to judge too much. I knew I was trying to figure out where I fit and with whom, and I could only imagine that everyone else was doing the same.

A dark haired and dark eyed boy popped his head into the room. Was it Toby? There were so many names to remember today.

"Are we going to Oliver's? Walking over?" He scanned the room for someone who looked like they were in charge, and his eyes landed on Patricia. "You girls almost ready?"

It was the start of Frosh Week, and there was a Much Music dance party at the campus pub. We'd all agreed to give it shot, but not all of us were of age yet. As people had come into the dorm room, those with fake IDs they no longer needed had put them on the desk and the rest of us, who weren't old enough yet, had scanned through them for a picture that was a close match. Patricia, for some reason, had multiple fake IDs, even though her dad was a cop. We both had blondish coloured hair and similar face shapes. I was hoping that with the darkness of the pub, the bouncer wouldn't notice.

Patricia drained her drink and looked around the room. "All right ladies. Let's do this." She pulled out her purse, put money, ID and our dorm key into her pocket and started walking to the door. As she got to me, she slung an arm across my shoulders, "You ready, roomie?"

I tipped up my bottle and finished the last of it. I turned to Lark and grinned. She slung her arm around my waist, and the three of us teetered out of the room. In the main foyer, the boys were clearly looking us all over. Then, we were heading down the dorm stairs in a rush of drunken ramblings.

Author's Note:

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