The Physics of Falling: Study Buddies #1

Chapter Five

Karen came around to each room that night to announce a hallway meeting. "We're going to discuss the dorm rules. It's a mandatory meeting, but I'll keep it short. And you can come in your PJ's!" Karen was so peppy you could appropriately punctuate most of what she said with an exclamation mark.

All of the girls at their end of the second floor piled into the hallway and sprawled out on the floor. Sidney and Shayna took a cue from them and sat down, too. Many of the girls here were sophomores, and some were juniors. They knew what to expect, and judging by the pillows that some girls brought, Karen was not good at "keeping it short."

"Okay, ladies. Let's get started. Normally I do this on our first night, but seeing as how most of my sophomores and fellow juniors don't even show up until the first day of class, I thought I'd save the lecture for tonight."

"We only get here late because we think we'll get to skip the hallway orientation." Several girls snickered.

Karen glared down the hall at the snarky brunette who had spoken. "Please save comments for after the orientation, Jennifer."

Karen recovered her chipper attitude with ease and continued. "Let's begin with visitor rules. Last year that seemed to be a big issue. We all know that guys are not allowed on the floor after midnight on week days. And if you have a visitor on the weekends, you have to check him in at the front desk, first."

"And if there's a sock on the door knob..."

"Thank you, Jennifer. And if you're engaging in intimate activities, you might want to have a system to warn your roommate. It's only polite."

The girls erupted in laughter and Karen's cheeks heated. "If your visitor needs to go anywhere, you have to escort him. This is not a coed floor. Guys can't walk around by themselves. So you can't get into a fight with your guy and just kick him out of your room." Karen looked pointedly at Jennifer. "You have to actually escort them out of the building, or to their floor if they are Forney Residents."

"What if your visitor is a girl?"

"Will you be entertaining female guests, Jennifer?"

"Well, I think Adam completely put me off on guys, so..." Several of the girls in the hall burst into laughter.

"It's a girl's floor. Girls don't need an escort."

"So they can spend the night on weekdays, too?"

Karen looked stumped. "Well, no. Technically overnight guests have to check in, and we only have check-in on weekends."

"What if it's a girl who already lives in the building? She wouldn't need to check in."

"Jesus Christ, Jennifer! If you're roommate doesn't complain, it's not like I'm ever going to know. Let's move on."

It was clear that poor Karen wasn't to blame when it came to lengthy hallway meetings. The older girls seemed to live to heckle her. Each presentation of the rules was dragged out by one of the veteran dorm inhabitants until Karen lost her cool and let her bubbly visage slip.

Hadley Harrison almost made Karen scream after a lengthy discussion of fire drill protocol, and suddenly the meeting was over.

"Okay! So, if you have any questions, just consult the university policy handbook. Each of you has one in your room somewhere. I'm going to bed." Karen stood up abruptly, adjusting her beauty queen smile before bidding them all good night.

As the girls stood up to follow suit, Sidney was surprised to observe that they were disappointed. "Man, Karen is getting easier to crack. That girl used to have nerves of steel, like some freaky perky robot. It's just no fun anymore."

"It's the stress of junior year. It's making us all crack."

"We should take her out this weekend. Poor thing. Already fraying at the edges, and it's only the first week. It's all these new freshmen. They'd make me want to pull my hair out, too. I don't know how Karen does it."

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The girls on their floor turned out to be really nice. Shayna and Sidney went from door to door the next evening to introduce themselves. All of the second and third year students invited them into their rooms and doled out heaps of advice on classes, professors, clubs, and even the best times to hit up the cafeteria. 

Hadley Harrison and her roommate, Angela Moore, were especially helpful to Sidney. They were both biology majors in their junior year. Sidney showed them her schedule and they were stunned. "Geez, Sidney, most students don't reach organic chemistry until they've had a full year of general chemistry and biology. Did you take AP classes?"

"Yeah, my whole senior year of high school was AP and college credit classes. It was brutal, but it will be worth it in the end to graduate college early."

Hadley nodded. "I guess you're used to it, but this really is a break neck pace you've signed up for. It won't kill you to slow down and take just enough classes to be full time, but it might kill you to try and keep up with all those hours a week."

Angela laughed, "Don't listen to her, Sidney. I think graduating early is an awesome idea. Your schedule does look harsh, but it's doable. Personally, I wouldn't want to take both algebra and trig in the same semester, but at least you have Dr. Sheffield. He lets you retake tests for a higher grade if you're willing to come in at 7AM to sit for an exam that's twice the length of the original. It's a special kind of torture, but it's saved my GPA on several occasions.

Shayna shook her head in bewilderment. "Two math courses and then she's got English, Ecology, Health, and Organic Chemistry, whatever that is!"

Was her roomie actually bragging on her? Sidney grinned. "You'll have the dorm room to yourself. I'll be living in the library."

"I'll be right there with you. If I don't keep my grades up, I'll lose my place on the track team."

Conversation turned to sports, the new hot track coach and which guys on the cross country team were sexy. Sidney soon lost interest. She didn't really care who was hot or not. Her only experience with dating had been an awkward group trip to the bowling alley in which her date had gotten sick on pizza and soda and thrown up in the parking lot. Of course, they were only 12 years old, so she shouldn't have expected much. That had been the last year she lived with her grandmother, before all the foster homes and before the nightmares.

"What about you Sidney? Are you involved in any sports?" Angela asked.

"No, but I've always wanted to take up running. I might join Shayna on her evening workouts. I have to keep a food and exercise log for health class and my current regimen is pretty much limited to taking the stairs to the fourth  floor chemistry department each day." As Dr. Crick had promised, the elevator was out of order already.

"Cool. You have to do something to keep the freshmen-fifteen off. Of course you're a skinny mini, so maybe you won't gain anything. I got really fat my freshmen year. I still have to drop a few pounds." Hadley patted her trim thighs as though there was actually something there to lose and Angela rolled her eyes.

Sidney didn't plan on running to keep trim. She just thought it was a good way to keep her stress levels down. Keeping her anxiety in check was a typical challenge, but adding college life and tough classes into the mix made the whole situation daunting.

Sidney knew she would be fine as long as she threw herself into her work. If that meant only leaving her dorm for classes, food, and bathroom breaks, then so be it. She had never had a social life before, so it was no big sacrifice.

Thinking about all the work and challenges facing her this semester actually made her feel giddy. She could do this.