The Collegiate Chronicles

Chapter 1

The summer break after senior year flew by so fast. I remember Georgy and I watching The Incredibles 2 that night after graduation (well, Georgy was having sex with Devonte Kelly in the theater bathroom, but I genuinely watched it). Next thing you know, I blinked, and it was July. While the "In My Feelings" Challenge had been done to death by all my friends, I was picking out the decor I wanted for my dorm at Richmond University in Virginia.

The day of the Freshman orientation was crazy! I had never seen so many people gathered in one place before. There were no expectations. I knew better than to let movies or tv shows that depicted the college experience convince me that this was what life after high school was like, but it was the first time I had felt hopeful. Freshman year was my chance for a fresh start. I could do whatever and be whomever I wanted to now. Gone were the days of being Landon Baxter: the goody two shoes gay guy. At least, they could be gone if I chose for them to be.

A raffle for the most spacious Freshman dorm room in the Dudley Building (dubbed Newbie Building) took place during the orientation. By some miracle, I managed to win the room! I could've had it all to myself, but what fun would that be? Georgy Smith, my wild ass best friend, was immediately chosen to bunk with me. Georgy let me know that with the best room in the building, our responsibility for throwing the best parties was a given. I quickly regretted winning the raffle, but I digress. July came and went, as did the first three weeks of August. Next thing you know, classes started.

The first week was pretty formulaic. I had classes all over campus, so my cardiovascular workout became a permanent part of my daily routine. I had met some pretty cool people and was so glad to have discovered that I wasn't the only one who didn't know what the hell to pick as a major. I still didn't have to until my third year, and honestly needed all the time to do so. I was infamous for not knowing what the hell I wanted.

Classes were basic. You had English101, Math143, SCI101, blah, blah, blah. The introductory courses were pretty massive in size except for math. Our class size was around 15, and two people, in particular, annoyed the fuck out of me: Ricky Robinson and his professional balls gargler Deion Hillard.

I've been out for as long as I can remember, so I have never made an effort to hide being gay. I admittedly strut when I walk sometimes, and my voice is far from deep (because idiots still correlate high pitched voices with gay men for whatever reason), so I became the source of Ricky's homophobic jokes that Deion would laugh at on cue. The professor made a half-assed attempt at stopping Ricky, and the rest of the class said nothing. It was a little disheartening since I was blessed enough not to be often harassed in high school. So much for college meaning maturity. Thankfully, my keen sense of self and lessons on self-confidence (thanks mom and dad!) kept me from letting the insults get to me. However, the class was three days a week, and my patience was already wearing thin after one week.

Now, the course that caught my attention was Intro to University 101, and it wasn't so much the class as it was the guy in it. Sexy didn't even begin to describe him. Beautiful soul-piercing brown eyes, and full lips, he also had black curly hair and the smoothest looking caramel colored skin tone ever. The few times he spoke, I melted. Unfortunately, I didn't know his name due to the large class size, and we took attendance via clickers. Lord knows my ass didn't have the guts to talk to him. Not to mention that it's not entirely realistic for a gay guy to go and make straight male friends. We were in two separate lanes, and I knew better than to risk crossing over into his.

So, that was the first week of school. Saturday came around, and I caught up with my friends who attended other colleges while FaceTiming my parents before dinner on Sunday. It was an easy enough week, and I expected week two of the fall semester to be more of the same. How naive of me.