The Best Days

Chapter 9

I didn't quite understand what we had to get ready for exactly. We were just going to go to someone's house and watch the Homecoming game. I met up with the girls in our official hang out spot i.e. Haley's room (her roommate was never there). After quickly pulling on my orange and brown FSUSF shirt and a pair of denim Bermuda shorts, I tied my hair into a high pony tail and waited for the rest of them to finish getting ready.

I could feel Erika eyeing me disdainfully from the side but I was still convinced she was doing too much with her maxi skirt and tube top. Even my Kendra, who I thought would have my back, was putting on more makeup than normal. Even still she was still slightly more casually dressed than Haley in her designer ripped jeans and effortless but-not-really off the shoulder top.

They were taking too long so I painted my toes.

By the time we made it to Ryan's apartment off campus (we'd had to walk there since the shuttles didn't run on the weekends) the first half was already over. It seemed like I was the only person who cared, though. Luckily, we were up by six so it didn't really matter.

The girls had been excited to go to the get together when I told them about it. I know they'd been as stressed as I was about midterms. I guess the mention of boys didn't hurt either. However once we got inside Ryan's apartment things quickly took a turn for the worse.

To say that the mood was awkward and uncomfortable would have been an understatement. It was downright excruciating.

Ryan had let us in with a warm welcome giving us all the accustomed college round of hugs. But when we got into the living room we were greeted, more like accosted, with dirty looks by the other attendees.

"You know Keisha, right? I think ya'll both from the Keys." Ryan asked expectantly looking from Erika to Keisha like a hopeful puppy.

I almost laughed. But I quickly thought better of it. Erika did not look amused. Ryan must not have gotten wind of the mutual enmity between the two.

When neither girl said anything, choosing rather to ignore Ryan's question, he moved on to introducing us to the other people in the room. There were two girls who obviously came with Keisha.

A blond girl named Amanda who I already knew from my Composition class. She'd been there the day when I'd met with Professor Levy. Thinking about him still made me blush. I gave her a small wave not wanting to be seen by Erika fraternizing with the enemy.

The other girl was introduced as Taylor, Tay for short. She was a chubbier girl with brown skin and hazel eyes. Her hair was relaxed and cut short just below her chin. She reminded me of one of those Tarsier monkeys with the big eyes. But, like, cuter and more human.

Personally, other than a few questionable outfit choices the girls, Keisha included, didn't seem all that bad. But then again Erika couldn't possibly hate them for no reason could she?

I mean, could she?

Other than my friends everyone else in the room was male. There was Gavin, Ryan, Gavin's cousin Patrick, JT, who was also on the flag football team, and two other guys I'd seen before but had never spoken to. I think the short and skinny one was Ryan's roommate Nate. I politely did 'the nod' to them.

We stood there awkwardly for a few moments at the entrance to the living room before Ryan got a clue and ushered us to some seats.

"My boy Jeremy's starting today. He's the quarterback. You know him, right, Jenny?" Gavin asked me as I settled into a seat near him.