Unplanned

2. Freedom

The rest of the week goes by smoothly and all of a sudden it's friday night again. I took the early shift this morning so that I could take my time to get ready for tonight. Lucky for me I'm home and showered by 4, and Kara and I luxuriously do our makeup and hair in our room. While our dorm doesn't have a shower, we do have a little bathroom with a sink and toilet, and we have managed to squeeze a small chest of drawers in there that held all of our beauty products.

I waited until Kara was doing her mascara before I casually mention the bosses son. "WHAT?!" her squeal distracts me and I have to wipe off some lipstick that has gone astray. "Yep. It seems that my lord of the magical head press is actually my bosses son".

She is looking at me like I've grown a third head and I have to laugh at the expression on her face. "Isn't he known as a massive player?" she asks me, turning back to the mirror and trying to fix the streak she now has beside her eye. Kara is next level drop dead gorgeous. Her blonde hair frames her tanned face and she is all toned limbs, coming from a lifetime of running track and playing basketball.

Shimmying into my dress is easier than usual and I notice that I seem to have lost some weight. Shit. "Yeah, but he did hold my head like, a freaking magician" I concede.

Now she laughs and shakes her head. "You know the rules", she points out, "You can't date members of the club". I hold up my eyeliner as if making a point "Technically, I don't think he's a member". I smirk and put on my shoes before checking myself out in the mirror.

Unlike Kara, I am petite, but lucked out with boobs, and a bit of a butt that hours of weightlifting and thousands of protein shakes helped to cultivate. I'm happy with my shape, and the dark red dress I chose to wear tonight emphasises my waist and compliments my tanned skin.

"What about Jake?" her voice is casual, but I know she's curious. Her parents have a firm rule in place that if she wants them to pay for her education, she isn't allowed to date. While I would appreciate rich folks who cover my life, I value my freedom more. "Jake was a... passing attraction that turned into a friend" I decide.

"But we'll see. Maybe gorgeous boy will be there tonight". Kara giggles and quickly puts her feet into her shoes. "Lets go!"

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The party is pumping by the time we arrive. As we pass through the front door a girl pushes between us with her hand over her mouth. I turn back and watch as she heads for what I now fondly refer to as my bushes.

"Seems we have some catching up to do" Kara yells in my ear. She points toward the fridge and I nod and head toward the lounge room. All the good parties have been happening at this frat house lately, so I really feel like I know my way around. And not just because of my shrub escapades.

I head to the space deemed the dancefloor and start to move in time to the music. This is the only time I don't need any substances to get me high. A tap on my shoulder reveals Rhys, one of the well known members of the frat, and one of my good friends.

He pulls me to him and we dance together for a little bit. "Where's your gorgeous roommate?" He asks in my ear. I laugh and put my hand against his chest "getting a drink" I respond.

Kara is back in minutes and hands me my drink. I'm already feeling buzzed just from moving my body. Rhys releases me from his loose hold and hands me my drink from Kara, before turning all his attention to her. I chuck back my drink, only gagging for a second before losing myself in the music again. I'm glad these parties give me a chance to drink. Being 20 sucks sometimes.

Kara and Rhys are dancing pretty provocatively and as I look around I notice more and more couples are starting to dance the same. This is my cue to exit. I head toward the kitchen area in hopes of finding another drink. I wave and smile to the people that I pass, recognising a lot of faces from the previous weeks party.

I walk to the kitchen and see the tub of ice and drinks, currently out of reach around the couple making out in front of it. "Excuse me" I mutter, awkwardly pushing past them. They don't even notice me and continue to grope at each other. I grab a bottle of hard ginger beer - one of my favourites - and then head back towards the living room to watch the dancers. As I sip on my drink, someone bumps into me and giggles.

"Thanks asshole" I call out to the girl who is leading a guy toward the dance floor. It's the couple from the kitchen, and as they dance she reaches and pulls him toward her, and they have a competition regarding who can swallow whose face first. I groan in disgust and look for Kara. I can see that she and Rhys have moved to one of the couches surrounding the dance floor, and are talking and laughing.

I tip back the rest of my drink and walk... ok stumble... outside. Unfortunately, no matter how much I tend to drink, I never get better at holding my liquor. Two drinks and I'm out, which is just how I like it. As I'm heading out the door a girl runs past me. Its face eating girl, and she is sobbing. Looks like it wasn't a match made in heaven with face eating boy.

I turn back and finally see him behind me. He looks really familiar, and if I wasn't feeling a little tipsy, I could get a better look. I squint and lean forward, putting my hand onto the door frame. Suddenly I'm falling. "Oh" I squeal, shutting my eyes and waiting for the impact. It never comes and I open up my eyes to a laughing Rhys and an exasperated Tara holding me up.

"Let's get you home". It's not a suggestion, and I am forcefully transplanted to Rhys's car, where I lie on the back seat, watching the lights go by and trying to stop the urge to vomit.

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Thankfully the next morning, I am not on the roster for work, and I can sleep off the well known hangover. Kara is gone, visiting her parents for the weekend in Colorado. Flying first class of course, because is there anything else? My only goal for the day is to get through a few of my readings, and keep any food that I eat, in my stomach.

I lie in bed scrolling on instagram for an hour or so after I wake up. There are lots of tagged photos from the party and I look through and untag any unflattering ones of myself. Suddenly my phone starts ringing. It's my mum. Great. I groan and swipe to pick up, putting it on speaker and getting dressed as I talk.

"Hi Mum"

"Good morning Alexis, are you out of bed yet?"

My eyes practically roll out of my head.

"Yep, I've been up for a while, doing some study"

"Good. Good. Did you go out last night"

Her voice is overly perky and I know she's digging. I pull on my shorts and do up the button. They're looser than usual. "Yeah just for a bit with Kara, but I was home pretty early". She doesn't have to know WHY I was home early.

Her voice switches to 'concerned mum' mode, and I hold back a sigh "And how has your eating been going?"

"I'm eating" Even I can tell I'm being short with her.

"Is your weight still good?"

"Look mum, I have to go do some study. I'll talk to you soon!" I don't give her a chance to respond before I hang up the phone and turn it off, just in case she tries to call again. Speaking of eating, I could really go for some fries. I throw on some sneakers, and after checking the weather (slightly cloudy) a cute lightweight sweater. I grab my keys and head out the door. 

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I always hate long author notes, so just a baby one for chapter 2. 

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