Eleanor and Park The Sequel: Don't Pass Me By

Chapter 3

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            So far, so good.  Park thought.  His roommate, Alex, had been inside when he arrived with his parents.

            “Alexander, but my friends call me Alex, nice to meet you.  I haven’t chosen a bed yet, so it’s your pick, bro.  Hope you’re ok with the, uh, art”, he had gestured to the wall of Pixies posters above the desks.  Park had just grinned and shaken his hand.

            “Hey, Alex.  I’m Park Sheridan.  These are my parents.  They’re leaving soon”, and raised his eyebrows to his mom and dad.  In the presence of a stranger, and the hustle and bustle of the hallway, Park’s mom hadn’t even cried. 

They left without a hitch, and Park and Alex began discussing the pros and cons of The Ramones vs. Nine Inch Nails.  Park found out quickly that Alex was from Detroit, though his parents were from Puerto Rico, that he was on scholarship, loved punk music, and also had to walk down to the SUB to find out about his meal card.  Park quickly threw his clothes in the closet, and they got ready to go out together.

As they walked past a pay phone in the lobby, Park halted.  “Shoot, Alex, give me five minutes and I’ll be right out.  I have to, uh, make a call”, he said sheepishly. 

“No problem, bro, the SUB doesn’t close until four”, Alex smiled.  He zipped up his hoodie and sat down on the front steps of the dorm. 

Park rushed back in to the phones, noticing that it was 3:15.  He had told Jen that he would call her as soon as he arrived, but had completely blanked.  He found a quarter in his pocket for the phone, making a mental note to find out if they had phone access in their room or on their floor.  Jen answered after the first ring.

“Hey babe!” she said perkily.  That was the best word to describe Jen: perky.  It had been her perkiness that had attracted to him in the first place in senior calculus.  He had finally given up on pretending he was into Cat, and along came Jen.  She was only a junior, and yet knew more than the rest of the class.  Park, himself, had been failing calculus, and probably would have completely flunked if she hadn’t started tutoring him.  Her overly friendly ways had been off-putting to him at first.  She was just too much.  But it was nice, for a change, not to wonder if a girl liked him or not.  When it turned out she, against all odds, as a bubbly, blond member of the cheer team, played bass guitar in an all-girl band called The Dolls, he was sold.  They had dated on and off throughout his senior year, and when he was accepted to North she had seemed genuinely happy for him, although she was still back at home.

He considered her cheerful, drama-free demeanor with gratitude as they chatted.  He told her about the drive out, his roommate, and told her he would call her again when he found out about phones.

            “Bye, sweetheart”, she purred.  “Go find a frat party or something”.  They both giggled at the absurdity of that scenario, and hung up the phone.

            Park glanced at the clock again on his way out.  3:27.  Alex was waiting outside.  They headed towards central campus, Alex pointing the way to the SUB on the other side of ‘The Commons’, the green space in the centre where students were lounging, playing Frisbee and pretty much looking like every college movie Park had ever seen.