clique (clairo)

topher

sandy was even more attractive than i remembered. her hair was shy of reaching her shoulders and was a dark, dirty blonde. i grinned as i stared into her eyes. i owed madzy big time for this.

she drove to the bowling alley and parked semi decently. i paid for our shoe rentals and for two rounds.

sandy was horrible at bowling. after her third turn, i took the initiative to ask a worker to put up the rails so she would stop getting gutter balls.

by the end of the first round, i had bowled a 148 in between bites of popcorn while sandy bowled a 47.

it was endearing, in a way.

after we finished our rounds and left, she lamented and apologized for her subpar bowling skills.

"i think it's interesting," i replied, unsure of what to say.

"you know topher, you're kinda weird."

"huh?"

"you're like, really nice and not an asshole. and you're athletic?" explained sandy, keeping her focus on the road. we were en route to the italian place she told me she wanted to get dinner from.

"i don't play sports. i, uh, run sometimes though," i clarified.

"topher, baby, bowling is a sport. and i think you have a gift."

we arrived at the restaurant and i kept mostly silent which wasn't hard because she kept the conversation afloat through her own musings. in the ten minutes it took to get to our location, i had spoken only once.

"you should get the lasagna. the lasagna here is amazing," said sandy. we were now at the restaurant and perusing the menu since a waiter would be here soon to take our orders.

i ended up ordering spaghetti and meatballs with extra garlic bread while sandy opted for the four cheese ravioli since madzy apparently praised it.

"this ravioli is pretty good. i mean, i've never been a ravioli person but this is pretty fucking good," remarked sandy. my spaghetti was decent.

another attribute about sandy that displeased me was the way she sneaked food off of my plate. i had a small window of time to decide if that was a dealbreaker or not.

i settled in my dorm room by ten. as soon as i wanted to close my eyes and go to sleep, my phone began to ring. my dormmate ricky wasn't in the room so i had free range to do what i wanted. it was madzy calling.

"how did your date with sandy go?" she questioned instead of giving me a usual greeting.

"it wasn't bad."

"wasn't bad?"

"she ate some of my food without asking," i explained.

"it's not like she committed a war crime," retorted madzy.

girls don't understand this simple thing. if someone doesn't offer you food or have an advanced warning or notice that they will be giving up food, don't take it. it pained me to think that my own sister finds it okay to take food from her hypothetical dates.

madzy and i gently butted heads until i posed the question that had began to burn a hole in my mind.

"is sandy back at your dorm? did she hear anything i said?"

"no, i'm out with lulu."

"really? where?"

"um, i'm outside of this club. she's getting ready to leave but i couldn't stay inside any longer. it smells really weird," said madzy.

madzy was a bit introverted by nature so i couldn't envision her being inside of a seedy club, or even outside of one.

"are you at denver's? i can meet up with you and walk back with you."

"no-no. um, this is like really far from campus, lulu and i ubered."

i wanted any excuse to leave my dorm so i wouldn't have to ponder my feelings and thoughts about sandy. as much as i wanted to, i didn't really like her. in the way I should've at least. i had one date with her so i wasn't supposed to be in love with her, but i should've felt something. i should've felt butterflies in my stomach when i recounted the events of the night and a strange anticipation for something more. but i didn't. i only felt a strange relief that the date was over.

madzy and lulu were indeed at denver's. lulu was tall, towering over madzy and was nearly eye to eye with me. she was quite attractive and put together, as if she were a craft that the creator had set aside to perfect later.

the three of us walked back to our residence hall and i got a better look at her under the lighting of the lobby. she had soft yet striking facial features, that were neutral in expression but seemed to be hiding a playful secret.

we made our way to the elevator and madzy leaned her head on my shoulder, slumping a bit likely from being tired. we had made it up to madzy and lulu's floor and the two thanked me for walking back with them.

"you're a real lifesaver, topher," remarked lulu, waving me off. the elevator door seemed to close quicker than usual.

ricky had settled into bed and was gently snoring as i got back in. i took off my shoes, jeans and my windbreaker leaving me in my college's tee and briefs, and climbed into bed. i had a dreamless and restful sleep.

ricky, ben and i got along nicely to say we were randomly selected for each other, had only known each other for almost six weeks and had completely different majors and interests. ricky and i had the double room with two beds and a shared bathroom while ben had the single to himself. we shared a common area which connected our rooms.

the three of us started a pleasant sunday morning together eating pop tarts. they were my favorite flavor: blueberry.

"so, how was your date last night?" asked ricky, chewing with his mouth slightly open so the blue goo was broadcast to the whole room.

"it was okay."

"okay? sandy casteel is pretty fucking hot and it was just okay?" pressed ricky.

"she's horrible at bowling and she takes food without asking. she's nice though," i replied. i finished my packet and crumpled the shiny wrapper between my fingers in my left hand.

"she's like one of the baddest girls on campus. her, jojo and lulu are top tier," retorted ricky. ben remained silent but seemed to agree with ricky.

"i haven't seen jojo."

"she's in my beginner's russian class. her and madzy could totally get it," remarked ricky.

"madzy slocum?" i questioned, needing verification before i killed him.

"yeah. brown hair, nice ti-"

"that's my sister, you idiot," i interjected.

the decision on whether to kill ricky or not weighed in my head for what seemed like eternity but was less than five seconds.

"she's very lovely, but i think you're the cuter twin," backtracked ricky.

"yeah. you have this quality that I don't really get from her," chimed in ben.

after mulling it over, i decided not to kill ricky.