Chapter 6
Rafe
After another day, the fog of jetlag was beginning to lift. No longer did Rafe wake up in the middle of the night full of energy. That was one problem down. And the campus café had a decent selection of breakfast foods and sandwiches. Rafe could live off of sandwiches for a few months. He had walked into town, but the only place that sold food was a dingy corner store where expiration dates only seemed to be asuggestion.
Rafe had to remember the study part of studying abroad. He wasn’t just in England to legally drink in bars. He had to go to class, too. He had signed up for a quartet of courses on sedimentology, medieval history, physics, andShakespeare.
The sedimentology and physics courses didn’t seem like they would be as rigorous as the comparable courses Rafe took back at Browerton, which he didn’t mind. He didn’t want to spend his entire semester abroad in alibrary.
He was a geology major and had his sights set on getting into BISHoP, the Browerton Integrated Sciences Honors Program. It was a competitive two-year program starting junior year that provided research funding and specialized classes. BISHoP was one of the big reasons Rafe applied to Browerton. Part of the reason he was studying abroad as a sophomore was because as a requirement of the program, he had to be on campus for his final twoyears.
Today was his Shakespeare course, which he was most excited for. What better place to study thebard?
He took a seat in the middle of the room. He soaked in the accents. That aside, it wasn’t much different than a class back home at Browerton. Notebooks, chatter,desks.
“Y’alright?” The lecturer, a woman with short hair and wearing a pantsuit, asked the classroom. “Welcome back touni.”
She had everyone go around the class and state their name and where they were from. Most kids were from somewhere in England, usually London or just outside. Rafe was looking forward to it being his turn. For the first time, he had a differentstory.
“I’m Rafe. I’m studying abroad at Stroude this semester. I’m originally from America. Virginia specifically, right outside Washington D.C. I’m excited to study Shakespeare. I loveEmpire. It’s this show that’sKing Learset in the rapworld.”
“We haveEmpirehere, too,” said a cute Indian classmate in the front row. Rafe instantly noticed his bright brown eyes hidden behind thick glasses. The rest of the class laughed. Rafe could’ve sworn the guy’s eyes stayed on him for an extrasecond.
And he wasn’t the only one. Two other gay guys in class (Rafe’s gaydar wasn’t completely off) checked him out. Rafe smiled to himself about the attention. It wasn’t something he was used to at Browerton. He remembered classes at home when there’d be a foreign student. No matter where he or she was from, the student always came off as exotic. It made them interesting. Maybe, just maybe, Rafe’s American accent was as attractive to these guys as their British accents were tohim.
For the first day of class, the lecturer went over the list of titles they would be reading. Rafe’s focus, though, pinballed between the three guys in his class who had checked him out. Perhaps he would be lucky to hook up with one of them. Or all of them. At the same time. That was what Operation: Slut was allabout.
When class was over, Rafe did a hair check to ensure his curls weren’t out of control. He walked over to Arjun, the cute Indian classmate, who was typing out atext.
“What’s done is done,” Rafesaid.
“Excuse me?” Arjunasked.
“That’s the only line I remember fromMacbeth. That and ‘out, out brief candle,’ or something likethat.”
“That’s more thanme.”
“I saw thatTwelfth Nightis on the list. There’s this Amanda Bynes movieShe’s the Manwhich is a modern-day retelling of it. So in case you fall behind, just watchit.”
“Thanks.”
“It’s a classic. Kind of a classic. I’m really happy that she’s getting her life back on track. It’s on Netflix. Maybe, you know, we could watch it sometime.” Rafe resisted using the term “Netflix andChill.”
“Thanks, mate. I’ll have to check it out.” Arjun held up his phone. “I have to go meet my boyfriend. See youaround.”
Arjun left. Rafe tapped his fingers on his desk. He wished his gaydar came withsingledar.
* * *
On his fifthday in a new land, Rafe called his parents to check in. He gave them the rundown of his classes and dorm. He told them about going to pubs with his new friends and made sure to point out that this was a normal part of British social life, like happyhour.
“Rafe, we’re glad you’re having a good time, but we’re a little concerned,” his dad said. “You’ve been going through your money at a fast clip. I see on your credit card all these charges to a campuscafé.”
“Oh.” He sat down on a bench just outside the café, feeling extra busted. Since his dad paid his credit card bills, he had access to Rafe’s account, which Rafe never had a problem with until now, when he had something tohide.
“That’s a lot of eating out. With the exchange rate, that’s almost forty dollars aday.”
“Is there a reason you’re not eating at the dining hall?” his momasked.
