“Have you eaten? I’m about to head down to the food hall. Did you wanna come with?”
I blow out an embarrassed breath. “That’s another thing I need to get tomorrow. I haven’t received my meal card yet.”
“They’re so unprepared this semester,” Gracie chimes.
“Yeah. Tell me about it. You go ahead. I brought ramen from home.”
“Come. I’ll cover you.”
I shake my head, sensing I’ll be doing a lot of that where she is concerned. “Gracie, really. I’m f—”
“Are you really going to make me eat alone? What a way to start off this budding friendship,” she teases. “Really. It’s not a big deal.”
“Fine. But tomorrow’s dinner is on me.”
She laughs while slipping on a pair of low-top sneakers. “Deal. Now let’s go, I’m starving for some tacos. They aren’t nearly as good as my abuela’s, but they aren’t bad.”
When we get to the dining area, my eyes roam over the room. Students are everywhere, most of them seated at tables or walking through the aisles with their trays full of food.
“Come on.” Gracie tugs at my arm.
I follow her lead, weaving through the crowd while staring at the walls. Everything about this place screams rich, from the marble floors to the flat-screen televisions mounted high above our heads. The chandeliers hanging from the ceiling look like they cost more than a person’s entire life savings. Not that I have a life savings, but that’s beside the point.
This doesn’t even feel like a college cafeteria. There’s no long line leading up to a buffet-style counter. No lunch ladies serving mystery meat on plastic trays.
This feels more like something straight out of a movie. Like those private schools for kids whose parents have too much money and not enough time. It’s set up like a mall food court, complete with different options of cuisine and beverage stations. You could probably find anything you want here. Hell, you might even be able to order a steak if you ask the right person.
“It’s crazy, huh?” Gracie says after clearing her throat to break my trance. “I know how overwhelming SKU can be, especially when you first get here.”
“Yeah,” I say breathlessly. “This isn’t what I’m used to.”
“Where did you transfer from?”
“The junior college.” I let out a puff of air. “It was nothing like this, that’s for sure.”
Gracie moves to the front of a taco station that has an assortment of options to choose from.
“Three steak tacos, please. Lots of onions and cilantro,” she tells the guy behind the counter.
He nods; then he looks over at me with his eyebrows raised.
“Can I do the same?”
“Sure thing.” He flashes me a smile.
A few seconds later, he hands us two plates. These aren’t those cheap paper ones that most schools use. They’re real and have gold edges. After grabbing drinks and checking out, we make our way to an empty table.
We sit in comfortable silence while we eat, only speaking when one of us wants to know more about the other. The conversation is easy now, no longer awkward like it was earlier. I find myself relaxing around her—and if I’m honest, that’s a little weird for me. I guess that’s what happens when you make a new friend. You become vulnerable.
“This is your third year, and your sanity still seems to be intact. So tell me, how does one survive here?”
She doesn’t speak right away. I notice her eyes are darting between me and whatever—or whoever—is behind me. I turn to see Everest and the guys he was with earlier.
My heartbeat picks up against my will at the sight of them. There are different girls with them this time, and another guy with dark hair and just as attractive as the rest of them.
One of the girls is sitting on the table, with her friends all around her. She stares in our direction, her gaze shooting past meand straight to Gracie. She’s blond and gorgeous, with a tan that says she just left the beach even though there isn’t a body of water for hours. She flips her wavy hair, a smirk playing on her lips.
I stare between them, both confused and concerned by the sudden change in Gracie’s demeanor. There is clearly bad blood between them, and whatever it is, Gracie’s probably got the bad end of it. Why else would she be over here with an unknown new girl instead of over there with the other popular kids?
