***
The party is exactly what you’d expect from a bunch of college seniors who just survived finals.
There’s music blasting in the living room, people packed on couches, and someone yelling about tequila pong, which sounds both terrifying and amazing.
I end up in the kitchen with a bunch of people from the physical education program. It’s quieter here, the music filtering in from the living room a background noise with the steady clink of bottles.
I’ve got a cup filled with whatever disgusting punch someone concocted with a should-be-forbidden mix of bottom-shelf liquor.
Raquel, who I think is a softball player, seems to like it, given how many times she’s gotten a cup from it.
In fact, she’s basically become the party bartender, pouring cups of punch for anyone who wanders too close to her perch on the counter beside the disgusting punch bowl.
I’m worried about her falling off the counter, but at this point, the counter might be the only thing keeping her upright.
I think we dated at some point, but honestly I can’t remember. She feels very familiar, though.
As I keep an eye on her, I talk to Nico Alvarez, who is leaning against the counter next to me, a phys-ed sophomore turned junior who is stuck in the dorms.
He also has apparently snuck a cat into his dorm. Given that his dorm is governed over by the terrifying RA Reyes, who is part of the reason Colten and I moved off-campus, I’m more than a little concerned.
“If Reyes finds that cat, there’s no way you’ll be able to finish your degree here,” I warn him, like a proper, protective upperclassman.
“Then I’ll make sure he never finds her,” Nico tells me, waving my very legitimate concern away. “Want to see pictures? Her name is Princess.”
It’s impressive how he doesn’t have a worry in his mind. Was I this stupid when I was younger?
…Probably.
Nico is also interested in bringing his chaos to the soccer field, which I can appreciate.
“The soccer team is D2?” Nico asks after putting away his phone and the five hundred plus photos of Princess. To be fair, she is a really cute cat.
“Yeah. NCAA rules, training requirements, all that fun stuff,” I say, wondering how he’s keeping Princess hidden, but also, Idon’t want to know because that might make me an accomplice or something.
RA Reyes is terrifying, okay? After the rotting home-made salami was found, he had me write a fifteen-page apology letter about it.
“Sounds intense,” Nico says, though he doesn’t look put off. If anything, he looks evenmoreexcited. “You think I should try out?”
I grin, confident of my answer. “Knowing what kind of trouble you’ll bring? Definitely.”
Nico grins back. “Even if I’m terrible?”
“Especially if you’re terrible,” I assure him. “That’s when it’s funniest.”
A couple of people laugh before Raquel leans forward from her spot on the counter, turning toward our conversation.
Was it freshman year that we dated? No, no, probably junior year, fall quarter. Maybe? I vaguely remember drinking hot cocoa with her.
“Ya know, team sports build social motivation,” she says, her voice slurred. “It should be a requirement.”
“For who?” I ask, curious.
“Everyone,” Raquel clarifies, her arms waving around as if to encompass ‘everyone’.
I nod, while wondering if it was actually a chocolate milkshake during my freshman summer quarter.
“But it would only work if the group dynamics are good,” Nico argues, taking Raquel’s question seriously. “Otherwise, it reinforces keeping the odd one out.”
