“About what?” Michael sat down beside her.
“I can’t even tell you. I can’t tell anyone because it’s so mortifying.”
“I accidentally farted in class yesterday. I was sitting next to this really hot girl I like. I don’t think it’s going anywhere now.”
Cadence burst out laughing.
“It can’t be more embarrassing than that.”
“I got caught drawing a heart on this girl’s whiteboard down the hall. She thought I liked her.”
Michael laughed. “A random heart on a random girl’s door? That’s kinda weird.”
“I know!”
“Why did you do it?” he asked.
Cadence shook her head. “I can’t explain it. Strong impulse to belong or something.”
“To belong?”
Cadence looked around Michael’s room. “Well, yeah. This. To belong to all this.”
“A dorm room?”
Cadence rolled her eyes. “The college life. You know. The college experience.”
Michael nodded.
“I think I’m missing out,” she whispered.
“You think you’re missing out on this?” Michael asked, wrapping his knuckles on the painted cinderblocks behind him.
“You know what I mean,” Cadence replied.
There was a light knock on the door.
“You expecting someone?”
“Yeah. I invited Carrie down the hall to join us,” Michael said. “Is that cool?”
“Sure.”
Michael opened the door to the same girl who thought Cadence was crushing on her.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Cadence muttered.
“Oh my God. It’s you,” Carrie said.
“You two know each other?” Michael asked.
“No,” Cadence replied.
“Sort of,” Carrie said.
“This is the girl whose whiteboard I drew on. She thinks I have a crush on her,” Cadence said.
Carrie shrugged. Michael laughed hard.
“I have a boyfriend.” Cadence directed the statement to Carrie.
“She has a boyfriend, Carrie. Gosh,” Michael piped up in his version of a Valley girl impression.
“Whatever. You were drawing a heart on my board. How was I supposed to know?” Carrie said.
“She thinks she’s missing out,” Michael explained, shutting his door.
“Michael!”
“What? Was I not supposed to repeat that?” he asked.
Cadence huffed.
“Missing out on what?” Carrie asked. She took a seat beside Cadence, and Cadence automatically moved over.
“Nothing,” she mumbled.
“The college experience,” Michael offered.
“Oh my God. I hate you right now. Stop. Talking,” Cadence snapped.
“But you’re in college,” Carrie replied, a look of confusion on her face.
Cadence rolled her eyes thinking of Fanny saying those exact words.
“Can we just study?” she asked. “Hey, wait a minute. You’re in biology?”
“Not your biology class, but we have the same professor and same syllabus,” Carrie replied.
“Oh.”
“Now back to you thinking you’re missing out. What dorm do you live in?”
“I don’t live in a dorm,” Cadence replied. She watched Michael sink down on the bed to her left. Great. Now she was trapped in the middle of these two.
“Where do you live?” Carrie asked
“With her boyfriend,” Michael offered.
Cadence slapped the top of his thigh on instinct.
“Ouch!”
“Stop speaking for me. It’s not your business to tell,” Cadence said.
“Then you probably shouldn’t share with me,” Michael replied, chuckling.
“Yeah. Making a mental note,” Cadence grumbled.
“Oh, chill out,” Michael said. “I have ADHD. I can’t help it.”
Cadence looked at Carrie, who shook her head.
“You’re seriously blaming it on that?” she asked.
“Uh, yeah,” Michael replied. “Making excuses for everything is what you get to do when you have ADHD.”
Carried giggled. Cadence shook her head and smiled.
“Dorm life sucks,” Carrie said. “You’re not missing out on anything there. But if you wanna go to a party or something with us, you can. I mean, if you wanna see what it’s all about.”
Cadence fidgeted with her fingers as she thought. “A party where?”
“Anywhere. They’re always going on. Just walk down fraternity row on a Friday or Saturday night and pick one,” Carrie explained.
“I thought those parties were for fraternity and sorority people,” Cadence said.
“Some. But a lot are open to everyone. If you’re cute enough—which you are—they’ll let you in. They like to stack their parties with hot drunk babes, right Michael?”
He grinned. “That’s why I go to them.”
“So what do you say? We can take you to one this weekend,” Carrie offered.
“Umm . . .”
“Scared?” Michael teased.
“No,” Cadence lied.
“I’ll be the DD this time,” Carrie said. “I won’t let you get crazy.”
Cadence bit her lower lip. “Umm . . .”
“This chick totally needs to party,” Michael said to Carrie.
“Can I think about it?” Cadence asked. Carrie and Michael passed each other a knowing glance.