“Guys suck.” Lori commented with a giggle.

I laughed because I couldn’t agree with her more. After spending my entire first day attending informational seminars and participating in some student activities, Lori decided to take me to this quaint pub not far from campus. She knew the owner which was the reason I got to drink a whopping total of five alcoholic beverages. We got to meet up with a few of her college friends; Nate (the trust fund baby with blue eyes), Rick (the guy who plays guitar in an unknown indie band), and Lisa (the sweet girl who had teal colored hair and a few facial piercings). Thankfully, Lisa and Rick decided to escort a rather tipsy Lori and Verity back to the dorms.

“That they do.” I agreed. “And you know what just kills me?” I asked rhetorically.

The two of us were slurring our words while laughing hilariously whenever we’d trip over our own feet. Rick or Lisa would easily steady us, making Lori and me laugh even more.

“What kills me is that he was so freaking nice to me, ya know. I mean, I’d rather have him be a jerk. But no he was so sweet and nice that when we did break up it—it sucked.” I managed to say without tripping over my feet.

“That guy is an idiot!” Lori remarked.

Rick chuckled. “There’ll be other guys.” He assured me.

“The crazy thing is that—that, I don’t want there to be another guy. I was happy with him.” I let my sentence simmer in the open air. This was my truth even though I really hated Tony, I really loved him too. “I must sound like a cliché teenager, huh?”

Lisa chuckled. “Not really. You sound like a girl who knows what she wants.”

I didn’t say much after that because Lisa was right. I knew what I wanted, but just as sharp and cruel life could be, I couldn’t always get what I wanted. It was something hard to swallow, something even harder to accept, but thankfully the alcohol helped me clear my mind a little, even if I’d only possess this clarity for a moment.

---

The next morning I woke up with a slight headache that seemed to drum against the walls of my skull. My temporary roommate was a girl that was from Florida. She was quiet, timid, and extremely tall—even against my tall frame this girl, whose name is Cheryl, towered over me. Cheryl slept in a fetal position on her bed which was located next to the wall across of me. She didn’t really talk to me upon our first meeting which is why Lori didn’t invite her out last night. I glanced around the room only to find my dirty clothes strewn all over the floor. A brief moment of panic flooded through my body until I vaguely recalled that I took a shower when I arrived back to the dorms. It was then that last night came rushing back to me. The drinks, the conversations, and the many thoughts of Tony. I felt tears pricking at my eyes, but refused to allow any of it to spill over. I was in New York having fun. I wasn’t about to let Tony Perry ruin my weekend trip.

After quickly getting ready, I walked out into the dorm’s common room to find my Campus leader by the pool table. He was a senior at Columbia, majoring in communications and photo journalism. To be honest, he was a gorgeous guy that went by the name of Damien, but I knew very well to keep my distance from him. His hooded green eyes screamed danger, and not to mention, he looked like the kind of guy that wouldn’t find interest in me. After all, the only guy that took interest in me now treated me like a complete stranger.

“Hi Damien.” I greeted while approaching him.

“Verity.” He said in a surprised tone. “You’re an early riser.” He commented. Damien lined up his shot before perfectly sinking in the solid yellow ball into the corner pocket.
I shrugged. “I had a hard time sleeping.”

He smiled. “Well, instruction doesn’t start until 8 and it’s only 6.” He pointed out before adding “Breakfast will be served in the dining hall shortly. You can join me if you want.”

I nodded while checking my phone briefly. I had ten missed calls and thirteen text messages. I didn’t bother to check any of it as I followed Damien across the quad and into the dining hall.

“Why are you up so early?” I asked out of curiosity. I was slightly winded from keeping up with Damien’s long strides. He was a fast walker, something that most New Yorkers seemed to be accustomed to.

“Couldn’t sleep either.” He answered. “I have this exam coming up in a few days and it’s a little stressful.”

I offered a sympathetic expression for him as he held the door open for me.

“What about you? I would’ve pegged any west coaster to be exhausted.” He commented while filing into the small line in the dining hall.

The breakfast spread ranged from meat lovers to vegetarian. It all smelled and looked wonderful. I opted to get a fruit bowl and a bottle of OJ with a side of toast. My stomach still felt a little queasy from last night’s escapades.

“I guess I just have a lot on my mind.” I replied, thinking about Ronnie, my parents, and most of all, about Tony.

“Boy troubles?” Damien asked with a cocked eyebrow.

I remained silent, since confirming it out loud seemed silly.

Damien chuckled. “My sister has the same look.” He explained. “It’s the look that’s torn between being hurt and upset.”

“Well, that pretty much sums me up.” I shrugged.

Damien chuckled again. “Whoever he is, I’m sure he’s probably beating himself up about it.”

I grimaced. “Highly doubt it.” I mumbled.

We took a seat at one of the smaller tables before eating silence. It wasn’t long until Lori and Lisa came walking in, grabbing their breakfast, and then sitting next to Damien and me.

“Last night was pretty great, huh?” Lori asked while waggling her eyebrows at me.

I stifled my laugh. “It wasn’t terrible.” I mused.

“Well consider that just a taste of what coming here would be like.” Lisa smirked.

“You went out last night?” Damien asked.

“Yeah, Lori introduced me to her friends.” I answered happily.

Faking an expression of hurt, Damien said “I can’t believe you didn’t invite me Lori.”

Lori, in return, rolled her eyes. “You were too busy worrying about Claire that I didn’t want you to bum out our trip.” She teased.

Damien laughed. “Claire and I are way over.”

Lisa lifted her glass of juice in the air. “I’ll toast to that. That girl was so…pretentious.”

“Right!” Lori cut in. “I mean, it’s one thing to be smart, but it’s another thing to parade your intelligence ya know.” Turning to me, Lori said “Claire is Damien’s ex. Beautiful girl, super smart, but a complete twat. She would literally find ways to bring up obnoxious subjects just so she could boast about her superbly developed brain.”

I laughed with Damien. “She was a real piece of work.” He commented while slowly sipping on his drink.

Lisa’s eyes lit up. “Look!” She exclaimed. “We’ve got two heartaches on the table.” She added while pointing at Damien and me.

I laughed even though it really wasn’t that funny. However, this was much more enjoyable than I’d imagined. I expected everyone to be a little uptight because, after all this is Columbia. But to my most pleasant surprise, everyone here was really awesome.

Notes

Filler alert :3

Just a reminder, I started a new collab. Check it out at your leisure. Here's the link:This Is What Makes Us Girls.