After Class (2 page)

The young man notices his clothing, and starts to dress. Taylor is still facing the window, but occasionally looks back to catch a glimpse of the hilarity that is ensuing.

“No, don’t get dressed you idiot! Get out!” Nicole continues to yell after him.

Taylor remains standing facing the window, her demeanor changing dramatically from when she first entered the room. Seeing the young man struggle and Nicole yell in utter humiliation is starting to crack her up. She begins to giggle but silences herself immediately.

The young man looks back at Nicole, holding his clothes and continually protecting his erect crotch from being completely nude. “So, should I call you?” he asks as he stands before her.

Nicole locks eyes with him briefly, before becoming even more enraged. “What are you still doing here? I said get out!” Nicole screams one last time.

Flustered and even more embarrassed, the young man finally makes a run for it, darting out of the room and slamming the door behind him. Before the door closes completely, shrieks from other female dorm students can be heard among the hallways. Laughs and other sounds of shock can also be heard.

Taylor still stands facing the window, but now she is smiling. She waits for word from Nicole before she dares to turn around, like she is waiting for her to try to come up with something to say. Embarrassed, Nicole finally locates her last article of clothing and attempts to make herself more presentable to her friend. After a few additional seconds of organizing her appearance, she finally lets out a sigh. “Tay, I am so sorry,” Nicole cries out in desperation. “I’m so embarrassed.”

Taylor turns around slowly. She changes the expression on her face to give the illusion of disgust. When she locks eyes with Nicole, Nicole can only help but feel even worse about what just happened. Too embarrassed to speak, Nicole can only hang her head in her hands. Taylor walks over to her friend, grabbing a desk chair on her way towards the bed. She spins it around and takes a seat, never letting her eyes leave Nicole. “I was about ready to lose my mind and scream at you, but I have to say, that was the funniest thing I have seen all day,” Taylor smiles. “Unfortunately, it is at your expense, but you just made my day. Now, tell me, who was this gentleman that you courted this afternoon?”

Nicole turns to her friend and gives her a playful nudge. She continues shaking her head. “Oh shut up. I don’t want to hear about it. In fact, I never want to talk about this again,” Nicole says to Taylor.

“You know what? That sounds like a good idea to me, except, I’m pretty sure you have scarred me for life, Nicole,” Taylor says. “Walking in on you and a new guy every week. You’d think I’d become accustomed to it, you know, that it would get easier? Not a fat chance! You are going to owe me for all of the counseling I’ll have to go through after college.”

“Well, that is what I am in Psychiatry for,” Nicole replies, sarcastically.

“You should be in Sex Ed. I have a hunch that it is your true calling in life,” Taylor says under her breath, but loud enough for Nicole to hear it and get a rise out of it.

Nicole’s jaw drops with a smile and she playfully shoves her friend again. She is desperate to change the conversation and put the focus on a different subject. “So anyways, how was class today? Did it kick your ass again? You look like shit.”

Taylor rolls her eyes and takes a deep breath in and out. She gets up and moves the desk chair to the desk where she takes a seat, turning to her books. She glances at them for a moment but returns her attention back to Nicole. “I am losing my mind! I have a project due in every class every day next week, and to top it all off, my English prof reamed me out after class today,” Taylor leans her elbow on the desk chair and uses her hand to hold the weight of her throbbing head. “I hate English. I have no idea why I need it. I hate these god damn prerequisites. I’m on my last straw, Nic. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“Worst Tay, that’s rough, but you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself, ya know? I know that you want to work hard and I know that you want to impress your folks and all, but you need to take care of yourself. College is supposed…”

 “Yeah, yeah, I know. College is supposed to be the time of my life. I’m supposed to get drunk, mess around a bunch of randoms, experiment with my sexuality, smoke weed, do drugs and do everything else that is not involved with school.”

Nicole’s face brightens. “Exactly! Now you are on track!” She giggles and lies down on the bed, swiping on her cell phone and checking for any updates.

Taylor fires Nicole a look of sarcasm. “Please, my parents are going to put my head on the block if I don’t pass with a perfect 4.0 and I’m pretty sure that Chad wouldn’t appreciate me sleeping around.” Seeing Nicole play with her phone reminds Taylor that she missed her parents’ call. She picks up the phone and sees a voicemail message. She listens to it.

“But he’s not even here! The guy is two thousand miles away. He would never know!” Nicole’s eyes are fixated on her phone as she says the words to Taylor, as if she is texting something to someone behind Taylor’s back. Nicole’s cheeks flush red as she tucks the phone away.

On Taylor’s line, she can hear her mother giving her a lecture on how she needs to respond to her calls especially when her parents are paying for everything. Taylor rolls her eyes and slams the phone on the desk.

Nicole notices her change in behavior. “What’s wrong?”

“Just my mom. It’s like my parents are trying to control my every move here. I’m sick and tired of them,” she says as she turns around to her desk and opens a textbook. “I’m not a child anymore. I just wish they could see that.”

At the end of the day, though, she would rather her social life suffer than have her parents breathing down her neck but she would never truly admit it.

She continues studying the lines blankly in the textbook, as if it is just routine for her, but her thoughts are interrupted, as the textbook in front of her is slammed shut. Nicole’s hand is in her line of sight and she stands above her. Nicole then places her hands on Taylor’s shoulders, bringing her head in close to whisper into her ear. “The only thing you are doing tonight is coming out with me! We just got invited to this Frat Party over at Alpha. These invites don’t come around too often. We are totally going!” Nicole springs up and starts to gather a towel, body wash and other toiletries.

Taylor, stunned, turns and looks in Nicole’s direction. She starts laughing. “Um, are you nuts? There is no way I can go out and get drunk tonight. I have to study, write a paper and...”

Taylor’s words are interrupted by Nicole’s finger. “Shh, you are coming with me tonight lady, and that is final! Just give yourself a small study break. We will go out for a few drinks, talk to some people and you can come back here if you want. You can’t tell me you are honestly going to spend the next 6 hours wasting away in misery while the biggest party of the year is happening just down the street?”

Taylor’s eyes fixate on Nicole’s finger placed on her lips. Her thoughts are forced from thinking about the party to the realization of what happened as she entered the room. Taylor slaps away Nicole’s finger. “Alright fine! I’ll come, but as long as you get that dirty finger away from me. I don’t know where that has been!”

Nicole laughs and taunts Taylor with her finger. “Never mind my finger honey, you should be worried about this whole damn room.” Nicole exits the room, winking back at Taylor, and laughing as she heads into the shared bathroom to freshen up for the night’s events.

Taylor, stunned by Nicole’s words, looks around the room and shudders. She looks at her textbooks, the clock and then sighs. She knows that she should stay and study, but she thinks back to her mom’s lecture on the voicemail and it fuels her decision. She feels like rebelling and being bad. She needs some form of release. Her body is begging her for it.

She slowly peels herself off of the desk chair and heads towards her closet, gathering a towel and other shower utilities for herself, glancing around at the room again, especially Nicole’s bed. “I’m going to need a shower too,” Taylor whispers to herself.

2

Even though darkness has set upon the college grounds, the students are just awakening and coming to life. All throughout the streets of frat houses, sorority pads and dormitories, crowds upon crowds of students flood the area. Some students are being dropped off from other locations via cab while others only have to walk a few steps to be at the party zone. Club music blares from the inside of the Alpha household. Some partygoers are outside on the front lawn, playing all sorts of drinking games while others dance and mingle about. It’s a Friday night and it is the time for everyone to let go of the pressures of school and to finally give in to what college life is supposed to be all about.

Taylor and Nicole approach the frat house and see a few familiar faces. They say hello to a few friends and classmates and continue their way into the house. The moment the two girls enter the house and before either of them can mutter a word, they are handed a beer in a plastic party cup and Nicole is whisked away by the young man she had a fling with earlier. Nicole can only make mumbling sounds before her new male friend locks lips with her in his drunken state. She tries to wave to Taylor but can only muster movement with her index and middle fingers, as her hand is stuck holding the beer in her red plastic cup.

Taylor looks onward and watches as Nicole’s new man friend takes her into a nearby bedroom and shuts the door behind them. “So much for having a fun night out with her,” Taylor says to herself. She looks at the other partygoers. Women are half dressed, only wearing short skirts and bras as some men do body shots off of them. A group of men are sitting around a dining room table, each of them chugging beer. There is another guy nestled close to a beer keg, filling up each of their cups as they become empty from chugging. Through the mess of bodies, Taylor finds it hard to find someone that she knows or that she wants to let alone, associate herself with for that matter. She looks down at her flat beer and decides to take a sip, only to want to spit it out on the floor a few seconds later.

Feeling alone and thinking how this time could be spent studying and achieving that 4.0 grade average, Taylor spins around and heads for the door. Just as she spins, two beautiful women walk into the house. They are slightly older than everyone else but still carry that youthful, partying vibe. They are dressed to impress, wearing black cocktail dresses and their hair done to perfection. They are in full makeup and look like they were plucked off of some fashion runway in New York. After the two women catch her eye, Taylor suddenly recognizes a familiar face but not before the same thought process is reciprocated.

“Well if it isn’t Miss Taylor Murray,” the taller blonde says, coyly, crossing her arms and starring Taylor dead in the eyes. She bears a smile on her face that makes her slightly less intimidating. Standing before Taylor is none other than Chantelle Boudreau; Taylor’s role model and rival ever since Elementary School. Chantelle was the kind of girl that didn’t have to work hard to achieve perfection. She always had the perfect skin, perfect hair, perfect family, perfect boyfriend and what Taylor envied the most, the perfect grades. Chantelle graduated from grade school with outstanding marks that were previously unheard of, only to be followed by getting on the Dean’s list with distinction and honors every year in college. She was the girl that every guy wanted and that every girl wanted to be, especially Taylor.

“Oh my god, Chantelle! What are you doing here?” Taylor goes in for a hug and wraps her arms around Chantelle. The two embrace and smile from cheek to cheek.

“Just because I’m graduated doesn’t mean I can’t come to these parties every once in a while”, Chantelle smirks.

Still in shock, Taylor grabs at the thin air for words. “Well it’s so good to see you! You look great!”

“And you look like hell, honey. What’s the matter?”

Taylor knows the signs of stress can be seen across her face and that the lack of sleep is hitting her hard. She drops her head briefly but doesn’t want to seem weak in front of Chantelle. This is her rival. She can’t lose. She has to keep it together.

 Taylor musters up some confidence and tries to put on a smile. “Just a college student trying to get good grades. You know how it is,” Taylor replies, trying to keep the smile on her face but the pain and frustration she feels deep inside has no choice but to surface and shine dully through her lies.

“I know, college can be stressful, but there are always ways around getting what you want and not having to work too hard to get it,” Chantelle says, smiling and winking at her friend next to her.

Her friend smiles back and looks at Taylor. “Chantelle sure knows how to get what she wants,” the brunette next to Chantelle says, just as she notices someone that she knows. She waves to them in the distance. “I’ll catch up with you later,” Chantelle’s brunette friend says as kisses her on the cheek and disappears into the crowd.

Still trying to decipher what the brunette meant, Taylor looks towards Chantelle with a questioning gaze. Chantelle brushes her lips with her thumb and smiles coyly. She meets Taylor’s gaze.

“What did your friend mean by that?” Taylor asks, puzzled.

Chantelle takes a moment. Just as she is gathering her thoughts, a young male passerby walks up to her and stuffs a red plastic cup containing beer into her hand.

“Can’t have any fun without a little booze there, hottie,” he says as he continues on his mission to ensure everyone in the house has a drink. 

Chantelle immediately dips into the keg beer. It tastes flat but she downs it anyways, more so as a coping mechanism and slight escape from Taylor’s questioning gaze.

“So, are you going to tell me?” Taylor asks, as she grows more and more curious.

Chantelle looks around the party for an open sofa or someplace to sit down. She scans the room and notices a patio door open at the back of the kitchen. She grabs Taylor’s hand and leads the way. “C’mon, let’s go someplace a little quiet and I’ll tell you all about it,” Chantelle says to Taylor as they both make their way through the droves of drunk, sweaty, college students.

Taylor and Chantelle slip out of the house and onto the back porch. There are a few college students outside; some of the students are positioned around a fire in the back corner of the yard while a few others hang around bushes expelling the alcohol-laced contents from their stomachs. Chantelle notices a porch swing unoccupied and dashes towards it, still pulling Taylor behind her like a hesitant dog on a leash.

Chantelle takes a seat on the swing and Taylor stands before her, unsure if she wants to sit. “Chantelle, what did you do?” Taylor asks before she sits down. She is nervous and afraid of what Chantelle is going to say.

“Come. Sit down and I’ll tell you all about it.” Chantelle taps the empty seat beside her three times and gestures for Taylor to sit down. She finally gives in and takes a seat.

She turns towards Taylor. “Back in my first year of college, I was just like you. I was stressed out beyond belief, my parents were riding my ass every day and my relationship was struggling. I felt so much pressure and I didn’t know what to do until I noticed that my Psych prof was acting the same way. He’d come into class frazzled and stressed, just like me. There was a rumor going around that him and his wife were going through a divorce. My grades were slacking hard in his class so I figured I’d make him a deal. I told him I’d scratch his back if he scratched mine, if you catch my drift.”

Taylor looks stunned at Chantelle. Her jaw hangs wide open and her eyes glazed over in disbelief. “Did you sleep with him?” Her voice is almost a yell.

“Sssh!!!” Chantelle fires back. She pretty much stuffs her hands over Taylor’s mouth as a way to conceal her.

“I’m sorry,” Taylor reacts, muffled by Chantelle’s hands. “But seriously, did you?”

Chantelle shakes her head yes. “I did. I mean it’s not my proudest moment, but once I did it with him, the word spread among the other male staff and before I knew it, I was giving hand jobs all over the place, graduated a year early and with a solid 4.0. My parents were proud, no one ever found out and I was golden.”

Taylor sits, shocked and speechless. She looks to the red plastic cup in her hand and downs the rest of the contents. It was necessary. She doesn’t know what to say. Her mind is reeling. She thought Chantelle was the perfect student and the news is hitting her hard. “Wow,” Taylor says and that is the only word that she can press through her lips.

Chantelle looks towards Taylor and puts her hand on her leg. The two lock eyes for a moment. “I know it’s not what you expected but you know how tough college can be and you especially know what I’m talking about when it comes to pressure from your parents. I just had to do what I had to do and even though I regret it, I’m thankful for it.”

Taylor continues to sit stunned. She tries to speak but nothing comes out.

“Now that the cat is out of the bag, let’s both get drunk and pretend we never had this conversation. How does that sound?” Chantelle asks.

Taylor shakes her head yes. She still sits in disbelief.

“Okay good. Now let’s party,” Chantelle says as she grabs Taylor’s hand and drags her back into the house. Taylor can only follow her lead and drops her red plastic cup on the way in, her hands unable to even grasp anything, let alone her mind.