Almost Perfect (22 page)

Sage strutted down the hall, showing her usual self-assuredness. She’d lived in a big town before, but I felt like I’d just come from the farm. The students here would have me pegged as a hick right from the start. When two girls
carrying tennis rackets passed us and smiled, it was like I was wearing a rope belt and no shoes. Could I really fit in at Mizzou?

I’d visited Laura here a couple of times, but always with Mom, and we always met downtown. I located my sister’s room. The only decoration was a photocopied poster for an unfamiliar band. It might have been her roommate’s.

The door flew open at my knock. Laura stood there grinning at me for a moment. Once again, I was struck by what a woman she’d become. When she’d left home, she’d been a tomboyish teenager. A girl who used to beat me at basketball and had broken Mark Jefferson’s nose when he tried to feel her up. Now Laura was almost twenty and looked like someone you’d see working at a bank or modeling formal clothes. If I hadn’t known her, I would have guessed her to be twenty-two or-three, a business major or pre-law, the sort of person who’d work a sixty-hour week and then shut down the bars every Saturday night. Had college done this to her, or was it simply being away from Boyer that had allowed her to grow up?

“Logan!” She embraced me. “I’m so glad you’re here. We’re going to have so much fun this weekend.”

“Laura, this is Sage.”

They shook hands, and Laura directed Sage where to put her bags. As Sage was unloading, Laura turned and gave me a conspiratorial wink. Great. Well, at least my sister didn’t suspect Sage’s secret.

The dorm room was obsessively neat, much more orderly than Laura’s bedroom at home. I wondered what
would inspire people to clean when they didn’t have to. Must be a girl thing.

“Sage, you can take my roommate’s bed,” said Laura.

“Are you sure?” asked Sage. “Won’t she mind?”

“Ebony’s out of town for the weekend. She said it was okay.”

I glanced at a family photo on Ebony’s desk. Laura’s roommate had very dark skin, very white teeth, and a very pretty face. I’d have to visit again when she was there and Sage wasn’t.

Sage asked if she could go freshen up, and Laura directed her to the public bathroom down the hall. As soon as the door closed, Laura socked me in the arm.

“So this is the girl you like! She’s cute, Logan.”

I rubbed my shoulder, cursing myself for telling Laura about Sage at Thanksgiving. “We’re not dating,” I said, hoping Sage wouldn’t return before I could try to explain things.

I could tell Laura wasn’t buying it. “Uh-huh. Well, if you and your ‘friend’ want to be alone tonight, I can sleep somewhere else.” She was grinning, proud to help her little brother do something naughty.

Time to nip this in the bud. I’d learned that saying I didn’t like Sage only made people want to know why. I chose my next words carefully.

“Laura, you were right. Sage has some real problems at home. We’re not going to get together. I brought her here because she needed to get away from her house for a while. Now, where am I sleeping tonight?”

For a moment, Laura looked disappointed and a little
concerned. “I just assumed you’d crash here on the floor. I have a sleeping bag.”

Nope. Even with Laura in the room, I wasn’t about to spend the night with Sage.

“I thought you said I could stay with your friends.”

Laura opened her mouth to ask a question, but stopped. “Well, a couple of guys invited you to bunk with them, but I didn’t know if you’d be comfortable.”

Was I that obviously ill at ease? It’s not like I was ten, spending the night away from home for the first time. Laura didn’t need to protect me.

“I’ll stay with them. That way you won’t have to see me scratching myself.”

Laura laughed. “That would be a nice change of pace. Their names are Brian and Paul, room one-oh-five. Just knock; they’ll know who you are.”

I marched down the corridor, determined not to embarrass myself in front of Laura’s friends. I hoped they wouldn’t ask me about drinking or women. I didn’t exactly have an amazing track record with either.

Apparently this was a coed floor. Door #105 was slathered with heavy metal stickers and video game ads, along with a cryptic, hand-lettered sign:
THERE’S NO PROB WITH “BOB.”
I could hear what sounded like machine-gun fire within. I knocked.

“C’mon in!”

The only light in the dorm came from a TV tuned to the Cartoon Network and from a computer screen. The shades were drawn and I couldn’t make out anything. A
damp, musty odor emanated from within. I was reminded of Devil’s Icebox, a local cave.

“Hello?”

“Dude, you Logan?” As my eyes adjusted, I could see someone seated at the computer. The light from the computer game made his face look unhealthy, pallid. His hair was longish, and he was unshaven. He didn’t have enough facial hair to grow a full beard, so odd tufts of whiskers sprouted randomly on his cheeks.

“That’s me.”

He paused the game but didn’t get up. “I’m Brian. That’s Paul.” He gestured to a bed. What I had assumed was a pile of laundry was actually a man, asleep on his side. He was either black or Middle Eastern; I couldn’t tell in the dark.

“Just throw your bag anywhere,” instructed Brian. I stepped inside, disconcerted by the crunching noises that accompanied my every step. This room was possibly the filthiest place I’d ever been. Clothes, empty food containers, books, and computer equipment littered everything. I realized, to my horror, I’d be sleeping on the floor. So this was why Laura had tried to get me to stay with her. And now I couldn’t back out. Maybe I’d just sleep in the lobby.

I balanced my bag on top of a big box fan, the only bare surface I could find. “I’m going back to see Laura. I’m not sure what time I’ll be in tonight.”

Brian had already gone back to his game. “Don’t worry. I’ll be up late.”

“Yeah, but if you go out, give Laura a call.”

“We won’t go out.”

As I returned to my sister’s room, I decided that, just possibly, I would not be the most socially inept person on campus.

When I entered the dorm, Sage was trying on one of Laura’s jackets. It was far too small.

Sage handed it back to Laura. “It’s hard to find clothes in my size.”

“We should go to the Wardrobe tomorrow, Sage,” said my sister. “It’s a used clothing store, I bet you could find some neat stuff there.”

“Oh, I’d like that!”

“And maybe after we could sit and watch paint dry!” I countered. I didn’t like the idea of Sage changing in a public dressing room. I also didn’t like the idea of spending Sunday shopping for women’s clothes.

Laura waved at me dismissively. “There’s a bunch of music stores and stuff downtown. You won’t be bored.”

Eventually, I convinced the girls to grab some supper. Laura took us to the dorm’s dining hall, which offered a wider menu than any establishment in Boyer. As we ate, Laura filled Sage in on the best clothing stores, stylists, and coffee shops in town. Laura had grown up in Boyer, but she was as cool as any girl from St. Louis.

It was obvious Sage was making friends with my sister. When she enrolled next semester, they’d probably get together. They’d become close. Laura could introduce her to people, and the three of us could hang out. Laura would probably keep hoping Sage and I would hook up, but she’d stop when I started dating someone else. My sister, I
realized, had the potential to be a better friend to Sage than I was. Sage needed another girl to talk shop with.

Laura was talking about the various dorms on campus. “So have you got your housing assignment yet?” she asked me.

“Yeah,” I answered. “Jack and I are going to be at Graham Hall.”

My sister grimaced. “I have a friend who lives there. Vintage forties steam heat. How about you, Sage? Do you know who you’ll room with?”

“No,” she said with a shrug. “I’ll probably just pay extra for a single.”

“Don’t do that!” objected Laura. “That’s, like, a thousand dollars extra a semester.”

Sage winced. “That much?”

“Having a roommate isn’t as bad as you think, Sage. Ebony’s like a sister to me. I know some girls who will need a roommate next year. I can help you find someone nice.”

Sage smiled as I frowned. Sage wouldn’t be allowed to move in with a girl. She’d eventually have to turn down Laura’s offer. I wished she didn’t have to put up with so much bullshit.

Laura brushed her hair while Sage sat at a makeup table putting on eyeliner. We were going to a frat party in a couple of hours. I lay on Laura’s bed, tossing a tennis ball at the ceiling, bored out of my skull. The girls weren’t ignoring me on purpose. It’s just that when the conversation revolved around shoes and makeup, I couldn’t add much. I
smiled inside, thinking of how my sister was discussing fashion and hairstyles with a boy.

Sage was filling Laura in about her family. “So my sister’s dating this guy from school, Rob.”

“Jennifer’s brother,” I reminded Laura. “Redheaded guy.”

Sage began to rouge her cheeks. “Rob’s a nice guy, but I just worry. I mean, Tammi’s my sister. I want to look out for her.”

“You always want to look out for your little sister … or brother.” Laura winked at me. “You don’t think anyone’s good enough for them.”

Sage had been applying lipstick, but paused. Her eyes met mine in the reflection of the mirror. “Well, a special guy deserves a special girl.” Sage’s image smirked at me. I fumbled the tennis ball, which banked off Laura’s desk and bonked her in the face.

“Watch it, Logan.” She hurled it back at me, narrowly missing my groin. Hopefully, that distracted Laura from Sage’s odd comment. What did she mean by
special girl
?

Sage finished coloring her lips. She puckered, then bit a tissue, leaving a bright red ring. “Well, are we ready to go?”

Laura grabbed her purse. “Let’s do it. Maybe I can introduce you to someone tonight.”

That got my hopes up. “Cute sorority chick?”

Laura laughed. “I was talking to Sage.”

I stood up and took a good look at my friend. Her makeup skills, I realized, had improved since I’d first met her. And the way she was dressed: a long denim skirt and
dark sweater. She wasn’t wearing one of her wild outfits. The demure clothes emphasized her femininity, her long legs, her chest, her face. And she was about to go to a party with a bunch of drunk college guys. Every one of them would notice the tall, regal stranger. She’d drink, and Laura, if she truly believed I wasn’t interested, would introduce Sage to other guys.

I was going to have to watch out for Sage. Make sure none of the frat rats got too close. Make sure she didn’t drink too much or say anything compromising.

At the door, Sage stopped and adjusted my collar. She smiled at me, and I got a whiff of her perfume. As we left the building, I promised myself I wouldn’t let her out of my sight the whole evening. You know, for her own safety.

S
PRING WAS HERE
. It was nearly seven at night, and the lights along Rollins Street were just coming on. I stared at my feet as we trudged toward Greek Town. In front of me, Laura and Sage laughed like a couple of sisters.

I viewed this evening with the mixed feelings Sage was so expert in bringing out. On the one hand, for the first time in my life, I could totally cut loose. No mom waiting up for me, no cops showing up to run us off, nowhere I was supposed to be in the morning. It would be good practice for next year. Could university girls be interested in a guy from a town that only ever made the news during tornado season?

On the other hand, Sage was here. And after what we’d almost done the other night, it would be kind of cruel to hit on other girls right in front of her. I’d be trying to get strange women to give me what Sage would happily give. And with Sage’s forced dating ban, maybe we should just
stick together. Not like a date. But we’d come here together, so it would be rude of me to wander off.

I walked a little faster and caught up with the girls. Sage looked at me warmly and slowed down. Laura was busy talking and didn’t notice.

“Are you okay?” Sage asked.

“Yeah. You?”

Sage smoothed her sweater. “Nervous. Is it dumb for me to do this?”

She deserved an honest answer. “You look great. I’ll be there with you if you need anything.”

Sage bit her lip. “Logan, I couldn’t do this without you. Thank you so much for everything.”

We gripped hands for a moment, trying to dispel the fear in each other’s faces. Laura, who realized we’d fallen behind, turned just in time to see me holding Sage’s hand and gazing up into her eyes. We quickly separated.

Approaching Greek Town was like riding up to an encampment of angry Indians. I could hear their war cries long before I saw them. Solitary screams, laughter, and music broke through the still evening. As we passed by the Commons, I began to see the frat boys. They all wore expensive clothes and baseball caps with Greek letters stitched onto them. Several of them stared at Laura and Sage as we passed.

Fraternity houses lined the streets, bigger than anything in Boyer except maybe the electronics factory. The houses were beautiful: white columns, brick fronts, trimmed hedges.

We turned a corner, and Laura led us to a smaller, more
compact frat house. Inside, we could hear the voices and music of the party.

Laura danced up the steps. Sage and I paused on the sidewalk for a moment. Impulsively, I wrapped my hand around her upper arm and squeezed. Not a possessive gesture, and certainly not a romantic one. I just wanted her to know I was there with her, ready to help if she got scared. Sage returned my smile and we entered the building.

I had expected a fraternity house to be somewhat scuzzy, but the Kappa house was at least as nice as a midgrade motel. Thirty or so students milled around in the cigarette haze, drinking out of plastic cups. Everyone was completely at ease.

“Laura!”

The guy looked like something out of an ascent of man exhibit. He was short and swarthy and had one eyebrow that covered most of his jutting forehead. He didn’t slouch, but it seemed like he’d be more natural dragging his enormous knuckles over the stained carpet. He looked at Laura, exposing his crooked teeth in a hungry smile.