"Hey," Harper found me. She'd clearly had a few drinks herself and had no problem leaning in close.

"Got anything stronger?" I asked. "That was pretty weak."

"Didn't think you were this shy," she laughed, handing me another glass. "Bottoms up."

I knocked that one back too, but still didn't feel much. I never liked drinking-last time I got drunk was with Brian, and even that wasn't a great memory. After two more drinks, I still wasn't enjoying Harper pressing up against me, so I grabbed two more glasses.

Just as I swallowed the last sip, our song started playing-the one Jenny and I danced to at the ball. She must've found someone new. And suddenly, I wanted to confront her. Let her know I knew.

"Be right back," I told Harper, grabbed two more drinks, and ran out of the girls' dorm.

I hurried back to my room, laughing at a cat meowing on the street like it was the funniest thing ever. Once inside, I pulled out my phone and started typing in Jenny's number. I knew it by heart-except for the last digit. Was it a six or a nine? Boobs or butt, I thought, and laughed at my own joke.

I tried nine first-number didn't exist. So I punched in six and hit call.

It rang. A sleepy female voice answered almost immediately.

"Hallo?"

It was Jenny's voice-my heart skipped a beat.

"Hey," I said. "What are you doing?"

"It's past midnight," Jenny replied, half-asleep. "Is something wrong? I was sleeping."

"Oh yeah? With who?" I asked, my tone sharp and unpleasant.

"Excuse me?" Jenny's voice turned alert in an instant.

"You heard me!" I shouted."I know you hooked up with someone!"

"Have you been drinking?" she asked, disappointment echoing in her voice.

"That's not important!" I yelled. "But you know what? I'll let you move in," I added, trying to sound generous.

In the background, I heard a distant male voice. At the same time, Jenny responded:

"Thanks, but I'll pass."

The call ended-Jenny had hung up.

Almost immediately, I dialed Amber's number. She picked up quickly.

---

At dawn, I woke to the sound of my phone ringing. I wanted to ignore it, but it was Grandma calling-I couldn't just hang up on her. She asked if I was okay, how school was going. My head was spinning, but I tried to answer her questions. The conversation didn't last long, and I tried to get some more rest, but the light was bothering me. I hadn't pulled down the blinds last night, and since my sunglasses were within reach, I put them on and lay back down, covering my head.

That's when Grandpa called.

He asked similar questions, and I couldn't understand why they hadn't just called together. After the call, I sat up, drank some water, and placed a cold, wet cloth on my forehead before lying back down. I felt awful, and I could only remember fragments of the night before. Eddie wasn't in the room, so I couldn't ask him.

Then something else rang-this time it was my laptop. I sat up and answered the call. Brian's grinning face appeared on the screen. I could see in the camera that my gelled hair was sticking out in clumps.

"So, how was your night?" he laughed.

"No idea," I said. "There's no girl next to me, if that's what you're asking."

"What's the last thing you remember?" he smirked. I started thinking-and then it hit me.

I remembered calling Jenny and hearing a man's voice in the background.

"I went to a party, and then I think I called Jane," I said. Brian just sighed.

"You definitely called Amber and me. I could barely understand what you were rambling about," he chuckled. "What did you say to her?"

"I confronted her about her new guy," I said firmly.

"Got it," Brian sighed. "Well, I think you should pull down the blinds, eat something, and get some sleep."

After Brian hung up, I ate a few bites, even though I wasn't hungry. I was just about to lower the blinds and go back to sleep when my laptop rang again. Jenny's photo flashed on the screen-she was calling. I was glad. I wanted to talk to her about last night too.

I quickly sat down in front of the screen, tried to fix my tangled hair, put on my sunglasses, and answered the call.

I tried to hide my disappointment-Uncle Steve was smiling at me.

"Hi, Johnny," Uncle Steve said. "Sorry, I'm not great with computers, so Daniel helped me call you. Remember, we agreed I'd help you with your studies."

"Today?"

My question came out a bit rude, but Uncle Steve didn't seem to mind.

"I didn't sleep well."

"Sorry, I didn't know," he smiled. "But I'm free now."

"I see," I said. "Alright then, let's study today."

"Good," the old man said with a laugh.

I pulled out my notes and read my questions aloud to Uncle Steve. He answered everything, and I tried to write down his responses, though my head was splitting. I really tried to focus on what he was saying, but nothing stuck. At times, I had to prop up my head-I felt like it might fall off my neck. I just wanted to survive the conversation, which dragged on for nearly two hours.

Uncle Steve told me about the animals he'd worked with over the past few weeks-how he treated them, what he did. I pretended to take notes so he wouldn't think I wasn't paying attention, but I couldn't form a single coherent thought.

By the time we finished, it was lunchtime.

I went to shower and brush my teeth, and that's when I saw a piece of the bedsheet on the floor. I picked it up and tossed it back into the suitcase. Fragments of the night before started coming back. I really needed to talk to Jenny. I tried calling her, but her phone was off.

All I wanted was to rest, but the calls kept coming. Dad, Mom, Amber, Brian-and then Uncle Steve again. Twice. He said he'd forgotten something. My family kept asking how I was, what I wanted to eat when I came home. Because of all the calls, I couldn't get any rest until evening. And the next morning, classes resumed.

The following week was awful. I was tired all the time, barely able to study, just counting down the days until the weekend so I could finally rest.

But the weeks that followed only brought more disappointment. The weather was different-much colder-and even though I kept tagging along with different groups, I couldn't really connect with anyone. I tried to call Jenny, but her phone was off all the time, so I casually asked Brian during one of our conversations.

"Amber's model's phone is off," I said lightly. "Is everything okay with the shop?"

Brian just smiled and sighed.

"Oh, right," he admitted. "Jane asked me after your night call, and I forgot to tell you."

"Tell me what?" I tried to hide my anxiety.

"She asked me and Amber to remind you that since you didn't keep your word-her never hearing from you again-she took care of it." Brian hesitated, then added, "She didn't explain further, but Paul confirmed she blocked your number." 

"I see," I said, hiding my disappointment.

A couple of days after the call with Brian, I stopped going swimming. Somehow, I just didn't feel like it anymore.

My real friends were far away. Even though I talked regularly with Brian and the others, I could feel the distance growing between us. School didn't feel special either-Uncle Steve had already told me about most of the things we were learning. Most of my classmates didn't study much; they only opened their books before tests.

Uncle Steve often called on weekends, but Jenny's picture had been replaced with a horse, and her name changed to Uncle Steve's.

It was already late autumn when, one Saturday morning, I called Amber. She never brought up that I called her in the middle of the night-never even mentioned Jenny.

"How are you, bro?" Amber asked. "Go ahead and talk, I'm listening-just cutting fabric while you do. I'll put you on speaker."

"If you're not alone, I don't want to bother you," I said quickly. "I know your partner blocked my number."

"Yes, right," she said apologetically. "I forgot to tell you... I'm alone now."

"It doesn't matter," I replied, trying to sound proud. "I have something to tell you anyway. I'm kind of seeing this tall, slim girl with short brown hair. Total opposite of your partner-she knows everything. I'm learning more from her than she is from me," I added smugly. "Her name starts with an H, but you know me-I always forget names," I laughed. "She's got a tattoo on her left hip and-"

I was about to go on, but Amber cut me off.

"Sorry, bro, I have to go." And just like that, she ended the call.

After Amber, I bragged to all my friends about my new fling-and then decided to make the story real.

That evening, after studying, I headed to the party district. The brunette from the pool was there again, sitting at the bar with her friends, drinking and chatting. This time, I approached her with purpose. She'd make a perfect trophy.

She was wearing a mini skirt, high-heeled boots, and a top that looked more like a bra. I asked her to dance. She smiled and nodded after I offered her my hand.

A mid-tempo song was playing-not too slow, not too fast. Perfect for dancing with a girl: close enough to put an arm around her, to gently touch her, but still requiring some actual dance skills. I ran my hand along her bare back, but the whole thing didn't excite me like it used to. The spark was missing-the kind of connection I had with my ex from our very first dance. Jenny had someone now, so I had the right to move on too.

The song ended, and I walked her back to the bar, to her drink.

"Do you know somewhere quieter?" I asked as I sat down beside her.

"I do," she said, finished her drink, stood up, and I followed.

We headed toward her room. I took her hand, and she smiled at me. We walked, and I asked her the usual questions-about her family, her studies. I answered her questions too, but I wasn't really listening. Her room was on the fifth floor of the girls' dorm. While we waited for the elevator, she turned to me and smiled.

"We don't have to talk so much. I'm not looking for a husband," she said with a grin and pulled me into the elevator as the doors opened.

Inside, she gently pushed me against the mirror, wrapped her arms around me, and kissed me. I didn't have to bend down-wearing boots, she was almost my height. I tried hard to return the kiss, but the whole thing felt wrong. I don't know why, but it just didn't feel right. After a few seconds, I pulled away-luckily, the elevator doors opened just then.

"I'm sorry," I said as I stepped out. "This wasn't a good idea."

I left the surprised girl behind and ran down the stairs, back to my room.

After that night, I mostly just studied and slept. I couldn't bring back the old Jay, and I started avoiding parties altogether. I slept way more than I used to. This place wasn't what I thought it would be.

In truth, I hated being here.