Drama

"English. What's your major?" Bryan returned the question to her.

"Drama," Ellen said.

"Really?" Bryan asked.

Ellen spread her arms wide and declaimed,

"My only love sprung from my only hate!
Too early seen unknown, and known too late!
Prodigious birth of love it is to me,
That I must love a loathèd enemy!"

Bryan opened his eyes wide. Ellen really seemed to put feeling into it, and the pose really tightened her pale blue blouse against her chest.

"Wow, that's good," Bryan said.

Sherah snickered and cleared her throat. "'But soft, what light through yonder window breaks! It is the east, and Juliet is the sun! Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, yadda yadda that thou her maid art more fair than she.' But y'can see she shoulda stayed a moon maid. You gonna do Ophelia next? 'There's rosemary, that's for remembrance?'"

Lynn looked around and raised her eyebrows. "Some call her 'Cher'. Others call her 'Che'."

"Give her a break, Sherah, she's flirting," Amy said, looking round from her chat with Scott.

"I'm stunned," Sherah says. "Lynn flirts. Ellen?"

Ellen turned to Sherah and attempted a scowl. "Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a nunnery!"

"Mm, there's an idea, Hamlet," Sherah said. "Naah, I'd look terrible in a habit."

Lynn put a hand on her hip and rolled her eyes. "Maybe they have naked nunneries," she said. "Just for you."

"Jesters do oft prove prophets," Sherah retorted. "Why just the other..." Amy kicked Sherah's toe. Sherah snorted, but subsided.

"King Lear?" Ellen said.

"Look homeward, Cordelia," Sherah said. "'Scuze me, folks, I feel a siesta coming on." She stretched and gave a wide, exaggerated yawn, covering her mouth at the last moment. "Y'coming, girl?" she asked Amy.

"Um, sure," the redhead said.

Sherah turned and high-stepped up the stairs in the direction of Tyson Hall.

"Meet you at the Lagoon, Amy!" Ellen said. "Promise me you'll be there!"

"Sure thing!" Amy said.

"See you!" Scott said to Amy as she turned to go.

Bryan thought he looked a little miffed, but maybe Scott had missed the lezzie vibe between the redhead and the boyish punk girl.

Amy clomped up the stairs in her shiny boots, walking fast to catch up with Sherah. Bryan looked up as she went and he thought he glimpsed a bright green thong between the creamy butt-cheeks under her skimpy denim mini-skirt.

At least they were left with the cutest ones, Bryan thought to himself. He swallowed. The biggest tits, too.

"Hmm, you'd probably guess someone else was the drama major," Lynn said. "Hey guys, I gotta be heading down to the Lagoon. You want to help me set up, I can get you in free."

"They're guys," Ellen said. "They'd get in free almost regardless. Some girl would buy them in." Her eyes flicked across Bryan and Scott. "These guys? Totally."

"Hush, Ellen," Lynn said. "I could really use your help," she said, addressing Bryan and Scott. "Some of the other gals on the flyer will be there, too." She winked.

"Hey, I'm game," Scott said, sidling up to Lynn. "What do we have to do?"

Bryan looked at Ellen. "You going over there now, too?"

"No, I've got to change clothes, these won't work," Ellen said. "But I could walk you over if you want to wait in the lounge."

Bryan looked at Scott, who shrugged, then gave a half-wink and tapped a discreet thumbs-up against his belt.

"Hurry up if you can, Ellen," said Lynn. "You can help me wrangle the set-up crew. It'll be like stage crew, only more clueless."

Ellen laughed. "OK. I'll head on up now," she said.