Morning

The morning drifts by slower than usual. You wake up late, sunlight spilling through the blinds and slicing across the living room floor. Sadie’s already up, barefoot in an oversized T-shirt, humming under her breath while flipping pancakes at the stove. The smell is warm and sweet, almost enough to disguise the fact that your stomach’s still been in knots for weeks.

“Morning, zombie” she says without turning, flipping another pancake with the confidence of someone who’s made them a hundred times. “Big day tomorrow. You better rest up if you’re gonna survive it.”

You groan, rubbing your face. “Why do you sound like we’re heading to war?”

“Because for you, socializing IS war.” She smirks, slides a plate across the counter, and raises her eyebrows until you sit down to eat.

Then I remember that the Dean of Students wants me in his office. Seems it just wasn’t Sadie who noticed my moods lately, it seems some of my professors have made reports to the Dean of Students about my lack of trying in their classes. I don’t know how they wanted me to be after Emily broke it off with me. Had none of them ever experienced heartbreak before?

Sadie picked up quickly, “Don’t tell me, let me guess you just remembered a reason to skip going to the frat house tonight, right!”

“No, I said I would make an appearance there and I will but first I have to meet with the Dean of Students for some reason!”

If Sadie believed me I couldn’t really say. Once again she adopted the impenetrable persona. She finished eating, then gathered her book bag and said as she was leaving, “Well just make sure you do show up mister!” Then the door closed and I was left with my thoughts of Emily and the way I have been acting.

I finished another bite of toast then cleaned up so Sadie didn’t have something else to bitch at me about. I didn’t realize that time started to move, until I was sitting in the waiting room in the admin building. A secretary said the Dean would see me now, and I went into what I hoped wasn’t going to end up with an ultimatum to do better or find myself expelled.

But for me it was worse than that! The dean actually tried the old “I’m your best friend” routine on me, tried to worm out of me the reason for my sudden decline in scholarly endeavours. Of course I didn’t say anything but I did promise to change ASAP. When I was allowed to leave, I noticed that two hours had passed and suddenly I wanted a cold one to help me forget everything.

I went to the appropriately named “Library” and ordered a tall boy from the waitress who could have passed for a housemother at the sorority on Delware Avenue. Suddenly one turned to two, two into four and only being found by Anton Martin prevented me from getting full on drunk.

As it was Anton took me to the frat house after a fast shower in his dorm. A little after eight thirty we presented ourselves at the front door and were let in by the prick who Emily always said was her kind of guy. We parted company and at first I considered finding the back door and leaving, but my bladder chose that time to need emptying.

As I understood, all bathrooms were upstairs, so I made my way up to them. I found one unoccupied, so I went in and drained my bladder. Upon coming out I saw a line of guys trying to look in a bedroom. From inside came a voice that I thought sounded familiar!