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Chapter 6

The night before my first college class, I was so nervous that normally I would not have gotten any sleep—but I’d just climbed a mountain. My deep sleep must have been thanks to the exercise and fresh air.

But the excitement returned when I opened my eyes that morning, and when Dawn and I sat together in our first literature class, we were euphoric with anticipation.

But reality hit quickly, bringing us back to earth.

We were sitting in the middle of a huge, overfilled lecture hall. I could barely follow what the professor was saying because the noise level was so high.

“How are things with the asshole?” Dawn whispered. Over coffee that morning I’d already told her about the party on Saturday night and had to submit to her interrogation. Apparently this was the next question on her list.

“He’s grumpy, but I think we’ll manage,” I said after a pause. “Yesterday he took me on a hike.”

“Is that a code word for something perverse?” asked Dawn, her eyes bright.

I tried to suppress a laugh, but a gurgle escaped.

A girl sitting in front of us turned and glared at me.

I covered my mouth with my hand. “No,” I muttered. “We really went on a hike.”

“Why?”

“I wanted to see the landscape, and he loves to hike,” I said, shrugging.

Dawn giggled. “Oh, that I believe—that Kaden really likeshiking.” Now the girl in front of us was throwing us a furious look.

“Shhh, Dawn,” I scolded her with mock seriousness.

Before our afternoon lectures—Dawn was taking creative writing, and I was taking a class on Film and TV—we headed for the dining hall.

After waiting in the long line, Dawn took a portion of mac ‘n’ cheese, and I chose the tortellini with vegetables.

“I wouldn’t take that if I were you,” someone whispered right behind me, just as I was about to order the dish.

I jerked back and nearly dropped my tray.

“Ah, the strange roommate,” Dawn said.

Only now did I turn to look at Kaden. He wrinkled his nose and ran a hand over his short hair.

“Why not?” I asked.

“The filling is awful. Sometimes there’s gristle in it.”

I nodded and pointed to the next dish. This time, too, Kaden shook his head and made a strangling noise.

“What’s wrong with the fried vegetables?” I asked. Now his eyes lit up, and I ordered, with a shrug.

As the lady handed me my plate, Kaden grabbed it away and put it on his own tray. “That’s because you didn’t leave any coffee for me today,” he said and headed to the cashier.

My mouth hung open in indignation.

That jerk! I turned back to the lady but she was already helping the next student in line.

“We can share,” Dawn said, indicating the yellow mush on her plate. I sighed and agreed because I didn’t feel like waiting in line all over again.

Kaden would get his due when I saw him at home later.