Page 8 of Palm South University: Season 3
“GODDAMN IT!”
I throw my phone across the room with a roar, watching as it bounces off Skyler’s bed and plops down to the floor anticlimactically. Having a shatter-proof phone case is not helping in this moment of rage.
Skyler pokes her head out of the bathroom, curling wand still wrapped around one strand of hair as she eyes the phone and then cocks one eyebrow at me. “Bad horoscope again?”
“No,” I huff. “Jarrett got a job.”
“And that made you hurl your phone at my pillows?”
“Not a job here. They offered him a job at the nonprofit agency he’s been interning at all summer. And that fucker took it!” I punch my pillow, crossing my arms over my chest like a child. I’m whining like a little bitch, but I can’t help it.
Skyler drops her curling wand on the counter and pads over to me, hopping up onto the bed as Ashlei leans a hip on the doorframe. She’s still brushing her teeth, all of us getting ready to go to the first Omega Chi party of the year.
“This is a good thing, Jess. He’s worked hard and it’s paying off now.”
“Yeah, but this was supposed to be temporary — this whole long-distance thing. Now he’s there for, what? A year? Two? Forever?” I flop back against my pillows and pull one to cover my face, muffling my next selfish whine. “I don’t want to be in a long-distance relationship.”
It’s silent a moment before the pillow is pulled from my face and I find myself staring up at Ashlei, her blonde hair straight as a pin and falling all around her face as she points her toothbrush down at me. “You love him, remember? You’ll make it work. It’s going to be hard,” she concedes, glancing at Skyler who nods with a sympathetic smile. “But he’s crazy about you, Jess. And you’re crazy about him. Don’t make him feel guilty for following his dreams.”
I sigh. “I know. You’re right. But I’m not ready to admit that to him, yet. Right now I just want to be mad and whiney and drunk. I’ve got the first two down so can we work on that third?”
Skyler grins and Ashlei pops her toothbrush back in her mouth, speaking around the bristles. “Nowthatwe can do.”
We finish getting ready just before eleven, and without even trying to convince Erin to come with us, we sneak down the stairs and out the back kitchen door, waiting to pull on our high heels until we’re safely outside.
Skyler and Ashlei chat as we make the short walk to Omega Chi, Skyler telling us about the national poker tournament she’s thinking of entering while Ashlei talks about how nervous she is to start her internship next week. It reminds me that since I changed my major so late, I won’t even be able to intern until next summer, at the earliest. My boyfriend is off kicking ass and taking names, already working in the government sector for a top nonprofit, and I can’t even apply to be someone’s intern bitch yet.
It’s not that I’m not happy for him, because I am — I know he deserves this and I know it will make him happy. It’s just thatIwant to make him happy, too. And I’m not sure how long I can do that from more than a thousand miles away. Still, I try to remind myself that a plane ride to New York City is short, and it doesn’t have to be hard. If we both put in the effort, it won’t be. It’s fine. It’ll all be fine.
I need to seal that mindset with a shot.
“SKYLER FUCKING THORNE!”
We don’t even make it up the sidewalk and into the house before Clinton comes barreling out, throwing Skyler over his shoulder and spinning her around as she squeals and kicks. I laugh, and instantly I feel back at home. I can always count on Palm South University for drunken shenanigans and distractions from girly feelings.
“Alright,” Clinton says, dropping Skyler’s feet back to the sidewalk. “Let’s get you three to the kegs. Time for the KKB girls to get this party started.”
We throw our fists into the air with a shout and follow him through the house, the three of us lining up on the backside of the kegs, hands braced on the cool metal handles. Clinton grabs Skyler’s ankles just as two of his brothers slide up behind me and Ashlei, and the next thing I know, our feet are in the air, taps are in our mouths, and every thought of Jarrett is erased.
At least for now.
“I love you two,” I slur with a smile.
“Aww, we love you, too, babe,” Ashlei says, but when she turns and finds me staring down at my two beautiful boobs, she snorts. “Oh, my God, you are not talking to your rack right now.”
“What? Idolove them. I mean, seriously, have you seen them?” I shimmy my top down a little more and push my chest toward her. “What’s not to love?”
“They are always there for you.”
“Always,” I agree, hugging them again. “Through thick and thin. I can’t even stay mad at them for the boob sweat terror of the summer.”
Skyler giggles, handing us another Jell-O shot just as a loud chant begins to break out in the backyard.
We follow the noise, arms slung around each other and still giggling as we take our shots. When we reach the back, there’s a large crowd gathered around the trampoline that surfaced at the Omega Chi house sometime over the summer. Everyone is staring up, and when we follow their gaze, we find a freshman perched on the roof.
Well, I assume he’s a freshman, anyway, judging by the fact that he’s in nothing but his tighty whities and is wearing a pirate hat.
“Do it, do it, do it!” the crowd chants. I glance at Skyler, whose face is twisted up in concern as she stares up at the naked pirate.