Chapter 2:
Of Friends and Foam Cores
It had been a little over a week since classes started at Westbridge University, and Sam had gotten settled into her daily routine.
Go to class, go to the gym, go home and study. Go to class, go to the gym, go home and study.
Her mom was right. Sam was having the time of her life at college. The classes were a little harder than she was used to. But she had all the time in the world for studying!
Yes, Westbridge University was every bit as great as the brochures had made it out to be. And now it was time for Sam’s favorite part of the day.
Meal time.
As part of her scholarship, breakfast, lunch, and dinner were covered by the school, so long as she got her food from the cafeteria. And she was happy to do it. Westbridge University had a massive cafeteria, and just setting foot in it led to Sam being bombarded with a barrage of smells. She fought back the urge to drool as she picked up her tray.
There were so many choices! Did all private colleges have this much selection? Japanese, Italian, Mediterranean, there were more styles of cuisine than she could count! But right now, she had a hankering for meat.
She waited in line at the “Build-Your-Burger” counter, basking in luxury. She’d never eaten as good as she had over the past few days.
Protein! Real honest-to-god protein! Actual meat products, none of that fast food crap! As much as I want! Sam felt the urge to burst into tears. Viva private schools! Viva scholarships!
“What’ll it be, ma’am?” The lunchlady asked.
“One burger with four patties, lean beef cuts on a whole-grain bun, please. Low-fat cheese. No sauce,” Sam said, scanning the menu. “Add lettuce, and tomato. Oh! And an egg on top, as well!”
The lunchlady stared at her in astonishment. “Did you say… four patties?”
Sam blinked. “It says ‘add extra patty’, is there a limit?”
“No, it’s not that, it’s just… well, that’s a lot, isn’t it?”
“It’s fine!”
The woman shook her head in amazement and passed the order back. When her food was finally ready, Sam was salivating at the sight. It looked even better than she imagined.
“You want some fries with that?” The lunchlady asked, gesturing towards the bins. Regular and waffle fries… ugh, the temptation.
What am I being so stingy about? She asked herself. It’s not like I need to keep in shape anymore…
She shook those thoughts from her head. “No, just some steamed broccoli, please! Thank you!”
Sam took back her tray and sat down in her usual seat, a table by the far window. There was a perfect view of the river running through campus. It was a nice place to think in peace.
“Hi, Sam!”
Well, that lasted for about two seconds.
She looked up from her burger with a sigh. Mary sat down across from her with a shy smile on her face. Her tray was practically empty, holding just a lonely-looking bowl of lentil soup and a glass of water.
“So, uh… how was your day?” Mary asked.
Sam took a bite of her hamburger and tried to ignore her. It had been over a week and her roommate still hadn’t gotten the message that she wasn’t looking to make friends.
“That’s, um… p-pretty big, can you really eat that much?”
She swallowed and set the burger down, stabbing a piece of broccoli with her fork.
“I-I’m sorry if I’m being annoying, I just… are you planning to go to the gym tonight? M-Maybe I could join you, or… or something…?”
That actually made her pause. She glanced up from her meal with a bemused look, staring incredulously at the scrawny girl in front of her.
“…You want to go to the gym.”
Mary flinched in her seat, surprised to get a response. “I-I mean… yeah?”
“And that’s all you’re eating for dinner?” Sam asked, pointing her fork at Mary’s bowl.
“I-I…” Mary’s face turned red and she glanced down at her lap. “All the food here looks so good… and I don’t want to put on the freshman 15, so…”
Sam had seen Mary’s body when she was changing. Forget 15 pounds, that girl needed at least twice that much before she was anywhere close to healthy.
“Not happening.”
“But I want to get in better shape!” Mary cried. “And… and you’re so… I can lift weights! And do that bicycle thing, like on the ads!”
Sam scowled. “Don’t make light of working out,” she snapped, startling Mary. “Before you even THINK of working out you to seriously change your diet. Do not overestimate what your body is capable of, or you could really damage yourself, got that?!”
She caught her breath, and took a sip of milk to calm down. Fuck. She hadn’t meant to snap like that. The poor thing was on the verge of tears.
“B-Baah…” Mary whimpered, trembling.
Great. Now she felt like a jerk.
“…Look, why don’t you go get some more food? Something high in protein. Or whatever, really. God, every time I look at you I’m afraid you’re going to collapse.”
Mary swallowed her tears and nodded obediently, picking up her tray and dashing off.
Sam sighed and nursed her headache, getting back to her meal. Finally, alone time. She had just about finished off her burger when Mary returned with half a pizza on her plate.
“Is-Is this good?” She asked hopefully.
“…Why did you come back?” Sam sighed in exasperation. If she’d been a little slower Sam could have finished her meal in peace. “Go… sit with your friends or something, leave me alone.”
Mary glanced sheepishly down at her lap. “I, um… I haven’t… madeanyfriendsyet,” she quickly mumbled, her face turning red.
“So?”
“So I wanted to sit with you?” She asked hopefully.
“No thanks.” Sam’s eyes landed on a table filled with a bunch of girls. They were talking and smiling like they were having the time of their lives. “There, look. It’s your new best friends. Go sit with them.”
Mary jumped, her face turning pale. “Th-Them?! B-But… they’re… I mean, they’re already in a group, and… if I just went up and asked to sit, that would be rude…”
Sam took another sip of milk. “…Wow you are bad at this.”
“It-It’s not my fault!” Mary wailed. “I’ve never had a friend before! What am I supposed to do?! Do I just, like, wait until someone’s by themselves, when no one’s around, and then approach?”
Sam shrugged. “Sure. Or do something that doesn’t make you sound like a serial killer, either’s good.”
Mary sighed and hung her head.
“This sucks… it’s like high school all over again… I thought college was going to be different…”
Sam took a bite out of her broccoli. “…You’re kind of a loser, huh.”
“Hey!”
“What’s the big deal?” Sam shrugged. “Who cares if you don’t have any friends? I don’t have any friends and I’m happier than ever.”
Mary glowered at her. “But I… I wanted to change that about myself… see, back when I was in high school, I was really shy and awkward…”
“Still are.”
“Let! Me! Finish!” She wailed. “I didn’t have any friends, and everyone picked on me… so I decided that when I came here, I was going to make a fresh start.”
Sam raised her eyebrow. “…Really.”
“Yes!” Mary said, her eyes gleaming with resolve. “I don’t want to be a shy little wallflower! I want to be popular! I’m going to make at least a hundred friends! And get a boyfriend! A real hunk! I’m going to live an amazing and fulfilling college life like on Dawson’s Lake, or One River Valley, or Mental Girlfriend!”
…Well, she was certainly ambitious, Sam would give her that. This was the most energized Mary had ever been.
“You know that stuff’s all fake, right?”
Mary blinked.
“…Henh?”
“Yeah. All those college drama shows? Totally bogus. Life isn’t like television.”
“You… You don’t know that! It could totally happen! I meet a nice guy across the shelves at the library, we get to talking, he tells me I look cute, then I run into a bad boy with a hidden heart of gold, and I spend the next four years split over which one I like better, and-“
“Nope. Never going to happen.”
Mary looked like someone had killed her favorite pet.
“I… I just want to have fun…” She mewled pathetically. “I don’t want to waste college like I wasted high school…”
“Trust me. You don’t want to be popular,” Sam said, rolling her eyes.
“Anything’s better than being some nobody,” Mary grumbled, poking at her pizza.
Sam sighed and steepled her fingers. This girl clearly needed a reality check. Or a therapist who offered bulk session discounts.
“I get it, you’ve painted up some magic fantasy about college life from movies and tv, where all the kids are good looking and popular and having a blast. So let me tell you how your life’s gonna go. You’re going to start changing yourself to fit in with the popular kids, and try to be friends with a bunch of people you don’t even really like, but you have to hang with because they’re the ‘it’ crowd, and you want to fit in. You’ll go to a bunch of parties and you’ll run into cute guys, and because you want them to like you you’ll start doing even more things to fit in. Somebody’ll say ‘hey, you want to try some alcohol?’ and you won’t really want to but you don’t want to look like a buzzkill so you’ll say yes. Then one drink turns into several, and before you know it you’re spending every Friday night partying on more drugs than you can count doing things with boys you never thought you’d ever do with anyone besides your boyfriend just so they’ll think you’re cool, and then before you know it you’re an unwed teenage mother who dropped out after one semester and had to go on welfare, living in a flat above a bowling alley working two jobs for minimum wage to support your daughter. That’s what ‘popular’ is.”
Mary sat in stunned silence as Sam nonchalantly finished her meal.
“…Gyaa! Why did you come up with something so dark?! And so specific?! That’s horrible, why would you even think like that?!” Mary exclaimed.
“The road to hell is paved with the aspirations of desperate nobodies.”
“I don’t want to become that nightmare! Why would I have to go through that just to be popular?! All I want is a boyfriend, is that asking too much!?” She was practically in hysterics.
Sam thought back to all the times her old friends had talked about cute guys. It didn’t make any more sense to her now than it did then.
“I don’t get it, why do you care so much about getting a boyfriend?” She asked. “You’re in school. Just focus on studying.”
“…Yeah, sure, of course you would say that.”
“Huh?”
“We’ve been here for nine days!” Mary said. “And four guys have already asked you out! I’ve been counting! Four! F-O-U-R! In nine days! It’s not fair!”
…Had it really been that many? Sam had honestly stopped paying attention.
Mary bitterly stared at her. “I don’t get it, you’re so rude… why do boys always ask you out?”
“…Because I actually take care of myself, maybe?” She didn’t have any better of a guess than Mary did.
“I get it, I get it! Stop rubbing it in!” Mary groaned, glowering at her and gnawing into her pizza.
Sam sighed. “Look, Mary, I don’t get it any more than you do. Believe me, I wish that guys would just leave me alone and stop bothering me. It’s annoying.”
“…Yeah boohoo. Poor you…” She muttered. “I’m sure you’ve had loads of boyfriends already…”
“Nope. Never. Don’t want one either.”
Mary’s jaw dropped.
“…Seriously? Why not?”
Sam shrugged. “Just never really seemed important.”
“But, like, what if a really cute guy came and asked you out, then you totally would, right?”
“No? I’m not really into guys like that, never have been.”
Mary took a second to process that. Her face turned white. She scooted back a little, staring suspiciously at Sam.
“Wait, you’re not… you don’t, like… I mean, I’ve changed in front of you, are you telling me you’re-“
“What? No. Why would you think that?” Sam definitely hadn’t expected THAT.
“Oh, okay,” Mary relaxed. “But really? You’ve never liked a boy? Not once?”
All Sam could do was shrug and shake her head.
Mary couldn’t believe it. “Unreal…” It just made her feel worse. “You get all the guys, and you don’t even want them, and meanwhile I can’t even get one boy to look my way… this is so not fair…”
“…Okay…” Sam scanned the cafeteria and found a random guy. “Go talk to him, then. He’s a boy.”
Mary whirled her head around to see who Sam was pointing at. She gasped.
“What?! I can’t talk to him! He’s cute!”
“…So?”
“I would literally die!”
“So you want an ugly boyfriend, then?”
“No!”
“Okay, well, you’re kind of presenting a pretty big problem huh?”
“I went to an all girls’ school! I’ve never talked with a boy before, I’ve never even had prolonged eye-contact with a boy!”
“…And you say you want to be popular,” Sam said dryly. Well. This was… something. But she was done eating, and this girl was just making her depressed. Time to hit the gym. She was about to stand up when a couple of guys came up to their table.
“Hey, you two are freshmen, right? Me and Danny here just saw you two eating by yourselves, and we were wondering if you’d like to come hang at our table for a little-”
“Beat it, creepo,” Sam snapped, giving the boys a glare that could curdle milk.
They made the wise decision to beat it.
Sam turned back to Mary. Her face was bright red, and she had buried it in her hands.
“…They’re gone. You can come out now.”
Mary shook her head. “Are they looking over here?” She mumbled.
“…No, you’re good.”
Mary peaked through her fingers, burning with shame.
“You were right, I’m a loser, huh…”
Sam could have said something reassuring, but that’s what friends were for.
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