“What do you mean?”
“I wasn’t sure if a sorority was for me, but you made Delta Mu sound amazing.”
“Oh, wow. I’m so glad I had something to do with your decision.” I only hoped she enjoyed the experience. I loved it, but that didn’t mean it was for everyone.
“I’m excited to be here, but I feel bad for some of my friends who didn’t get a house.”
I frowned. “Yeah, that’s the worst part of the whole system. I wish there were enough spots for every girl who wants to join a sorority.”
“Do you think they’ll ever change things?”
“No.” I answered honestly. “It’s a combination of wanting to keep things exclusive and there not being enough chapters on campus.” I shared her distaste for the system. I’d even voiced it to the sorority council, but they’d shot me down pretty quickly.
“Yeah. That’s what I thought.”
I needed to lighten the mood again. “Do you want to go check out the desserts?” I gestured to the kitchen.
“Absolutely.”
She had a sweet tooth too? I’d officially found my little sister.
Chapter Eight
The first day of class sophomore year was so much better than freshman year. First, I knew where I was going. Second, I was only taking the classes I wanted to. That would hopefully make keeping my GPA up possible. The only class I wasn’t sure of was intro anthropology, but it would satisfy a humanities requirement, and it was a subject that seemed interesting.
I got to class a few minutes early, and I slipped into an empty seat at a long rectangular table. After taking a quick look around the room to see if I recognized anyone, I pulled out a notebook and opened it to the first page. There’s something about a fresh notebook that I love. It’s almost like it symbolizes new opportunities or something. With a smile, I wrote the date on the top of the page. I heard a few people come in, and I smiled at them in greeting. I glanced at my watch, only two more minutes.
“This seat taken?” a familiar voice asked lightly.
“Colt?” I put a hand to my chest.
He didn’t wait for an answer and took the seat right next to me.
“Did you steal my schedule too?”
“Steal your schedule? You think I’m stalking you?”
“You did follow me to college.”
“Because I wanted to go here. The fact that we’re at the same school is pretty convenient though.” He wriggled an eyebrow.
I sighed. “Well, congrats on Kappa.”
“Thanks. Glad to know it’s the frat you hang out with.” There was something in his expression that made it seem like there was more he wanted to say.
“Yeah. I’m with them a lot.”
“Nice. I heard we have a mixer with your sorority next week.”
“Yeah. We do.” I played it cool. I didn’t feel like mentioning I was going with a date.
“Maybe we can mix?” He bumped his shoulder into mine.
I was spared from mentioning my plans with Tanner when our professor walked in.
Professor Cains was actually a grad student. I’d never had a student as a professor before, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. I assumed the university wouldn’t have given him the class if he wasn’t qualified to teach it, but he certainly didn’t look like an expert on anthropology. With crazy hair that stood up in every direction, and a black t-shirt with a picture of an alien on it, if he looked like he belonged in any department, it should have been art.
He cleared his throat loudly. “Welcome to Anthropology 101. Some of you may have signed up for this class thinking it’s going to be a joke. If so, you might as well leave. This class will be one of the most intense you’ve ever taken. Anthropology is one of the most important subjects you’ll have the privilege to study, and it’s going to be an enormous task to cover the entire field in one semester.” His voice got deep and serious. It took every ounce of self-restraint I had not to laugh.
The girl next to me didn’t have the same restraint. She giggled.
“Did you have something to add?” Cains asked.
She blushed. “No. Sorry.”
“Okay, good. Here is the syllabus. Read it.” He tossed a pile of papers down on the middle of the table. Colt took two and slid one over to me.
I glanced down. It seemed pretty standard, except that all assignments were supposed to be done in teams. I looked around the table, hoping I’d missed someone on my first perusal that I knew well enough to partner with other than Colt. Working on anything with Colt wouldn’t be good.
“I’ve already assigned you research teams. There will be no switching. In the real world, you don’t get to work with your friends. You work with whatever prick you’re assigned to.” Cain’s face turned red as he worked himself up. Evidently he wasn’t a fan of all of his colleagues.
I glanced at Colt. Had Cains just said that?
“I’ve listed the teams on the last page.”
I quickly flipped to the last of ten pages. I found my name and the one next to it. Hell no. Random?
Colton laughed, and I knew he’d seen the same thing. “Guess we’ll be seeing plenty of each other, pumpkin.”
I put my head in my hands.
“You heard Cains.” Colton spoke softly, but his feelings on the matter were made perfectly clear. “No switching.”
“This is going to be interesting.”
“More like fantastic.”
“What did I ever see in you?” I mumbled.
“You mean what do you see in me. Don’t pretend it’s past tense.”
I turned my attention back to Cains.
“There will be opportunities to gain extra credit by signing up for additional projects. I’ll have more information on those later.”
I listened as he droned on about the course materials, and I packed up as soon as he finished. I had to get to another class.
“Where’s your next class?” Colt followed me out.
“Marshall.”
“I’m in Tahoe. Any idea where that is?”
“Yeah. I’ll show you.” I remembered how confusing the buildings were when I first started. The least I could do was help him out on the first day.
“Thanks.” He treated me to one of his bright smiles, and that only made everything worse. The smile gave me that fluttering sensation again. Wouldn’t that ever go away? Maybe it would happen at the same time I stopped reliving our night together when I closed my eyes.