Hawthorne

25 - College Reunion

Camilla White

"I think I'll call it a night and head to my hotel," I confess.

"No way, Cami," Rachel groans. "Charlie was all over you, tonight. He invited you to his after-party. There's no way we're missing it!"

While it has been good to reconnect with Rachel, the only girl who cared enough to be my friend throughout my degree—except for my then-boyfriend. It's been weird tonight. While, I don't think I've changed much since my time studying, others surely have.

Charlie is one of them. We dated for two years, my freshman and sophomore. We met after crossing paths in the library, where I was finishing a project with Rachel. Ever since, he'd flirt with me often, until he got the courage to ask me out and we started dating. Most of our free time, back then, was spent together.

Well as much as he could, being in the same circle as Vincent required certain attendances from him that I was never part of. But I was fine with it, I've never wanted to be part of that world anyway. What mattered to me was that he never treated me differently.

Still, I knew what we had would never be something for the long haul. Just like now...

Weirdly, I was okay with that back then, and not as much right now.

Anyway, having Charlie and Rachel as my close circle helped most of the people from college to accept me too. Most of the time, anyway. For once, being someone else's girlfriend or friend outweighed the fact that I was half-Asian.

I am not one to let people define me by who I get involved with but at that time, it felt like if I was just an Asian girl, I would be much more marginalized.

Charlie was also my first and only—well, until Vincent that is.

Oh my, Vincent.

It's barely been a day and I already miss it. Him.

No! I can't dwell on that. I came here to put some space, figure out my spiralling thoughts and have some fun.

"Won't it be weird? We used to date..." I trail off.

Eventually, Charlie lost interest. He never admitted but I knew he had found someone more to his taste. Someone less... innocent. It wasn't as hard as I anticipated it to be, but with the lack of his presence in my life, others started to put me aside too.

At first, it hurt more than the break-up itself, but it only made me realize that people dealt with me to be close to him, not because they liked me. It was a wake-up call, it showed me how much I never belonged in their elite—and still don't. Rachel was the only one who stuck by me. That's why I regret not keeping in touch as much as I should have, but with Ms Elizabeth's health declining so rapidly, I could barely think of anything else.

"It's only weird if you make it weird," she answers."Maybe he wants to reconnect?"

Scrunching up my nose, I laugh sarcastically, "After so many years? I am not that delusional, he's probably engaged already."

"He's not!" She looks at me pointedly. "Believe me, I know."

"Then why don't you go and mingle?" I ask and she looks away.

With the way she's been ogling him up all night, I'd say she's interested in him. Is she keeping away from him because of me? I surely hope not.

"He's your ex. It's not correct," she mumbles.

I guess she is.

"Oh, bullshit! It's been years and I have way more things to worry about than some college fling."