THE LITTLE MERMAID ━━ Jeff Winger

𝙭𝙞. the politics of human sexuality

          Annie scrambled for her things. She had an almost empty bottle of flavored water somewhere in her backpack. Abed watched quietly while Troy's emotions began to crack. Shirley helped Annie look for her water. By the time they'd found it, Elina could breathe a bit better. She took the bottle and unscrewed the cap, hurriedly filling her mouth with water. The water helped push down the piece of food until she could finally breathe again, a sputtered cough leaving her now wet lips.

          "Sorry," she sputtered, handing the water back to Annie. Pierce huffed out a breath. "You okay?" Jeff asked as she sat back down. She used the back of her hand to wipe away the water from her mouth. Tears had blossomed within her pretty, blue eyes. "Yeah, m'okay," she replied softly. An apologetic look spread across her face like wildfire.

          "An appropriate reaction to Pierce dating an escort," Jeff commented and she couldn't help but snort. Pierce looked confused. "No, no, no. No, that's just her profession. She doesn't escort me," he argued. "No, no. I met her in my marketing class." Elina set her honey bun down on the table. If Pierce continued with this insane information, she'd most likely die if she tried to eat another bite. "And I'm taking Doreen to Annie's mixer tonight."

Annie perked up. "You mean the STD fair. Catch knowledge." Elina grimaced. There it was again, haunting her like a ghost from her past. Troy blinked. "Taking a call girl to an STD fair? There's a joke here." Troy moved his textbook to flip open his notebook specifically used for his jokes. It was dark blue and he carried it around everywhere. "So, Jeff, dust off that black book and rustle up a honey, huh?"

"Is there a pill that makes the word no clearer?" Jeff retorted. Elina hummed. How ironic. "It is short notice. Probably couldn't get a date anyway," Pierce sighed. A chorus of 'ooh's sounded from the others. Even Elina had to jump in. Jeff scoffed. He was being goaded, he knew that. "I'm sure you're right," he replied sarcastically. The 'ooh's continued back toward the old man. "Maybe it has somethin' to do with crabs. They're like a food but also a disease..."

          "You know, I wonder Jeff, even for all your feather flashing, when was the last time you actually scored?" Pierce questioned. Jeff's lips curled into a grin. Elina felt her cheeks grow hot at the idea. She did not want to hear about any of their sex lives. Especially not while hers was currently shriveling up to die. "I don't know the precise date, Pierce, because I'm not you. So there's no receipt. Ooh," Jeff tried to coax out of the group. And, though it was a decent zinger, no one obliged.

          He looked disappointed by the lack of reactions. "Jeff, you shouldn't take pot shots at some poor woman just because you can't get a date." Elina's eyes bulged open. She reached for her honey bun again, ready to risk death than join the conversation. "I can get dates any time I want," he argued. "What is this, some kinda joke?"

"No, this is." Troy dropped his pen and picked up his notebook. "Don't eat the crab dip! Yay-yeah." He tossed his notebook forward confidently, a wide smile crossing his face. The room fell silent as his joke hung in the air. "Nice job, Troy," Elina spoke up, feeling bad that no one laughed. He smiled over at the blonde appreciatively. "Thanks, El." She nodded her head before taking another bite of her snack. At least one person was pleased. Jeff glanced toward the blonde. Her cheeks were a soft rosy hue. He stored that image away for later, when he could question her without any interruptions.

"Crab dip," Troy echoed, laughing at his own joke. "That's hilarious."

"So, I was talking to Jeff earlier," Britta spoke up. She and Shirley sat on one of the couches in the library while Elina sat on the floor. Several papers were scattered around her laptop. The mention of Jeff made her head twitch, interest pooling within her eyes. "Pierce really got to him with the whole, "can't get a date," thing. He was calling all the women from his contacts and while I was scrolling through, I noticed something."