Parks and Prejudice (Ben and Leslie | Parks and Rec)

Chapter 2

I am big enough to admit that I am in big fucking trouble.

Two weeks in college and it already hit me hard that I was way out of my league. Being a straight A student in high school meant nothing. I was supposed to be super chill all the time, but my anxiety was at an all-time high. I have a five-year freaking plan mapped out for crying out loud, how could I be having problems adjusting?

But here I was, drowning in reading materials and books borrowed from the library. OK, maybe they weren't all assigned readings, but they were all something I needed to read to get ahead.

Once I got around to all my classes in the first week, I realized that I hadn't prepared enough for the lectures. I couldn't answer 3 out of 5 questions raised by my professor during the discussion. Can you believe it? 3 out of 5? That's like the worst I've ever done in class.

Also, I think my roommate might be a witch and she scares the crap out of me.

She graduated early in high school and was accepted in the same scholarship that I was in. But she didn't seem as fazed as I was.

Right now, April was sitting on her bed with earphones on and typing away on her laptop. And I knew it wasn't about schoolwork because I peeked at it earlier when she went out to get something from the vending machine. I swear it looked like she was on a forum for dark arts and witchcraft or something.

I have tried multiple times to start a conversation with her, but she would only answer with a few words and then put her earphones back on. She had this intense look on her face when she was on her laptop.

And one time, I thought I heard her mumbling something. I think she was reading a spell in Latin or Spanish... I can't really tell the difference. But I was afraid I'd wake up in the middle of the night to find her hovering over me. That never happened of course, but my imagination gets the best of me sometimes.

I was currently highlighting important paragraphs on one of the readings when my phone started ringing. I checked caller ID and saw Ann's name.

I was surprised to get a call from my missing-in-action best friend. She started dating Chris, no surprise there. And as it usually goes when she starts a relationship, I would always get ignored. I'd receive short messages like, 'going out with Chris' or 'can't hang out tonight' from her, which was fine with me because it let me focus on my classes.

"Leslie Knope speaking. What's up, BFF?"

"I know who I'm calling, Leslie, do you really need to always answer your phone like that?"

"Yes, Ann. That's how professional people answer their phones. And one day, I'll be a government official and I will have perfected this professional tone."

"Right... Anyway, are you free tonight?"

"I have a ton of reading to do..." I looked at the paper in my hand and realized that I had actually highlighted every line on the page.

"Can you do them tomorrow? It's Friday, Leslie! I want you to come join me tonight. I'm going out again with Chris and it's getting serious. I need your blessing on this. Please?"

This always happened. Ann would go out on her dates and after a few dates she would ask me to tag along so I could 'read' the vibe. In the end she never took my advice if I hated someone she was dating. But I did need a night off, the mountains of books would still be there when I got back.

"OK, fine."

"Yay! See you later! Love you! Bye!"

----------