Cool Girl

3: Frat Party

It's seven by the time my last class of Friday ends. I'm putting my books back into my bag when Adam suddenly turns to me and asks, "I was invited to a frat party off campus and do you want to come along?"

Is he asking me out? My brain thinks but I say, "Is it the same frat house as the one on River Street?"

"Yes. You already knew of it?" He asks.

I nod, "I'm actually going there with friends from school."

I asked Liam and Ash yesterday and they were eager to have something to do tonight so they agreed to meet me in my dorm lobby and then we'd get an Uber to the house together.

"I guess, I'll see you there then." He says and gets up from his seat.

As I watch him walk out of the auditorium, I internally smack myself for not offering him a ride with us. But if he's invited to the party then he must know people there already.

In an hour I'm dressed in a black skirt and a soft pink blouse. I slide the credit card that mom and dad have entrusted me with into the back of my phone case and slip that into my skirt's pocket before heading down to the lobby to meet the boys.

"The Uber will be here in a minute. Let's wait for it outside." Ash says and we file out of the dorm building and walk to the entrance of the parking lot.

We're chatting about our day when the driver pulls up and we tally the number of the car with the app and then get it. It's a ten minute drive to the frat house. When we get there, we pay for the ride and then step out of the car.

The frat house is bigger than I anticipated it to be. But you can tell we're at the right place from the people spilling out onto the front lawn, the light, the music and laughter.

"Let's brave the night." Ash says and takes the lead towards the front door.

Despite the rooms in the house being big, they're crowded to the brim.

"Let's check if the back lawn is less crowded." Liam suggests and we follow him towards the kitchen which is visible from the foyer and then use the backdoor to access the lawn.

There's a pool and a ping pong table. It's every bit like the frat parties I've seen in movies. Ash spots a friend from his course and heads over to talk to her while Liam and I decide to head back to the kitchen and look for snacks.

I decide that the safest option in there is anything still in its packaging. Surprisingly, they have juice boxes lined up on one counter. I find an apple juice box and insert the straw.

"Didn't peg you to be someone who'd choose juice over Coke." I turn around to find Adam behind me, "Or something stronger."

"I'm happy with my juice, thank you." I say and then look to Liam, "Liam is this Adam. The guy from McDonald's."

"Yeah yeah I remember." Liam holds out a hand which Adam shakes.

"Ash needs me. Will you be okay alone?" Liam asks me.

"I'm okay. Call me if you can't find me." I tell him as he leaves me alone with Adam.

We stay silent for a moment as Adam pours himself Coke from a huge bottle and I'm sure it must be spiked by now given the state of half the people in this house.

"So, how did you get invited to this party?" Adam asks.

"Uhh...I was with Ben when he ran into a teammate from his soccer team who is part of this fraternity and I just got an invitation too." I reply.

"That must've been Rico. He's the only one on the soccer team." Adam nods to himself.

"You're not part of this fraternity, are you?" I ask and Adam shakes his head, starting to laugh.

"No. My older brother is. He's a third year student at UCLA." Adam tells me.

"Oh." Is all I say as I realize that I've finished my juice box and drop it into the bin a few paces behind me.

"Hazel!" I hear Ben call out and I spot him walking in from the adjoining room with Claire in tow.

"Hey. I was thinking when I'd run into you two." I say as they walk up to us.

"Adam, right?" Ben confirms and when Adam nods, Ben says hi and then turns to me.

"Claire and I are going to get some dinner. Want to come?" He asks and if it had been just Ben I would've said yes without a second's thought but the look Claire's giving me, keeps me from saying that.

"I'm just to stay here for a little longer and then head back. You two have fun." I say and then say goodbye before they walk out of the kitchen.

"Do you want to go outside, it's quite stuffy in here?" Adam offers and I gladly take him up on it.

We find a spot on the concrete that surrounds the cobbled patio and sit down. We sit in silence and observe the party go on. People dance to the music, a guy gets pushed into the pool by his friends. People come and go, kissing, talking, alone and in groups.

"Do you plan on applying to UCLA?" Adam asks me.

I shake my head, "I'm thinking Stanford and UC Berkley." I tell him.

"Sticking to California?" He asks.

I nod, "I want some distance from my usual setting but be close to home too. And both these choices provide me that."

"Stanford is a tough school to get into. But from what I've seen of your academics this week and the stories of your athletics I've heard, I'm sure getting in will be a piece of cake." Adam smiles at me.

"I do hope so." I sigh.

"Where do you plan on applying?" I ask after a pause.

"I'm thinking NYU for now."

"To be close to your friends?" I ask, remembering that he's from the city.

"You remembered." He smiles at me and then nods, "Yes, that's majorly why but if I find good company here, I might just end up staying in California."

I turn away to look at the party again when Adam asks, "Its Saturday tomorrow. Are you free for lunch?"

I'm surprised for a second before I rack my brain and realize that I am free for the day tomorrow and finally agree, "Sure."

Just then Ash and Liam spot me and start to walk towards us, Adam stands up and looks down at me, "I'll call you tomorrow morning and then we can decide on the place?"

"Okay." I nod and watch him walk back inside as my friends sit down in his place and start catching me up on how Liam rescued Ash from a girl trying to seduce him.

How are you liking Cool Girl so far?

-T