Pre-med Promises

2

                                                                    Elliana

     "Honey, I'm home!!" I yell as I thrust all one-hundred thirty-four pounds of my bodyweight into the old, wooden door of our dorm. That door is the hardest damn thing to open, I swear. When I enter, I expect to see Gretchen, my roommate, sitting at the kitchen table as usual when I return from class.

     Instead, I'm greeted with the sight of two unfamiliar bottles sitting curtly on the counter. One is clear and much larger than the other and reads "Aristocrat" in red medieval lettering. The other bottle is prettier with yellow and pink ombré coloring; large letters plastered across the bottle show "SVEDKA". The latter bottle had nearly half of the liquid missing out of it.

     I drop my backpack and pick up the clear bottle to read the label more closely. While investigating the bottle, I feel a set of eyes staring at me. Assuming they belong to Gretchen, I inquire, "Whose are these?"

     "My brother got them," an unfamiliar voice answers. I look up as she continues, "You want some? You have got to try the SVEDKA mixed with lemonade," she starts toward me with an outreached hand holding a red plastic cup. "It's not great, but it's so –"

     "Oh, no. That's okay," I cut her off. "Thank you though." I place the bottle back on the counter. I have no idea who this girl is or why she is in our dorm. She is probably all too aware of how much I am judging her ensemble, since she tugs at the bottom of her black, cut-off denim shorts. In my defense, she is dressed as if she is going to a club on a Saturday night, but it's a Wednesday at 6:00PM.

     Her forehead scrunches as her voice softens. "You sure? We have enough. Or I could call my brother if you want something else?" She flips her long locks of blonde hair from one shoulder to the other.

     Gretchen emerges from our bedroom into the common area of our suite. Her outfit is nearly as scant as the alcohol connoisseur I have been talking to. Although, I do admit, Gretchen's attire is exceptionally cute and I wish I had the ability to pull off something similar. She styled a skin-tight leopard dress with black, chunky booties. The velvety material clings to her body, allowing everyone to see she has exactly zero fat in her mid-section, which I idolize her for. She accessorized with large, gold hoop earrings and her usual dainty, gold sunflower necklace that her best friend from home gave her last year for Christmas. Of course, she also has a red plastic cup gripped in her left hand.

     "Heyyyy, girl! You're home early!" she exclaims while lunging towards me to wrap her arms around my neck for a hug, all while sloshing her drink.

     Oh, great. She's drunk. "Hi, Gretch. Whatchya up to?" I laugh uncomfortably while wiping the liquid from her cup off of my face. I try to keep cool, but it is a big offense to have alcohol in the freshman dorms.

     "Oh, shit!" she throws her free hand to her forehead while worriedly looking in the direction of the alcohol. She knows I'm not a big fan of this sort of stuff. "I didn't think you would be home before we left, so I told the girls it would be okay to get ready and pregame here. I'm sorry!" Two other girls I don't recognize stumble out of the bathroom.

     "Gretch, you know we aren't really supposed to have alcohol in here..." I gesture towards the illicit bottles of liquid to my left. I know she is aware of this rule; I just don't want to come off as a bitch to her friends. "What if our RA comes in? You know Cameron's a nerd. He'll definitely write us up."

     She smirks, "He has class until 8:00PM on Wednesdays, remember?"

     Damnit. She's right. Still, them having alcohol in here stresses me out. I'm sure our suitemates, Taylor and Ashton, aren't very fond of being liable for possession of alcohol either. They are both members of GCU's volleyball team and the coaches are very strict about drinking. Folding my arms across my chest, I ask "Well, what about Taylor and Ashton? How do they feel about this?"