Aspen and I arrive at Xander House almost twenty minutes late, thanks to the maps on our phones being unsynced and leading us in the wrong direction multiple times. But nonetheless, we make it in one piece, mostly.
The walk from our dorm to theirs wasn't too bad. I was mainly worried about having to walk across campus with the girl I accidentally just insulted straight to her face, but she didn't mention it even once. She did, however, give me the silent treatment the entire way here, even after I tried apologizing for what I said.
But alas, here we are, standing outside of the second-floor common room that took us way too long to find, waiting for Ambrose to let us in. It takes him only a few seconds to unlock the door for us and we walk in to the smell of taco meat and the presence of a stranger. Or at least a stranger to me.
"Theo?" Aspen says suddenly, grabbing the attention of who I can only assume is Ambrose's roommate.
"Oh, hey," the guy, Theo, says. "I didn't know you were the roommate."
"I could say the same for you," she smiles at him. Is it really that easy to get a smile from her? Why do I seem to be the only one she can't bear to smile at?
"You guys know each other?" Ambrose asks from the little kitchen tucked away in the corner.
"We just met today," Theo informs him as Aspen nods in confirmation. "We have a class together."
"Wait, that's crazy. What's your name?" Ambrose calls out.
"Aspen!" Aspen responds instantly. "And you are?"
"Ambrose," he responds with a grin in his tone. "Theo is my roommate, I don't know if Cara told you."
When I hear someone I just met today use my name, it feels so sweet. Usually, I'd have to be asked a couple of times what my name is to make sure they remember it, but Ambrose just has it on his mind already.
Oh, god, what if it's because he's interested in me? I know the way he invited Aspen and me to dinner was pretty nonchalant and friendly, but what if it was just a facade to hide his feelings?
Or what if I'm being way too self-centered right now and he really is just wanting to talk and make friends? Am I completely misreading the situation and making something out of nothing all because of what Aspen texted me? How could I be so egotistical? I'm not the kind of girl guys would meet once and then just fall in love with immediately after; I need to get over myself.
"So, what are you guys majoring in?" Theo asks as Aspen and I take a seat next to each other. It's funny that we'd usually rather sit anywhere else, but since she's the only other person I really know, and me her, there really isn't any other option.
"I'm a music major," Aspen explains with a small smirk. "Music Education, to be exact."
"Ah, hence the music theory class," he says, tapping his finger to his brain. "Makes sense. I'm an animation major but I'm minoring in Music and Culture."
"Oh, you'll have to let me know what you think of the classes; that was my second choice!"
I've never seen Aspen so passionate about something, let alone school. I mean, she's always gotten the highest grades in class, of course, but she never really talked about her academics whenever she was at school. She never mentioned studying or test scores or any assignments we ever had, and yet she was top of the class every single time. She and I, that is.
I always thought people were her thing, but it's clear that she's truly a jack of many trades. I don't think I've heard any of her music before—probably because I'd die if she were better at the violin than me—but clearly, she's passionate enough about it to go to school for it. Maybe one day I'll be able to listen to what she's capable of. Knowing her, it's probably ridiculous. Ridiculously, disgustingly impressive.
"What about you, uh—" Theo turns to ask me, and I realize I haven't officially introduced myself yet.
"Cara," I help him out with a smile and an understanding nod. "I'm a film production major."
"Oh, like Ambrose? I guess that's how you guys met too, huh?"
I nod and Ambrose walks back into the room with four serving plates lining his arms. "Y'all talking shit in here?"
"Like you wouldn't believe," Aspen jokes as Ambrose sets the plates down on the table without dropping a single one.
"How did you just do that?" I ask him, amazed.
"Ambrose used to be a server in one of those fancy restaurants where the waiters go around singing and dancing," Theo points out as Ambrose nods in approval; it seems like they might be as close as Norah and Opal are, seeing how comfortable they are with each other.
"You were a theatre kid in high school, weren't you?" Aspen asks with a faux judgmental tone. Or at least it better be faux, otherwise, she'd be a hypocrite. The girl played Juliet in Romeo and Juliet as a freshman doing theatre for the first time. I can't recall any other shows she was in, but since I went to see that one, I can remember her in that Shakespearean dress perfectly.
"You caught me," Ambrose says over his shoulder as he heads back into the kitchen to grab more food. I glance at the spread he's brought out so far: taco shells, ground beef, lettuce, cheese. When he comes back out with more dishes, I watch as he sets down some diced tomatoes, sour cream, beans, and salsa, and suddenly I am feeling extra hungry.
"This all looks so good," I tell him when he finally takes a seat between me and Theo. He smiles shyly and thanks me under his breath, reaching for a taco shell.
"So did you guys know each other before this year?" Aspen asks as she also digs into the food. I wait for the path to be a little clearer before I reach to start assembling my tacos.
Ambrose nods, keeping his gaze locked on the taco toppings. "It's kind of funny, actually. We—"
"Oh, no, don't tell them that yet," Theo complains, worry flashing across his broad eyebrows.
"Come on, it's not as bad as you think," Ambrose glances over at his friend.
Theo rolls his eyes. "Okay, fine."
"Okay, well," Ambrose continues, "We met our freshman year of high school after Theo moved from New Hampshire, but we didn't really get along at first."
"Wait, really?" I ask.
Ambrose nods. "I mean, look at him. He's a nerd."
Theo just stops what he's doing and looks over at his friend through his Harry Potter glasses in exasperation.
"I'm just playing," Ambrose smiles, elbowing Theo in the arm. "But seriously, I thought he was the most annoying kid on the planet. Little did I know it's because he had a massive crush on me and was just too socially awkward to be normal whenever I was around."
"Oh?" Aspen asks, suddenly more intrigued than before.
"And then I told him I wasn't into guys and absolutely shattered his little fourteen-year-old heart."
"You did not," Theo says, rolling his eyes.
"Wait, so are you...?" I start to ask Theo, regretting it halfway through when I realize it's really none of my business.
"No, I'm straight," Theo replies calmly, as if he's used to the question, despite Ambrose's story.
"But I thought—" Aspen says out loud, seeming to read my mind until she's cut off by Ambrose.
"Oh, sorry, I'm trans," he clarifies, making the whole story click into place. "That probably would've been helpful information to know."
Aspen nods and I lock eyes with Theo, who instantly reaches for tacos next after Ambrose and Aspen finish grabbing theirs.
"What about you guys?" Ambrose asks, shifting his eyes between Aspen and me.
I can feel her staring at me but I keep my gaze fixed elsewhere. "Funny story, actually."
"Yeah? How so?"
"Cara's not the biggest fan of me," Aspen answers for me, even though she's missing some major details.
"You say that like the feeling isn't mutual," I glare at her, almost dropping sour cream onto the table. She rolls her eyes at me and the table goes quiet for a quick second, though it feels like years until someone makes a sound.
"Oh," Theo says suddenly. "Then I can imagine it's not easy being roommates."
"We've been living surprisingly well so far, actually," Aspen says.
"But we already filled out a transfer request so we probably won't be roommates for very long," I add quickly.
"Damn, don't those take, like, forever?" Ambrose asks with half a taco in his mouth.
"At least a month," I finish dressing my last meatless taco and set it down on my plate.
"Can I ask why you guys don't like each other?" Ambrose speaks up suddenly, setting his food down on his plate and leaning back in his chair with his chin tilted.
"Only if I get to ask how you and Theo became friends when you thought he was so annoying," I respond with a grin.
"Fair enough."
I glance over at Aspen who's also leaning back in her chair, her eyes glued to mine and her brows furrowed in curiosity. Theo's just eating his tacos but looks up every so often to take note of whatever we're saying. Ambrose just stares at me while I try to get the whole story together.
"Feel free to chime in whenever," he says to Aspen, who chuckles in response. "I love a story from both sides."
"I'll keep that in mind," Aspen says with a smug grin that just infuriates me.
"Well, we were on good terms our freshman year of high school," I start to explain as far as my memory would allow, "Until the second semester when our teacher spotlighted my assignment instead of hers."
"What? That's not what happened."
"You literally had a meltdown over it." I recall her reaction those few years ago when I found her in the bathroom after that class, sobbing in the last stall. I knew it was her by the tone of her voice when she was telling someone on the phone all about how much of a kiss-up I was. But I'm choosing not to share that part.
"I did not—"
"I heard you, Aspen—"
"But that wasn't—"
"Okay, new topic!" Ambrose raises his voice above ours, cutting off the beginning of what I can only imagine would've been a heated argument. He looks over at Theo, who shrugs with half a taco in his mouth, and Ambrose takes a deep breath. "So Theo and I were partners in our biology class, but he's way smarter than me, so I used to copy off of him all the time. And he was super shy and awkward—"
"This kind of sounds like you're trying to expose high school Theo," he cuts in, glaring at Ambrose through his glasses, but Ambrose waves him off.
"Anyway, I thought he was lame but I had to make all of the conversation so I could keep copying off of him—"
"Not cool by the way."
"—And then he confessed to me at homecoming in front of all of my friends who also thought he was lame."
Aspen and I share a brief look, but it always annoys me when we do that, so I turn my attention back to Ambrose instead and he continues speaking.
"Yeah, I was kind of a bitch back then," he admits, scratching the back of his neck. "But after I rejected Theo, he still kind of stuck around like a lost puppy, so when my friend group completely fell apart my sophomore year, he was there to comfort me. And then we became best friends."
"Aw," I let slip out even though I wanted to keep my cooing to myself. But now that everyone is looking at me, I have to go with it. "That's so sweet. You guys must be really close."
Before either of them can respond, my phone starts to buzz on top of the table. I turn it over and see that my mom is calling, so I just turn it back over and snooze the vibration. I turn my attention back to the guys but I can feel a shift in energy in the room. Especially when my phone starts to ring again.
"You should probably answer that," Ambrose says, gesturing to my phone with his eyes.
I shake my head. "It's just my mom; it can wait."
But then the phone stops ringing and new vibrations set in. Multiple short buzzes erupt from my phone and I realize she decided to text me instead.
"Okay, I'll just be a minute," I give up, grabbing my phone and heading out the door into the hall of the unfamiliar building. I quickly scan through the text messages, finding a photo of me in the thread that I didn't even know existed.
It's a picture taken from the party we went to—the one where I was dressed in as little clothes as possible, drinking and smoking for the very first time, and... the third thing.
All twenty-four of my mom's texts are similar. Something along the lines of Can you explain this? and I'm so disappointed in you and Call me now. That last one is the most popular.
"Hello?" I say as soon as she answers the call. I'm hardly able to get the words out before she starts lecturing me through the phone, completely reminding me of why I wanted to move away in the first place.