I was trying to keep myself under control with this whole date, not freak out too much or build it up too much, but I was really looking forward to it. We'd talked several times during the week; he had a double major in world music and composition and wanted to do soundtracks for entertainment media. It seemed weird that so many people wanted to work in the movies or TV around here; granted entertainment was a huge industry, but there were just so many people who wanted to work there and USC also had a huge film school. How many jobs could there be, realistically? But no way was I going to rain on anybody else's parade; it might not be my idea of a secure major, but your passion is your passion. Plus there was the crazy physical attraction that I felt for him. I didn't want to look like a stereotypical freshman puppy following a hot upperclassman around.
Arthur came up to get me, which was really nice. He'd said that it was going to be a casual date, so I wore in a four-strand braid, a pretty blue camisole with a little embroidery, and a floaty darker blue cotton skirt with sandals. His crystal green eyes widened as he looked at me, so it was a good choice. He was wearing a dark Hawaiian shirt and cargo shorts that showed off his shoulders and legs, nice choice. We chatted about our first week of class as we walked down to his car and we drove to the Santa Monica pier. It was exciting; I'd heard a lot about it but had never been. We started off at with a couple of sandwiches, then strolled along, playing the arcade games, visiting the aquarium, just having a good time. I stopped dead when I saw the trapeze school and he was amused. I'd have gone up immediately, but I wasn't dressed for it. I did take a leaflet, though. We walked past a gorgeous carousel; Arthur wasn't interested but I could come back and ride the beautiful sculptures. I couldn't help a flashback to San Francisco's carousel; maybe John would come with me. I enjoyed talking with Arthur, though; he was interesting and had a lot to say. And he listened to me as well, the hallmark of a good date.
We ended up in Pacific Park, which had the rides. Our final stop was at the Pacific Wheel, which is the only solar-powered Ferris wheel in the world and had close to 200 000 colored LED lights on it to create a dynamic, ever-changing display. The view of the coastline from the top was beautiful and while we were stopped at one point, the carriage swinging gently, he kissed me. I felt vertigo that had nothing to do with the Ferris wheel.
He kissed me again when we got back to the Hill and we set up a study date for the next week plus early-morning on Saturday. He said that the water was too cold for just a swimsuit anymore and I should get a wetsuit.
The week passed rather stressfully. I joined a couple of study groups for calculus and chemistry since we were working at speeds that seemed rather frighteningly fast to me and we had a calculus quiz that I only got a C on. I wasn't necessarily afraid of flunking but I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to stay in the Honors program. I was liking the seminar a whole lot. The study session with Arthur was nice, but he seemed to want more attention during it than I had to give. My major wasn't like his; you could listen to his music and make judgments based on whether you liked it or not, if the composition was good, but my classes were based on how well I could demonstrate that I understood the concepts. Memorization and application. And speed. Sometimes I felt like I was in the Indy 500 in an old Volkswagen Beetle. And this was only the second week of class.
But he was still interesting to talk too and the surfing was really fun. We got there in the dark; I'd picked up my wetsuit and board the day before because we were at the beach before the store opened and were out on the water as the sun rose. It was as beautiful as he said it was. We kissed for a bit in the rosy dawn, then paddled out farther to start catching some waves. It was definitely chillier than it had been just a little while ago, but the wetsuit I had kept me warm and I felt much more confident in my skills, such as they were. After a couple hours, I returned my gear and we went back to campus; I showered and primped and we went to brunch at one of the campus restaurants before walking around; he showed me places that I hadn't seen before, like the sculpture garden. And after we walked around, he invited me back to his room. He had a coveted two-person suite and his roommate was gone for the day. So I accepted, and my heart was thumping as we passed through the common room for the suite and he closed the door behind us.
I left a couple hours later; it had been really nice, he hadn't pushed me to go farther than I was comfortable, but it turned out that he made me feel pretty comfortable with some new activities. And we'd talked too, it hadn't been only messing around. He'd played me some music he'd composed, and I liked it.
I went back to the room for a little nap--Serafina was out--and later I got together with some new friends for dinner and a movie.
This happy state of affairs lasted through October; I'd gone surfing once more before the water got too cold, and I experienced new facets of college life, like tailgating and football games, including Homecoming. College football was a whole other level than high school games, I found out immediately and Serafina and I had a good time with a few friends that we added to our group, Sherry Greer, Olivia Fleming, and Essie Morris. Sherry wanted to be an architect, Essie was doing near-Eastern studies, and Olivia was studying political science; she also wanted to go to law school. That was the part of college I liked the most; there were so many interesting people all around, with all different aspirations, and we were all thrown together.
I kept moving forward, not allowing myself to be too introspective about my experience, because it was easy to feel overwhelmed by college. As it was, both Serafina and I had a couple crying jags and had to talk each other out of feeling like we were in over our heads. I was more and more grateful for my pass/fail classes although my grades were getting better and there were rumors of a curve in both calculus and chemistry. John and I kept up our lunches and added an afternoon study session afterward; I loved having this time with him. My relationship with Arthur was also deepening, we were spending a good amount of time together, and at the end of the month, I went to the health center and got on birth control. I also got a variety pack of condoms the next time I went to the drugstore, not having enough experience to know what either of us would prefer in terms of texture and lubrication. But it wasn't until shortly before the Thanksgiving break that we had sex for the first time. It was so much better than I'd thought it would be; we'd fooled around for a long time and I was completely comfortable with him and trusted him. I was a little sore the next day from the movement of sex, but that was the only slight negative.
I didn't go home for Thanksgiving; we only had four days off for it, and besides, there was less than a month before finals. John didn't go home either; his parents and Paul came down to his grandparent's and he invited me for Thanksgiving dinner. My family was disappointed I didn't come back, but staying on campus also meant that I had three days of intensive studying, and I needed it. I'd managed to pull my calculus grade up to a B. Serafina went home, but her family was closer than mine. It was weird to have the room to myself. The dinner was delicious, and I finally got to try Mrs Park's famous Korean barbeque. It was every bit as wonderful as John had said it was. I was glad to see Paul and as I was entertaining him with stories about surfing (he was interested) he asked how John was really doing.
"He's putting up a good front for the family but I don't know how he's really doing," he muttered sotto voice.
"I think he's doing better than he expected," I murmured back. "The adjustment to college is pretty rocky for anybody. His grades aren't as good as they were in high school, but then mine aren't either. But we have lunch and study together once a week, text or talk more than that, so I think he's going to be ok. He's dating and having fun, so he's not being a weird hermit."
Paul harrumphed. "I'm surprised you're ok with him dating, is all I'm going to say."
"I'm dating too. It's a whole new world and all kind of experiences are out there." He didn't look like he liked that answer any better, but while I liked Paul, he wasn't going to run my life. Then Mrs Tang had a question about how I was liking school, so that finished the topic nicely.
Arthur's suitemates all went home for the holiday but he didn't, and we took great advantage of the privacy. I still managed to get a lot of studying done.
The week after Thanksgiving was the annual USC/UCLA game and I got to experience the buildup to that for the first time. One night was a huge bonfire and party, and one day you could exchange a piece of red clothing (USC's color) for a blue Bruins t-shirt, along with other activities. The game was hard fought, but UCLA squeaked by for the win by a field goal. That night the campus and Westwood were lit up in celebration. The week after that was the Stanford game, which we lost, along with the championship of the PAC 10. Bummer. But finals were coming up and I had no time to spare for the fate of the football team.
I didn't actually pull any all nighters; I got at least five hours of sleep a night and I was finished with my finals Wednesday of finals week. I slept in almost until noon, goofed off the rest of the day, going swimming for my workout and when Serafina came back from her last final, we went into Westwood for dinner and doing absolutely nothing that was not frivolous. We did our laundry that night and the next day I packed up and headed for Duke's Crossing.