Jake woke up feeling like someone had replaced his brain with cotton balls soaked in regret. His mouth tasted like he'd been licking the floor of a gas station bathroom, and there was definitely a marching band practicing inside his skull.
"Rise and shine, sunshine," Danny said from across the room, sounding way too cheerful for someone who'd been drinking jungle juice until midnight.
"How are you not dead?" Jake groaned, pulling his pillow over his head.
"Superior genetics and lots of water. Also, I stopped drinking two hours before you did."
"Show off."
Jake rolled over and immediately regretted existing. His phone was buzzing like an angry bee, and when he finally managed to grab it, he had about fifteen texts from numbers he didn't recognize and a few from people he'd met last night.
Tyler:dude you were hilarious last night
Marcus: good meeting you man, rush event thursday
Unknown Number: hey its sophie from last night, hope you dont feel as shitty as i do lol
"Dude, Sophie Chen texted you," Danny said, reading over his shoulder like a nosy bastard.
"How do you know her last name?"
"I pay attention. Also she's pre-med, which means she's smart as hell and probably way out of your league."
"Thanks for the pep talk, coach."
"Just being realistic. But hey, she texted YOU, not me. That's gotta count for something."
Jake sat up slowly, testing whether his head was going to fall off. It stayed attached, which seemed like a win. "What time is it?"
"Almost noon. Classes start tomorrow, by the way."
"Shit. I haven't even figured out where anything is yet."
"Relax man. Campus isn't that big. Plus, I already scoped out the best routes to everything." Danny tossed him a bottle of water. "Drink that, shower, and let's grab some food. You'll feel human again."
Twenty minutes later, Jake felt slightly less like death warmed over. The shower had helped, even if the water pressure was basically a gentle suggestion rather than actual water flow.
They headed to the dining hall, which looked exactly like every college cafeteria ever - lots of tables, fluorescent lights that made everyone look sick, and food that smelled questionable but was probably better than starving.
"Jake!"
Emma waved over to a table where she was sitting with few other people. She looked way too put-together for someone who'd been at a party last night.
"How are you guys feeling?" she asked as they sat down with their trays of questionable food.
"Like I made some poor life choices," Jake said, poking at what the cafeteria claimed was scrambled eggs.
"Those are definitely poor life choices," said a voice behind him.
Jake turned around to see Zoe holding a coffee cup that was bigger than her head. She looked tired but somehow still managed to pull of the whole goth thing.
"Please tell me that's not from the dining hall," Danny said, pointing at her coffee.
"Hell no. I work at Grind Coffee downtown. This is the real stuff." She sat down next to Emma. "You guys look rough."
"We feel rough," Jake admitted.
"First college party will do that to you. Gets easier."
"Voice of experience?" Danny asked.
"Something like that."
Mia showed up a few minutes later, wearing sunglasses inside like some kind of hungover movie star. "Why is everyone so loud?" she announced to the table.
"Because it's noon and people are awake," Emma said, way too cheerfully.
"Noon is not a real time. Real time starts at like... three PM."
"How are you even functioning right now?" Jake asked.
"I'm not. This is me barely surviving." Mia collapsed into a chair and put her head on the table. "Someone please tell me you have Advil."
Emma, being the future nurse and apparently the mom of the group, produced a bottle from her bag. "Water first, then pills."
"I love you," Mia said, grabbing the bottle like it contained the secrets of the universe.
"So," Zoe said, stirring her coffee, "what'd everyone think of their first Delta Sigma Pi experience?"
"Better than I expected," Danny said. "Those guys seem pretty cool."
"Marcus is good people," Emma agreed. "Known him since high school. He's got his shit together."
"Unlike some people," Mia muttered, still face-down on the table.
"Do you even know where your first class is tomorrow?"
Jake paused. "I'll figure it out."
Danny pulled out his phone. "What's your schedule? I'll help you map it out."
As Jake showed him his class schedule, more people started joining their table. Kyle, the football player from last night, sat down with a tray that contained approximately all the food in the cafeteria.
"Jesus, dude, you planning to hibernate?" Mia asked, lifting her head just enough to stare at his mountain of food.
"Gotta fuel the machine," Kyle said completely serious. The he grinned. "Plus, this hangover is demanding carbs."
"At least someone else is suffering." Jake said.
"Oh, I'm definitely suffering. But I'm suffering with bacon, so it's okay."
Tyler appeared next, looking way too energetic for someone who'd been matching Jake drink for drink "What's up, party animals?"
"How are you awake right now?" Jake asked.
"Practice, my friend. Lots and lots of practice." Tyler grabbed a chair from a another table. "Plus, I may have had some help from our friend caffeine."
"Please tell me you didn't do anything stupid," Emma said in that concerned voice that suggested people did stupid things around Tyler on regular basis.
"Define stupid."
"Tyler..." Danny warned.
"Relax, I just had like six energy drinks. I'm fine. Completely fine. Super fine. Why would you think I'm not fine?"
Everyone stared at him as he bounced slightly in his seat.
"You're not fine." Zoe observed.
"I'm GREAT. Hey Jake, you texting Sophie back or what?
Jake nearly choked on his orange juice. "How did you know about that?"
"She mentioned it. You should totally text her back."
"What should I even say?"
"How about 'hey, thanks for texting, want to grab a coffee sometime?'" Emma suggested.
"That's so boring," Mia said, finally sitting up properly. "Say something funny. Sophie likes funny guys."
"How do you know what Sophie likes?" Danny asked.
"We've been friends since freshman year of high school. Trust me, I know her type."
Jake looked at his phone, then at the group of people who were all staring at him like this was the most important decision in human history.
"This is too much pressure," he said.
"Just text her back, dude," Kyle said through a mouthful of bacon. "Worst thing that happens is she says no."
"Actually, worst thing that happens is I embarrass myself so badly she tells everyone and I become a social pariah before classes even start."
"You're overthinking this," Zoe said. "Sophie's cool. She's not gonna be a bitch about it even if she's not interested."
Jake typed out a message, deleted it, typed another one, deleted that too.
"Give me that," Mia said, reaching for his phone.
"No way in hell."
"Fine, but you're being ridiculous. She texted YOU. That means she wants to talk to you."
Danny leaned over. "Just keep it simple, man. Say that you had fun meeting her and ask if she wants to hang out sometime."
Jake typed: hey, had fun meeting you last night. feel like shit today. but it was worth it lol. want to grab a coffee sometime when we both feel human again?
He showed it to the table.
"Perfect," Emma said.
"Send it before you chicken out," Tyler added, still vibrating from caffeine.
Jake hit send before he could change his mind.
His phone buzzed thirty seconds later.
Sophie:haha yes definitely. i have class until 3 tomorrow but free after that?
"She said yes!" Jake announced, and the entire table cheered like he'd just won the lottery.
"See? Told you she was into you," Mia said, looking smug.
"Wait, how did you know she was into me?"
"She kept looking at you last night, when she thought nobody was watching. Plus, she asked me about you after the guys left."
"She asked about me?"
"Wanted to know if you were single, what were you studying, where were you from. Basic recon stuff."
Danny grinned. "Looks like our boy Jake's got game."
"I don't have game. I have luck. There's a difference."
"Sometimes luck is better than game," Kyle said wisely.
They spent rest of lunch planning Jake's coffee date like it was a military operation. Emma suggested places to go, Mia advised what to wear, Tyler offered to spy on them from across the coffee shop (which everyone immediately vetoed), and Zoe gave him tips on what to order so he wouldn't look like an idiot.
"Just don't be weird," was Danny's contribution.
"Thanks, that's super helpful."
"I mean it. You're actually pretty cool when you're not overthinking everything. Just be yourself."
"What if myself sucks?"
"Then you're screwed," Mia said cheerfully. "But I don't think yourself sucks. You made it through a whole party without saying anything embarrassing."
"The night's still young." Jake muttered.
As they were getting ready to leave, Ashley showed up looking like she'd stepped in out of a magazine, even hungover.
"Mind if I sit for a minute?" she asked. "My head is killing me."
"Join the club," Jake said, making room for her.
She sat down next to him, and Jake caught a whiff of whatever perfume she was wearing. It was nice. Really nice.
"So I heard you're going on a coffee date with Sophie," she said.
Jake wondered if there was anyone on campus who didn't know about his text conversation. "News travels fast around here."
"Small school. Plus, Mia has a big mouth."
"Hey!" Mia protested.
"You love it," Ashley said, smiling. Then she turned back to Jake. "Sophie's great. You guys will have fun."
There was something in the way she said it that Jake couldn't quite figure out. Like she meant it, but also maybe didn't.
"Thanks," he said.
"No problem. And hey, if things don't work out with her..." She let the sentence hang in the air for a second, then smiled and got up. "See you guys later."
She left, and the table was quiet for a minute.
"Did Ashley just..." Emma started.
"Yep," Zoe said.
"What just happened?" Jake asked.
"Oh, this is gonna be interesting," Mia said grinning like he'd just discovered buried treasure.
"What's gonna be interesting?"
Danny clapped him on the shoulder. "Nothing, man. Just college."
But as they walked back to the dorm, Jake couldn't shake the feeling that things were about to get a lot more complicated than just figuring out where his classrooms were.
His phone buzzed again. This time it was Ashley.
Ashley: had fun talking to you today. maybe we can hang out sometime too.
Jake stared at his phone.
"More good news?" Danny asked.
"I think I might be in trouble."
"The good kind or the bad kind?"
Jake looked at his phone, then up at Danny. "I honestly have no idea."