Jake's first class was at 9 AM, which felt like cruel and unusual punishment after spending the weekend recovering from his introduction to college party life. He stumbled into English Comp looking like he'd been hit by a truck, carrying a backpack that contained exactly one notebook and a pen he'd stolen from the front desk.
The professor looked like she'd rather be literally anywhere else, and Jake could relate.
"Welcome to English Composition," she said in the most bored voice humanly possible. "I'm professor Martinez. This class will ruin your life for the next four months."
Jake was pretty sure she wasn't joking.
He found a seat in the back next to a girl who was furiously taking notes even though class hadn't really started yet. She had red hair and looked stressed enough to power a small city.
"Is she always this cheerful?" Jake whispered.
The girl looked up from her notebook. "This is my third class with her. She once made a kid cry by correcting his comma usage."
"Jesus."
"I'm Rachael, by the way. You look lost."
"Jake. And yeah, pretty much."
"First semester?"
"First day."
Rachael winced. "Good luck with that."
Professor Martinez spent the next hour explaining how they were all going to fail at writing and how the English language was probably beyond their limited capabilities. Jake took approximately three notes and spent most of the time wondering if it was too late to change majors.
When class finally ended, Jake felt like he'd been personally attacked by grammar.
"That was brutal," he said to Rachael as they packed up.
"Wait until she assigns the first essay. She once gave someone an F for using Arial font instead of Times New Roman."
"Are you serious?"
"Dead serious. She's very passionate about fonts."
Jake's next class was Psychology, which sounded way more interesting until he walked in and saw about two hundred other students crammed into a lecture hall that smelled like old textbooks and broken dreams.
He found a seat somewhere in the middle and pulled out his phone to check the time. He had an text from Sophie.
Sophie: how's your first day going? mine started with me getting lost and showing up to the wrong class.
Jake grinned and typed back: just got personally insulted by an English professor for existing. you?
Sophie: lol sounds about right. coffee at 4 still good?
Jake: definitely. need something to look forward after this.
"Mr. Sullivan."
Jake's head snapped up. The professor was staring right at him with the kind of look that suggested texting during her lecture was not appreciated.
"Since you seem to have something more important than Introduction to Psychology to focus on, perhaps you'd like to share with the class?
Two hundred pairs of eyes turned to look at Jake. He wanted to disappear into the floor.
"Sorry, Professor...?"
"Dr. Williams. And I'm sure you are sorry. Now, can you tell me what I was just discussing?"
Jake had absolutely no clue. He'd been completely focused on his phone.
"Uh... psychology?"
A few people snickered Dr. Williams was not amused.
"How astute. Yes, Mr. Sullivan, this is indeed a psychology class. I was specifically discussing the fundamental principles of behavioral conditioning. Perhaps you'd care to elaborate on operant conditioning?"
Jake felt sweat beading on his forehead. "I... honestly have no idea what that is."
"I suggest you find out before our next class. And Mr. Sullivan? Put the phone away."
"Yes ma'am."
The rest of the lecture was torture. Jake tried to pay attention, but Dr. Williams kept looking at him like she was waiting for him to screw up again. When class finally ended, he practically ran out of there.
His phone buzzed as he was walking across campus.
Danny: how's the first day of higher learning going?
Jake: i think I'm gonna flunk out before lunch
Danny: that bad?
Jake: got called out for texting in psych class. professor wants me to explain operant conditioning next time
Danny: lol dude that's like psychology 101 stuff
Jake: yeah well apparently i missed that part while getting humiliated
Danny: relax man, it's just first day jitters. grab some lunch and chill
Jake headed to the dining hall, hoping food would make him feel less like a complete failure. He found Tyler sitting alone at a corner table, surrounded by what looked like every textbook ever printed.
"You look like someone kicked your dog," Tyler said as Jake sat down.
"Worse. I think I'm too stupid for college."
"Dude, it's literally the first day. Nobody's smart on the first day."
"I got called out in psychology class for not knowing what operant conditioning is."
Tyler stared at him. "That's like... basic stuff, man."
"Not helping."
"Sorry. Look, it's just reward and punishment, right? You do something good, you get rewarded. You do something bad, you get punished. Like, when you were a kid and your mom gave you cookies for cleaning your room."
Jake blinked. "That's it?"
"Pretty much. There's more technical stuff, but that's just the basic idea."
"Why didn't the professor just say that instead of making it sound like rocket science?"
"Because professor are weird and like to make simple stuff sound complicated. Makes them feel important."
Jake felt slightly better. "Thanks, man."
"No problem, besides, you've got your coffee date with Sophie later. That'll cheer you up."
"How does everyone know about that?"
"Mia told everyone at breakfast. She's like the campus news network."
"Great."
"Don't stress about it. Sophie's cool, and you're not as hopeless as you think."
After lunch, Jake had one more class - Intro to Business - which was taught by a professor who looked like he'd rather be on a golf course. The class was mostly him reading directly from a slideshow about supply and demand, and Jake managed to stay awake and not embarrass himself further.
By the time 3:30 rolled around, Jake was ready for his coffee date. He'd changed shirts three times, brushed his teeth twice, and was seriously considering canceling the whole thing.
"Dude, you look fine," Danny said for the fifth time. "It's coffee, not the Met Gala."
"What if I run out of things to talk about?"
"Then ask her questions. People love talking about themselves."
"What if she thinks I'm boring?"
"Then she's not the right person for you."
"What if—"
"Jake." Danny grabbed his shoulders. "Stop. You're spiraling. She already said yes, which means she wants to hang out with you. Just be yourself and try not to overthink everything."
"Easy for you to say. You've probably never had an awkward conversation in your life."
"You'd be surprised. Now get out of before you're late."
Jake walked to Grind Coffee, the place Zone had recommended. It was one of those hipster places with exposed brick walls and coffee that probably cost more than his textbooks, but it smelled amazing and wasn't too crowded.
He spotted Sophie at a corner table, looking way better than anyone had a right to look after surviving college orientation week. She was reading something on her phone and had a cup of coffee that was already half empty.
"Hey," he said, walking over.
"Hey yourself." She smiled, and Jake felt some of his nervousness fade away. "How was the rest of your first day?"
"Well, I didn't get kicked out, so I'm calling it a win." He sat down across from her. "You?"
"I actually ended up in the right classes today, so major improvement."
Jake went to the counter and ordered something called a "caramel macchiato" because it sounded fancy and he had no idea what he was doing. When he came back, Sophie was still smiling.
"So," she said, "tell me about yourself. Besides the fact that you survive on jungle juice and can handle Marcus's parties."
"Not much to tell, really. Small town kid trying not to embarrass himself at college."
"Come on, there's got to be more than that. What are you studying?"
"Business, I think. Still kind of figuring it out." Jake took a sip of his coffee and tried not to make a face. It was sweet enough to send him into a diabetic coma.
"Yeah. I want to be a surgeon." Her face lit up when she talked about it. "I know it's crazy competitive and the hours suck, but I've wanted to do it since I was little."
"That's awesome. I can barely figure out what I want for lunch."
Sophie laughed. "You'll figure it out. Most people change majors like three times anyway."
They talked for over an hour, and Jake was surprised at how easy it was. Sophie was funny and smart and didn't make him feel like an idiot when he admitted he'd never been to a coffee shop before coming to college.
"Wait, seriously?" she asked.
"My hometown had a gas station with coffee that could probably strip paint. This is like a different universe."
"That's actually kind of sweet. Very authentic small-town America."
"Is that a nice way of saying I'm a redneck?"
"No, it's a nice way of saying you're not pretentious."
Jake was about to respond when his phone buzzed. Then buzzed again. Then started buzzing nonstop.
"Sorry," he said, pulling it out. "I should check this in case someone's dying."
He had about twenty text in the group chat Tyler had added him to, all from the last five minutes.
Tyler:EMERGENCY
Kyle:not a real emergency
Tyler: YES IT IS
Marcus: what happened now?
Tyler: rust is stuck
Devon: how do you get stuck?
Tyler: idk but he's stuck in his room and freaking out
Kyle: NO this is different he sounds scared
Marcus:where are you guys?
Tyler: rust's dorm
Jake looked up at Sophie, who was watching him with concern.
"Everything okay?"
"I think one of my friends is having some kind of crisis. I'm really sorry, but—"
"Go," she said immediately. "If your friend needs help, go."
"Are you sure? We were having such a good time."
Sophie reached across the table and squeezed his hand. "That's exactly why you should go. Anyone who drops everything to help a friend is worth knowing."
Jake felt his heart do something weird in his chest. "You're pretty amazing, you know that?"
"I know," she said with a grin. "Now go save your friend."
Jake practically ran across campus to Rust's dorm. He found Tyler, Kyle, Marcus, and Devon standing outside a closed door, looking worried.
"What's going on?" Jake asked.
"Rust locked himself in his room about an hour ago," Marcus explained. "He was acting weird, like paranoid weird, not his usual weird."
"Did anyone try just knocking?"
"He won't answer. Just keeps saying he can't come out."
Jake walked up to the door. "Hey Rust, It's Jake. You okay in there?"
"Jake?" Rust's voice sounded shaky. "Dude, I fucked up. I fucked up bad."
"What happened?"
"I... I may have taken something I shouldn't have."
The guys all exchanged looks.
"What kind of something?" Tyler asked.
"The kind that makes you see things that aren't there."
"Oh, shit," Kyle muttered.
Marcus stepped forward. "Rust, you need to open the door, man. Let us help you."
"Can't. There are things out there."
"What things?" Jake asked.
"Bad things. Moving things. They're waiting for me."
Jake had no idea what to do. He'd never dealt with someone having a bad trip before.
"Look," he said, whatever you're seeing, it's not real, okay? It's just the drugs messing with your head."
"How do you know?"
"Because we're all out here and we're fine. There's nothing scary out here expect Tyler's hair."
"Hey!" Tyler protested.
They heard a quieter laugh from inside the room.
"Rust," Jake continued, "I'm gonna stand right outside of your door, okay? If you open it just a crack, you'll see it's just us. Just your friends."
It took another twenty minutes of talking, but eventually the door opened slightly. Rust peered out, looking scared and confused.
"See?" Jake said. "Just us idiots."
Rust opened the door wider and practically fell into Marcus's arms.
"I'm sorry guys. I'm so fucking sorry!"
"It's okay, man," Marcus said. "We've all been there."
They spent the rest of the evening taking care of Rust, making sure he stayed hydrated and calm until whatever he'd taken wore off. By the time Jake got back to his room, it was almost midnight.
Danny was already in bed but sat up when Jake came in.
"How'd the coffee date go?"
"Really good, actually. Until I had to leave to help Rust with drugs crisis."
"Jesus. He okay?"
"Yeah, just had a bad trip. Scared himself pretty good."
"And Sophie was cool with you bailing?"
Jake smiled, remembering how quickly she'd told him to go help his friend. "Yeah. She was pretty cool about it."
"Sound like a keeper."
"Maybe." Jake's phone buzzed.
Sophie: hope your friend is okay. rain check on finishing our conversation?
Jake: definitely. thanks for understanding
Sophie: anytime. sweet dreams
Jake put his phone away and got ready for bed, thinking maybe college wasn't going to be so bad after all. Sure, he'd embarrassed himself in class and had to deal with a drugs crisis, but he'd also had an amazing coffee date with an incredible girl who understood that friends came first.
As he was falling asleep, his phone buzzed one more time.
Ashley: heard you had quite the day. coffee soon?
Jake stared at the message for a long moment, then put his phone away without responding.
Things were definitely getting complicated.