Chapter Two: "Take A Shot."

THE FIRST THING I heard at 8 AM on Saturday morning was yelling outside of my door.

"Good fucking morning to me," I mumbled. My eyes stayed closed as loud pop music made its way into my room from the living room. To add to the chaos,  sirens blasted from where my phone lay on the nightstand of my room.

I could see it already. My friends and their friends from out of town all crowded around a table laughing at this ungodly hour.

Happy Homecoming.

If it were winter and a snowstorm was occurring, the entire school would still party from morning till night if they had the chance. No one could blame them.

On a day like today, everyone forgot about everything.

All the stress, any pressure on your shoulders was released and it was bliss in those moments as you get lost in the music, in the pace of the day and the night. Those were the type of days I loved. And those were the days I never took for granted.

As I walked into the kitchen after brushing my teeth, people were crowded around the kitchen table, ready to engage in the drinking game of flip cup.

"Holy shit," I said, watching as Mariam downed whatever the hell was in her red cup and familiar and unfamiliar faces cheered.

Clayton, my old floormate from first year, looked at me in confusion. He was near my height of 5'7 with fair skin with blonde hair that was wavy and tucked behind the baseball cap he was wearing. "You're not drinking? What happened? You sick?"

"I have an exam tonight. What's with all the questions?" I groaned, taking a seat at the dining table next to him.

"Someone's not a morning person."

"Who the hell is a morning person?" I grumbled. "Oh, wait, it's the freaks who got up and decided that 8 am drinking was the best thing in the entire world."

"We wanted an early start this year. C'mon."

Clayton slung an arm around my shoulder.  Anyone else would've thought this was a sweet gesture but I knew him well enough ever since we bonded over our love of EDM music on the floor of our residence over a year ago.

He shook me hard, making me yelp and jerk upright from his body. "Wake up."

"That didn't help!" I snapped.

"You look awake now."

"I'm mad."

"You look mad and awake now." He grinned.

Another set of arms encircled my body, rocking me back and forth in a comfort. Yasmeen released her hold on me as the music in our house only got louder from the speaker on the table. "We didn't wake you, did we?" She asked before turning to the boys playing flip cup. "Guys, lower the volume of the music, please?"

Although her voice was soft, they heard her and the music from the speaker decreased in volume. "Did we?" She repeated to me, eyebrows raised.

Yasmeen wore dark blue mom jeans on top of a black sweatshirt that outlined Herringway in purple letters. To match the outfit, she wore her purple hijab- the same purple colour of HU. I smiled at her school pride, reminding myself to go change out of my sweats soon.

"No, I was going to wake up at this time anyway." My tiredness suddenly overcame me once again even though I had slept early last night. As I rubbed my eyes and yawned, Clayton, the idiot, took my gesture as a sign to shake me again. I swatted his hands off of me. "I'm awake! Stop that!"

"Then why are you yawning?" My glare did nothing to waver his serious expression. Next to me, Yasmeen giggled, tapping me on the arm.

"I bought grapes for you in the fridge." She said.

"You didn't have to."

"Well, I did," She cupped my face with her hands. "Eat them while you're studying and if we don't see you before tonight then good luck, okay? We'll be outside after you're done."

This was Yasmeen. One of the best and most heartwarming people I knew. I whipped my head to Clayton. "Why can't you be like her? A nice person?"

"I woke you up," Clayton said, getting up to join a few others in a round of flip cup.

"I hate you."

"Uh-huh." He said absentmindedly, setting the cup in a proper position on the edge of the table before one of the boys yelled go.

Partially drowsy, I listened to Yasmeen explain to me who was friends with her and who was friends with Mariam as everyone chatted, drank and played games.  Almost everyone stood with a cup in front of them, a little bit of alcohol within each one but in the center, a red solo cup was filled to the brim.

My eyes went wide as the game started and everyone chugged down the alcohol in their own cups before setting it down upright in a proper position to flick it.  Mariam's hands went up in victory when her cup landed face down.

She turned to me. She wore a purple crop top and white pants. But the brightness of her pants didn't deviate from the way she beamed from her win. "Did you see that?"

"I did." I smiled, loving that she was already tipsy. She sat down on my lap and the three of us watching everyone else flip their cups in a frantic frenzy.

"Clayton's going to lose," I muttered to Mariam and Yasmeen.

"Shut up!" He laughed, giving me the middle finger as he became one of the last three yet to flip their cup over.

"Get ready to drink it all, buddy," I pestered. "You're not even going to make it to the concert."

"Yes, I will."

"Highly doubt it." I got into his head, grinning when it was only him and another girl left in the round.

He frowned, struggling to set his cup again when the girl flicked her own one more time and screamed excitedly when it landed face down.

Clayton's head whipped towards me and I tapped Mariam off of me, already bolting out of the kitchen. "Shit, shit, shit," My curses turned into laughs as he ran after me.

He reached for me, the breeze kickstarting my heart as I scrambled away from his touch. He missed my shirt by a fraction, just grazing the fabric. He was fast but thankfully I was faster, making it to my room upstairs in time to shut the door just as he almost reached it.

"Jay!" He yelled from the other side.

"Loser," I shouted. 

"You're going to have to come downstairs eventually," He said, and then I heard a sigh. "You are coming with us for the morning for a bit, right?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Okay, good," He tapped the door once. "Wouldn't be Homecoming with you."

Oh. If it was possible for my heart to warm up in my chest it would have. Clayton, Yasmeen and Mariam--three people I did not expect to become great friends with entering HU and I was over the moon I had them in my lives.

"Clayton?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"Don't get too drunk from the cup, okay?" I joked.

"Oh, fuck off." He muttered before hearing his footsteps retreat.

Leaning my head against the door, my eyes caught sight of my opened laptop along with the papers I had scattering the desk filled with content for my exam later tonight.

I hate chemistry.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On that cloudy Saturday morning, I walked through Parkdale Lane.

Even if you didn't go to Herringway University, you knew Parkdale Lane.

People roamed the area, the smell of rain growing stronger but didn't fall as trap music filled the air and people, drunk, high or sober, walked along seeing familiar faces and friends.

Two girls that passed by me and Yasmeen, screaming when they saw each other. It was obvious that they were drunk as they clutched their water bottles (one hundred percent certain that they were not filled with water) and ran forward, succumbing to a hug that had them laughing aloud as they fell onto someone's lawn.

Mariam led our group down the street to where other people we knew stood. I recognized a few faces of people, talking loud and vibing to the music that was blasting on the street. Yasmeen had a hand to her chest as she belted out the lyrics to a The Weeknd song.

Although the sun was blocked in the sky, she had black glasses on the bridge of her nose that she claimed only added to her fit. She wasn't under the influence of anything (she didn't drink or smoke) but currently as she was singing one might think so.

It was then a few other people I recognized had talked to us, including Iman. Iman gave me a side hug, "I saw your hat from a mile away." He said, referring to the bright yellow beanie I had on my head. Surprisingly, it went well with the Herringway purple and yellow rugby long sleeve I was sporting.

"School spirit."

"They should sponsor you," He commented as Yasmeen slid between us, trying to get us to dance with her.

Although she wasn't drunk, Yasmeen could match and surpass anyone's energy. She grabbed a girl who had arrived with Iman named Cori, who joined in with her and a few others in singing the songs.

Cori was in our year and one of the few Black people at Herringway and although we weren't close, I was always glad to see her. She had one of the biggest afros I had ever seen in my life and I wished my hair could grow the way hers did. She flashed me a smile which I returned, pointing down at her white and fresh shoes. "They're so nice."

"They're the new Nikes."

"You got money." I dragged out the last word and she laughed, shaking her head as the chaos around us of people passing by seemed to get rowdier.

"It was a birthday present from the summer. Felt the need to break them in for this occasion."

"You're changing them before the concert, right?"

"No shit," She scoffed. "Imagine people stepping on my shoes? Mass destruction for everyone."

I laughed and she was pulled into singing with Yasmeen once again, a group of girls joining them. Not far ahead from where everyone was standing, Iman was speaking to another friend of ours that had come with him, Josiah.

Josiah was a third year biomedical student who often gave advice to younger students whenever he could. He was Japanese-Brazilian with dark hair and deep voice that could be used in a movie. When he spotted me, he gave me a big hug that I reciprocated and I took notice of the water bottle in his hands, pointing to it, "Are you tipsy right now?"

"It's fading," Josiah admitted.

"How many shots have you taken?" Iman asked me.

"None," I answered as people moved by us in large groups.

"Wha-excuse me?" Iman's eyes went wide.

My love for parties was common knowledge with my friends. Parties and concerts. But parties filled me with energy when it was with the right people and at the right time. While these were the right people, this most definitely was not the right time.

"I have an orgo exam tonight," I explained as I adjusted my mustard yellow hat and he and Josiah hissed in unison, both making a face.

"They did that in my first year-gave us a biology exam on the weekend of Homecoming," Josiah commented. "What time?"

"7 to 9."

"Okay, um," Josiah's eyes flickered as he tried to find a solution. "Some of us are heading to a club but I can meet up with you after your exam and give you a shot?"

"Thanks," I almost pouted at Josiah's kind offer. "Mari and Yas are going to meet me but we'll definitely meet you guys after. The vodka is already in my backpack for the second I get out of there."

"That's the Jaime way." Iman laughed, slinging an arm around my shoulder and shaking me in excitement.

"Wait, so you're not coming to the concert either?"

I shook my head, disappointment wracking me for the hundredth time since the lineup for the concert came out weeks ago. A few of my favorite artists were coming and I was ready to see the entire school on the outdoor football field where it would be taking place but once again: school came first. "Nah, I'm heading home in a bit to study but I'll see you at whatever club you're heading to."

"We're going to the club?" Clayton approached us, groaning. "Can't we go to a frat party, instead?"

"Clayton," Iman rolled his eyes, prodding a finger in our friend's chest. "You go to the frat party. Tell us how it is. Tell us how much you hate it like you did last year when you said 'Homecoming frat parties suck ass' and then we can talk when you begged us to pay the bouncer to let you cut through the line at the club."

"So, we're going to the club." Clayton clapped.

Iman's attention was turned to a tall group of boys I had recognized from the other day. The volleyball team.

The girls belting out song lyrics of a man who disrespected them somehow grew quieter as my eyes were stuck on the one boy who gave Immanuel a gentle smile when he dabbed him up. Aven.

He wore a similar sweatshirt to the one Yasmeen was wearing, a purple bandana over his hairline. He greeted everyone he saw that was familiar to him like they were closest friends, with a simple handshake like he had given Iman or hugs.

There's no way in hell this dude doesn't know he's attractive.

Especially since the days that had passed since I had seen him for the first time, he didn't shave. With faint stubble on his skin, somehow he was more alluring. I wasn't the only one who noticed.

The number of girls that went up to him in a second and he interacted with them all even through the flirting with friendliness instead of typical cockiness.  Their intentions were clear it was as if Aven didn't notice as he bid people after people goodbye.

As if sensing that I was watching, he looked up.

I instantly looked away, turning to Josiah who asked, "Speaking of programs, did you apply to the ones I sent you for next summer?"

Josiah was involved in school more than anyone I knew. He was part of the student council, academic committees, clubs, and various events. With his connections, over the summer he had texted me and a few others about what he had kept his eye on during his second year and had forwarded them to us.

When I saw a volunteer research assistant position, at the known laboratory, Dalhousie, I was excited. This was the first time that the laboratory had opened up a position like this. Everyone in science at Hemmingway knew that Dalhousie was the way to go. People wanted a research position at this lab after they graduated. The pay was great. The people you would work with were scholars of the highest degree. Everyone spoke about Dalhousie.

I wanted to be part of that. Or at least have a chance to be part of that.

It was better for me to do something productive for my future instead of spending another summer teaching kids piano at my old conservatory of music.

To be considered for this particular position, there was a list of things to accomplish: be part of an executive team, diverse volunteering, reach a certain average in specific classes-the usual. This was part of the reason why the chemistry midterm was the only thing on my mind for the past week.

"Yeah, I did," I answered Josiah. "I'm looking towards Dalhousie."

"I figured. It's what every science student wants especially since they have volunteer research positions opening for all fields. You want the biophysics one, right?" I nodded eagerly. "My cousin worked there as a research assistant a few summers ago. She did really well, impressed the executive team with her work ethic. Then she became a research coordinator now she's part of their executive board. Good pay too."

Imagine having that kind of incline in life. Shit.

Before I could respond, a couple of boys that had been part of that group Aven was with approached us, greeting Josiah. A few of them introduced themselves to me and I gave light smiles as I adjusted my bright yellow hat when the roles had changed.

Because you know when you can tell that someone is staring at you?

And it wasn't me being conceited.

It was confirmed when I glanced over at Immanuel who was speaking to Aven. Iman's hands were moving as he explained his story but Aven's eyes were on me.

No.

They were on my hat.

Aven's brown eyes went lower to my face and I froze as he studied me from a distance. A part of me would have stopped staring but I couldn't pull my eyes away from his curious glance. Then suddenly, his hand moved upward, pointing towards his head. It was a good thing I was already paying attention or I would've missed the way his seemingly soft lips moved when he mouthed, 'Nice hat'.

I would've responded. Maybe I would've approached them.

Suddenly, Iman grabbed Aven's shoulders, shaking the man back into the conversation. Aven laughed at Iman's gesture but I couldn't hear it what he was saying to Iman as music blasted closer to me.

Yasmeen held the speaker that had been playing the music blasting through our area of Parkdale. She grabbed my arm, pulling me over to shout at the top of my lungs with her and the rest of the people around us at the song and for a few moments, I lived in what would be a university memory with Aven's stare was on my mind.

Even throughout my chemistry exam, as I struggled to recall how to count stereoisomers on a diagram in front of me, I thought of Aven's laugh.

His laugh would probably be the kind that you catch yourself smiling at.

Maybe his laugh was loud enough to catch people's attention but not in an obnoxious way.

Or maybe he was the type of person to quietly laugh.

He could be a quiet guy.

Was he a quiet guy? Was he a player? The last thought wouldn't be surprising and I didn't want to deal with someone like that. Or someone who would lead me on. Not again.

Besides, he looked at my hat and it didn't mean he was attracted to me even based on physical appearance.

Maybe.

By the time I finished my chemistry exam that night, I was almost running out of the building. Bursting through the front doors, I tried to grab the bottle of Bacardi in my backpack that hung over my arms in front of me. Mariam and Yasmeen grinned, the pair standing near a street lamp when I came out. Yasmeen had a shot glass in her hand.

"Freedom!" I yelled, entering their embrace and they laughed at my dramatic shout, others who had taken the exam headed out of the building giving me strange looks but I didn't give two fucks.

Yasmeen handed me the glass when Mariam asked me, "How did it go?"

"It's over," I said to her as I quickly poured the Bacardi into the glass before handing the full bottle to Mariam. I took the shot, tilting my head back as I groaned, the burning sensation making its way down my throat before I recovered, settling into the warm feeling in my chest. "That's all that matters."

"Let's go?" Yasmeen asked.

"Party it up."

My friends and I danced that Saturday night away at the local club, Outlaw. Although I loved great energy with the right people, one of the best parts of a fun night was definitely the aftermath even after an entertaining walk home with my friends belting out songs from our childhood.

Our various friends texted us when they returned home safely. The few that had been friends with Mariam and Yasmeen either stayed with us at the house, left to find another event, or found their way home outside of Jasper Bay.

When we all returned from the club, it consisted of my roommates, their friends and I bundled up together for a movie. After that movie was over, their friends had opted to stay on our couch or inflatable mattresses while the rest of us retreated to bed at 3 AM.

I was currently balled up under the covers in a huge t-shirt and shorts as I flicked through Twitter until I moved to Instagram. I didn't expect to find much knowing that no one from my friend group had posted yet, claiming that they wanted it to be the right time.

Yet Immanuel never cared.

The man had posted three back-to-back pictures. A couple of himself for one post, one with the boys and one where I was included along with people we were all friends with.

After double tapping on the one I was in, the boys' picture had grabbed my attention when I realized who was in it.

The photo was taken on Parkdale Lane. On one side Josiah stood next to Immanuel, holding up his water bottle as if I was going to reach into the screen and take it. Iman had thrown up a peace sign yet the rest of the picture was hectic as the rest of the boys scrambled to get into the picture. On Immanuel's other side, was Aven.

Aven was grinning at the camera widely and as I swiped it was obvious he was laughing at something Iman said, both he and Aven attempting to get Josiah to put his water bottle down in the following pictures.

The smile on my face didn't even occur to me until I realized I was staring at Aven in the picture for too long.

I typically didn't spend much time Instagram. I'd rather go through Youtube and find randomest things to watch videos about. Yet there I was scrolling through Imannuel's Instagram for pictures of someone else only to remember that Iman had made a new Instagram account sometime during the summer. Shit. I went back to the pictures from today.

Iman had tagged Aven.

My fingers clicked for his profile before I could even process.

He had a high following though for a regular student here and while he had over 7000 followers, he only followed a little over 400. Skimming through his pictures, I noticed a few things.

There was no sign of a romantic interest.

Any pictures with friends included a very platonic caption.

Even the girls that commented subtle emojis on his picture, he didn't even bother commenting back. Maybe he was one of those guys that dropped a picture every once in a while and just forgot he had an Instagram in the first place.

As I got off of grid view to go through his pictures individually, there was a picture of him with an older woman, his arm around her as they grinned at the camera in the middle of a kitchen. The woman was his mom, according to the birthday shoutout in the caption.

His mom and he resembled each other enough to notice the relation at first glance but Aven was almost a foot taller and while his mom's skin was slightly a lighter tone than Aven's golden brown, she also had long loose curls as opposed to his tight coils.

I kept scrolling, stumbling upon a picture of Aven back when he was in university but this was during his first year judging by the mentors in their orientation uniforms who were also in the picture. The group of people stood smiling in front of Roger Hall, one of the lecture halls on campus.

Looking at the date stamp, my eyes widened at the realization. He was in his fourth year. 

Damn.

I was about to move on to another picture when my thumbs did the worst thing they could have done to me.

Double-tap the picture.

A picture from September 10th, 2018. Three years ago.

Holy shit. I got up from my bed, kicking the covers off me.

"Oh my God. Fuck. Fuck. No." Immediately, I unliked it but it was too late.

My hand flung my phone onto the bed and I watched it tumble off to the other side doing its own version of cartwheels before landing on the carpeted floor with a thud. My heart raced as I stood there with my hands covering my face.

"This has to be a joke."

He would receive the notification. Fuck.

Running out of my room, I stormed into Mariam's room with wide eyes. Her room was like an IKEA showroom, besides the huge stop sign in front of her long mirror next to her door. Mariam was laying down, her laptop in front of her with popcorn by her side as she watched a movie.

She looked up at me from behind her glasses. "What's got you rattled?"

"I'm an idiot."

"And?"

Behind me, Yasmeen laughed, walking into the room and hopping on Mariam's bed. The two of them were so at ease while here I was in full panic mode.

"And I'm an idiot who liked Aven's picture."

Mariam stared at me in confusion. "Okay. You liked his picture? That's what people do on Insta-"

"From three years ago."

Yasmeen gasped. "You did what?"

"I'm an idiot, guys," I whined, dropping to my knees in front of her bed, and putting my head on the duvet.

"You're not," Yasmeen assured me.

"I am," I said, covering my arms over my head. "I can't believe this. He's going to think I'm a freak and I haven't even talked to him."

"Jaime." Mariam started but I wasn't done.

"He's going to see me on the streets like 'that's the weirdo who scrolled so far down my Insta, she liked the picture to get my attention. She's an attention seeker'. Guys, am I an attention seeker?"

"You're not an attention seeker," Yasmeen assured me. "But you are being a tad bit dramatic, hun."

"Just a tad?" I rhetorically asked.

"Just a tad." She repeated.

"Own it," Mariam said, taking her glasses off for a brief moment to clean the lens with the bottom of her tank top.

"Own the fact that I was stalking his Instagram?"

"Yeah."

"No, stupid."

"Don't me call me stupid, stupid." Yasmeen handed Mariam a pillow who threw it at my face. I caught it quick, jumping over to them to hit her with it before she had time to defend herself, her scream loud.

At the door, an irritated sigh sounded at our fourth and final roommate, Larine, pushed her blonde hair over her shoulders. The last time I saw this girl was probably a week ago. "Can you guys please keep it down? Me and Benny are trying to watch a movie." Benny was her boyfriend.

"Sure," Yasmeen said as I hopped off the bed.

Larine was about to walk away but then she stilled, her blue eyes curious. "Wait, what happened?"

"Jay liked a hot volleyball player's picture from three years ago," Mariam explained.

Larine's jaw dropped and that surprised me. We were probably the least closest in this house, maybe because she had moved in last and she didn't care to know me or maybe because she rarely lived here and was usually at Benny's. "Oh my God."

I rubbed my face. "Guys."

"She'll do fine," Yasmeen said.

"Have you talked to him before?" Larine asked.

"No," Yasmeen answered. "But she will. And honestly, he's probably not going to notice or care about it. Don't worry."

I was going to continue to worry.

I started to walk out of the room, announcing, "I'm going to go die of embarrassment. Goodbye."

My roommates' protests became quiet as I closed my bedroom door, staring at my phone that was flat on its face on the ground.

Idiot.

I shook my head, grabbing my bonnet and headscarf for hair protection and my products to wash my face before making my way to the bathroom. Glancing at my phone once again, I huffed. "There's no way I'm touching that phone until morning."