Greendale's Oddest Human Beings

Cool or Not?

"Good morning, Greendale Community College," the dean said over the PA before giving a bunch of odd announcements, including an announcement about people not liking his announcements. The study group (minus Jeff) were in the study room in the seats that they had sat in on the night of Jeff's (manipulative) speech. "That dude makes a lot of announcements," Troy said in response to the wacky announcements he had just heard. "I like it," Abed said, "It makes every 10 minutes feel like a new scene of a TV show." He then frowned a bit before adding, "Of course, the illusion lasts until someone says something they never say on TV, like how much life is like TV. There, it's gone." "It'd be pretty meta if they did that, though," Ruth chimed in, making Abed smile.
"Jeff's running late again," Annie pointed out. "What a shame," Britta said sarcastically, then quickly tried to move forward into Spanish, "We should get started—," "No, I think we should wait for Jeff before we start," Shirley cut in. Annie noticed Britta's frustration. "But when Jeff gets here, we could talk to him, as a group, about his tardiness," she suggested. "Oh come on now," Pierce said, "don't use that word around Aybed." The man didn't actually care about how Abed felt, which made Ruth a bit angry. She had a few pages full of the things that Pierce had said and done (none of them good things).
    "If you want me to have a chat with Jeff, I'd do it," Pierce said, hopping from one topic to another. "We've got a bond going, kind of, sort of like brothers," he said with (invalid) confidence. "Hope your mom didn't make you take baths together. One of you would have been like 30," Troy joked, offending the old man. "That's funny. Jeff probably comes late so he doesn't have to sot through your tardiness," Pierce shot back. "Sorry, Abed," he added insincerely.
    "Hey, will you guys have some self respect?", Britta shifted the conversation. "You are obsessing over someone who does not give you a second thought. Meanwhile, in Guatemala, journalists are being killed by their own government." "What's happening in Guatemala?", Shirley asked with genuine interest. "Nothing," Britta said. "Journalists are being murdered?", Annie asked, concerned. "Everyday in that country, people are being killed for speaking out," Britta explained. "And the worst part is, when it's all over—," "Spoilers," Abed noted. "it'll be as if it never happened," Britta finished, then turned to Abed. "Hey, Abed. Real stories, they don't have spoilers," she told him, clearly concerned for his mental state. "You understand that TV and life are different, right?", she asked.
    "Hey," Jeff said, entering the room. "Ruth," he greeted as he passed the young woman. "Jeff," she responded. Jeff then continued around the table, addressing each person individually. "Britta," he said to the upset blonde woman as he sat down. "Hey, Jeff," she said, "I think there's something the group would like to talk to you about." Everyone (except for Britta and Ruth) denied what Britta had just said, but Britta continued with what she was saying. "Okay. If you're gonna study with people, it would be cool to show up on time."
    "Oh, were you waiting?", Jeff asked with concern that Ruth recognized as insincere. Everyone (except for Britta and Ruth), denied that they had been waiting. "I just got here," Pierce said. "You guys usually spend the first 20 minutes talking about your interesting personal lives and your cool emotional problems. I feel like I never have anything to offer," Jeff said with fake sadness in his voice. Everyone disagreed with him, assuring him that what he had said was not true. "No," he said, "truth is, my life is emptier than this three-ring binder." The man put his binder on the table, then turned to Annie. "Annie, do you have any Spanish notes that might fit in there?" Annie smiled and nodded, handing him a copy of her notes. "Wow. Double spaced. Thank you," he said, praising Annie. "So, what's a guy gotta do to get a C around here?", the man joked, causing everyone but Britta and Ruth to laugh.
    After the "study" session, Ruth walked out by herself, but Abed ended up catching up to her. "You do know that Jeff's manipulating you, right?", Ruth said to Abed as they walked. "Yes," Abed responded, "but he's cool, so it doesn't really matter." Ruth was shocked by what Abed had just said, but she didn't often show facial expressions. "That logic isn't exactly rock solid, don't you think?", she asked the man next to her. Abed shrugged. "It's how the world works," he said, "the strong get to pick on the weak. Jeff's the strong, we're the weak."
    Ruth chuckled a bit. "You really think that I'm weak?", she asked. "Well, socially, you are at the bottom of the totem pole," he responded with a shrug. Part of Ruth wanted to argue, but he was right. "You've got a point," she conceded, then a question popped into her head. "Abed?", she said. "Hm?", Abed responded. "Do you not think I'm cool?", she asked. Abed thought for a moment before responding. "You're cool to me," he stated, which made Ruth's heart flutter for a second. "But not to most people," Abed added, which didn't make Ruth quite as happy.
    "Well, you're cool, Abed," she said kindly, but expressionless. Abed looked at her and tilted his head. "Really?", he asked. "Yes, Abed. Really," Ruth assured.

    In Spanish, Ruth had been paired up with a guy she had never met before. His name was Sam, which, of course, lead Ruth to question his full name. The man was around Ruth's age (probably a few years older) and he had brown hair and brown eyes. He was fairly tall (about Jeff's height) and pretty skinny. He wore a red T-shirt with letters on it that were too faded to be read and jeans. To be perfectly honest with herself, Ruth recognized that she expected the worst out of him. After all, he was an upbeat, kind of conventionally handsome young man (A.K.A. the type of guy that bullied her in high school).
    As she walked out of class, the guy followed her and walked beside her. "So," he said, "when do you want to get together to work on our conversation?" Ruth tried to act as though she didn't hear him, but he just walked closer to her and spoke louder. "Hey," he said to her. Ruth gave in and turned to him with a sigh as they continued to walk down the hallways. Sam smiled after finally getting her attention. "I'm Sam," he said with a friendly smile, offering his hand for her to shake. Ruth didn't shake his hand, but she did speak. "Ruth," she said softly.
    "That's a great name. Is that short for something?", Sam asked in an attempt to get to know his peer. "No," Ruth responded coldly (lying through her teeth), then stopped at a water fountain, causing Sam to almost trip and fall onto another person. The young man continued as Ruth drank from the fountain. "Still," he said, trying hard to keep a cheerful voice and demeanor, "it's a great name." Ruth didn't respond. "So," he continued, "what time should we get together to formulate our discussion? It could be in my dorm if you'd like or in the library if that's less intimate."
    Ruth finished her drink and looked at the man speaking to her. He was right, they needed to do the homework, but that didn't mean that they would have to be friends. "Library," she stated, "six." Sam was clearly a bit confused by her behavior, but he kept a smile. "Great," he said as Ruth walked away, "see you at six!"