Bird-Dogging: an Academy Fan Fiction [on hold indefinitely]

Chapter Thirteen

          I was both excited and nervous as I practically skipped home after my Chem Lab that afternoon. We had done paper chromatography and thin layer chromatography on the same substance and compared the methods for speed and accuracy. It had been science heaven.  Spanish Lit had been a breeze earlier that morning, as usual; after flying through my assignment, I'd used the rest of the class period to complete my paper for Prof. Reid's class on Tess's laptop, which I'd borrowed for the day. I hope she finds the note letting her know... Plus I had texted Kota to let him know I was free Wednesday or Thursday afternoon and we'd settled on Wednesday. He'd be picking me up in front of the science building. 

          My date with Luke was in two hours. I hoped Tess was up and moving, because I needed her help. I had very little idea of what to expect and what was expected of me, and all my clues and dating knowledge came from books—which depending on the genre, was exciting and terrifying. Would it be more Nicholas Sparks or EL James? If Tess was to be believed, which I was hoping she was wrong, it would probably be more EL James. With my luck though, it would probably turn out more Lemony Snicket. As long as it doesn't turn Agatha Christie, I thought. I wasn't quite sure what we'd be doing on the date either; he'd not given me any details. Tess would know what to do though.

          When I opened the door to my dorm, it was dark inside. All the lights were off. A sharp smell hit my nose, making me want to sneeze. "Tess, what is that smell?" I asked as I shut the door and toed off my shoes. She was in the kitchenette area slurping something from a giant glass. I pulled her laptop out of my bag and passed it to her with a quiet 'thanks.' She nodded in acknowledgment as she set it on the countertop behind her.

          "Sang. Don't drink. Ever. Take it from me. It's so fun, but only when you can remember what happened. Not worth it." She shuddered. I chuckled in response. "I'm never drinking again. Until Saturday."

          "What is that you are drinking now?" I asked as I moved closer and sniffed in her direction. "It smells awful."

         "It is awful. Eggs, hot sauce, a plum, and pickle juice." Her usual hangover cure. No amount of fun would make me willing to drink that!

          "But you had a full bag of fluids at the hospital last night, Tess. How are you this hungover?"

          "Morphine. Withdrawals. Just don't ask, yeah?" She tipped back the rest of the odorous cocktail, and set her glass back on the counter. Then she picked up an ice pack and held it over her bandaged forearm.

          "You look bad, Tess. Do you even remember what happened last night?" I bit my lip, hoping for an answer in the negative.

           "Not really. I remember going to the hospital. After that it's fuzzy. But I know I wasn't into the guy. At all. Knew within the first 3 minutes. Like I care about spark plugs," she scoffed.

          I filled her in on everything but her late night matchmaking. She laughed it all off as quietly as she could while pinching the bridge of her nose.

          "Well, I am going to go get ready for my date with Luke. Any pointers?"

          "I took two aspirin, so I should be good to go in twenty. No way am I letting you do this on your own. Go grab a shower and then knock on my door. I'm taking a power nap." She slumped into her room and closed her door.

          I made my way into my room, stripped down and took the fastest shower I could, completely forgetting to shave my armpits until I shut off the water. I turned the water back on, shaved quickly, then turned it back off. I toweled off quickly and walked out into my room wrapped in my bathrobe. Tess was waiting on my bed.