The Collegiate Chronicles

Chapter 13

Five weeks. That's 35 days. 840 hours. 50,400 minutes. I'd like to say that I spent most of it living my best life. Saying played out phrases like, 'New Year, New Me!' But, I'd be lying to y'all if I did.

Nope, my winter break was spent sulking, listening to 90s R&B, and being reminded that niggas suck. Next thing you know, Georgy and I were on our way back to campus for the Spring Semester.

"Chile, we haven't been back in our dorm ten minutes, and both these niggas hitting me up," Georgy groaned as I heard endless notification after notification of texts he was receiving from the two guys who got hooked on his ass last semester.

"Humble brag after you help me unpack," I told him with a grin.

Georgy redecorated his side of the room to make it friendly and vibrant, a reflection of how the weather would soon be in a few more weeks. Since it technically was still winter, I designed my half of the room to be bleak, cold, and desolate, much like my heart at the moment.

Georgy must've noticed, "Landon, I know your ass ain't done decorating."

"What's wrong with it?" I asked half-heartedly as I sat on the edge of my bed.

"I imagine that this is what the inside of the Abominable Snowman's bussy would look like if he spread his cheeks!"

"That was an image I didn't need in my head," I responded.

Georgy took a seat beside me as I flopped backward.

"You know, I'm here now if you need me. I went on that impromptu vacay with my mama out of town, and you didn't really mention Jo-"

"Don't say his name!" I cut him off.

He rolled his eyes, "-The 'J-word' once I did have a wifi connection. It's okay to be hurt and to vent about this. It's never good to keep feelings bottled up inside because you never know how those negative feelings will manifest themselves."

"I'm fine, Georgy," I lied, and he knew I was lying, but I didn't want to think about that jerk anymore.

A knock on our door caused me to sit up as Georgy and I looked at our doorway at the same time to see who was there.

"Room for one more?" Mae asked with a smile.

"Mae!" both of us got up and enveloped her in a bear hug.

"I missed you, girl," Georgy told her.

"Missed you too! More than you know," she smiled, "So, how was New York anyway?"

"Cold, but fun. Shopping spree, nightclubs, and bi-curious thugs with Brooklyn accents and big dicks. A real winter wonderland if you ask me!"

Mae laughed before she turned her attention to me, "How are you, Landon? I hadn't heard from you the last couple weeks."

"Yeah, sorry our communication fell off, Mae. I guess I was just... not really in the mood for much conversing and I didn't want my bad mood to bring you down."

"Trust me, if this bitch is mad and there ain't no one to hand him a Snickers bar to chill with, you don't want him talking to you," Georgy explained.

"Listen to this man. He is wise," I agreed, "The last thing you would've wanted to do is hear from me."

"Oh, right..." Mae responded after a pause and an awkward laugh.

"But how was your winter break though?" Georgy asked.

"Mine? It was great! I had a blast!"

I wasn't too convinced by Mae's tone, but before I could question her, she changed the subject.

"How are you doing though Landon? Truly?"

"He was just lying about being fine moments before you arrived," Georgy answered for me.I rolled my eyes, and Mae snickered.

"I'm managing," I told her, downgrading myself from 'fine' status.

"Good, I have to say that I missed my boys. Especially since you two are all I have now."

"Natalia still hasn't come through?" Georgy asked surprised.

"She reached out several times over break. She left me long voicemails and texts catching me up on the shit that went down before y'all left for break," Mae's eyes looked at me sympathetically for a brief moment before continuing, "but then the rest of the convo was just her talking about Kynsey and her issues. And that's my main problem with Natalia. Fuck everybody else's feelings, it's all about Kynsey. She made her choice."

"Well if it makes you feel better, Natalia's not the only one who picked Kynsey," I shook my head.Mae lowered her head. She sighed before looking back up at me, "Can I ask you something? Be real with me."

"Of course, what's up?"

"Is the reason you stopped texting me because I indirectly remind you of Kynsey, and therefore remind you of how she and Jose had sex? Is that why you didn't talk to me?"

I was shocked, "No, Mae! That wasn't it at all, I swear! You are the epitome of kindness and I would never in a million years ghost you due to your association with that drunken anti-Christ known as your former friend. We're good, and I mean that."

Mae smiled, "You have no idea how happy it makes me hear you say that. I was so scared y'all didn't want to be my friend either. I don't know if I could handle that."

Simultaneously, the three of us flopped backward on my bed, with Mae in between Georgy and I.

"It's a new semester y'all. The slate has been wiped clean, so let's move forward and make sure our freshman year ends with a bang!"

"Amen to that!" Mae responded to Georgy.

"Hallelujah!" I added in.

The three of us laughed, and it was the first time I had genuinely done that in weeks.