Serial Dating

Kappa Kappa Hype Fest

Lee didn't see Milo the next morning. He assumed Milo died and that he'd find, "Man Dies After Orgasm, Body Found Wrapped in Hammock in the Bay," printed in the newspapers. However, an hour after his shift started, Milo messaged him the following: "Deceased and trapped with the team this morning. See you at Kappa when we get back?" to which he replied, "RIP your pants dude."

Lee snickered at Milo's reply to his snarky comment. He pocketed his phone as he set back to work at the cash register. It was Friday and he was due to work through the morning before OChem, but with the game, he'd be missing the first half of the Hunters' game against Eugene, Oregon. It was a long bus ride which meant Milo was likely on a coach bus through Northern California to get there and back.

Their exam results were in and, at the end of their Friday lecture, Rushil followed Lee up to the front table where all of the tests were safeguarded by their respective TAs. Alex had a stack of test packets in their hand and, when Lee stepped up, they offered an encouraging smile as they presented the packet. For Rushil, Alex gave him a wink and said, "You guys are sticking around after, right?"

"Yeah. We have to finish the prep for lab on Monday," Rushil said. When he hurried over to where Lee had his packet pressed flat to his chest, Rushil let out a deep breath and said, "Shit—makes you feel like you did terrible and Pika's gotta smack some sense into us."

"I doubt their brains would be passed on with one smack," Lee sighed. He was convinced that any TA for OChem had secretly sold their souls to the devil.

They raced up the steps back to their lecture seats. The hall was clearing out all except for students inquiring about their test results with the professor and the TAs. After dropping down into their designated seats, Rushil turned to face Lee and said, "Ready?"

Lee sucked in a deep breath and nodded. "Ready. One—two—three."

They flipped their test packets over and plucked off the post-it note over their scores.

Lee's sinking heart soared in an instant. Flying colors, he thought to himself at the sight of a low 90 on his paper.

"Eight-five, not bad, not bad at all," Rushil hummed, pleased. "How about you?"

"Good. I passed," Lee said with a firm nod. He flipped through the packet so the score turned to the back. He searched for the questions he got wrong and together they compared their answers. They made notes, correcting their wrong answers, and aiming for a perfect score next time around.

After that was said and done and they turned over to their lab assignment, Alex was back from handing out test scores. They slapped their hands on Lee and Rushil's shoulders, causing them both to leap in their seats.

"Way to go, guys," they said. "After the last lab, you two are in the top half of the class."

"Well, I guess this is evidence that my deal with Satan was worth it," Lee said.

Rushil slapped him on the arm and laughed. "When did you do that and why didn't you refer Satan to me?" he said.

"Just before I emerged from the womb Satan came up to me and said: 'Now is the time for you to decide whether or not you'll pass organic chemistry,'" he said, his lab papers to his heart and his eyes facing forward. He glanced back at Rushil, who was just barely containing his laughter. "So to answer you: I was -2 minutes old."

Alex had their things packed up and stood with an amazed, "Wow, this explains so much about you. On that lovely note, I'll be off."

"Oh—hold on," Lee said. He went to his phone where he opened up the invite Olivia sent him. He held it out to Alex and Rushil, who leant over to squint at it. "There's a party going on tonight at Kappa. You guys should come."