by Zoë Marshall
“Well, we don’t have to worry about it anymore.”
“I guess not.”
“I should head back to the hotel. Did you want to grab coffee tomorrow before I head out?”
“Maybe. I’ll let you know in the morning.”
“Enjoy the rest of your night.” Cole hugged her and began to head to his car. He turned back around. “I really am sorry, Sutt.”
“I know.” Sutton walked into her dorm hall and up to her room. She sat at her desk and decided to try to work on her book. She stared at the blinking line for a while, then finally began to type.
She was writing a scene where the main character got into a fight with her best friend. They were the kind of friends Sutton and Cole were. They never fought, so when they did, it was huge.
Sutton finished the scene and saved her work. She was ready to go to sleep and have this day finally be over.
SUTTON WAS ON the verge of ripping her hair out when she heard her phone beeping. It was a text from Ava:
Hey girl, I need you. What are you up to?
Studying. Big essay due on Monday for my creative writing class.
Boo. Take a break and come have a mimosa.
How are you even drinking a mimosa right now?
Ohhh … I totally forgot to tell you! Jeff got me an ID. Speaking of Jeff, I got this strange text that he has a girlfriend visiting this weekend.
Who was it from?
No idea. And I don’t recognize the area code.
Weird … Well, I’m sorry to hear that. Maybe it’s a prank or something?
Doubtful, seeing as he’s already half an hour late to meet me.
I’m sorry, hon. Maybe Jon can meet up?
Jon was a friend Ava had made when school first started, after she had a massively embarrassing fall at the freshman mixer and he helped her up. Sutton thought he was a great influence on Ava. He wasn’t a partier, and they spent their time doing fun things like bowling and mini golfing. Unfortunately, Ava had told Sutton on several occasions that she didn’t find him remotely attractive, so Sutton’s many attempts to get Ava to consider him more than a friend were futile.
I’m sure he’s busy doing something boring. I’m just going to have a few more of these and run some errands. Get my nails done … maybe drop by the tanning salon. I’m getting quite pasty.
It’s winter. You’re not supposed to be really tan.
Where I’m from, it’s practically always winter and I make it a point to constantly look like I just got back from a vacation in the Bahamas.
Lol. Ava, I really need to get back to studying. I’m sorry I can’t come drown your sorrows with you.
It’s okay. I’ll survive. Thanks anyway.
I’ll see you when you get back.
K.
Sutton spent the next couple of hours on the verge of pulling her hair out. She needed a break. She got her phone out and texted Jeremy, the guy who had hit her with a Frisbee what felt like months ago.
Hey Jeremy. I need a study break. Want to grab some food?
Jeremy responded almost instantly:
Sure.
Just come by whenever.
Okay, I’ll see you soon.
About twenty minutes later, Sutton heard a knock on her door. She opened it to find a handsome Jeremy dressed in a nice white collared shirt and dark blue jeans, fitted in all the right places.
“Hey Sutton. How’s the studying going?”
Sutton walked to her closet and rummaged around for a sweater. “I’ve been doing this for hours straight. I think I’m going cross-eyed.”
“Poor thing,” Jeremy replied.
Then the door opened to reveal a very tanned, borderline-burnt Ava, looking incredibly discouraged.
“Hey, Ava, this is Jeremy.”
Jeremy walked over to Ava and shook her hand. “I hit Sutton with a Frisbee a while ago.”
Ava laughed, probably assuming he was joking. When he didn’t laugh, she quickly stopped. “Oh, you’re serious. I didn’t hear about this encounter.”
“It was pretty memorable. I’m surprised she didn’t rush home and tell you about it right afterward.”
“Anyway … Jeremy and I were going to go to the dining hall and grab a bite. Want to join?” Sutton chimed in.
“Well….” Sutton knew that Ava made it a point to avoid the dining hall at all costs. She always told Sutton that everything tasted like McDonald’s, and she was always watching her figure. So Sutton was surprised when Ava replied, “Sure.”
A couple of minutes later, the three of them walked across the quad to the packed dining hall. They walked over to an empty table. “I’ll hold the table,” Ava said, taking a seat. “I’m not hungry.”
“Are you sure?” asked Sutton, in a concerned tone. She tended to go into worry mode when she thought Ava wasn’t eating enough.
“Yes, Mom.” Ava laughed, and Jeremy and Sutton went and grabbed a random assortment of things: cheeseburgers, fries, cereal, cake…. Sutton was a big eater and proud of it. It was very impressive to all who witnessed it.
“So, Ava—how are things going for you here?” Jeremy asked, with a mouthful of fries.
“It’s good. I still haven’t really figured out what I want to do yet.”
“Yeah, I know the feeling. There are just so many options. Well, at least one of us knows what they’re going to do—Ms. Writer over here.” Jeremy nudged Sutton on the shoulder and she took a break from her Captain Crunch to smile and nod her head. “Speaking of which, how’s the book coming along?”
“Well … I’m making a bit of progress, I guess. At this pace, I’ll be done sometime early-ish next year.”
“Do you get to use it as extra credit for any of your English classes?” Jeremy asked, appearing genuinely interested.
“I’m not sure. I hadn’t thought about it.”
“You should look into it,” Jeremy added.
Ava observed the interaction with a raised brow. “So, Jeremy,” she said. “What do you do for fun around here?”
“I’m on the soccer team. And I’m part of this—” Jeremy hesitated for a moment, choosing his words. “—society thing.”
“Society thing, huh? What’s that all about?” Ava asked, probingly.
“You know … just a … fellowship thing.” It was obvious that Jeremy didn’t really want to get into it.
“That sounds fun,” Sutton said, shooting Ava an accusatory look.
“Yes … this mystery club sounds fascinating,” Ava added, sarcastically.
“Ava,” Sutton said sternly. “Do you need to go to the bathroom?”
“No.”
“Could I use your lip gloss?”
“Yes.” Ava took a sparkly red tube of lip gloss out and handed it to Sutton.
“I mean, can I get your help with it?” Sutton asked, hoping Ava would get the hint.
“With lip gloss? Okay—step 1: apply. End of lesson.”
Sutton grabbed the lip gloss from Ava’s hand and stormed off to the bathroom, seeing as she had no option now except to go put it on.
“So, Jeremy … what’s this club all about?”
“Okay, I can tell you, since you won’t seem to drop it. But please don’t say anything to Sutton.”
“Of course.” Ava intended to keep no such promise, but she knew agreeing to it was the only way he’d spill.
Jeremy’s voiced lowered to a whisper. “We’re just a group of people who believe the world is going to end on New Year’s Eve. We all made a pact.”
“Oh. My. God. A doomsday cult? With a suicide pact? Are you fucking serious?”
“Shhh. It’s not really like that.”
“So, what the hell is it like?”
“Well, I guess it is sort of like that…. You and Sutton can join us, but you can’t tell anybody else.”
“So, we can be spared, but everyone else has to die?” Ava was humoring him, though she appeared mortified by the whole thing.
“If everyone knows,
there will be a revolt and the wrath brought upon the world will be unfathomable.”
Ava shook her head and laughed. “You are unbelievable. So, everyone dies. What wrath could be worse than that?”
“If you have to ask me that, then your soul is already too far gone to be saved.”
Just as Ava looked like she was about to blow up at Jeremy, Sutton walked up—shiny lips and all—and asked, “What did I miss?”
“Oh, not much. You know, just the end of the world is approaching and we have to join some stupid cult and commit suicide if we want to be saved.”
Sutton laughed loudly and took a large bite of her cake. Jeremy shot Ava an undeniably angry look and she just shrugged.
“Wait,” Sutton said. “You aren’t serious, are you?”
“Jeremy said we could join, but we can’t tell anybody else, because the world will rot eternally in a hell beyond our comprehension.”
Jeremy stood up and growled to Sutton in a low voice, “Now you will never be saved. Thanks to this … sinner.”
Jeremy stormed off and Sutton and Ava started cracking up. “I knew there was something off about that guy,” Sutton said, in disbelief.
“I know, right? He was so hot, too. Such a waste,” Ava replied. “I was more banking on him being a serial killer, but a doomsday cult is pretty entertaining.”
“I wonder how many people are convinced the world is about to end.”
“Well, we know of one. And one is entirely too many in my book.”
“Agreed.” Sutton pushed the plate over to Ava. “Cake?”
COLE WAS STILL discouraged about how his weekend with Sutton had gone. They hadn’t talked much since he’d left and he had been trying to think of the perfect way to make it up to her.
He was going to find her the most incredible Matchbox match of all time. It would take some serious searching and weeding out, but he’d made it his new mission in life from that point on. Sure, they had decided to end the whole thing, but it couldn’t hurt to search one last time.
Cole spent the next two hours scrolling through profiles, but he was vastly disappointed with what he found.
Guy, age 19: Reasons to date me: 1. I guarantee that nobody will try to steal me from you. 2. Occasionally, I can be funny. 3. I almost never leave the toilet seat up.
Marc, age 18: Everything I care about in this world is either illegal, immoral, addictive, fattening, expensive or impossible.
Sam, age 18: Hey I’m hella chill. I’m like a big ole teddy bear. At least I get that a lot, maybe because I’m 6’3” and huge, not like hella fat, but still. You’ll see what I mean if we ever meet up. Lol. I’m goofy and love to have fun. Now entertain me.
Gary, age 21: I’m a d-bag in my 20’s with a bomb shirtless selfie and a tiger on my floor. I need to lose some weight, but I’m an awesome father and I play the sax. If you don’t swipe up for me because I’m not hot, sweet, you save both of us some time! Sleep together? Nah, how about we become friends? Do people still do that?
Cole tossed his phone on his bed and sighed loudly.
Hunter turned around and looked at him. “What’s wrong, bud?”
“This is hopeless.”
“What is?”
“Finding a Matchbox match for Sutton,” Cole replied, twirling around in his desk chair.
“I thought you guys decided to stop that whole thing.”
“We did. I just … I just need to find a way to make it right. I don’t really like how we left things, you know?”
“Maybe you guys just need some time apart,” Hunter suggested.
“Time apart? All we have is time apart.”
“No, what I mean is, time apart from the friendship. This is college. Maybe you guys just need to do your own thing for a while.”
That wasn’t what Cole wanted to hear. “I can’t do that. I don’t know what I’d do without her.”
“Maybe that’s the problem. You can’t be each other’s crutches forever. At least, you shouldn’t be.”
“Yeah, that’s actually what my dad said.”
Cole was silent as his thoughts raced. Were his dad and Hunter right? Did he use Sutton as a crutch? Were he and Sutton holding each other back from enjoying their college experiences? It would be winter break soon, and they’d be seeing each other back home, so maybe they should just cool it until then.
“I’m sorry,” Hunter said. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“Oh, I know. I’m just thinking.”
“Want to go get a beer? I could use a study break.”
“I don’t have an ID.”
“Have I not taken you to the Garfield dorm yet? One of the four-person suites functions solely as a bar for students.”
“Don’t they check ID there?”
Hunter laughed. “No, man. It’s not like a college-sanctioned bar. It’s sort of a secret thing. The four guys assigned to the dorm got a house off campus. They make tons of money off of this place. It’s a fun spot—great for meeting people too. The place is packed with hot girls.”
Cole was quickly sold on the idea. “Okay, I’m in.”
“Great, just let me finish reading this page and we’ll head out.”
“K.”
Cole considered changing out of his usual jeans and t-shirt, but decided he was far too lazy to do so. He waited for Hunter to finish reading and then followed him out of the room and to the mystery dorm.
As they approached, Cole was both excited and nervous. On the walk over, Hunter had told him all about the fantastic assortment of girls that were always hanging out there. Cole could use a distraction, and honestly hadn’t made much of an effort to get to know people there. His life consisted mostly of football games and practices, homework, and the myriad failed dates Sutton had set him up on. He was ready to have a little fun for once.
The door was unlocked and they walked in. Cole’s eyes widened as he looked around. The ‘bar’ was decorated with a luau theme, with lush tropical plants surrounding the tiki bar and Hawaiian music playing. It was packed, and Cole smiled as he noticed that Hunter was right—there were tons of attractive girls standing around drinking their umbrella drinks.
This was exactly what he needed.
“What are you drinking, bud?” Hunter asked.
Cole hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Beer?”
“They have great Moscow mules.”
“What’s that?”
“Seriously? Some consider it a girly drink, but it’s my favorite. It’s ginger beer, vodka, lime juice, and simple syrup.”
“I’ll give it a shot.”
“Excellent. I’ll be right back. Take a lap around. Socialize,” Hunter said, grinning.
Cole wasn’t exactly ready to socialize yet. The vodka was bound to help with that aspect. He chose, instead, to stand awkwardly by the door and avoid all human interaction until Hunter got back.
No such luck.
A gorgeous girl with shoulder-length, dark purple hair appeared in front of Cole and he froze. He was mesmerized. She had big doe eyes, which would have looked very innocent paired with her huge dimples, if they weren’t almost black. She had a button-nose with a tiny diamond stud on the right side. Her lips were shiny, sparkly, and full. She was wearing a black tube-top with peach-colored pants, and black sneakers with white laces.
She was the image of perfection.
“Hi, I’m Claire.”
“I’m Cole.”
“I haven’t seen you around. Do you go to school here?” Claire took a sip of her blue drink and Cole stared at her beautiful mouth.
“No … I, uh … I mean, yes. Sorry.”
Claire giggled and pulled her hair behind her ears, which were cute, round, and covered with various piercings. “Do you live on campus?”
“Yeah. Wentworth dorm.”
“Hey—me too! That’s weird I haven’t seen you.”
“I spend a lot of time at football practice.”
“Ohh … one of those,” Claire replied p
layfully.
“Yep.” Cole was relieved as Hunter finally walked up and handed him the drink, which was in a cool steel mug.
“Hey, guys. How’s it going?”
“Hunter, this is Claire.”
“Yes, I know. She lives in our dorm, dude. How are you doing, lovely?”
Claire gave Hunter a kiss on the cheek. “I’m fantastic. Just meeting your adorable friend here.”
“He’s my roommate.”
“Ah, I see. How come you never bring this cute roommate of yours over here?”
Hunter turned to Cole. “Claire spends a lot of time here. I always get to see her beautiful face whenever I come by.”
“Nice,” Cole said. “Well, it’s great to meet you, Claire.”
“Great to meet you too.” Claire smiled wide. “I’m going to go find Jen, but I’ll see you guys in a bit?”
“Yes, you will,” replied Cole, sipping the refreshing drink.
After Claire walked away, Cole hit Hunter on the shoulder. “How have you never introduced me to her? What’s her deal?”
“You never hang out with me, that’s why. Plus, you never go to any of the dorm events. Claire is a very sweet girl. And a very single girl, I might add.”
“How is that even possible?” Cole stared across the room at Claire and turned bright red when she turned around to point at him. She and a girl Cole assumed was Jen started giggling as she turned back around, also with reddening cheeks.
“I don’t know. I heard something about her breaking up with her high school boyfriend before coming out here. He was two years below her, and they decided the whole long distance thing wasn’t going to work or something.”
“Why haven’t you tried to hit that?”
“Are you kidding me? I don’t have time for that. Speaking of which, I can only hang out for another thirty or so. I need to get back to homework land.”