02. The chapter of absolute sincerity

Rose

The days passed quickly in that first week, when I least expected it was already Friday and I had finally managed to empty the last box with my belongings. As I finished the organization I noticed the contrast between Alicia's side of the room and mine. All my colleague's belongings were organized by color, including her clothes, the white walls were completely clean without any posters, her bed looked like it was made for a commercial, full of pillows and with a large pink flowered bedspread. Her desk followed the same pattern of organization, in a corner positioned at an exact 45 degree angle, was a picture frame with a full Waldorf family photo, in the center, the book she had used to study the night before was closed with a small personalized notepad with her name on top. Next to the book, a pen, a pencil, and a highlighter were lined up in order of size.

" She must spend more time organizing this study table than studying," I thought aloud, not daring to touch anything.

I shrugged, going back to watching my little chaos from the other side, I mean, I always thought I was organized until I compared myself to Alie. All of my belongings were stored in the closet, my bed was with the sheets stretched out, and I had set aside a good portion of the wall to hang the drawings I would make throughout my undergraduate studies. On my desk, I spread out all my most used paints and pencils and brushes, leaving them proudly displayed.

Checking the time, I realized that it was the time I had arranged to meet Liam, Theo and Sky in the common area of the Residence Hall. Leaving my room behind, I made my way through the busy corridors, dodging one group or another of students until I reached the stairwell.

I had adjusted well to my new group of friends, each of them was smart, funny, and great at what they did. They were the kind of people who would be easily accepted into any group, and yet, they chose to live life outside of a gang. The one who was not at all used to this idea was Allie.

Even though we were not close during high school, I knew that she was the type who always joined the best groups. She was a standout on the debate team, head cheerleader, still found time for choir and study group. Allie was synonymous with the word perfection, and the light and spontaneous nature of our group was a great challenge for her.

I spotted them as soon as I arrived in the living room, they were settled in the usual corner where a large sofa and an armchair had become the group's favorite meeting place. Liam was lying on the couch, leaning his head on Sky's legs while Theo stretched out on the armchair, propping his feet up on a coffee table.

" No need to worry," I warned the boy as soon as I approached him and he motioned to get up.

I took off the sandals I was wearing and sat down on the rug between the sofa and the table, leaning my back on the table and putting my feet on Liam's stomach.

" Rose, tell me something, do you know who that guy with my cousin is? " Liam indicated with his head a place where Allie was talking with Christian.

The two of them had been seeing each other more and more in the last few days, and I was beginning to suspect that my friend's heart had been compromised.

" That guy? Christian something" I leaned my head on the table, looking up at the white ceiling" he's been Stalking her around campus since we got here.”

That phrase caused Liam to raise his head, looking at his cousin with a raised eyebrow.

" She seems to be enjoying the stalking," Theo shrugged.

" He's not stalking her, he's probably in love," Sky scolded us.

" I bet he wants to have sex," Theo tipped her head back, leaning on the back of the armchair.

" Theo! " Sky's eyes widened.

" He's right, in my experience a guy won't offer to carry heavy boxes for you unless he wants to have sex," I warned.

" My God, you guys are horrible." She patted Liam on the head, who by then had his eyes closed on her lap.

" Hey, I didn't say anything!”

" But I know you'll agree with them.”

Liam stood up again, watching the two, who were still talking animatedly for a few seconds before lying down.

" I won't. They're wrong.”

" Oh come on, the guy's a chemistry student and always manages to bump into her around campus, don't you think it's weird? " I nudged his stomach with my foot, making him open his eyes again.

" Rose, sometimes people approach each other with no ulterior motives. I can't believe I have to tell you this, I thought that with another girl joining the group, I wouldn't feel lost between these two," Sky complained, making me laugh.

She is so naive!

" I didn't say that there are no ulterior motives there, it's obvious that she wants to have sex with him.” Liam commented with his eyes still closed.

We all looked together at where Allie and Christian were talking, she always found a way to touch him, even though the boy kept his hands in the pockets of his worn jeans jacket.

" She's flirting with him, big deal. Maybe she is interested," Sky defended.

" The thing is, she's not going to introduce that guy to my aunt and uncle, and she can't date without introducing the perfect suitor to her parents, so obviously she's just looking for an opportunity to try something different from the jocks and study group leaders she's used to hanging out with, before she takes the team quarterback or a medically outstanding senior home for Thanksgiving," he explained, still with his eyes closed.

" She really has a type," I agreed with him.

" What are you guys talking about? " Allie's voice caught our attention.

We could disguise it and be embarrassed that she had caught us in the act, but the biggest flaw our new group had shown so far was an almost brutal sincerity.

" You," we answered together.

" What? What were you saying about me? " she widened her eyes, patting Liam's legs to make room for her on the couch, but the boy just shrugged his legs so that she could sit down, then stretched them over his cousin again.

" We're discussing whether or not you're going to have sex with that guy," Theo explained naturally.

Alie stared at us dumbfounded, looking as if she had been taken by surprise.

" Theo and I think he wants to have sex with you, and Liam thinks you want to have sex with him," I remarked nonchalantly.

" And I think you're getting to know each other better, even though Rose and Liam claim that he's not your type," Sky added.

Allie continued with the same horrified expression, alternating her gaze between us.

" How can you know my type? We just became friends a few weeks ago," Allie frowned.

" We went to high school together, maybe we weren't close, but it was easy to see the pattern in your boyfriends," I straightened, shrugging.

" But this isn't high school anymore, this is college. How would you feel if I based this on the fame you had? " she defended herself.

I frowned at her reaction. Why was she offended by something so simple? None of our friends seemed to understand the question.

" Do you want to start calling me by the nickname that you and your friends have given me? Go ahead, I don't care," I scoffed, lying down on the carpet, smiling at the shocked look on her face.

" What nickname? " Liam finally sat up, looking eager for the details of the story.

" Last year I hooked up with a boy one of her friends was interested in, and suddenly I became the bitch in room six," I explained, "I could always hear them humming a song whenever I passed by.”

" Oh my God, that's awful," Sky grimaced.

" I'm sorry, I didn't know you listened," Allie looked mortified.

" That's in the past, I don't care, never have, really.”

In one graceful movement I stood up and stretched again, saying goodbye to my friends as I saw a message from my father.

" You're leaving already? " Allie's eyes widened " I'm sorry, really, I didn't mean to…”

" Wow, calm down little princess, I'm going to get a pepperoni pizza and call my dad," I held up the cell phone, laughing at her reaction, "it seems that his relationship with my mom has been in crisis since I left home.”

" But it's only been a week " Sky frowned.

" He can be very dramatic," I held back my laughter, walking away.

I walked towards the main dining hall, calling my father, already preparing myself for all the drama he would pour on me as soon as he answered the phone.

" Rose, I'm about to file for divorce, your mother is driving me crazy," his voice sounded heavy, making me roll my eyes in a smile as I walked over.

" Dad, first of all, for you to get a divorce, you'd have to be married to her, and to be married to her, you'd have to have had sex more than once in your life," I warned.

Often my parents' light and playful manner made me forget that I was dealing with two adults of almost forty years.

"I'll propose marriage to her, then," he commented thoughtfully.

" Dad, you can't ask someone to marry you only to be able to divorce them later.

The task of keeping myself serious in front of that dialogue was becoming increasingly complicated, and I hurried my steps towards the main dining hall, which was the closest to our dorm, while the sun began to set, bathing the Gothic-style towers of the campus buildings with its golden light, transforming the scenery into something worthy of a work of art.

" She is ruining my life, I have the right to reciprocate," Jack's voice brought me back to reality.

" How exactly is your lovely neighbor ruining your life this time?”

" I made plans, Rose! For years I dreamed of the day when we would no longer be responsible for any human being other than ourselves, eager to have my freedom and my youth back," he ranted, making me laugh.

" Oh my God, I'm sorry for ruining your life!”

I exclaimed as I spotted the entrance to the main dining hall a few meters ahead of me, hopefully not so crowded.

" Little girl, I love you, and it is because of this love that I advise you not to have children before you graduate," he warned.

" No babies for me, Dad. But you still haven't told me why my mother has ruined your life.”

" I made a double date, a woman I met at the library a fortnight ago, she only agreed to go if I could find a date for her friend who recently got out of a relationship, and…”

" Dad, it's only been a few weeks since Angela left, don't you think it's too soon? " I interrupted him.

My mother had spent the last few months in a relationship with the manager of a local supermarket, but in the end, Angela was not ready to deal with the whole relationship involving my father.

" She chose to leave our lives, so your mother should move on," he warned.

" Dad, you were not part of their relationship," I reminded him, walking into the cafeteria.

Most of Angela's fights with my mother were because she couldn't accept that the two of them didn't see each other in a romantic way, even though they had a daughter together. Her jealousy went so far as to force the two of them apart, demanding that my mother treat him only as part of her past, something she readily refused.

" Rose, anyone who is going to date me or your mother will have to accept that we are part of each other's lives. Evie is my family and I will do anything for her happiness." That sentence made me smile, because my family might be a little different from the traditional one, and my parents didn't even live in the same house, but they were still very close as a family should be.

" Are you doing this for her happiness then? " I asked, waiting in line to get the pizza that would be my dinner.

" No, I'm doing it for my own happiness, but that doesn't mean that she can't have fun, Cristal's friend is very pretty.”

I got the last piece of pepperoni pizza available and a Coke to go before I left the cafeteria, determined to eat in my room.

" I'm not getting involved in this," I denied.

" I'll pay for that tattoo you wanted," he retorted.

It took only a second for me to consider this proposal, I had been asking them for money for weeks so that I could get a tattoo and they were not willing to pay, of course, I could always use the credit card they gave me, but then I ran the risk of running out of limit to buy things more important for my survival there, like gas, food, and my study materials.

" I need three hundred dollars.”

" Three hundred? Are you out of your mind?”

" When I call her, she will ask me why I am doing this, you taught me never to lie, so I will tell her and she will ask for half of the money to accept to go, so I think it is a fair amount," I returned reassuringly.

" If you get it, I'll transfer the money today," he warned before hanging up.