CHAPTER 1
The notification that my Lyft had arrived popped up on my phone, causing me to jolt out of my slumber. I had fallen asleep sitting on a black steel bench outside of the Winterbourne International Airport. The jet lag had hit me hard. I despised long flights and what they did to my body afterward. However, if I wanted to tour the campus of the prestigious Winterbourne University, it was required. A white Tesla sedan quietly pulled up to the curb in front of where I sat. The faded Lyft sticker stared right at me. The passenger side window slid down, revealing a skinny, Caucasian, hipster man. He had a long beard and wore black-framed glasses. They were the kind of glasses where they were more for style rather than actually helping him to see. He wore a blue and white plaid button shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. I couldn’t see his pants, but I was picturing some really tight skinny jeans.
“Are you Gage Sullivan?” the driver asked with a smile.
“Guilty,” I replied with a yawn.
“My name is Jacob. Hop on in!”
I nodded and stood slowly to my feet and I threw my duffel bag over my shoulder. The cool Winterbourne breeze blew through my medium length brown hair. I saw my reflection in the sparkling glass of the Tesla. I wore simple comfort clothes for the flight, which weren’t fancy at all. I had a plain short sleeve white shirt and relaxed fit blue jeans with comfortable sneakers. I wore a thin black jacket to take the bite out of the cooler temperatures in Winterbourne. I was a fairly athletic fellow standing 6’2 and weighing around 180 pounds. I wasn’t buff per se, but I was what I would call cut. I didn’t play sports, but I enjoyed running and I did a bit of Crossfit. I wasn’t one of those crazies that had lives that revolved around Crossfit, but I went to a local gym a couple times a week at the most. My academic curriculum kept me from doing much else. I was pre-med, and I wanted to tour Winterbourne University. They had a top 10 ranked medical school and were supposed to be one of the most beautiful campuses in the world. It was also far away from my parents, which was a huge plus.
I loved my parents, but I didn’t like my parents most days. I was an only child in an upper middle class family from the suburbs of Raleigh. My father was the chair of the English department at the local university, and my mother worked as an attorney at a busy law firm downtown. I wouldn’t say that we were rich, but my parents had a very respectable income in the community we lived in. They worked long hours, and I spent a lot of time on my own, which was fine by me. My parents spent most of the time either arguing with each other or constantly criticizing me whenever we were under the same roof. My parents loved me, but I also knew that they didn’t have intentions of having children. I was a surprise and threw a wrench into their life plans. They were very career oriented people, and I just got in the way of their ambitions most of the time. They weren’t bad people, just selfish people.
I hoped I would be able to enroll in medical school at Winterbourne to get away from them, and they secretly hoped for the same. As long as they continued to pay for my education, I didn’t really give a shit.
“Did you have a pleasant flight?”
“Yeah, it wasn’t bad. I’m just a little jet lagged right now, but I’ll be well soon. Hopefully.”
“Well, welcome to Winterbourne. Have you been here before?” asked the hipster.
“No, I haven’t. I’m headed over to tour the medical school now.”
“Cool, I’m a junior at Winterbourne.”
“Oh really? What are you majoring in?”
“History,” the hipster replied with a smile as we pulled away from the curb.
“History? I was never a big history buff. More power to you. So there isn’t a specific part of history you’re majoring in? Your major is just… history?”
“Yeah,” the driver replied with an uncomfortable smile.
I knew immediately that I had said something wrong, which wasn’t unusual. Even though I didn’t like my parents, they raised me and some of their ugly traits infected me. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just thinking that there were more specialized curriculums in history. Trying to learn all of history seems pretty daunting. What do you want to do afterwards?”
My apology seemed to appease the bearded driver, and his face lit up once again. “No, you’re fine. I understand what you’re saying. I’m hoping to teach history in high school. It’s not glamorous, but I’ve always loved history and wanted to be a teacher.”
“Cool, cool, cool,” I nodded as I looked out the window and the houses that whizzed by.
“You said you were going to medical school? That’s impressive. Winterbourne has a good one, that is for sure.”
“I’m interested in becoming a dermatologist. Their dermatology program is supposed to be near the top.”
“No way. If I was going to be a doctor, that is what I would choose. I have a weird obsession with watching pimple popping on YouTube.”
I chuckled. “I know what you mean. I’m not going to lie, that is what made me decide to pursue this career. I wish my career choice had some sort of deep meaning, but I like cysts and abscesses… the nastier, the better.”
Jacob laughed. “Nothing wrong with that man! I was watching Dr. Pimplepopper on my phone right before I got the message to come pick you up.”
“Yeah, Dr. Sandra Lee is cool and kinda hot.”
Jacob slapped the steering wheel. “Hell yeah she is.”
******
We entered an epic stone gate with the words Winterbourne University in big iron letters. Not far after entering the gate, we reached a round-a-bout with a colossal statue of the wolf mascot in the middle.
Jacob pumped his fists as we drove past the monstrosity. “Go wolves!”
I cocked a brow as I looked at the driver. “Are you a sports fan?”
Jacob shook his head and grinned. “No, not really.”
“Me either. I used to follow sports several years ago, but it’s stress that I don’t need. Your team wins–you’re happy, but when the team loses, you’re sad. If your team loses to your arch rival, you’re depressed and made fun of by opposing team fans. I just found more negative than positive in my relationship with sports. It was an enormous weight lifted off my shoulders when I said fuck it.”
Jacob nodded in agreement as he slowed to a stop at a beautiful brick crosswalk. A couple of gorgeous blondes crossed the street in tight Winterbourne shirts with skin hugging yoga pants. “God bless the inventor of the yoga pants.”
“I wholeheartedly agree. Damn, look at those juicy asses bouncing. Shit, I didn’t mean to say that out loud.” I cringed as I looked at the driver.
Jacob laughed loudly. “Dude, I was thinking the same thing. Those asses were epic as fuck. I love majoring in history, but we don’t have women like that in our building. It’s a shame. The girls look like librarians in the history department. So, do you have a girlfriend back home?”
“No. Commitment isn’t really my thing at this age. I love women, believe me. I love them too much probably, but I don’t really enter long term relationships. I want my freedom right now. I hope I don’t sound like an asshole.”
“No, not at all. I get it completely. Medical school is going to be hard enough without having to keep a girlfriend happy, too. I think you have the right idea.”
“Do you have a girlfriend?” I asked nonchalantly.
Jacob sighed heavily. “Yeah, I do. She’s great, but it can get tiring. We’ve been together for two years and things are just kind of boring right now. We love each other, but we’re really just going through the motions.”
“I don’t know your situation, but don’t confuse comfort with happiness.”
“I know what you’re saying. It’s hard though. We’ve been through a lot together.”
“Maybe you should just sit down and have a talk. She may feel the same way.”
“I think if we have that conversation, she’ll freak out and think I don’t love her anymore. I see what you’re saying, though. I’ll think about it.”
“Come to think of it, I am actually the last person on Earth that should give relationship advice out. Take whatever I say with a grain of salt.”
We both laughed as the Tesla zoomed down the picturesque street to the admissions office.
“How long are you in town?”
“I haven’t figured that out yet. I’m kind of a fly by the seat of your pants guy. I don’t even have a place to stay yet. I’ll work all that out later.”
“Luckily, we’re close to downtown. I don’t know what your budget is, but there are some really nice hotels. The nightlife is pretty killer too–a lot of cool bars and clubs with hot women for you to not commit to.”
“Touche,” I replied with a smirk as the Tesla slowed to a stop in front of a large stone building surrounded by a wrought-iron fence adorned with locked bicycles.
“Alright man, this is the spot. Do you have an appointment?”
“No, is that something I need?”
“Ha, you really are a fly by the seat of your pants dude. Yeah, that is usually the way it works… here at least.”
I pulled the handle on the door and opened it slowly. “I live dangerously, Jacob. Thanks for the ride.”
“It was nice to meet you. Maybe I’ll see you around campus or downtown.”
“You’ll be the guy with the ball and chain attached to you.”
Jacob laughed and nodded. “That’s me. I’ll see you later, man. Take care.”
The window of the Tesla went up and all I saw was my reflection in front of the medical school admissions office. Jacob pulled away quickly, and I was alone. I turned to look at the doorway that had a sign on it that said Tours by Appointment Only. “Well, fuck me in the goat ass.”
I pulled the handle, and the door didn’t budge. Then I saw another sign that I hadn’t noticed initially.
The medical school admissions office is closed for fumigation please visit O’brien Hall where we are stationed temporarily. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
“Well fan-fucking-tastic!” I scoffed. “Where the hell is O’brien Hall?” I pulled out my phone and accessed the campus map for Winterbourne University and saw that the location was on the other side of campus.
“Perfect,” I hissed as I slid my phone back into my jeans pocket.
