“Go, I’ll clean it up.”
“Thanks, you’re a saint,” Brittany said, then was out the door.
“Saint, right,” Karen said as she got down on her knees and started scooping up the change. “If I was a saint, I wouldn’t have caused the mess in the first place.”
* * *
The second time Karen saw Bobby was by the lake. She often liked to relax and read in the grass by the clock tower. Today she reclined on a beach towel, reading a collection of Ray Bradbury. She knew she should be studying for a Psych test coming up next week, but she’d had just about as much of Freud and his perversions as she could take for the moment.
She became distracted from the story when the hairs on the back of her neck prickled, and she sensed someone standing behind her. Putting the book aside, she looked up to find Bobby smiling down at her.
“Hey, you,” she said, shielding her eyes from the sun. “You’re not stalking me, are you?”
Bobby’s smile faltered, and he chewed on his bottom lip. “No. I mean...well, not really.”
“Not really?”
“Ever since we met I have sort of been keeping an eye out for you.”
Karen felt a blush spreading into her cheeks and glanced down at the grass. “How come?”
“I know it’s silly, we only had a brief conversation, but...it’s just that, it felt good to find someone I could really talk to. I guess that just makes me sound even more like a stalker, huh?”
Karen looked back up, meeting his gaze. “No, it sounds very sweet. And I feel the same. You want to have a seat?”
Bobby took a step toward her, paused, glanced across the lake toward the campus, then lowered himself to the grass. “What are you reading?”
“ Dandelion Wine .”
“Oh, I always liked Bradbury. Never got around to reading that one though.”
“Well, you can borrow my copy when I’m done.”
“Thanks.”
They fell quiet, first glancing at one another, then away. Karen tried to think of something witty or interesting to say—or just anything to say—but her mind was suddenly as empty as a poor kid’s piggy bank. Bobby finally broke the silence. “This is beautiful.”
“I know, it’s one of my favorite places. So quiet and peaceful.”
At that moment, as if to belie her words, two girls from her Art Appreciation class jogged by on the path around the lake. They glanced Karen’s way, whispered amongst themselves, then laughed.
She was positive their mirth was directed at her.
She turned her gaze toward the lake, watching the water lapping at the shore and concentric circles spreading across the surface.
“You okay?” Bobby asked.
“Yeah, it’s just...do you ever feel like nothing ever really changes?”
“I don’t know, about some things I guess. But I’ve gone through some pretty big changes in my lifetime.”
“I just had this idea of college, you know, what it would be like, and....”
“And it doesn’t live up to what you thought it would be?”
“Not exactly. I mean, I didn’t expect it to be Nirvana, but I also didn’t expect it to be so much like high school.”
“Meaning?”
“Cliquish, you know. It’s still about wearing the right thing, looking the right way, who’s in and who’s out. I was hoping all that kiddie crap was behind me.”
“Well, a freshman in college isn’t really all that different from a senior in high school. Maturity doesn’t happen overnight.”
“I know, but in a way, college is even worse than high school. At least then I had a best friend to commiserate with, someone who made me feel I wasn’t entirely alone.”
“And now you don’t?”
“Well, I do and I don’t. That just makes it even worse.”
Bobby tilted his head like a quizzical dog, his lips twisted in a half frown/half smile. “Not sure I’m following.”
“Brittany and I have been friends since before kindergarten. I can’t really remember a time we weren’t having tea parties together, playing dolls, having sleepovers and watching
“Thanks, you’re a saint,” Brittany said, then was out the door.
“Saint, right,” Karen said as she got down on her knees and started scooping up the change. “If I was a saint, I wouldn’t have caused the mess in the first place.”
* * *
The second time Karen saw Bobby was by the lake. She often liked to relax and read in the grass by the clock tower. Today she reclined on a beach towel, reading a collection of Ray Bradbury. She knew she should be studying for a Psych test coming up next week, but she’d had just about as much of Freud and his perversions as she could take for the moment.
She became distracted from the story when the hairs on the back of her neck prickled, and she sensed someone standing behind her. Putting the book aside, she looked up to find Bobby smiling down at her.
“Hey, you,” she said, shielding her eyes from the sun. “You’re not stalking me, are you?”
Bobby’s smile faltered, and he chewed on his bottom lip. “No. I mean...well, not really.”
“Not really?”
“Ever since we met I have sort of been keeping an eye out for you.”
Karen felt a blush spreading into her cheeks and glanced down at the grass. “How come?”
“I know it’s silly, we only had a brief conversation, but...it’s just that, it felt good to find someone I could really talk to. I guess that just makes me sound even more like a stalker, huh?”
Karen looked back up, meeting his gaze. “No, it sounds very sweet. And I feel the same. You want to have a seat?”
Bobby took a step toward her, paused, glanced across the lake toward the campus, then lowered himself to the grass. “What are you reading?”
“ Dandelion Wine .”
“Oh, I always liked Bradbury. Never got around to reading that one though.”
“Well, you can borrow my copy when I’m done.”
“Thanks.”
They fell quiet, first glancing at one another, then away. Karen tried to think of something witty or interesting to say—or just anything to say—but her mind was suddenly as empty as a poor kid’s piggy bank. Bobby finally broke the silence. “This is beautiful.”
“I know, it’s one of my favorite places. So quiet and peaceful.”
At that moment, as if to belie her words, two girls from her Art Appreciation class jogged by on the path around the lake. They glanced Karen’s way, whispered amongst themselves, then laughed.
She was positive their mirth was directed at her.
She turned her gaze toward the lake, watching the water lapping at the shore and concentric circles spreading across the surface.
“You okay?” Bobby asked.
“Yeah, it’s just...do you ever feel like nothing ever really changes?”
“I don’t know, about some things I guess. But I’ve gone through some pretty big changes in my lifetime.”
“I just had this idea of college, you know, what it would be like, and....”
“And it doesn’t live up to what you thought it would be?”
“Not exactly. I mean, I didn’t expect it to be Nirvana, but I also didn’t expect it to be so much like high school.”
“Meaning?”
“Cliquish, you know. It’s still about wearing the right thing, looking the right way, who’s in and who’s out. I was hoping all that kiddie crap was behind me.”
“Well, a freshman in college isn’t really all that different from a senior in high school. Maturity doesn’t happen overnight.”
“I know, but in a way, college is even worse than high school. At least then I had a best friend to commiserate with, someone who made me feel I wasn’t entirely alone.”
“And now you don’t?”
“Well, I do and I don’t. That just makes it even worse.”
Bobby tilted his head like a quizzical dog, his lips twisted in a half frown/half smile. “Not sure I’m following.”
“Brittany and I have been friends since before kindergarten. I can’t really remember a time we weren’t having tea parties together, playing dolls, having sleepovers and watching
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