Chapter 8

One month later

"Hey there. You ready?"

I looked up from my book to see Katie standing in my doorway. "Yeah. I've got my physics notes," I replied, patting a stack of papers on the floor beside me.

"So, where did you want to study?"

"Here would be fine, unless you'd prefer the lounge."

"Nah; I just checked there, and it was packed full."

"In that case, grab a seat."

"That back-breaking excuse of a chair you have? What are you trying to do, cripple me for life?"

"Or a piece of carpet. Whatever."

She sat down lithely beside me, leaning back against the bed. "What chapter are you looking at?"

"Chapter 13. I'm having problems with angular momentum."

The next two hours passed quickly, as study time often does. Shortly after my clock chimed ten, Katie stood up and stretched. "All work and no break makes Katie go insane," she quipped. "Wanna take five?"

I stood as well. "I'm just about burned out for the night. Up for some fresh air?"

"Do you have any idea how cold it is outside?"

"Aren't you from Boston? I'd think that you'd be used to this kind of weather by now."

"Used to it, sure, but I certainly don't like it."

"Oh, come on. I'm for California. If I can take it, so can you." With that rejoinder, I grabbed my overcoat and tossed it to her before picking up the windbreaker I wore on the hike. "It's too stuffy in here."

Katie was right; winter had come early this year. It was only two weeks before Halloween, and wintry gusts carrying alternately freezing rain, snow, or hail were already lashing the campus with regularity. However, all the dorms had enclosed porches, which was where we were heading. It was still cold, but at least one was sheltered from the bone-chilling wind. We made our way downstairs and outside, where we stood and watched the wind beat against the windows. It was refreshingly cool for me, but I noticed that Katie was starting to shiver, even wrapped up as she was in my overcoat. "Let's go in; wouldn't want you to catch a cold this time of year."

"I'm okay," she protested, but she followed me back inside with alacrity. Once we were inside the lobby, she took off the overcoat and handed it to me. "I'm going to make some cocoa. Join me?"

"Sure, but I need to take up the coats to my room first. Want me to bring down your notes?"

"That'd be great. Thanks."

Five minutes later, I was sitting in an easy chair across from Katie in her room, mug of steaming cocoa in hand. Well, perhaps steaming was a bit of an exaggeration; I had added enough milk to turn the cocoa comfortably warm, no more. I took a sip, and raised an eyebrow. "It's delicious! Quite a cut above the Swiss Miss I'm used to."

"I'm surprised you can taste it at all, what with all the milk you added," she teased.

"It was either that or putting the cup outside for a few seconds. You know me--Mr. Instant Gratification."

"Really? That's not what Nat says."

By now, I was used to this kind of 'good-natured ribbing'. Turning the tables was the best tack to take, I had learned. "In that case, why don't you tell me exactly what she said, hmm?" I replied, a fake leer on my face.

She colored rather prettily, I thought. "Oh, you *are* mean."

"First law of teasing: don't dish it out if you can't take it in return."

"I'll keep that in mind." She looked at me thoughtfully for a second. "Natalie is a very lucky girl."

"I'm flattered, though I'd argue that I'm the lucky one in the relationship--after all, I'm with her. But, enough about me. Don't you have someone back home we can talk about?"

"Not really, though that was what I wanted to talk to you about."

Now, *that* was a bit of a surprise. "Me? Or rather, why me?"

"You have a way with people. Not many guys would have chosen Nat over Anya, let alone stay friends with her while dating Nat. You're not afraid to stand up for yourself, but you're not vindictive. You could have made sure Doug stayed a laughingstock for the rest of the year, but you went out of your way to help him back on his feet. After Jenna, you're probably the nicest and most approachable person on campus."

"High praise indeed. But in that case, why don't you want to talk to Jenna?"

She looked at me steadily. "Because I want to talk about her."

"What in the world do you... oh!"

"Exactly."

"I didn't know that-"

"I'm not. Or rather, I'm not sure. I like her, but I can't tell if it's just her or girls in general."

"Um, if you're not comfortable talking to the counselors about it," I said slowly, trying to think of something useful to say, "why don't you talk to someone who's gone through... hmm. That is a complication."

"You think? It's hard enough talking about it to you. There's no way I could talk to her about it."

"But, in the end, you do want her to know, right?"

She ducked her head. "I guess," came her muffled response.

"What if I told her? That you're confused about your feelings, that is; you can tell her the rest later, when you feel more comfortable with her."

She thought about it for a few seconds, chewing on her bottom lip. "I'd like that," she finally said. "Thank you."

"Thanks for the cocoa. Good night," I said as I rose and turned to leave.

"Good night."

Time to clear up a few things...

Natalie and I started dating after *that* weekend, while Anya and I started working on our friendship. Things were a little strained between the two for a while, but Jenna told me later that a brisk application of her 'No guy is worth losing your friendship over' speech worked rather nicely.

As for Katie, we had the same physics and Latin classes, and started studying together when exams came along because we complemented each other's weaknesses. Not that either of us were close to struggling in any subjects, but I didn't like physics, and she detested Latin. As it turned out, she was brilliant when it came to physics, and I could quote Cicero and Hortensius verbatim. It never hurts to study with someone who knows more about a subject than you do. She looked like a young Ally Sheedy, though I didn't know it at the time; my first John Hughes movie was still a few years in the future.