Chapter 8: College Tensions

Sarah, Melissa, and I all refused to let our parents see us off, so we traveled to New York together.

After settling in, we planned to have dinner together the next day.

Unexpectedly, Rachel showed up too. She looked thinner, clearly still nursing a broken heart.

I smiled at her politely. She kept a cold face and nodded perfunctorily.

My heart fluttered. Heartbroken people really are unpredictable—better not to mess with her.

She didn’t have much appetite, barely eating or talking. She pushed her salad around with her fork, barely touching it. Her eyes stayed glued to her phone.

The whole meal felt tense. Everyone tiptoed around her mood, not daring to chat freely.

After a while, for some reason, Sarah and Melissa started drinking again.

As they drank, Melissa got tipsy. “Prom queen, that guy didn’t know what he had. There are plenty of people who do. If you want, I’ll introduce you to someone. The guys I met today are all super cute.”

“Yeah, there are lots of good-looking guys in my dorm too. Come check them out tomorrow,” Sarah chimed in.

The two of them comforted Rachel, making me feel awkward. It seemed weird if I didn’t say something too.

So I joined in. “If you want, I can introduce… myself.”

She suddenly looked at me and sneered. “You? Would that even count?”

Me: “…”

I was completely lost—what did she mean?

Sarah and Melissa looked confused too.

She smirked.

Then she advised Melissa and Sarah, “Drink less, don’t get drunk and cause trouble.”

I was on edge, feeling like she was mocking me.

Could it be she remembered what happened that night?

The more I thought about it, the more anxious I got. I couldn’t sit still, didn’t know if I should ask. It was torture.

“Who caused trouble for whom?” Sarah shot back.

Rachel didn’t answer, just got up to make a call and paid the bill on the way out.

“I heard her breakup had something to do with being drunk. Don’t overthink it,” Sarah, half-drunk, reassured us.

So that’s how it was. I breathed a sigh of relief.

After dinner, Melissa and I walked the girls back, then left.

Before leaving, I thanked Rachel for dinner.

She replied coldly, “Don’t mention it.”

She was so cold to me. I almost thought she liked me once—how laughable.

On the walk back to my dorm, I kicked at a loose pebble on the sidewalk, the city sounds swallowing up my thoughts. I tried to laugh it off with Melissa, but the sting lingered.