Chapter 2
Senior year has been pretty good so far. At this point we are now in the upper levels of our class's specific to our major. Mine is Sports Marketing with a Journalism minor. Up until my senior year of high school I wanted to be a lawyer. One of my best friend's, Spencer Hastings, and I made this deal that we'd both go to law school and when we graduated and passed the Bar we'd open up a law firm together.
Spencer kept her end of the deal because, well, she's a Hastings and law is pretty much in their blood. I obviously bailed. Once I found out from Mrs. Hastings how much extra school I'd have to go through I was out. No thank you.
It was my mom who suggested I would be good at marketing. I looked into what types of careers I could get into with that background and found out that it really did sound interesting. Now here I am, sat bored out of my mind, in Statistics 375.
It's torture. Authorized, can't get around it, will make you want to scream, torture. When will I use this? I won't. That's why there are people, who like this stuff mind you, that comprise whole departments at companies who do statistics. I clearly won't be one of those people, so why must I take this class now? My academic advisor was not sympathetic to my reasoning so there you have it.
Usually I'm the type of student to sit towards the back and coast through. In Stats, that is impossible for me to do. Everything the teacher says sounds like a foreign language that I've never heard before. I'm pretty sure she was the inspiration for the Charlie Brown teacher. "Whah, whah, whah, whah, whah, whah." To me they sound one in the same. Therefore, I sit towards the front in this class hoping I gain understanding through osmosis if nothing else.
As we are dismissed I walk out of the School of Business towards the side of campus where my apartment is. I live with my best friend from Rosewood, Hanna.
Behind me, I hear two people talking about the Stats class. I'm in a hurry; otherwise I'd turn around to see who it is. They are discussing the homework that Professor Elberfeld assigned.
"Hey, what did you think about class today? You looking forward to the test next week?" I hear someone say behind me. I assume they are asking the person they're walking with.
Then I hear again, "Hey, in the leather jacket, so are you or what?" Suddenly I realize that I'M the one wearing a leather jacket.
I turn around to see a tall girl with chestnut hair walking with a short blond guy from my class. I recognized him from one of my other classes. His name is Michael. "What? Were you asking me?"
"Yeah, so what about the test next week? Think it will be brutal?," she asked with a smirk.
The girl looks really familiar. I know I've seen her somewhere before. She's cute, very much so. Snapping out of it, I realize I better answer her question since she's asked me three times now. "Oh, sorry, I didn't realize you are in my class." Well, I still didn't answer her question.
"No problem. I guess you wouldn't know. I always sit towards the back. I'm usually coming from work so I'm almost always a minute or two late," she explains.
"Oh. Uh, to answer your question, yes, I think the test will be brutal. I hate that class." She laughed and graced me with the most beautiful smile I think I've ever seen. "Where do you work?," I asked, trying to place where I knew her from.
"It's a small mom and pop store on Poplar. You've probably never heard of it. A place called Winsted's," she replied.
Bingo. The girl helping the cashier in the checkout lane. The one with the name badge. Paige.
"Actually, I have heard of it. I've been in there a few times when I need to get something quick," I acknowledged.
"Oh that's cool. The old couple that owns it is really great," Paige remarked. At this point we've pretty much unintentionally cut Michael out of the conversation.
We were coming to the fork in the sidewalk where I would need to veer left. Michael started in that direction as well. "Well, I'm this way," I said motioning to the left.
"I am too. See ya around," Michael said.
"Yeah, see ya Michael and…." She trailed off waiting for me to offer my name.
"Emily," I filled in for her.
She smiled at me again and I thought my knees would buckle, "….and Emily," she said.
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Hanna was not far from me on the sidewalk up ahead. Her class had let out too so she was also headed back to our apartment. She turned towards me as she saw me approach. "Was that Paige you were talking to?" she asked.
"Uh, yeah, it was. You know her, Han?"
"Well yeah. She's in my sorority. Actually, her girlfriend Becca is too. Paige is a legacy; her mom is a Gamma Gamma Theta alumn," Hanna explained.
Damn I thought to myself. "Oh, her girlfriend," I said, and I know I must have sounded disappointed or something. I could hear it in my own voice.
Hanna mistook that emotion completely. "It's no big deal, Em. No one cares that they are gay. Paige is awesome. She transferred from UPENN this year. You'd probably really like her if you got to know her better."
"I'm sure I would," I replied and left the conversation at that. Now I knew why I'd never seen her in any of my other business classes.
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As the weeks passed it became a thing for Michael, Paige, and I to walk out of Stats class together. Today Michael wasn't at class. Paige and I got off the elevator and began to walk through the lobby. There were several tables set up of various campus business organizations that were trying to recruit students to join.
One of them must have caught Paige's attention because she stopped and angled her head to get a better look at the table. "Hold on a minute, Emily. I just want to check this out real quick," she said as we walked towards a table with a banner that read "Business Excellence Group."
Paige picked up a brochure and looked through it. She looked back up at me afterwards. "My dad keeps telling me I need to join a group like this. Said it will be good for my resume."
"Your dad is right, by the way," some guy said from the other side of the table. He was wearing a suit and tie. He stuck out his hand to greet us, "I'm Max, president of the campus BEG group. And you are?"
"Paige," she said while shaking his hand. "Emily," I said offering my hand as well.
Paige turned to me. "What do you say, Emily? I'll join if you join,…..please."
I rolled my eyes and laughed. "Fine, but don't think you can always get what you want by giving me those puppy dog eyes." Truth is, I don't mind joining if it means I was going to get extra time with Paige. I'm all for that.
