She had to admit she had her doubts about Curly helping her with a suitcase but it was waiting for her in the living room when she woke up the next morning. She smiled down at it sleepily. She knew that on some level Curly did it to help, but she knew that he mostly did it because stealing was the only thing that gave him a natural high. And such a large item posed a nice challenge for him.
She pulled the suitcase into her room and looked around. She didn't have much but it would be nice to have some things from home.
That was how she spent the rest of her week. She went through everything she had in that house and packed everything she thought she would need. When she wasn't packing, she was looking at the newspaper for job opportunities when she got to the campus. She never had to worry about money before but now she would have to eat and have some kind of money.
She would never admit it, but she didn't believe Tim would actually take her to school so she wasn't surprised to find Frankie idling by the curb. She walked over and stuck her head into the window.
"You got roped into it?" she asked.
"I volunteered," Frankie said and gave her a smile.
She didn't believe it but she did appreciate it. She pushed her suitcase and a box of items for her dorm into the back seat and then got into the car. Even if Frankie had been forced to do it, he was still good company. He told her a lot of stories and didn't mind long silences which made for a comfortable ride.
There were tons and tons of students moving in that day so there was a long line of cars in front of the campus. Frankie was never great with patience so he pulled up onto the curb and bypassed dozens of cars. She ducked her head in embarrassment. She was new here. It was her time to make a new name for herself and he was not helping her.
She hastily grabbed her things from the back of his car and thanked him. He peeled off the curb and away from the scene.
She had no problem wheeling her suitcase behind her, but carrying the box that contained her dorm items proved to be difficult. She had to stop every couple of feet to adjust her grip on the box. She had only made it about twenty feet when a guy in a crimson polo shirt with the school's name embroidered on his shirt approached her.
"Hello!" he said cheerfully. He was a small guy at about 5'6" but he looked pretty strong. He had beady little eyes and a smile that looked too big for his face. "I'm Ryan. I'm a welcome week leader. Need any help carrying your belongings?"
"Hi," she said uncertainly. Before she could confirm or deny her need for help, he reached out and took her box. He started to sift through it and she looked around to see if other welcome week leaders were looking through any other people's stuff. "I'm Bridgette. I'm new."
"You look young," he commented. "People thought I was someone's little brother when I was a freshman."
"What year are you now?"
"Third year. Architecture major."
"Cool," she said slowly. He picked up the towel she had brought with her and he nodded.
"So, uh, where do I go first?" she asked.
"Follow me."
He stopped looking through her things and led her to a booth where a large group of people were waiting. He started to tell her about all of the clubs and organizations available on campus while they waited in line. He was in the architecture club, but he was also on the golf team.
Once they reached the front of the line, Bridgette was given a large envelope of campus information, such as maps, staff directory, and helpful tips. Then the girl working the booth flipped through a file and pulled out Bridgette's dorm assignment. Ryan snatched it from her before she could take a look at it.
"Oh, Meyer Hall," he nodded deeply. "Most people agree that's the best dorm building."
"Oh," Bridgette said.
As they walked to Meyer Hall, Ryan told her all about his freshman dorm experience.
"But that's not important right now. What's important is getting you through orientation, registering for classes, and of course meeting your roommate."
"Right."
"Orientation starts tomorrow at ten in the morning. You meet at the main building. Do you know where that is? It's down this path right here, all the way through the student center and through a big open area we call the quad. You can't miss it from there. Get there early if you want a good seat."
"Okay," she said in a bit of a daze.
"You'll register for classes during orientation. Come on! Let's go see your dorm."
Ryan then skipped—actually skipped—away, still carrying her things. She looked around to see if anyone was staring at them but no one cared. Everyone was doing their own thing. People were saying goodbye to their families with tearful hugs and a lot of older people were playing football out on the field.
As Bridgette approached Meyer Hall, she had the sudden urge to have Nadine with her. Nadine was at Tulsa on a soccer scholarship. It was only about two hours away but it felt like much farther. She had been distant from Nadine since the whole Ponyboy thing but now she felt closer to Nadine than ever and she wished desperately she had her by her side. She made a vow to write her a letter as soon as she could.
"Welcome," Ryan said. He opened the front door to the building and waved to the student sitting behind a desk in the lobby. "This is the resident hall greeter. They're in charge of lost room keys and checking out equipment for the game room." Bridgette waved to the student as Ryan marched into the game room. It included a pool table, poker table, and darts. "Come along."
They walked up three flights of stairs as Ryan told her the best places to eat on and around campus. They reached room 306 and Ryan beamed at her. He cheered her on as she unlocked the door and she wished he would stop. There wasn't anyone in the hall, but she didn't want him drawing attention to them anyway.
The door opened and Bridgette looked around. Her roommate wasn't in the room but she had already been there long enough to get settled. She took the left side of the room so Bridgette had the right side. Ryan unceremoniously dropped the box on her bed and he held his hands out as if to say, "Pretty cool, huh?"
It was tiny, but still bigger than Bridgette's room back home. There was actually floor space which was a novelty. Each girl had a bed, small desk, dresser, and a small closet. Her roommate had unpacked a trash can and towel racks and other things Bridgette hadn't even considered. She looked over at her box of dorm essentials and felt sad.
"Do you need any help with anything?" Ryan asked cheerfully. "I can help you get settled!"
"I'm okay," she said, standing between him and the box he had just carried in a sudden attempt to hide how little she had. "Thank you, though. I really appreciate it."
"Don't sweat it," he grinned. "I'll see you around. If you need anything, I'll be at the Homeowners of America booth."
"Are you a homeowner?" she frowned.
"Not yet," he said importantly.
She had no idea what he meant by that or what that club even did. She just forced a smile and he left. She pulled out different items and started to unpack. She made her bed first with items Curly had acquired for her over the last couple of days. Her sheets were a mint green and her comforter was black and the pillow cases he found were magenta. Not the most aesthetically pleasing color scheme but if she kept her bed made, no one would ever have to see her sheets. Plus, everything he got was really warm and cozy. She pulled out her school supplies, easily the most abundant items she brought with her and started to organize her desk. She looked over at her roommates desk and bit her lip. Her roommate had a color scheme for her entire side of the room. It was all white and pink, from her bed linens, to the rug, to the towels, to the accessories on her desk. It looked very nice.
Bridgette finished unpacking in less than an hour. She looked around the room, comparing what she had with her roommate. She wasn't doing it in an envious way, but instead to figure out if she needed to get anything important she had forgotten. She made a small list and set it on her desk to keep it fresh in her mind.
And since she was at her desk, she figured that was a good time to write Nadine the letter.
The entire first page of the letter was an apology for her behavior over the last couple of months. She apologized for being so distant and cold and she thanked Nadine tirelessly for never giving up on her. The rest of the letter was asking Nadine a thousand questions and sharing her desire to be reunited.
She grabbed the letter and her room key and headed downstairs to the hall greeter.
"Hi," she greeted uncertainly.
"Hello! I'm Megan!"
"Hi," Bridgette repeated. "I'm Bridgette."
"Hi, Bridgette!"
"Hi," she said again and mentally smacked herself. "Um, I'm new and I was wondering how I would go about mailing a letter."
"Welcome, newcomer!" Megan said. Bridgette wondered if everything Megan said was an exclamation. "The greeter can send out all mail. All we need is six cents for the stamp and a mailing address."
Bridgette reached into her pocket and pulled out six cents and handed it over. Megan handed her an envelope and Bridgette scribbled Nadine's new address onto it and shoved the letter inside. She handed it to Megan and Megan positively beamed at her.
"Thank you," Bridgette said.
"No problem. Are you going to go to the club fair?" Megan asked, pointing out the door.
"Yeah," Bridgette said. She hadn't planned on it but she didn't see why not.
She figured out "why not" in only five minutes. People were laughing and chatting all around her. She didn't understand it. Most of the people were freshman as well so how did they already have friends? And how was she supposed to make her own friends? She only really had a handful of friends and all of them kind of fell into her lap or approached her. She never had to take the lead on that whole making friends thing. It just figured she was in over her head.
Instead of focusing on making lifelong friends right there at the club fair, she decided to focus on finding a club that interested her. There were philanthropic clubs and sporty clubs. There were academic clubs and clubs that people probably started when they were high. None of them really jumped out at Bridgette. She was about to give up and resign herself back to her dorm when she saw a huge group of boys in the corner of the field. Some of them had jerseys on and she realized that they were the football team. If the football team was out, then maybe…
She looked around the area with a purpose this time. She found the basketball team and the swim team and then, yes, the soccer team. The boy and girl soccer team were hanging out together. Some were juggling a ball but most of them were lounging in the grass. Bridgette had no idea how to initiate friendships but she did know she would be seeing a lot of those people so she may as well introduce herself now.
Bridgette walked over to them nervously and debated which person to approach first. She finally decided on a pretty redhead who seemed to be the center of a large group that had assembled. As she got closer, the more people stopped to look up at her curiously.
"Hi," Bridgette squeaked. She cleared her throat and forced herself not to roll her eyes at her weak attempt.
"Hi," the redhead replied. She looked at Bridgette curiously at first and then broke into a small smile.
"I'm, uh, Bridgette. Bridgette Shepard," she said. She had no idea how to introduce herself. Should she say she was on the team? Should she ask a question about soccer?
"Oh, yeah!" the girl burst. She reached over and patted another girl on the back. This other girl had long black hair and dark brown eyes. "Lucy, this is that Shepard kid."
"Bridgette Shepard?" Lucy asked, eyeing Bridgette critically. Bridgette fidgeted under her gaze. Perhaps she should have changed. She looked down at her outfit. It was a simple black shirt and jeans. It didn't stand out or anything but Lucy continued to look at her like she had already done something wrong.
"I'm Bella," the redhead introduced when Lucy continued to be a mute. Bella looked over at Lucy and rolled her eyes. "Lucy is our captain this year. We've heard a lot about you."
"You have?" Bridgette asked in surprise.
"We have," Bella smiled. By now everyone in the immediate vicinity was looking at Bridgette curiously. "It'll be good to have some fresh talent on the team."
"She's not the only new person on the team," Lucy pointed out. She must have come to some kind of conclusion about Bridgette because she gave her an annoyed look and then turned back to her friends. Bridgette stood there uncomfortably, wondering what she had done wrong and if she should go.
"Don't worry about her," Bella said dismissively. "She's just really into soccer and this team."
"Oh," Bridgette said slowly, not sure what else to say.
"Why don't you join us?" Bella offered. Bridgette looked at Lucy warily. "Hey. Don't worry about it. Come on. Join us."
Bridgette sat down stiffly and looked around at the rest of the group, wondering if they would take after Bella or Lucy. To her relief, most of them looked friendly. Some of the boys were giving her looks she had never received from a boy before and she was unnaturally flattered.
"Tell us about yourself," Bella suggested.
As Bridgette gave a brief explanation of herself, she realized how boring she sounded. Of course, she left out the fact that her town had gang wars and that she had skipped a few grades and she hated her family, but did anyone honestly expect her to divulge that information? Please.
It looked like her story was as boring as she thought because some people started to talk amongst themselves. She looked down at her hands and shook her head. She needed to put herself out there more. That was her problem back home. She was sheltered and she had no backbone. This was her time to be a completely new person. She could be whoever she wanted. She vowed to make more of an effort. She looked back up and her eyes fell on Ponyboy, who was walking through the club booths with his brothers, Two-Bit, and Steve.
"Oh my god," Bridgette breathed.
"What?" Bella asked, looking over her shoulder.
"You look like you just saw a ghost," one of the guys said.
Bridgette figured this was a good a time as any to make herself at least seem more appealing to the others. It's not like any of them were bound to see Pony around campus or anything. Probably. Maybe.
"I, um," Bridgette began, shifting sideways so that she was blocked from his view if he happened to look over. "My ex boyfriend is over there."
Without any subtly in the world, every single person looked towards the booths.
"Which one?" Bella asked.
"Um," Bridgette said nervously, knowing that an entire group of people staring at him was bound to get his attention. "Black shirt. Dark jeans. Really great hair."
"The really handsome one?"
"Yeah."
"Wow!" Bella shouted and Bridgette had to refrain from hitting her to get her to be quiet. "What an attractive boy. And—wait. Who is he with? Are they friends? That blonde one."
"That's his brother. So is the tall one. Those other two guys are his friends."
"Bridgette!" another girl gushed. "He's so good looking!"
"And there must be something in the water in your town because they are all gorgeous."
"What happened between you?" Bella asked, finally peeling her eyes away from him.
"It's, um…kind of a long story," Bridgette mumbled.
"Sounds like you still kind of like him," Bella said.
Bridgette didn't reply and instead looked down at her hands.
"I'm going to go introduce myself," Lucy said, suddenly taking an interest in their conversation. Bridgette gawked at her. Was she talking about Pony or the guys in general? She didn't appreciate it regardless but she would seriously lose it if she meant Pony. She didn't know Lucy but there had to be some kind of teammate code.
"Knock it off," Bella muttered under her breath but Lucy stood up and pranced over to them. Bridgette ducked behind one of the guys and he rolled his eyes. He had broad shoulders which made him a good person to hide behind. She looked through the space between his arm and his chest as she spied on Lucy. Bridgette thought her heart was going to beat clear out of her chest. She was so nervous and she didn't know why. Pony knew she was at that school. And, despite the size of the school, they really were bound to run into each other eventually. But she wasn't ready. Not even close.
The guys noticed Lucy when she was only a few feet away from them. Pony had his back to Bridgette so she couldn't see how he reacted to her. Soda gave her the same big smile he gave everyone. Darry looked down at her in confusion, like he didn't understand why she was there. Two-Bit was making some joke and Steve had his back to Bridgette, also. Lucy wore a broad grin as she talked to them and made a point to touch every guy at least twice in the conversation. Lucy was a veteran when it came to flirting and it made Bridgette feel ill. Lucy said something and Bridgette could make out the word "soccer" (not that she was hyper analyzing the interaction or anything). Lucy pointed to the group of soccer players assembled and Bridgette ducked further behind the stranger. She did see Pony whip around and scan the area before she hid. She didn't risk coming out from her hiding spot for another few minutes. When she did chance it, the group was back to talking.
"I'm going to my room," Bridgette announced to no one in particular. "I'll see you around."
"Bridgette," Bella implored. "Please don't leave. You don't have to leave. She just needs attention."
"I'm just…I'm not exactly ready to see him," Bridgette admitted. Bella looked at Bridgette, who was still squatting behind the boy, and cocked an eyebrow in amusement.
"Clearly," she said. "Well, hey, at least let me walk you."
"You don't have to—"
"I'll catch up with you later, guys," Bella said. She stood up and brushed off her pants. Bridgette slowly raised from her position and eyed Bella curiously. They walked away from the group and Bridgette was doing everything she could to look as inconspicuous as possible. "Come on. Tell me what happened between you two."
"Kind of a long story."
"I like long stories."
"Oh, do you?" Bridgette muttered.
"Yes, I love them. Are you hungry? We can grab food while we talk."
"I…" Bridgette trailed off. She didn't know what to make of this Bella. So far she seemed perfectly nice and even helpful. But she hadn't even known her for thirty minutes and she was expected to spill her guts? It didn't feel right.
They reached the food hall and Bella started to pile food onto her tray. One bonus of a full ride scholarship is that it came with a meal plan. It was the only thing Bridgette had actually requested from her recruiter. She planned on getting a job and making some money but she still needed to eat in the mean time. Bridgette put food on her own tray. The person at the cashier swiped her student ID and that was that.
"You must be pretty good to get that scholarship," Bella noted. "I mean, most of us have scholarships but we heard recruiters were fighting for you."
"Oh," Bridgette said quietly. She had worked so hard to get where she was. Everyone back home knew how hard she worked but now no one knew her. For all they knew, she was a spoiled arrogant brat.
"Good for you," Bella said. They took a seat next to a window and Bridgette looked out at the students milling by nervously. "Okay, now spill. Tell me about your extremely hot ex."
Like Bridgette always did when confronted with strangers and stories, she glazed over the details. Or, at least she tried to. The more she talked, the more at ease she felt around Bella though she had no idea why and it made her uneasy. Plus, it felt good talking about it. About all of it. She had shut Nadine out before she could really vent and there was no way in hell she would talk about those things with anyone else.
Both girls had finished their food by the time Bridgette finished.
"Wow," Bella said with raised eyebrows. "That was heavy."
"Yeah," Bridgette frowned.
"You've loved him for eleven years?"
"I mean…yeah, I guess."
"And you finally got him and then it all kind of fell apart."
"I screwed it up," Bridgette admitted quietly.
"You did not," Bella rolled her eyes. "At least, I don't think you did. I think it was poor timing."
"How could it be poor timing?"
"I don't know," she admitted and Bridgette couldn't help but laugh. "I'm still foggy on the details, but I know it wasn't your fault. At least not all your fault."
"I appreciate the vote of confidence," Bridgette shook her head. "But it was."
"Well," Bella said slowly. "Then, okay. You say it was your fault so you obviously know what went wrong. That means you can fix it. You can try again. Because you know you still love him and you know you want to be with him."
"Of course I do," Bridgette said. "But it's not that easy."
"You know better than I do," Bella said. "But I think you're wrong."
"Okay," Bridgette laughed. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
They cleared their trash and headed out of the building.
"You going back to your dorm?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"Okay," Bella nodded. "We'll be on campus all day tomorrow so if you have time after orientation, come find us."
"Okay," Bridgette smiled. "Thanks."
They parted and Bridgette walked slowly back to her dorm, lost in thought. She didn't mind telling Bella everything about her Ponyboy situation, but she also couldn't figure out why she had done it. It was personal. It was the kind of stuff she either told Nadine or no one at all and she barely even knew this girl. For all she knew, Bella was a spy for Lucy and they were all scheming to ruin her life. And she had just handed Bella the ammo.
"Bridgette!"
Bridgette didn't even acknowledge the call. There were bound to be dozens of Bridgettes on campus and it was highly unlikely she was the subject of the call. So she continued walking with her head down, thinking about all the ways Bella could use that information against her.
Of course, it was impossible to ignore the calls when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and was mortified to find Two-Bit standing there.
"Wow, you look real happy to see me, don't you?" he laughed heartily.
"I, uh, sorry!" she said. "I just…wasn't expecting you."
"No, I guess you wouldn't. I'm better suited for Harvard than this dump," he said importantly, tossing his arm over her shoulders.
Bridgette chanced a look in the direction Two-Bit had come from.
"I went off on my own," Two-Bit declared as if reading her mind. "I had to test the waters."
"And how's that going so far?" Bridgette asked, using every ounce of strength in her to sound relaxed.
"The girls are attractive," he nodded. "You're proof of that." She laughed nervously and shook her head while Two-Bit grinned down at her. "Lots of things to do. We met a girl from the soccer team."
"You don't say?"
"Yeah. Invited us to all of your games."
"That was nice of her," Bridgette said through clenched teeth.
"Very friendly girl. I think I'm going to like college."
"I didn't know you were enrolled," she joked.
"I'm an honorary student," he said like it was obvious. "Pony is so young and innocent and I think it's my civic duty to visit him often. You know, to make sure he's doing okay."
"Very altruistic of you," Bridgette said gravely.
"Mm hmm. So tell me about your dorm."
"It's sparse. I made a list of things I still need."
"Is it a lot of stuff?"
"It's a good amount. Why?"
"Well, how are you paying for it?"
"Well, when I get a job I can start crossing things off the list."
"Or," Two-Bit said enthusiastically, "we can go shopping together." He wiggled his eyebrows at her.
"If I get into any kind of trouble whatsoever, I'd lost my scholarship so fast."
"Who says you'd get caught? You're talking to a pro."
"I know I am. But I can't risk it."
"Then give me your list and I'll go shopping. All on my lonesome."
"You can't do that."
"And why not?" he asked indignantly.
"Because I don't want you getting in trouble on my behalf."
"Ye of little faith, Shepard," he shook his head. "I'm wounded."
"I can't."
"Come on," he whined. "It's fun for me. Why are you trying to suck all the fun out of my life?"
"I…"
"Come on," he repeated. "You need it. I can get it. Then after this you can work until you die and buy everything all proper and it'll all be history."
"Well…"
"Great. Let's go get your list."
Since he still had his arm around her shoulders, she couldn't exactly shake him. They walked into Meyer Hall and Two-Bit took a moment to flirt shamelessly with Megan, who was a pretty blonde, just his type. They got to her room and she opened the door. She was surprised to find her roommate there.
"Oh, uh, hi," Bridgette said. Meeting her roommate for the first time was bound to be awkward but now she had Two-Bit there to witness it all.
"Hi," her roommate said, eyeing Two-Bit with distaste. She turned back to Bridgette and said rather rudely, "Our dorm room is not a revolving door, got it? If you want to rendezvous with people, that's none of my business, but not when I'm here, got it?"
Two-Bit started to crack up and Bridgette stared at her in annoyance.
"Excuse me?" Bridgette asked. "This is my friend and if I want to bring a friend to my room, I'm going to do so. And I don't need a pretentious donut to look down her nose at me for doing so. Save your awful opinions about me until after you get to know me."
Two-Bit cheered and Bridgette gave him a look.
"I didn't mean any offense," her roommate said, immediately backtracking. "I've just had my fair share of bad roommate experiences."
"How many colleges have you been to?" Two-Bit asked. He looked around the room and plopped down on Bridgette's bed.
"This is my first one," she said. "I've been at boarding school my whole life."
"Isn't that for really rich people?" Two-Bit asked.
"Not always," her roommate said tensely.
"But…"
"But my family does have money, yes."
Two-Bit gave Bridgette a look as if to say, "Well, that's rough."
"I'm Madison," she introduced. "We got off on the wrong foot."
"I'm Bridgette. And yes we did."
Neither girl said anything. Two-Bit broke the tension by grabbing the list and announcing he would be back soon.
"I'll walk you out," Bridgette volunteered quickly.
"Wow," Two-Bit whistled as they made their way down the stairs. "She seems like a real peach. I think you'll have a lot in common."
"Shut up," Bridgette muttered.
"I'm really happy for you two."
"I'm going to kill you."
"Maybe you can get your new best friend to be your accomplice."
"I take back what I told her. You're no longer my friend."
"Ouch," he laughed. "Okay, I'll play nice." He held up the list and winked at her. He left and Bridgette watched him go. She wondered what Pony and the others were doing. She wished she could talk to Pony. She had one pleasant experience with Bella and two unpleasant experiences with Lucy and Madison. It would have been nice to have a friend with her, someone that already knew her history so she wouldn't have to figure out what to share and what not to share.
It made her feel oddly nostalgic, considering she had only just officially finished high school a week ago and she had only been at her house that morning.
"Hey, Megan," Bridgette said, leaning on the counter where Megan was perched.
"Hi, Bridgette!" Megan shouted. "Is that your boyfriend? The one that just left?"
"No, just a friend," Bridgette responded happily. She had a feeling she would be seeing a lot of Megan and it would do her good to get on Megan's good side.
"That's interesting," Megan giggled.
"Yeah. He'll be back a little later," Bridgette said casually.
"Oh?" Megan asked.
"Yup. Hey, is there any place I can go and just sit and listen to music or something?"
"Did you bring a record player?" Megan asked dubiously.
"I don't have one," Bridgette admitted.
"Well, we need to get you one!" Megan cried. She jumped down from the counter and walked over to the game room. "Students leave behind their stuff all the time, even nice things like record players. We contact them but if they never respond, we add it to the game room. You'd be amazed how little people care about their expensive belongings." Bridgette watched curiously as Megan dug around in a cupboard. "I can't technically give you a record player. It's school property. But, I mean, if you bring it to your room, it's not like it's leaving the building. And we have half a dozen. When will we ever need that many record players?"
"Wait, I can take one to my room?" Bridgette asked quietly.
"Of course. I mean," Megan said, looking around quickly, "you didn't get it from me, okay? But yes."
"Okay," Bridgette agreed dizzily. She never had a record player before. Curly did and sometimes she would sneak into his room and test it when he wasn't home but she never had one of her own. Where she could play her own music at her leisure. She felt like she might cry but she forced herself to get ahold of her emotions.
"Ah, yes, here's a nice one," Megan said. She struggled a bit as she pulled it out from the cupboard but then she held it easily and beamed at Bridgette. Bridgette looked at it as if Megan was presenting her with a million dollars. "I'm sure we have some old records lying around somewhere."
Bridgette gawked at her and tried to thank her but only made a small squeak.
"You better take this to your room before we get caught," Megan grinned. She held out the record player and Bridgette took it cautiously.
"Thank you," she finally said. She walked towards the stairs but turned around. "Can you let Two-Bit—my friend—know that I'm in my room?"
"Happy to," Megan said.
Okay, two pleasant experiences and two unpleasant experiences. Bridgette could live with those odds.
She didn't even care that she was about to face Madison again, or that she didn't even have records to play. All she cared about was the fact that she had a record player.
Madison was still in the room and she looked over at Bridgette with a look of uncertainty. Bridgette ignored her. Seeing as how Bridgette didn't have much stuff to begin with, it was easy to find room for her new record player. She set it gingerly on her dresser and admired it. She probably looked insane to Madison, but again, she didn't care.
"Where did you get that?" Madison asked, a hint of accusation in her voice.
"Where did you get yours?" Bridgette countered lazily.
Madison tisked and turned her back on Bridgette.
Two-Bit was gone for a couple of hours and Bridgette spent that time lying in bed, wishing she had some place to go. Madison stayed there the whole time, writing novel length letters to whoever.
"Knock, knock!" Two-Bit shouted through the door. Bridgette jumped to her feet and threw the door open. He hadn't knocked for real because his hands were full of stuff. She stepped aside so he could enter. "Sorry it took so long!"
"It's fine," Bridgette said, eyeing Madison. She was worried Two-Bit would say something about stealing the items and Bridgette wouldn't doubt Madison would snitch on them given the chance.
"I got everything on your list," Two-Bit said. "I also got some other stuff. Your room is so boring so I got you some decorations."
"Oh god," Bridgette said though she couldn't help but grin.
"Behold!" he cried dramatically. He unrolled a poster of Elvis and a movie poster of Rebel Without a Cause. "I figure you can put them up."
"That was nice of you," Bridgette said earnestly. "Thank you."
"You're very welcome, Miss Shepard," Two-Bit bowed. "If you ever need anything else, you know my number. I'm only a short drive away."
"I, uh, right, thanks. Um…thank you. That was, um…wow…thanks."
"You okay?" he smirked at her disgraceful attempt at speech.
She didn't trust herself to speak so she just nodded.
"Well, I'll see you around, kid."
She continued to smile at the door long after he had left. Almost exactly a year ago, she wouldn't have even called Two-Bit a friend and he was stealing her makeup. Now she would absolutely call him a friend and he was stealing her dorm supplies. It was surreal. And rather amusing.
Bridgette spent the rest of her night putting away her new things and lounging around.
She woke up early to take a shower before orientation. Madison was still asleep and Bridgette tried to be as quiet as possible. Eventually she managed to get herself ready about thirty minutes before ten. She wondered if Madison had a different orientation date or if she should wake her up. Bridgette decided to start making a lot more noise to let Madison figure it out for herself.
"You're so damn loud," Madison grumbled as Bridgette put on her shoes.
"Heading to orientation," Bridgette said pointedly.
Madison mumbled a few more choice words but didn't move so Bridgette assumed she had a different orientation day.
Bridgette grabbed her things and headed out. Thanks to her talk with Ryan the day before and her small walk around campus with Bella, Bridgette had no trouble finding the place. She waited in a long line to check in.
She walked into a room with hundreds of chairs facing a stage and Bridgette sat down somewhere in the middle of the room. Orientation started with a group of people running on stage wearing the same shirt Ryan had worn the day before. They were all far too enthusiastic and loud. They even performed a skit about campus safety. Hald of the audience was eating it up, cheering along with them. The other half, like Bridgette, were looking around and waiting for the punchline.
The coordinator announced that they were going to break the students into groups depending on majors. All of the science majors were first, and then the language majors and so on until all that was left was math and the arts. Bridgette had been so busy wondering what planet the welcome week leaders were from to think about Ponyboy at all. After all, Madison apparently had a different orientation date, perhaps Pony did as well. But as Bridgette looked around the room at the handful of people left, she found him sitting comically close to her, only about five rows in front of her.
Just as Bridgette was planning a quick and quiet escape, Ryan came jogging over to her waving his hands all around. Bridgette watched him apprehensively.
"Bridgette! Hi, Bridgette!" he shouted.
"Oh, god," Bridgette uttered, willing herself to break the laws of physics and just disappear.
"Bridgette! I'm leading the math majors!" he continued, making quite the spectacle of himself. She tried to smile at him but it came out more like a grimace. She was painfully aware of how everyone within about fifty feet was looking in their direction, including Pony.
Ryan made an announcement to the entire room that all math majors should meet by him, which was unnecessary since he had just made it pretty obvious. Bridgette cursed her bad luck and looked up from her hands. Without meaning to, she looked up and instantly made eye contact with Pony. He was still sitting in his chair and he was looking over at her with amusement. She let her head drop again and she groaned, though not loudly enough for anyone to hear. Just peachy. Their first interaction in months and he was making fun of her.
She listened as some girl with a mess of braids in her hair called the art majors over to her. She could see Pony get up form his chair in her peripheral vision and she figured it was safe to look up again.
The rest of orientation was kind of a mess. At least it was to Bridgette. Ryan was in command of a dozen other people but he paid special attention to Bridgette the entire time. He would talk with her and ask her specifically if she had any questions. She could only imagine what the other people in her group thought of him…or her.
She registered for classes which is where she also met her advisor. It was a man that kind of reminded Bridgette of Mr. Schmidt, though a lot weirder. He was a bit socially awkward, and seeing as how Bridgette herself was socially awkward, their meeting was, well, awkward. He explained that she needed to take general eduation classes and he acknowledged that she played soccer. He congratulated her on the scholarship but emphasized the importance of maintaining good grades. One minute he was praising her and the next he was scolding her. It continued for twenty minutes.
She walked out feeling content with her new schedule, though. She talked to her advisor, Dr. Boulanger, about a college plan and he set her up to graduate as soon as possible. She didn't exactly want to be on an accelerated path considering she had been accelerated her entire life, but she also didn't mind it. At least it was familiar. So he kept her workload busy but manageable so that she had time for soccer.
Ryan was waiting for her eagerly to discuss her classes. She was grateful when she ran into the recruiter. He told Ryan he was going to steal her for a bit and apologized for the inconvenience. Bridgette wanted to tell him that she was available the entire rest of the day if he needed to talk.
Their meeting was rather short and informal. All he told her was that school and soccer were her priorities. He kept hinting that soccer was slightly more important, but then he would backtrack and discuss the importance of good grades again. He told her that he couldn't tell her what to do with her life, but he advised her not to get a job. She opened her mouth to protest and he told her the school would be able to help her out with anything she needed. She felt guilty about it but didn't argue with him.
So she could stop looking for jobs, apparently.
Orientation ended with everyone gathered back in the big room. There was another skit about putting yourself out there and making friends and then the orientation finished. Bridgette clapped twice and then hopped from her seat, ready to get away from Ryan.
Bridgette was the second person to the exit. It was both parts frustrating and amusing that the first person to the exit was Ponyboy. Seeing as how they were only a foot apart and heading in the same direction, they had to acknowledge the other person.
Bridgette forced herself to smile and tried to ignore the pain in her chest but Pony's entire face lit up when he saw her.
"Beej!" he beamed. "Hi!"
"H-hi," she stammered in surprise.
"I knew that was you in there," he said, pointing behind him. "Who was that guy?"
"My welcome week leader," she shrugged.
"Seemed like you knew each other."
"He helped me with my things yesterday," she explained.
"Oh. Well, you have a fan."
"Something like that," she said slowly. While she was doing everything in her power to keep it together, Pony was acting like nothing had even happened. She didn't know what to make of it and she decided to approach it very, very cautiously.
"Want to go for a walk?" Pony asked.
She didn't know if she wanted to go for a walk. She was still processing the fact that Pony was even talking to her. It had been months of complete silence and she had been in a pretty dark place for most of it. She wanted nothing more than to be with Pony, even if only as his friend. But she didn't trust herself to change and she didn't want a repeat of last time. She couldn't do that to Pony and she couldn't do it to herself.
"I was going to meet up with some girls from soccer," she said, still not sure if that had answered his question.
"Great! I'll walk you."
She furrowed her brow as she tried to figure out if that was a good thing or not. She was so confused.
"I looked for you yesterday," he said. "We ran into one of your soccer friends so I figured you must have been around. But I heard Two-Bit saw you."
"Yeah," she confirmed.
"He said your roommate is pretty lousy."
"She's definitely a piece of work," she shrugged.
"My roommate has an older brother in a fraternity," Pony informed. "He unpacked one thing into our room. A pair of shoes. Apparently he'll be spending most of his time at the frat house."
"You lucked out," Bridgette said.
"Yeah, I did," he chuckled.
They fell silent for a moment as they continued to walk. They approached the quad and Bridgette scanned the area for Bella. She spotted Bella juggling a soccer ball with three other people in a small circle. Bridgette turned to wish Pony good luck and saw Pony watching Bella's group carefully. Bridgette looked back over at them and tried to figure out why Pony was looking at them in that way. They were kicking a ball around. It wasn't very complicated.
"I guess…you want to hang out with your friends," Pony said in a very strange tone. Bridgette whipped back around to look at him again.
"Are you okay?" she asked without thinking. She couldn't figure out his erratic behavior and she apparently made the unconscious decision to just ask him about it instead of speculating.
"What?" he asked. He drew his attention back to Bridgette and his eyes seemed to come back into focus. "Yeah, of course. I'll catch up with you later."
Bridgette waved feebly as she watched him walk away with his shoulder hunched and his eyes on the ground. She waited a few seconds before heading over to Bella. No one greeted her or said anything to each other, they just included her in their circle of kicking the ball around. Bridgette was grateful for it. Her head was spinning and she didn't think she would be able to make conversation. Besides, kicking a ball around always helped her to clear her head.
After about thirty minutes, Bella told everyone that her and Bridgette were going to get some food. Bridgette didn't know if she necessarily wanted to do that but she also had to admit she was very hungry.
Bella grilled her about orientation and Bridgette told her about Ryan. Bridgette hesitated before telling Bella about her brief encounter with Pony. Even now Bridgette couldn't figure out why she always told Bella things about her personal life but she also cared less this time.
"That is very interesting," Bella said thoughtfully as she nibbled on a cookie. "He probably still likes you."
"His brother told me that Pony still cares about me, but I don't think he means it in that way," Bridgette said.
"Caring is still caring," Bella said philosophically.
"I guess."
"Look," Bella said. "You're both new to college. You both could use something that reminds you of home. You two care about each other so I don't see why you can't at least be friends."
"He completely ignored me up until today."
"And now he's not ignoring you anymore," Bella pointed out. "He's making an effort which means he wants something to happen, right?"
"Maybe."
"I say give it a chance," Bella said. "You don't have much to lose."
"Only my sanity," Bridgette smirked.
"Who wants that?" Bella grinned. "This is college. Live a little. Time to start anew."
"That was profound."
"I know. Thank you."
Bridgette didn't see Ponyboy for quite some time after that. A few days after orientation soccer practices started and a few days after that, classes started. She was used to being busy but she was not used to all the freedom she had. After a grueling practice where hardly any of the girls could walk straight, they would all agree to head over to the school pool to cool down and relax their muscles. After class Bridgette could decide if she wanted to go eat or catch up with some people she met through soccer or just go back to her room and listen to music. She didn't have anyone breathing down her neck or telling her what to do. It was liberating.
She still worked a little too hard in both school and soccer to allow her complete freedom, but she never expected anything less. She still had to maintain good grades for soccer and she still had to maintain skills in soccer for her scholarship. A few of the girls loved to remind her that she only had to pass with a 2.5 GPA to stay on the team, but Bridgette never paid them any attention. She liked school. School was familiar to her. And with everything else changing around her, she liked slipping back into the routine of classes and homework.
Lucy had yet to warm up to Bridgette. In fact, once Bridgette proved to everyone that she deserved to be on that team at her first practice, Lucy only seemed to dislike her more. Bridgette was good. There was no denying it. And that seemed to really bother Lucy.
Things had not improved with Madison, either. If anything, it was worse. They got off on the wrong foot and it seemed like their first impressions of each other was solidified. Despite having no cause for it, Madison still assumed that Bridgette was trashy and boy crazy. Bridgette still assumed Madison was too uptight and judgmental. When they weren't ignoring each other, they were arguing. Needless to say, she spent as little time in her room as possible.
She heard back from Nadine only a few days after she sent the letter and they were now corresponding regularly. As Bridgette predicted, Nadine brushed aside all apologies and insisted Bridgette had every right to be moody. Bridgette loved complaining about Madison and Nadine loved bragging about her rich roommate that already promised Nadine a trip to New York. Nadine also loved to nag Bridgette about Pony.
It was about three weeks into school when Bridgette saw Ponyboy. She had just finished class and was walking out of the science building with some people in class when she saw him. He was sitting outside in a patch of grass under a large tree with five other people. He had one leg extended in front of him and the other knee bent. He rested his forearm on his bent knee and picked at the grass with his other hand. He looked like a model. He really did. He looked perfectly at ease and he was laughing at something one of the people said.
For a moment it felt like the last couple of weeks hadn't happened. She felt like she was still the girl that didn't have friends and was a joke and he was the perfect specimen and she should bow down to him. She had the notion that he was too good for her and she should revert back to admiring him from afar.
Then the group of people she had been talking to made a joke about her spacing out and she came crashing back down to reality.
Pony was still the most exciting thing to ever happen to her and she knew that no matter what, he would always be something very special to her. But she was different now. She wasn't that sheltered girl that was too smart to be entirely normal. She wasn't the Shepard girl or the caged animal. She was Bridgette, the girl that her new friends knew to be shy but really sweet. She was a little too into school but in an endearing way. People in college appreciated academics more than the people in her high school. She had friends and freedom and she felt more confident, even after only a few weeks.
So when she returned her gaze back to Pony, she mentally urged him to notice her. She didn't know what she wanted to achieve by him noticing her, but suddenly it felt very important that he did.
"Okay, well, I have another class so I'll catch up to you later," one of her new friends, Adam, said.
"I'll walk you," a girl named Natalie said.
Bridgette said a goodbye and waved feebly. This time when she looked back to Pony, he was looking right at her. Considering that was exactly what she wanted to happen, it was a little odd when her heart started to pound against her chest. She smiled at him, holding on to at least some of the confidence she felt. He said something to his friends and got to his feet. He walked over to her and she couldn't seem to move.
"Hey," Pony greeted.
"Hi," Bridgette said, surprised at how steady her voice was. "Long time no see."
"No kidding," Pony smiled warmly. "How's it been?"
"Not too bad," she said proudly. "You?"
"Not too bad," he grinned. "Do you have class now, or…?"
"No, just finished."
"Soccer?"
"No, we practice in the mornings," she winced. "It's cooler."
"That makes sense. You must be tired."
"A bit," she shrugged.
"You heading back to your dorm?"
"Not if I can help it," she muttered. He tilted his head curiously at her and the familiar gesture from him made her feel both parts sad and happy. "I, uh…remember my roommate? We're still not exactly hitting it off."
"I'm sorry," he frowned.
"It's fine," she said dismissively. "I just spend more time not in my room than, you know…in it."
"Right," he said. "Well, hey, I was going to head back to my dorm. You can join me if you want. We can catch up."
"I, uh," she said. She found that she actually did want to talk to him. She missed him. Bella told her she had nothing to lose by it and Bridgette was starting to agree with that. She liked him—no, she loved him—and it didn't seem very practical to avoid him. He was right there in front of her, asking her to hang out. Even if they never did date again, she still missed her best friend and it would be nice to have him back in her life. "Yeah. I'd like that."
"Yeah?" Pony asked in surprise and she couldn't help but smile.
"Yeah," she confirmed.
"Great! Um, let me just tell my friends. Come on, you can meet them."
Bridgette knew she had evolved even a little bit when she followed right behind Pony instead of shying away from it. There were three girls and two boys not including Pony. Two of the girls had flowers in their hair and paint on their jeans while the last girl kind of reminded her of Sandy, Soda's old girl. Both of the guys had long hair to their shoulders and beards. One of the girls with paint on her jeans was placing flowers in one of the guys' beard.
"Hey guys," Pony addressed the group. "This is my friend Bridgette from home. Bridgette this is the gang. That's Linda, Harvey, Vivienne, Cynthia, and Greg." Bridgette waved to them all but already forget their names. "We're going to head out but I'll catch up with you later."
They all said their goodbyes and Pony started to walk away. Bridgette hurried to keep pace with him.
They made small talk as they navigated to Pony's dorm. It was Harper Hall which was right next door to Meyer Hall where Bridgette was staying. Pony greeted his own resident hall greeter and then went to the stairs. He was on the third floor of his building and Bridgette wondered briefly if they would be able to see each other from their windows. But he was on the other side of the building, facing away from her window. He opened his door and walked inside.
It was kind of amusing. She knew that his roommate wasn't going to be present so she imagined his room to be halfway decorated, with one side of the room completely barren. But Pony had made himself quite at home. He even pushed the two beds together. There were posters on the wall of musicians he liked and movies he enjoyed. He had pictures of his family and—Bridgette noticed this embarrassingly fast—a picture of him with Bridgette when they were dating. There were clothes all over the ground and books spread across the room.
"I finally have my own room," was all he said.
"I like what you've done with the place," she chuckled.
"Thank you," he said. He plopped down on his bed and she set down her bag. "Come on. Come talk to me."
He scooted backwards on his bed until he was sitting against the wall. A wave of nostalgia washed over Bridgette as she watched him. They hadn't dated long but Pony's bed had become kind of a special spot for them. Not for anything sexual but because they shared a lot of personal moments there. It was where she told him she liked him and where they kissed—really kissed—for the first time. It was where they had deep conversations and played games. It was their spot. Their special spot. It only made sense that his bed, even in a new location, was where they would reconnect.
She joined him and smiled to herself.
"Come on," Pony repeated. "Tell me about what you've been doing."
Bridgette went into a rather long winded explanation about everything, starting from Frankie hopping the curb to drop her off to that very moment of them in bed together. She made light of the Madison and Lucy situation but Pony could see right through her, like he always did. Nothing would ever change that. He asked her if she still saw Ryan around and she told him that she did. Ryan had a tendency to pop up places. Pony told her Ryan had a crush but Bridgette didn't really agree. Ryan was kind of awkward and goofy but she didn't think he liked her. Pony told Bridgette that Lucy tried hitting on him the first week of school and Bridgette tried really hard to mask her annoyance.
"Don't worry. She's not really my type," he said. The way he said it made Bridgette blush and she looked down at her hands. "But then she started asking about Soda. I told her Soda was a taken man."
"Is he?" Bridgette asked.
"He is. Turns out that girl that was trying to run away never quite got to her destination. They've been an item for a few months now and things are going really well."
"That's good," Bridgette emphasized, as if Pony needed convincing. "I'm really happy for him."
"Yeah," Pony smiled. "Me too."
"I'm sure you know Two-Bit is seeing Megan," Bridgette shrugged.
"Yeah," Pony nodded. "Though I don't know if it counts since he hasn't been back to see her."
"They are connected at the phone," Bridgette shook her head. "Every time I see her now she's on the phone."
"He stole her heart."
"I think she stole his," Bridgette corrected and they both laughed because it was true.
Bridgette then told Pony to share his story. The story wasn't altogether interesting—the same way hers wasn't all that interesting—but she held onto his every word just like he had done with her.
He talked about making the trip with Darry and Soda in his car and Steve and Two-Bit in the other car. He talked about Soda, Steve, and Two-Bit getting a real kick out of the whole college thing and how they spent most of their time hitting on girls and goofing off. Then he talked about Darry getting really quiet at different times and Bridgette felt her heart clench. Darry loved his brothers and he wouldn't have changed a thing, but she could practically read Darry's mind: "I should be here."
After sharing a few rather humorous stories about the guys, Pony launched into the rest of his story. He met all of his friends except for the girl that reminded Bridgette of Sandy at orientation. They were all art majors aside from the other girl who was an education major and Bridgette decided that made sense. Pony talked with his advisor a lot. He decided he loved art but there are only so many careers that need art. Pony decided, with the help of his advisor, to get into media design. When Bridgette looked over at him blankly, he elaborated by saying he would be designing logos and marketing campaigns. Bridgette loved this idea because Pony was not only talented, but extremely creative. And part of marketing campaigns was writing so it fit all of his loves.
He talked about classes and college life and keeping in touch with the gang. He shared some more stories about what the gang was up to and then his own story was finished.
"Have you heard anything from Tim or Curly or anyone?" Pony asked.
"Not my family, no," Bridgette shook her head. "But did I really expect anything less?"
"I guess not," Pony said, though he looked kind of sad, like he was really hoping he would be wrong.
"Did Darry tell you I talked to him over summer?" Bridgette asked.
"He said he ran into you at the diner," Pony said suspiciously.
"True," she snorted, amused by how Darry downplayed it. She had been in such a bad place at the time and she felt like her world was collapsing around her, but sure, she had run into him. "Well then I don't know if he told you but I figured out I hate my family."
"What?"
"Yeah."
"What do you mean?"
Bridgette explained everything to him. She had gone over it a million times since she made the discovery at graduation but it still made her angry to think about it. She really did hate them. All of them. Even Curly.
Okay, maybe not so much Curly, but she still disliked Curly very much.
"Wow," Pony gaped.
"Yeah," she said simply.
"That's pretty heavy."
"Graduation wasn't so great," she reminisced. "By the way, you were right about James. Complete scumbag."
"What? What happened?"
"Don't worry about it. Just gloat and bask in the glory of being right."
"Did he hurt you?" Pony asked.
"No," she rolled her eyes. "He's just creepy."
"He liked you," Pony said knowingly. "I knew it. I knew it. He liked you and he wanted to be with you and who knows what else. He. Liked. You."
"Are you finished?" Bridgette asked.
"Pig," Pony scoffed. "He never did try anything with you, did he?"
"No," Bridgette insisted.
"Good because I would have killed him," Pony said and Bridgette laughed.
"Thank goodness it didn't come to that," she shook her head still smiling.
"Sounds like your summer was pretty…awful," Pony said.
"It wasn't great," she said in a cheerful tone to hide just how much she was hurting.
"I, uh…didn't exactly help," Pony muttered.
Bridgette looked over at him and found him staring intently at his hands in his lap. His ears had gone red and she furrowed her brow.
"Things happen, Pony," she said gently. "It wasn't your fault."
"I think part of it was definitely my fault," he argued.
"And part of it was definitely my fault," she countered. "We're only human."
"You're not supposed to be so nice to me," he muttered. "I'd prefer it if you yelled at me."
"I'm not going to yell at you," Bridgette grinned.
"And why not?"
"Because I'm not mad at you," she shrugged. It was simple and it was true but the way Pony looked at her right then made it seem like she had lied about something big. He looked scandalized and even a little annoyed. "What?"
"Not mad at me?" he asked with narrowed eyes.
"I'm not," she insisted.
"How can you not be?" he asked.
"Why would I be?"
"Because I hurt you. Because I didn't talk to you. I wasn't there for you when you probably needed me most."
"I ignored you, too," she pointed out. "It was a team effort."
"Yeah but you were going through so much."
"But you didn't know I was going through that."
"I know I hurt you when we broke up so I understand if you have a hard time believing it, but I really never want to see you hurt. I want to protect you from all of the bad stuff out there. And even if I can't protect you, I at least want to be there for you."
"Pony, I'm fine," she rolled her eyes, ignoring the way her heart skipped a beat.
"Yeah, yeah," Pony grumbled. "You're always fine. A true greaser, am I right?"
"I am fine," she said. "I'm not going to sit here and pretend like it was easy and I'm not going to deny I was in a really bad place for awhile but I'm moving on, Pony. I'm doing really well now. I'm doing well in soccer and school and I have friends. I mean, my roommate isn't great and the team captain hates me, but we can't have everything."
"Beej," he sighed and shook his head. "I know you're strong. You always have been and always will be one of the strongest people I know. I just wish I could protect you from hurting."
"Everyone hurts."
"I know that, but you know what I mean."
"I'll tell you what," she said slowly. "There is one way you can protect me."
"What is it?" he asked eagerly.
"I understand that things didn't work between us. And I also understand that we may never be together again. But before anything else you're my best friend and I do like having you in my life. So can we promise each other to keep talking? To keep being friends? I really miss you."
"I really miss you, too."
"So do we have an agreement?"
"We do. I want you in my life as much as you do."
"Good," Bridgette smiled.
"Very good," he said.
They fell silent for a moment and Bridgette could feel him watching her. She pretended not to notice as she braided her hair.
"You know," he said thoughtfully. "Something is different about you."
"Well, I hate a lot more people now," she said dismissively.
"No," he rolled his eyes but the corner of his mouth twitched upwards. "You seem more…more…" He looked out his dorm window as he trailed off. He shook his head and met her gaze once more. "You seem more sure of yourself, I guess. Yeah, that's a good way to put it."
"You gathered that from the last hour we've been talking?" she smirked.
"Yes," he said firmly and her smile faltered.
"Well," she said slowly. "I like to think I am."
"You are. You're really doing well for yourself, Beej."
"Seems like you are, too," she said. "Lots of friends, doing well in school. And you even have your own room."
"Yeah," he snorted. "That I do."
"Does he ever come by? Ever?"
"Never," he said. "At least not yet." He got kind of quiet again and then said, "It actually gets kind of lonely sometimes. I'm used to Soda talking my ear off every night and now it's just me."
"I could use some solitude," Bridgette said.
"I know you still wouldn't be alone, but you're always welcome here. I would love some company. And you wouldn't have to deal with Madeline."
"Madison," she corrected. "That's awfully tempting."
"I mean it," he insisted. "Any time."
She smiled gratefully at him and nodded. She told him she had better get going and he walked her out of the building. Even Madison's dirty looks couldn't put a damper on her spirits as she got back to her room. She had Pony back and everything seemed right in the world.