Chapter 3

First Day of Classes

Alex and Casey spent the entire weekend getting their room just how they wanted. They took some time to explore campus, find out where their classes would be, how long it would take to walk to them, and figure out the best dining halls to eat at. Luckily for Casey and Alex, they were able to pick every class together, too. Since this was their first year, they were taking pretty basic courses in Political Science, Sociology, Economics, and Public Speaking. Plus, they had a few other non-degree courses that were required.

Alex threw on her backpack as she waited by the door for Casey to finish getting ready. "Come on, Casey! We're gonna be late!"

Rushing to get her things in her backpack, Casey responded to Alex. "Alex… we're already gonna be there 15 minutes early. We are not late."

"Uhh, we'll be late for the good seats! I want to sit close to the front." Alex believed the closer she was to the front, the more she'd learn.

"Alex… this is just like high school. Everyone is going to be fighting for the back."

"No, this isn't like high school. People pay to come to college, you know. The front seats will go fast. Come on!" Alex grabbed Casey's hand and practically drug her out the door and to the elevator. As they waited, Amanda came down the hallway, backpack on her shoulder.

"Hi Casey, hi Alex!" Amanda said. "Are y'all ready for your first day?"

Alex smiled at Amanda and blushed. "Yeah, I think so. What do you study, Amanda?" God, that accent.

"Oh I'm studying criminal justice. What about you?" Amanda looked in Alex's eyes, blue meeting blue, and gave her a big smile.

Alex felt her heart skip a beat. She accidentally fumbled over her words. "Uhh, well… I uh, I'm s-studying…"

Casey interjected to save Alex from any further embarrassment. "We're both studying pre-law!"

"Oh, cool! Just like your dads?" Amanda stepped into the elevator and leaned against the back of it.

"Yeah," Alex said with a smile.

"That's awesome. I hope you have a great first day! Please let me know if I can help you in any way and I'll be happy to. Actually…" Amanda grabbed her phone out of her pocket. "Here. Give me your number and I'll text you some tips!"

Alex grabbed Amanda's phone and put her number in before handing it back to Amanda. "Great! You can share these with Casey too, of course." Amanda quickly smiled at Casey as the elevator dinged to the main floor. "See you around!"

Alex and Casey began walking across campus quietly. Looking over at Alex, Casey could tell she was still smiling from their interaction with Amanda. "Uhhh, Lex?"

"Yeah?" Alex looked over at Casey.

"Did you just score a girl's number?" Casey wiggled her eyebrows.

Alex couldn't help but giggle. She knew Amanda was just being polite, but she'd be lying if she said the thrill wasn't exhilarating. "No, Casey. She's just sharing some tips."

"Yeah, okay. But I was also there and she didn't ask for my number."

"Because there wasn't enough time on the elevator. She said I could share them with you, dork." Although, Alex was secretly hoping it was more than that.

"Mhm. Sure. Did she text you yet?"

Alex pulled her phone from her pocket at checked. She only had 1 message, which was from her mom. "Nope."

"She will," Casey said, opening the door to the giant building in front of them. "Come on, we need room 1510."

After a few minutes of searching, Alex and Casey finally found room 1510. Walking in, Alex was pleased to see there were 2 seats available in the second row. She gladly walked over to them and sat down, Casey sitting next to her.

"Hi," the boy next to her said, extending his hand. "I'm Charlie."

Alex took his hand and shook it. "Hi, Charlie. My name is Alex, and this is Casey." Casey waved.

"Hi, Casey. This," Charlie pointed his thumb to the guy next to him. "Is Trevor."

Trevor stood up and extended his hand to both Alex and Casey. "You girls studying pre-law?"

"Yup," Alex said with a smile. "You?"

"Yes Ma'am," Charlie said with a smile, gently letting his eyes rake over Alex's body.

Ugh.

They spent the next 10 minutes getting to know each other and talking before the Professor spoke up.

"Welcome! This is Political Science 1020. Most of you in here are freshman, I assume." The professor began walking to each row and passing out a packet of paper. "This is your syllabus. Abide by this, all semester. It details the grading, assignments, homeworks, and attendance policy. You will also find your book requirements here as well. I expect that everyone will come to class on time, and be prepared to learn. Welcome to Columbia University!"


Alex and Casey had three classes that day, all in the morning. Thankfully, they were finished by 1 o'clock so they could spend the rest of the day doing whatever they wanted.

"Let's go get our books," Alex suggested.

"Sure thing! Then, I wanna try this sandwich shop on the North side of campus. Everyone said it's really good." Casey was looking up the menu on her phone.

Looking over at Casey on her phone, Alex finally decided to check her phone too. She now had 3 messages – the one from her mom this morning, one from her dad, and one from an unknown number. She gasped. "I think she texted me!"

Casey gasped in response as she leaned over to look at Alex's texts with her.

Amanda: Hi Alex! It's Amanda :). Hope your first day is going great! Tip #1: Buy your books from the bookstore on the North side, not on the main part of campus. They're considerably cheaper. Plus, there's a great sandwich shop I think you'd like, if you're into sandwiches.

"Is that a smiley face?!" Casey asked excitedly.

"Casey… my parents use smiley faces. This is a nice, normal, platonic message. You're crazy." Alex was hoping she was wrong, though.

She began to type out a message back to Amanda.

Alex: Hi Amanda! It's Alex :). So far, so good. Thanks for the tip, I appreciate it! Casey was just telling me about this sandwich shop, so I think we'll swing by. See you later!

"What did you say?" Casey grabbed Alex's phone to read her reply. "Ooo, you used one back!"

Alex scoffed. "Casey, it's a smiley face. It's friendly."

"And you added a 'See you later!' Oh my God, Alex. You've got it bad." Casey loved teasing Alex now that she knew she finally had an interest in somebody.

"I do not!" Alex grabbed her phone back. "I literally will see her later, and so will you. She is our RA."

"Yeah, who you want to kiss." Casey wiggled her eyebrows at Alex.

"Shut up, Casey!" Alex lightly shoved Casey.

Casey laughed as they continued their walk to the North side. Alex texted back her parents before another text came in from Amanda. Alex gasped again. "She texted back again!"

"What'd she say!?" Casey wrapped her arms around Alex to see the text.

Amanda: You're welcome! You know, I'm actually on my way there. Would you want to meet and have lunch?

Alex felt butterflies in her stomach. "Oh my God."

"Oh my God! Dude!" Casey responded excitedly. "You want to go alone?"

Alex stopped walking and grabbed Casey's hand firmly. "Absolutely not. I can't handle that, I'll have a nervous breakdown. You're coming with me."

They began walking again in silence before Alex spoke up again.

"Casey, this doesn't mean anything. She is being friendly. I need to stop getting my hopes up and letting this get to me. Why is this making my stomach feel crazy?"

"Because, my sweet Alexandra," Casey started, wrapping her arms around Alex's shoulder. "You think a girl is cute. And said girl is giving you attention. So, your heart, stomach, and crotch are going to be doing all the thinking for you from now on."

"Don't say 'crotch,' Casey."

Casey laughed. "Shut up and text her back."

Alex: Sure! We're already headed that way, so I guess we will see you there :).

Amanda: Perfect (:


Amanda, Casey, and Alex all sat at a booth in the sandwich shop waiting on their orders as they sipped on their drinks. Casey got a Pepsi, Amanda got a Dr. Pepper, and Alex got a Diet Pepsi.

"So," Amanda said. "How are we feeling so far?"

"Pretty good," Alex said. "I mean, it's only syllabus day, so I can't complain yet."

"This is true," Amanda laughed. "How about you, Casey?"

"Oh, pretty good. Met a cute boy in Political Science." Casey smiled as she thought of Trevor.

Alex rolled her eyes, Amanda studying them both intently.

"Wow, already? That's great. How about you, Alex?" Amanda raised her eyebrow at Alex, who was beginning to blush. Alex felt Casey nudge her side, forcing her to speak.

"Uhh, I mean… no. Boys aren't… aren't really my… focus." She couldn't say the words she wanted to. I don't like boys. How hard is that, Alex?

"Ahh," Amanda said, taking a sip of her drink. "Play for the other side of the field I take it?"

Casey nearly choked on her drink, not believing how forward the question was. Looking at Alex, it was clear she didn't get it.

"Huh?" Alex asked confused.

"Oh, I didn't mean to –" Amanda began to panic.

"No, no, you're right," Casey spoke up, looking at Amanda. "Alex just doesn't get the analogy."

"Huh?" Alex asked again, her heart beating in her chest.

"It's okay, Alex," Amanda said. "I'm not here to judge anyone. I'm bisexual."

Alex felt her throat tighten up as their sandwiches arrived at the table.

"I'm gonna run to the bathroom really quick," Casey said, getting up from the booth. "Be right back."

"Hey, I just wanna make sure you know you're supported, okay?" Amanda said reassuringly.

"How did you…" Alex started.

"I just kinda guessed. You blush every time I talk to you." Amanda smiled at Alex, who again, started blushing. "I know how nerve-wracking it can be being away from home and really being yourself for the first time. I just want to lend my support out to you in case you need to ever talk. There's a good LGBT support group on campus that I'm a part of. Plus, you're in NYC. We're all pretty open."

Alex smiled at Amanda. She now understood and appreciated the way she took to her. "Thanks, Amanda."

"Of course. I just want to make sure you feel supported, so you don't ever have to feel like you're dealing with these things alone. I remember how I felt my first year, and the group really helped. So if you ever need us, we're here." Amanda took Alex's hand and squeezed it.

Casey came back to the booth, catching a quick glimpse of Amanda holding Alex's hand. She couldn't wait to ask Alex about it later.

"Alright, I'm excited to see what these sandwiches are all about!" Casey clapped her hands together before she took a big bite.


Casey and Alex went to the dining hall for dinner and spent the afternoon getting their books and reviewing their syllabuses. Sitting at their desks, Casey turned to Alex.

"So…" Casey started, Alex still skimming over the syllabus. "I saw her holding your hand."

"Casey, it wasn't anything." Alex continued to look over the course material.

"Didn't look like nothing!" Casey firmly stated.

Alex sighed. "Casey, she was telling me about an LGBT support group. She just wanted to make sure that I knew I had support on campus in case I needed it."

Casey looked at her for a moment. "Oh. Well, how did she know?"

Alex smirked. "She said she saw me always blushing when I talked to her so she figured it out."

Casey started laughing. "That's so cute! So, she really was just being friendly?"

"Yeah, Case. I think so. And that's totally okay. I'm glad I'm not the only… whatever I am, here."

Casey pursed her lips at Alex. "Alex… you can say it, you know. You're gay."

"I'm… gay." Alex choked out.

"You're gay. My best friend is gay."

"I'm… a… lesbian." Alex shook her head.

"You're a lesbian."

"Can you stop repeating me?" Alex laughed.

"Hey, I'm just trying to help you admit it."

Alex smiled. She was extremely thankful that Casey was her best friend. She had always known that no matter what, Casey would support her. "I love you, Case. Thanks for having my back."

Casey got up to hug Alex. "Of course! I love you too, Lex. You're my best friend. Always have been, always will be. I'm glad to know this side of you now."