University Distractions

September 2030 - Britechester, Illinois
University students: Ethan Smith is 20, Adam Smith is 20, Charlotte Craig is 20

The second year at college starts for Ethan, Adam, and Charlotte. Adam’s classes this semester are focused on plant growth and biology.

He loves being outside working in the small garden plots for his classes. He doesn’t love it, however, when his professor is staring at him and watching every little thing he does.

Ethan spends time between classes working on his assignments and talking with his dormmate Denise.

Adam thinks that there in something more going on between them no matter how many time Ethan tells his brother that they are just friends.

It’s nice to have someone he can talk to about these classes and about life at Foxbury, even if Adam doesn’t believe that she wants to be just friends.

“I don’t know,” Charlotte says when they meet up late one day for a hot dog supper. “She does seem to look at you and follow you a lot.”

Ethan sighs. “We’re friends, that’s all.”

“I hope so because I do not want think about my brother jumping into bed with some girl while his other one is across the ocean.” Adam makes a disgusted face. “I don’t want to think about my brother jumping into bed with anyone actually.”

“Like you don’t talk about jumping into bed with Charlotte?” Ethan asks, making his own disgusted face.

“How much do you tell someone else about what we do?” Charlotte asks as she gives Adam a dark scowl.

Ethan gets up, unable to take his brother’s comments anymore. “Denise is just a friend, I’m in love with Lily, and that’s it.”

***

Ethan wants to prove to his brother that there’s nothing going on with Denise. So instead of meeting up with her for studies, he goes to the student union to enter the gaming competition.

The girl next to him chats a bit as they start their games. She’s a competitor, not a potential love interest, Ethan thinks. He expects that his brother would have something else to say about Ethan sitting next to a female gamer.

Male or female next to him doesn’t matter. All that matters is winning.

Not that Ethan or his gaming competitor win. The big prize goes to one of the other gamers.

Charlotte and Adam throw a little party at their dorm while Ethan is distracted by gaming. Charlotte has never done the upside down drinking from the keg so she convinces Adam to hold her up.

That doesn’t work out well. “Sorry!” Adam exclaims as he helps her up from the floor. “Sorry! Are you okay?”

“My pride’s not okay but I guess the rest of me is,” Charlotte says, wincing as she stands. How many people at the party saw this?

But Charlotte doesn’t hold that incident against Adam. And he’s happy because he’s still in love with her more than he ever expected to be.

Ethan doesn’t like it that Charlotte and Adam get to live in the same dorm over there at University of Britechester and here he is at Foxbury all alone. He talks to Lily as much as he can, but it’s just not the same. How will he get through two and a half more years?

———————

Charlotte and Adam did okay, but Ethan is having a hard tome focusing on his classes while he misses Lily!