Chapter Three -- Game Night
Jefferson College was established in 1820 as Jefferson Women's College and remained that way until 1965 when the school became known as the Jefferson College it is today and began opening its doors to boys. Still Jefferson College, which is actually a university, retains its reputation as the school you send your daughter to, if you can afford it, to learn to be a proper lady suitable for both home and industry.
Duane's car snaked through the old road that looped around the campus. While not particularly large the school was not laid out with vehicular navigation in mind but was instead a series of winding little streets, hidden alleyways that connected to other winding little streets, and roundabouts. It seemed like at every turn was a roundabout with some ancient benefactor of the school situated in the middle, immortalized in marble for all to see as they did their best to make it to their destination.
"You would think," Duane said with a tart tongue, "that the library would be the easiest thing to find in this school. In any school."
Brittany looked at the map displayed on her smart phone. She hadn't the heart to mention that this would be the second time they passed their turn so she intentionally directed Duane to drive a bit further up, turn, and then follow a street back to where they just were.
For her part Tiffany was not really minding the difficulty finding the library. She stared out of the window and daydreamed about her life here. She imagined herself walking through the campus, with its so immaculately maintained lawn and pristine limestone buildings, littered with statues and public art, on her way to class. She imagined herself spending many long hours at the library studying theory and even more hours at the performance hall, honing her craft, only to emerge late at night from practice, and then, she imagined, she would see Clark standing outside, waiting for her, smiling and beaming with energy in spite of the late hour. He would walk her back to her dorm, make sure she was safe, and they would talk about their respective days and talk about beauty and art and poetry. And then as the got to her dorm she would awkwardly invite him up to her room and she would put a sock on the door and they would make love.
"We're here."
The car came to a full stop. Duane parked the vehicle and stepped out, eager to stretch his legs after the drive. Brittany looked at Tiffany with excitement in her eyes and smiled. Tiffany, still half daydreaming, took a moment to register what was happening.
"We're here bitch." Brittany beamed.
"Heck yeah." Tiffany said doing her best to match her friend's enthusiasm.
Duane knocked on the window and motioned for them to hurry up. The girls got out of the car and grabbed their bags from the trunk. It was later in the evening by this point and the school was sparsely populated. Tiffany remembered Clark telling her that there were few classes offered on Fridays and around this time most people were furiously studying for finals. Still some students walked around them. A lot of them wore purple and ivory, the school's colors.
Behind them was the library; a large six floor block of marble situated upon a slight hill with several dozen steps leading up to its entrance.
"That'll be my cardio for the day." Brittany said.
"Screw that, let's find the handicap ramp." Duane said.
Brittany cocked an eyebrow and dropped her jaw slightly.
"Um, dude, this is your stop."
"Whaaaaaat?" Duane said pleadingly, "Can't I go get a peek at your smoking cousin and her big ole titties?"
"Pig." Brittany said before kissing Duane on the lips.
Tiffany crossed her arms and looked at the two quixotically.
"You two are freaking weird."
"Feeling left out?" Brittany said and motioned to kiss her friend. Tiffany took a step back, giggled nervously, and blushed beet red.
"Don't fight it Tiff. Just let it happen." Duane said a bit too earnestly.
Brittany pulled away and then turned to wrap her arms around Duane.
"God you're such a perv. Alright. Get out of here. We got it from here."
After some brief goodbyes and far too much P.D.A for Tiffany's taste, Duane drove off leaving the girls alone at the base of the library.
"Are you stoked?" Brittany asked.
"Totally." Tiffany replied. They walked up the steps towards the library entrance.
"Helena said she would be near the entrance studying so it shouldn't be too hard to find her."
Tiffany didn't quite register the comment as she was still off in her own world. Brittany took note.
"Yo, Tiff, you alright there?"
"Yeah...hey Britt what do you think you'll be doing come fall semester?"
"What...do...you...mean?" Brittany asked. Her words were slightly labored as she had not anticipated these steps taking the wind out of her.
Tiffany, with her years of dancing that Brittany did not have, managed to keep up.
"I mean, do you ever think about what your life is going to be like here?"
"All the time."
"Well, what do you imagine?"
"I don't know. I guess I'll probably take four classes. Get all the fundamentals out of the way. Get in with the theater scene. Party as much as I can. Drink a lot. Get more than few dicks in me."
"What about Duane?"
"Duane's a great guy. And I love him. I really do. But Tiff I'm going to college, you know, I need to see what's out there. Duane and I have a— well let's just call it an understanding. An agreement."
Tiffany nodded but wasn't quite sure what Brittany meant. It was obvious that she and Brittany had different ideas of romance. Perhaps she was too lofty. Maybe Brittany was right. Maybe she should go out in the world and see what it had to offer.
They made it to the top of the hill where the library rested.
"Thirty steps doesn't seem like a lot until you have to walk up them." Brittany said.
Rows of dark oak doors lined the entrance of the library and students made their way in and out. With each pass they could feel a rush of cool breeze from the well air-conditioned library interior. Tiffany approached the wooden library doors which towered above her.
"Come on, let's go find your cousin."
The inside of the library was all oak. The floors creaked under them as they walked and the place seemed more like a book-lined cathedral than a library.
"Are we in Hogwarts?" Brittany asked
"I think I'm in heaven." Tiffany shot back as she gazed at the countless rows and rows of books. She could easily imagine herself spending countless hours with these tomes, sipping away at coffee and reading the great works of the pantheon of playwrights her high school instructors were too ill-equipped to give their proper reverence.
"There she is." Brittany proclaimed as she gestured to a table a few feet away. There sat Helena leaned over a laptop and peering at the screen through her thick cat-eyed glasses as she furiously typed away on her Mac Book Pro. She would occasionally bring her cup of coffee to her mouth and Tiffany noticed the shine of a silver ring piercing the inside of her nostrils.
It was obvious that Helena was clearly related to Brittany. Like Brittany, Helena was what one might call a full-figured woman; however with Helena carrying a few extra pounds amply deposited in her chest and hips. Her hair was the same blonde as Brittany's but was hidden under a purple dye with the exception of her roots that showed her true hair color and her face was littered with the same splatter of freckles that Brittany had.
Also like Brittany it was clear that she enjoyed showcasing her cleavage and Tiffany noticed that she had a chest-plate tattoo made up of skulls and tulips. She could also see that Helena's arms were decorated with colorful sleeve tattoos, although Tiffany could not make out what they were.
It took a while for Helena to take notice of her cousin and Tiffany standing just a few feet away and the two girls awkwardly stood there not sure what to do when finally Helena looked up and gasped.
"Ho-ly Shit." She said, annunciating every syllable and quickly standing up. "About fucking time!"
The cousins smiled and embraced.
"Shut up slut. We've been here for like ten minutes" Brittany fired back with a wink.
