“Let’s get drunk,” I suggest as I walk into George and I’s shared dorm room. She’s sitting on her bed, wearing nothing but her underwear, reading The Great Gatsby.

“Can’t.”

“Ugh,” I groan. “Why the hell not? I still have that handle of gin we can finish.”

“Simran’s boyfriend is having a party. And as much as I love gin, I think I love boys more. Not sure though, the jury’s still out.” I wasn’t surprised, for a girl named George she was pretty popular with the male population at Canberra University. “You’re welcome to come to the party with me.” She bounces off her bed and goes and digs into her closet, pulling out a black mini-skirt. “You wear this and I swear you’ll leave the party with at least three guys.”

“Oh please.”

“Oh c’mon, there’s going to be plenty of booze and a godsend amount of sweet innocent boys.” George grins deviously.

“Make sure to bring plenty of condoms.” I joke, causing George to throw a pillow at me.

“Bitch.”

“Whatever.”

“So will you come?” She asks.

“I’ll pass,” I say. “I think I’ll stay here with my gin. You go have fun.”

After taking a shot of gin (or a few, actually) with me, George leaves for the party. It’s only half past ten which is a little early for me to be getting shit faced, particularly alone, but I figured with the way this day was going I’d make an exception. It’s not every day some perky brat decides to call me a dyke. I fill up my shot glass again and take another shot. I’m definitely tipsy now, if not a little drunk.

I still can’t believe that chick Mika. She’s so fucking aggravating. And what the hell was that supposed to mean, “I’m not the only lesbian here”? I’m no lesbian. Hell, I may not be as popular as George but I’ve had my share of boyfriends. Sure, they never last too long but that’s because most guys are idiots. And I get bored easily, I admit.

But now thanks to Mika, all the guys around here probably think I’m a lesbian since for some reason whenever one of those blondes say anything, it gets treated as some great truth. Heh. It’s probably pretty obvious that I’m a freak. And I mean that in the best way possible. It means I’m not some blonde clone who wears too much American Eagle. But as a freak, I’m also deemed “unpopular” by Mika and her crowd. It’s so very high school. You’d think we would outgrow the whole clique thing, but no. Just because we’re in college doesn’t mean we’re any more mature.

Goddamn, this is depressing as fuck. I need another shot.

I should have beaten her up at lunch, who cares if people were watching. Most people are already kind of scared of me because they know I got kicked out of high school, which really wasn’t my fault. Really. Sorta. Hell, I should go teach Mika a lesson now. She lives in this dorm, just down the hall.

But first I need just another sip of gin and orange juice. Such a great combination. And yeah, I’m drunk.

I stand up, a little wobbly at first, and head towards the door. I’m not quite sure where Mika lives, but it can’t be too far and her name will be on the door. I stumble down the hall, looking for her room.

And there it is: 213. An unlucky number for an unlucky girl.

Three solid knocks. I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do if she was there, but I’m sure something would come to me.

“Ari?” The door opened and there she was, dressed in green plaid pajama pants and a red tank top. She didn’t look surprised to see me.

“Merry Christmas,” I say, nodding at her attire before pushing my way into her dorm room. She doesn’t say anything, but just closes the door behind her as I check out her room. The dorm room walls are usually a cross between dead rodent grey and mustard yellow and her walls were no different except that the wall was mostly hidden due to posters and drawings.

“Those, uh, drawings are actually pretty good.” Mika blushes slightly and I roll my eyes; pathetic. “But I didn’t come to compliment your decorating,”

“No, you came here to…” She pauses. “How would you put it, beat the shit out of me?” She laughs as I frown at her. “I called you a dyke, big deal, since when do you even care what others think?”

“I don’t. But I can’t let you thinking you can just make up shit about me.” She’s leaning against her bed, obviously feigning boredom. I walk closer to her, staring her right in the face.

“Make up?” She leans to whisper in my ear. “But it’s true.”

“I do not like girls.” I growl.

“How do you know? Ever kiss a girl?”

“No- I…” I’m practically leaning against her now; when did I lose my ability to stand on my own? She’s looking up at me, smirking, all delighted with her so-called wittiness.

“Look, I’ll kiss you and I won’t even like it.” For some reason my drunk mind finds this logical. The moment I lean down to kiss her, she wraps her hands around my neck and kisses me back hard. Really hard. And then she slips her leg between mine and… I pull away, biting the inside of my cheeks. That actually, well, wasn’t that bad. But I wasn’t going to tell her that.

“It was ok, I guess.” I give her a shrug, acting nonchalant.

“Yeah,” She says, looking obviously disappointed. She picks up a bottle of water from the bedside table and takes a drink. I relax slightly. I’m relieved, needless to say, to finally got this bitch off my back. Now if only she could take back a rumor. “I thought you’d be a better kisser.”

“What!? Excuse me?” There is no way she just said that. “I am in no way-”

“Prove it.” She interrupts me.

“Huh?”

“Kiss me,” She pushes herself up against me so I can feel the contours of her bra, which is not padded so those perky things are completely real. Shit. But I keep my cool. If she wants a real kiss then hell, I’ll give her a real kiss.

I place one hand on her cheek, holding her face gently and the other on the small of her back, holding her against me. I kiss her neck first, slowing making my way to her lips… I kiss her lips softly, gradually making the kisses harder. Then I’m kissing her full force, sneaking my tongue into her mouth, letting my hands caress her body, running them over the smooth curves of her breasts, squeezing them slightly. She lets out a soft moan.

And then I remember where I am and what I’m doing. Shit. I stare at Mika, knowing full well that not only did she enjoy that kiss but… I think I might have too. She doesn’t say anything, just stares at me, her lips curving into a smile.

“Fuck you,” I scowl and leave her room, letting the door slam behind me.