-Graduate-

“Sorry to wake you.”

“It’s okay.”

“Buddy system.”

“Right, buddy system…”

I wake up with a start. My stomach is wet, and I notice stains on the top comforter. My striped shirt is still mostly tucked under my chin and my pants are down around my ankles.

I let my head fall back onto the pillows and stare at the ceiling for a while.

I pick up my phone. It’s later than I thought: 8:34PM.

I need to get out of this hotel room.

I need to shower.

I run the water scalding hot, testing the hotel’s water-heaters.

The Imperial Hotel’s aesthetic is a combination of Japanese imperial palaces and French aristocratic architecture. After getting dressed, I take that first step out of my hotel room and meander up and down the halls on my floor. I find some nice views, but start to feel out of place, so I stop in front of an elevator and hit the down-arrow.

The hotel lobby is busy, and I’m trying not to look lost, so I cross toward a sign for the Café Couvert, thinking I would eat my feelings for an hour or two.

“Blush!”

Two of them this time, having just came from the Old Imperial Bar, calling my name.

Not right now, I can’t deal with this right now. I can still hear those kids from the airport, their high-pitched voices ringing in my ears.

“Blush! Blush!”

I keep my head low and walk past them, regretting ever leaving my room.

“I hope you run circles around that idiot on Saturday!”

I turn around and take a good look at them for the first time.

He’s tall and she’s short, standing close to one another.

“Blush99, yeah?” He asks me. “You’re here for the race!”

“Sure.” I look back and forth between the two, sensing their excitement.

“We’re- I’m not sure if you even know who we are- I’m Kill3r_B33 and this is my boyfriend Coin_dexter. We’re doing commentary for the race!”

He nods, and I notice the hand he gestures with has a brace on it.

‘Good to meet you two’ seems like an appropriate thing to say, so I say it.

“Yeah, you too,” he says back to me.

That’s something I do a lot. For some reason, without ever meaning to, I give off this impression like I’m never in the mood to meet anyone.

Anyway, it’s over. I guess this is the part where we walk away from each other and-

“Wait, hold on!” Bee says, touching Coin’s arm before he turns away. “Babe, let’s invite him to our room for the meet-up tonight.”

“Oh, fuck! That’s a great idea! Aaah…”

I’m still just standing there when Bee reaches out her hand.

“Beatrix Chapman, but call me Bee.”

I take her hand and she clasps onto mine, not letting go.

“It is so nice to meet you in person, Blush. This is my boyfriend, Duncan. Say hello, Duncan.”

“Hello, Duncan,” he says, smiling and rolling his eyes.

“We’re hosting a meet-up for all of the top runners in our hotel room tonight, not a big deal. We’re gonna do some runs, trade strats, do some interviews for our podcast, just get to know each other, and have a good time. We’d love to have you.”

Between the two of them, I don’t have much of a chance to say anything, Coin swoops in as soon as Bee finishes. “He won’t be there. He’s been banned ever since that awful video…”

I don’t really feel like I have much of a choice. It’s either this or going back to my room.

“Yes, I would love to. That sounds like a lot of fun,” seems like an appropriate thing to say, so I say it.