Chapter 3
Connor was dragging his feet and trailing behind the other guys in his group of first-years as they walked around campus. He felt ashamed that he had been late for meeting Adam that morning. Adam was leading the group, telling the first-years about the beautiful buildings they passed as they made their way around Ridgemont. It truly was a magnificent campus. Donovan Square was large and bursting with bright greens, with students sitting in the shade of the tall trees and enjoying the sun as they chatted on the many benches scattered throughout the park. The academic buildings that Adam had shown them looked regal and stunning, especially the Natural Sciences building where Connor would spend most of his time as an undergraduate majoring in Biology. There were tall, Grecian columns along the entrance and a beautiful, multicolored garden in front of the building. It was all surreal. But even though Connor was amazed at how stunning Ridgemont was, he couldn’t shake the thoughts of how Adam had found him, still taking a shower when he was meant to be down in the quad with the rest of the group of first-years that Adam was mentoring.
Connor’s roommate, Quinton, had decided that it would be funny to play a prank on Connor that morning by setting his alarm to go off an hour later than Connor had intended. Connor awoke with a start, seeing that it was already five minutes before eight, and rushing into the shower to get ready for the tour of campus. Quinton was laughing as Connor rushed around his dorm room grabbing his towel and clothes. It was definitely not a bonding moment, and Connor’s initial feeling that Quinton didn’t like him was only getting stronger.
There was one little piece of consolation in all of the chaos: the way Adam had looked at Connor in the shower, scanning his naked body, had turned Connor on. There was clearly an attraction between them, and Adam’s glazed-over expression in the bathroom that morning was confirmation of that. Connor was definitely feeling shy about his exposed body, but he wanted to keep up his new confident demeanor. He was determined to flirt with the hot guys of Ridgemont, especially Adam, no matter how scared he was. Even though Adam had been stern with him, the look in his eyes as he took in Connor’s body was enough to make Connor feel slightly better.
On the tour, however, Adam was completely different. He was hardly paying attention to Connor at all. Perhaps Connor was only imagining things, and Adam wasn’t even interested. Connor felt completely dejected as he strolled behind the other guys, hardly noticing all of the sights and sounds of Ridgemont University that surrounded him.
Connor’s eyes were glued to the ground, and he vaguely heard Adam say that they would be heading to the Social Sciences Building next. Connor absentmindedly turned to look around him. He could see the guys on the rugby team standing at a stall on Donovan Square, waving a sign-up sheet for tryouts and chanting the Ridgemont anthem. Connor was amazed at seeing how good-looking the guys were in their tight rugby shorts and the green jerseys they wore. They were all ridiculously muscular, with chests and arms so large they looked like they would burst through the jerseys. The guys were throwing a rugby ball to one another and joking around, when one of the guys suddenly spotted Connor. The guy had a high fade hairstyle with wavy, dark hair, and his skin was a rich cocoa-brown tone. The rugby player flashed a smile in Connor’s direction and motioned for him to come over. Connor was taken aback, and simply shook his head before turning back to look at the path he was walking on.
As he turned back to the bath, panic immediately overtook him. He could feel his breathing quicken and his blood froze. None of the other guys were in front of him anymore. Connor scanned his surroundings, worried that the rest of his group had left him behind. He didn’t see them anywhere. He tried to remember where Adam had said he was taking the group, but his thoughts were too scattered. The Social Sciences Building! That was where Adam had said they were headed next. He pulled out his map of Ridgemont, desperate to make some kind of sense of it, but he had no idea how to find his way to the Social Sciences Building or back to Initia Nova.
Connor decided that he would try to ask for directions, and went up to a girl with pink hair. “Excuse me, I’m looking for the Social Sciences Building. Can you help me?” he asked her meekly, panic in his voice.
The girl looked uncomfortable, her face in an annoyed frown: “Sorry. I’m a first-year too. No idea.” She walked away before Connor could ask her another question.
He decided to retrace his steps; perhaps something would look familiar and he could at least find his way back to his dormitory. Connor was feeling frustrated with himself. Why had he not simply stayed with the group and paid attention? He was too busy looking at hot rugby players and getting distracted.
Connor spun around frantically and finally noticed a large building that he remembered: the student center where they had stopped after their library tour. He went inside, hoping that he could find his way to the library and back to his dorm from there. Inside the student center, hundreds of excited faces were walking in all directions, visiting the many stalls that were set up to advertize the student societies on campus. Connor had to push his way through many groups of students who had their faces in maps or were carrying large stacks of newly-bought textbooks. He arrived at the middle of the student center and saw three exits on different sides of the hall. It was useless; Connor wasn’t even sure which entrance he had used to get into the student center mere minutes earlier. He was beginning to feel the sinking realization that he was completely lost.
At that moment, a voice called out behind him. Connor spun around to see a brightly colored table with a large rainbow flag hanging on the wall behind it. A warm, velvety voice greeted him: “Hello! Are you lost?” The guy standing behind the table had a large smile on his face. His hair was styled in a big afro, and he had smooth brown skin with warm, honey-colored undertones. He was wearing an African print t-shirt which was filled with just as many colors as the rainbow flag behind him. “Can I help you find something? You look so sad just standing there like a lost sheep! What’s your name?”
Connor walked over to the guy at the table, happy that he had found someone friendly in the crowd. He noticed the wording on the sign with the rainbow flag: Ridgemont Rainbow: LGBT Society. “I’m Connor, a first-year student. I’m staying at Initia Nova, and we’re doing a campus tour, but I lost my group. I’m trying to find the Social Sciences Building.” Connor tried to hide his frustration, but his face was warm with nervous energy.
“Nice to meet you, Connor. I’m Zuko.” Zuko held out his hand and shook Connor’s enthusiastically. Zuko’s smile was reassuring, and Connor felt just a bit of his nerves start to fade away. “Don’t you worry. I’ll help you find the Social Sciences Building. It’s easy to spot if you go through Donovan Square. I’ll just wait for my friend Jeremy to come back to man the stall and I’ll walk with you, okay?”
Connor noticed the many pictures of guys and girls at parties and events that were neatly arranged all over the table in front of him. “Is this a group for… gay people?” Connor asked, feeling uncomfortable even saying the word. Connor had been so scared of his attraction to guys that he had never even spoken about it with anyone before. Now, at Ridgemont University, there was a whole student society dedicated to LGBT students. Connor could never imagine something like that existing in Saldanha Bay.
Zuko nodded, his eyebrow raised: “Gay, straight, bi, trans… everyone’s welcome! Ridgemont Rainbow is a great place if you’re questioning or curious. We have support groups, parties, pride festivals, and a lot more. Why don’t you take a brochure and come to our opening function?”
Connor was astonished. He couldn’t believe that people were so open and accepting at Ridgemont. He took the brochure from Zuko and put it in his backpack, and tried to maintain his brave face. It was really overwhelming how different Ridgemont University was. Connor was just hoping that he would feel like he fit in eventually. At that moment, he felt like a fish out of water.
Zuko could clearly notice Connor’s discomfort, and said to him: “Listen, you’ll b
e okay. You’ll find your feet in no time. I struggled for a bit when I first came to Ridgemont too. I even had to deal with some bullies who made my life a living hell for a while. But you know what? When you’re here, you can be whatever you want to be. Just be yourself, Connor, and you’ll find your way quickly. Trust me.”
Connor was so comforted he felt like he wanted to go over and hug Zuko. He was getting choked up. It was a major adjustment to leave Saldanha and come to Ridgemont, and it was nice knowing that someone seemed to understand what Connor was going through.
“There you are, Connor!” a voice came from behind him. Standing behind Connor with his arms folded in front of him was Adam, his face covered with the same stern expression as when he had found Connor in the shower that morning.
Connor responded nervously, “Adam! I’m sorry, I got lost and I couldn’t find my way to the next stop on the tour. I’m so sorry.” Connor could feel that he was getting overwhelmed with emotion, but he didn’t want to cause a scene by breaking down. Besides, he was supposed to be a grownup now. He couldn’t show weakness, especially not in front of Adam.
Adam’s stern expression changed suddenly. Perhaps he could see how lost Connor was feeling. Adam’s strong, square jaw and piercing olive eyes became softer. He walked over and quietly said, “Don’t worry about it, Connor. I know I was a bit hard on you earlier, but everyone gets a bit lost when they first get to Ridgemont. I don’t mean to be so tough on you.”
“It’s not your fault,” Connor said, still fighting off emotion. “I’m such a doofus. I’m making a fool of myself by being late and now getting lost. Maybe I’m just not cut out for any of this.”
“What do you mean?” Adam asked. Hundreds of students were streaming past them, but it felt like they were the only two people in the hall.
“I’m not used to any of this. Ridgemont is just so different from where I grew up. And I know that I’m making your life difficult, too.” Connor’s eyes sank to the floor.
Adam put his hand on Connor’s arm and said, “Don’t worry about it. It’s my job to look out for you and to make sure that you’re happy and settling in. Tell you what: why don’t we grab a drink together later tonight, just the two of us. Then I can show you how much fun Ridgemont can be. It’s not all about just structured tours and classes. There’s a lot of fun to be had, too.” Adam winked at Connor, and suddenly all of Connor’s fears dissolved.
Adam was asking him out! Was it a date, or was he just being friendly? Either way, Connor immediately responded: “Yes, please!”
He waved goodbye to Zuko, who had been watching him and Adam with keen interest from behind the table. Connor walked with Adam back towards where the rest of the first-years were waiting. He felt better about himself. He resolved to go to the opening function of Ridgemont Rainbow and make some friends. Maybe he would find his place at Ridgemont University after all.