by VJ Erickson
***
Joseph had been walking briskly to put some distance between himself and Taylor. He felt guilty being around her, though he had no reason to. Eric's actions were his own, but Joseph still felt a kind of responsibility for him. They were, after all, all each other had. When he turned the corner, and they were out of sight, he slowed down a bit.
"Hey there!" came a voice shouting from behind him. Joseph didn't turn to look at first, and then he heard:
"Hey! Joseph! Wait up!"
It was Tom, who was waving his hands wildly and half-running towards him. His brownish-red hair was as much a mess as it had been at breakfast, and he was still wearing the same cotton pajama pants. He had swapped the flip-flops he had on earlier for sneakers, and Joseph supposed this was Tom's idea of getting dressed. Joseph found himself smiling at Tom's perpetual lack of self-consciousness.
"Nice PJ's," said Joseph as Tom caught up with him, breathing heavily.
"Thanks," Tom replied between breaths. "That's the joy of college, man. If you change out of your pajamas before noon, you're doing it wrong."
"Unless you have class, I assume."
"Especially if you have class, my friend. You'll see."
"Well they're cute. The pants I mean," said Joseph.
Cute? You just called your RA's pajamas cute? Joseph thought to himself. Who are you?
"I know, right? And comfy," Tom replied, apparently thinking nothing of it. "So how's your roommate doing?"
"He's all right. Little hung-over, I guess," said Joseph, remembering his cover story from before. "Wait... oh man. He's going to kill me for telling the RA that."
"Look," said Tom, looking serious for a change. "You're in college. You're going to party. Not my thing, but whatever it is you guys were up to, my motto is 'ignorance is bliss'. Just don't bring it into the dorms and it's not my problem. Cool?"
"Yeah, cool," replied Joseph, nervously scratching the back of his neck. "It's not really our thing either. Just, you know, first night on campus and all."
"Say no more," Tom said, patting Joseph on the back. "So what are you up to?"
"Was just going to check on Eric."
"Oh, I'm sure he's fine. Come on, let's go grab something to eat."
"Didn't you just have breakfast, like, two hours ago?"
"Yeah man, now it's time for brunch! It's an unlimited-use dining card. If you're not eating all the meals, then you're doing it wrong!"
"Seems like there's quite a lot of things to worry about doing wrong here."
Tom laughed at this. "If you're worried about doing it wrong," he said, "you're doing it wrong. No worries, man. Stick with me. You'll figure it out!"
Joseph had to admit to himself that Tom was much more pleasant to be around than his brother, so he agreed.
"Okay, well I don't want to be doing it wrong," said Joseph.
"Course not. C'mon!" said Tom, squeezing Joseph's shoulder firmly for a moment.
Joseph found this oddly friendly, but Tom had such an easy demeanor that it made it seem like a perfectly natural thing to do, so Joseph did not object.
