by Nancy Krulik
It was good to hear that he felt the same way. Alana had been worried that once Sammy experienced the freedom of dorm life, he’d move on and dump her for someone more…well…convenient. But that’s not what happened at all. She was still the one Sammy called whenever something wonderful happened. Alana smiled. She was his girl, college or not.
“See you in sixty minutes,” she told him happily.
“Three thousand six hundred seconds,” Sammy replied. “And I’m counting each one.”
Alana could feel Stella’s eyes on her as she clicked off the phone and tucked it into her pocket.
“What’s a good idea?” Stella asked her.
“Huh?”
“I said, ‘What’s a good idea?’” Stella repeated.
“Oh.” Alana blushed a little, embarrassed at having to ask her best friend to cover for her. “Um…Sammy wants to meet at The Hole in the Wall for a little bit—to celebrate getting a good grade on a paper.”
“You’re trippin’ if you think your ’rents will go for that on a school night,” Stella said.
“That’s why I need you to cover for me,” Alana explained. “They already know I’m here, so I’m just going to let them think we’re going to study until eleven. They’re both gonna be at the office till at least nine, but if they call…”
“I’ll tell them you’re in the bathroom and then text your cell so you can call them back,” Stella said.
“Thanks,” Alana replied gratefully. “I would never ask you to do that, except…”
“You don’t have to give me any reasons,” Stella assured her. “What’s a best friend for?” She walked over to her closet and pulled out a pale blue tank. “Here, you need to change if you’re going to see Sammy.”
Alana took the shirt from Stella and held it up in front of the mirror for a look. “It’s so soft,” she said.
“It’s made from hemp,” Stella said. “Totally earth friendly material. It takes a lot of pesticides to raise a crop of cotton. But hemp has so few weeds or insects around it, it doesn’t need any pesticides at all to grow. That’s good for the soil and the atmosphere.”
“And it’s a cute shirt too,” Alana added with a giggle.
“That’s what I love most about you,” Stella laughed. “You’ve got your priorities straight.”
Alana nodded. And right now her priority was seeing Sammy. “Let’s get going on these physics questions,” she told Stella. “The sooner I get the homework done, the sooner I can go to The Hole in the Wall.”
Two
Alana wasn’t sure which felt heavier as she walked up Amsterdam Avenue toward The Hole in the Wall—the hot, sticky, summerlike air or the weight of the guilt she was carrying on her shoulders. The idea of lying to her parents—and, worse yet, making Stella cover for her—was really kind of uncool. In fact, once or twice on her way over to The Hole in the Wall, Alana thought about canceling with Sammy and heading home, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. She wanted to see him too badly—even if it was just for a little while. Besides, as Sammy had so aptly reminded her, this wasn’t the first time she’d done this.
But it was the first time she’d snuck out to meet someone in a bar. Alana thought about that for a minute. There were plenty of kids in high school who drank—they had beer parties and all of that. But she and Sammy had never been part of that crowd. This was probably the first time Sammy had ever suggested celebrating success with a drink. Even after his senior prom, Sammy had taken her for a celebratory frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity on the East Side.
Alana sighed. It was a small thing, really. But it was just another sign that she and Sammy were living in different worlds these days. And that seemed to make it all the more important that she meet up with him tonight.
The Hole in the Wall was definitely appropriately named. It was dark and dingy, with sticky, splintered wooden floors and paint peeling from the walls, and the chairs all seemed to have small tears in the leather seats. The whole room smelled sour, like day-old, warm beer. It was hard to imagine anyone hanging out here by choice. But the beer and cheese fries were cheap, which was why so many college kids were there.
Alana wondered nervously if the bouncer who stood near the front door would throw her out for not having ID. Not that most of the college kids inside were twenty-one either. Still, she wasn’t crazy about being somewhere she wasn’t really legally allowed to be. Residual effect of having two lawyers for parents, she guessed.
But the bouncer didn’t hassle her a bit, and the moment she walked into The Hole in the Wall, Alana knew she’d made the right decision. Sammy was seated at a table off to the side, behind a big pitcher of beer. But he wasn’t alone. There was a girl on either side of him. And not just any girls. Hot college girls in halter tops and shorts. The sight of Sammy with two girls who may or may not have known that he was taken made Alana feel slightly sick to her stomach.
She glanced in the mirror behind the bar, checking to see if her hair looked okay. A slight curl had begun to form at the bottom, but for the most part, her long, golden brown locks looked nice and straight. It had been hard for her to put her makeup on at Stella’s—the glow from the eco-friendly fluorescent lights in her best friend’s bedroom hadn’t exactly been conducive—but it seemed to have turned out okay. And Alana was glad she’d taken Stella’s advice and borrowed the blue hemp shirt. It looked a lot more sophisticated than the Old Navy T-shirt Alana had been wearing, and the pale blue color of the shirt made Alana’s blue eyes seem even brighter than usual. Alana may not have been as sophisticated as the scantily clad college girls, but she knew she looked pretty hot.
From the expression on Sammy’s face when he spotted her, it was clear he agreed. “’Lana! You made it!” He exclaimed, jumping up from the table and hurrying over to kiss her.
Alana wrinkled her nose a little at the taste of beer on Sammy’s lips. She’d never quite gotten the appeal of beer—it tasted kind of sour and just made people act stupid. But Sammy had apparently developed a real liking for it, and he’d been drinking for a while—judging from the sloppiness of the wet kiss he planted on Alana. Not that she minded. Even a wet, sloppy, beer-soaked kiss from Sammy made her feel relaxed and happy.
Sammy wrapped his arm protectively around Alana and turned toward the table of college kids he’d been drinking with. “Everyone, this is Alana. Alana, this is Diana, Julia, Carlos, Hank, and Paul.”
Alana smiled brightly at the table of college kids and tried not to allow her disappointment to show. She’d been hoping this evening would be a private thing—just her and Sammy celebrating the success of the A-paper—but that wasn’t what was going on here. This was a group event.
Still, there was a bright side. Sammy wanted her to be part of his new life. Up until now she and Sammy had spent their evenings together either alone or with their old high school buddies. This was the first time Sammy was including her in his college experience. It was nice to know that he wasn’t ashamed of having a girlfriend who was still in high school.
“Hey, Alana, grab a seat,” one of the girls who had been sitting beside Sammy—“Diana” she thought he’d said her name was—urged. “You want a beer?”
Alana was about to say that her parents would nail her to the floor if she came home with even a hint of beer breath but stopped herself just in time. “No, just a Diet Coke,” she said instead. “Trying to watch the calories.”
“For what?” Sammy said. “You’re perfect.”
Alana grinned and kissed him on the nose. “Thanks. I needed that. This was a tough day. The dogs…”
“Ooh, you have a dog,” Diana squealed. “I miss my little dachshund, Chuckles, so much. What kind of dog do you have?”
“They’re not actually my dogs,” Alana explained. “I’m a dog walker.”
“Not professionally,” Sammy explained quickly. “Alana’s just doing it to earn some bucks.”
“I’m saving for college next year,” Alana explained. “Tuition
at some of the schools I’m applying to is really steep.”
“Aren’t your parents kicking in?” Julia wondered.
Alana shrugged. “As much as they can. But they’re both Legal Aid attorneys. Which means long hours, low pay. Thus, my dog-walking business.”
“Too bad they didn’t go the corporate law route,” Paul said. “Then you’d be able to just kick back and enjoy your senior year.”
Alana was surprised to hear a friend of Sammy’s say something like that. This was definitely a different kind of crowd than he’d hung with in high school. “They’re happy. That’s what really matters,” she said, feeling suddenly defensive. “I’ll figure out how to pay for college.”
“Where do you want to go?” Carlos asked her.
“Columbia, right babe?” Sammy said, smiling at her with those light brown eyes that made her melt.
“If I can get in. They do have a great social-work school,” Alana agreed. “But Hunter does too. And it’s a lot cheaper. Or I might want to go out of town to school. I’m not really sure yet.”
“You want to be a social worker?” Julia asked curiously. “Good luck. It’s a tough life. No money in that at all.”
“Julia’s a business major,” Hank explained.
“Don’t say it like that,” Julia argued playfully. “It’s not illegal to want to make a lot of money. I can’t help it if I like the good life.”
“I guess I just want to make sure everyone has a good life,” Alana told her. Then, realizing how defensive she sounded, she added, “Actually, I’d like to work as a child advocate some day. I love kids.”
“Not me,” Julia replied. “I can’t stand them. Have you ever been on an airplane next to a crying baby?”
Alana laughed slightly, hoping Julia was making a joke, but it was hard to tell.
“I think what you want to do sounds great,” Diana said, standing up for Alana. “What’s a nice girl like you doing with a slug like Sammy?”
Alana smiled. “We have a lot in common,” she said. “And besides, he’s cute.”
Just then a tall, lanky redheaded guy strolled over to the table. “Hey, Sammy, is Tamara here yet?” he asked.
Suddenly everyone at the table got kind of quiet. From their fidgety behavior, Alana figured they weren’t too crazy about this guy.
Sammy pulled Alana tighter. “Hi, Joe. I have no idea where Tamara is,” he said firmly. “This is Alana. The girl I was telling you about. You know, the one I met in high school.”
Joe nodded. “Oh yeah, sure. Hi, Alana. Glad to finally meet you. Sammy talks about you all the time.”
Alana smiled. That was good to hear. “Hi, Joe.” She wished she could say Sammy had mentioned him as well. But he hadn’t. In fact, up until tonight Sammy hadn’t even mentioned any of his college friends.
“You want to sit down and have a drink with us?” Sammy asked, although Alana could tell from the look on his face that he was just trying to be polite.
Joe shook his head. “No. That’s okay. I gotta get back to the dorms anyway. Calculus exam tomorrow.”
“Oh, that’ll be a tough one,” Sammy said. “See you later.”
As Joe walked off, Sammy turned his attention back to Alana. “So how’s it going at old Lincoln High?” he asked her.
“Same old, same old,” Alana said. “Christy Shaw is already bossing around all the cheerleaders so badly that half of them want to quit. No shock there, right?”
Sammy nodded. “Did I tell you I heard from Harley?” Sammy asked her. He turned to the other people at the table. “Harley’s a friend of mine from high school. He’s at Princeton.”
“Oooh…,” Diana joked. “Princeton. Those tigers think they’re all that!”
The other kids at the table laughed.
“A bunch of jocks and legacies,” Carlos argued. “Not like Columbia.”
Alana sat back and sipped her soda, listening as Sammy and his friends discussed the good and the bad of each of the Ivy League schools. Weird. This wasn’t at all what Alana thought college kids would be like. From movies and books and stuff, she’d always figured they sat around talking about intense topics, like what could bring on the end of the world, or whether or not we were really alive—or just the figment of someone else’s dreams. Philosophical stuff. Or at the very least, whether their football team would kick butt at the homecoming game. But here they were, talking about things like connections, job opportunities, and competing markets. They sounded more like business people having a corporate lunch than college students out for some R&R at a local bar.
Poor Sammy. He must feel so lost in this crowd. He wasn’t at all like these people. He was sweet and caring and wanted to help people every bit as much as Alana did. She smiled slightly, remembering how he was the first one to set up a fund-raiser for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and then spent his whole Christmas break down in Mississippi helping to rebuild a school. She reached over and gave him a squeeze and a kiss on the cheek.
“What was that for?” Sammy asked, surprised but not displeased by her sudden show of affection.
“For being you,” Alana answered sincerely. “I miss you.”
“I’m right here, baby,” he assured her.
Alana nuzzled gently against his neck and sighed contentedly. The familiar scent of his cologne was so comforting. Nothing had changed between them—except maybe the few blocks between Lincoln High and Columbia University. Nothing a quick subway ride couldn’t correct.
“Hey listen,” she said. “The Helping House carnival is next Saturday. I was thinking maybe you’d like to come help out again.”
“What’s Helping House?” Hank asked.
“It’s a kids’ charity,” Sammy said. “Alana helps out there sometimes.”
“Actually, it’s for abused moms and their kids,” Alana corrected him.
“You sure are into kids,” Julia commented.
Alana nodded. “Yeah, I definitely am. Every year they have this massive carnival to raise money and stuff. I’m going to be volunteering. Maybe you guys would want to help out.”
“Next weekend?” Sammy asked.
Alana nodded. “Yeah.”
“That’s the big game against Dartmouth, isn’t it?” he asked Hank.
Hank nodded. “You can’t miss that, dude,” he said.
Sammy looked over at Alana. “It’s a huge deal when you’re in college,” he told her. “Besides, we’ve got a date this weekend. And I promise I’ll meet up with you and your friends next Saturday night after the game.” He paused for a moment. “You understand, don’t ya, babe?”
Alana didn’t completely understand. You and your friends? They were Sammy’s friends too. Besides, Sammy had never been particularly into sports before. Still, she could see where he’d want to fit in at his new school. And if being at the Columbia-Dartmouth game could do that for him, well…She nodded slowly. “Sure.”
Sammy reached over and gently stroked her cheek. As he did, Alana caught a glimpse of the watch on his wrist. Ten fifteen.
“Oh, crap!” she blurted out.
“What?” Sammy asked, jumping up, surprised.
The whole table grew silent, staring at her. Alana could feel the embarrassing red blush rushing to her cheeks. “N-nothing,” she murmured quietly. “Just that I have to get going.”
“Now?” Carlos asked. “Why? Stay a little longer. The night is young.”
Alana shook her head. Not if you have parents at home who think you’re studying and will kill you if you get home later than eleven o’clock on a school night, she thought. But aloud she said only, “Wish I could. But I have a big day tomorrow.” There. That sounded somewhat sophisticated and not too high school. It was pretty much the same excuse that guy Joe had used, and he was in college.
Sammy nodded understandingly. “I’ll walk you out,” he said, getting up and taking her by the hand.
“It was nice meeting you all,” Alana said, flashing a smile at the group as she followed Sammy
out of the bar.
“I wish you could stay,” Sammy murmured as they stood together outside on the sidewalk. He wrapped both of his arms around her and pulled her close—so close that Alana could feel his heart pounding next to hers. Alana wasn’t usually one for PDA, but tonight she was glad for it. Maybe it was the fact that Sammy had included her in his new life, or maybe it was just that she no longer saw him every day, and therefore every instant was special. Either way, Alana felt no desire to tell him to stop. Instead, she kissed him back, right there, in the middle of Amsterdam Avenue.
Sammy held her tightly, pressing her mouth harder against his own. He tasted like beer, but Alana didn’t stop kissing him. In fact, she kissed him harder, refusing to act like a schoolgirl who was repulsed by the slightest taste of alcohol. And in a few seconds the taste of beer seemed to disappear. All she could sense was the nearness of Sammy. Just like always. And forever.
“Get a room,” a nearby smoker shouted.
The sound of a third party’s voice was enough to break the spell that had enveloped Alana. Almost instantly she pulled away; her passion quickly replaced with embarrassment.
“I…um…,” she murmured helplessly. “It’s late. I should go.”
“Damn smokers,” Sammy grumbled. “Always standing around out here. They should just quit.”
Alana smiled despite her embarrassment. That was one argument against smoking that hadn’t quite made it to the side of the carton. She could just see it now: “Smoking is hazardous to other people’s love lives.”
“I really have to get home,” she told Sammy quietly.
“I wish you weren’t still in high school,” Sammy replied.
