MASK OFF, MIDD: Your first weekend when things were normal

The rules of the Game are quite simple: 

1. you’ll drink.
   
   
   
   1. more than you would have had your roommate not specialized in peer pressure
   
   
   2. but you’ll do it because you want to, really 
   
   
   
   


2. you’ll have friends.
   
   
   
   1. lots of them.
   
   
   2. group chats, clothing swaps and Venmo requests to prove it
   
   
   
   


3. you and your new friends will talk about guys.
   
   
   
   • you won’t share much
     
     
     
     • well, you haven’t done much
     
     
     • so it seems fair that you won’t share much
       
       
       
       • people will notice.
       
       
       
       
     
     
     
     
   
   
   
   


4. you’ll borrow your best friend’s shirt.
   
   
   
   • it’ll show skin, lots of it
   
   
   • you’ll look…
   
   
   • not like yourself. 
   
   
   • but this is college
     
     
     
     • you won’t have to look like yourself
     
     
     
     
   
   
   
   


5. it’ll be 11:00 PM.
   
   
   
   • the witching hour
   
   
   • you’ll take the last shot of Absolut
     
     
     
     • Iris* will be pissed.
       
       
       
       • it’s her alcohol.
       
       
       • she’s allowed to be pissed.
       
       
       • you’ll Venmo her for it
         
         
         
         • $3.50 
         
         
         
         
       
       
       
       
     
     
     
     
   
   
   
   


6. your phone screen will light up.
   
   
   
   • wyd
     
     
     
     • there won’t be any punctuation
     
     
     • what’s so hard about a fucking question mark?
       
       
       
       • you will have worked your ass off to be here and you’ll end up lumped in with the kids who don’t use question marks 
       
       
       
       
     
     
     
     
   
   
   
   


7. Margot* won’t let you respond just yet.
   
   
   
   • you won’t understand why
     
     
     
     • you’ve always prided yourself on quick responses
     
     
     
     
   
   
   • the rules of the Game are quite simple, she’ll tell you. 
     
     
     
     • you wouldn’t know
     
     
     • you’ve never played the Game before.
     
     
     
     
   
   
   
   


8. the cardinal rule, she says: 
   
   
   
   1. 
      
      
      
      • don’t make him think you’re interested
      
      
      • you’re actually not interested. you tell her that
        
        
        
        • bullshit, she says
          
          
          
          • you believe her
          
          
          • it really would be bullshit if you weren’t interested
          
          
          • right?
          
          
          
          
        
        
        
        
      
      
      
      
   
   
   
   


9. Atwater
   
   
   
   • is no longer a random jumble of suite letters and numbers
   
   
   • it’s the place you’ll meet Dan*
   
   
   
   


10. he’s nice.
    
    
    
    • they always start off that way.
      
      
      
      • you’ll learn that soon.
        
        
        
        • Margot won’t even have to teach you.
        
        
        • you’ll learn it on your own.
        
        
        
        
      
      
      
      
    
    
    
    


11. he’ll never have seen anyone like you.
    
    
    
    • you’re special, you know that? that’s what he’ll say
    
    
    • actually, you do know that
      
      
      
      • it’s nice that someone besides you knows that too
      
      
      
      
    
    
    
    


12. he will kiss you.
    
    
    
    • with all the force and tension you’ve always imagined
    
    
    • pressed against you so your palms are plastered to the wall
    
    
    • the Pabst on the linoleum will stick to your Superstars
    
    
    • his hands on your hips, fingers in your hair this is college.
    
    
    
    


13. you’re in bed with a stranger.
    
    
    
    • he’ll say you’re beautiful
    
    
    • just like the girls in Italy, he’ll say
    
    
    • you always knew that
      
      
      
      • the beautiful part, not the Italy part
        
        
        
        • you’re not Italian and you’ve never been to Europe
        
        
        • so you wouldn’t know
        
        
        
        
      
      
      
      
    
    
    
    


14. it’ll be over before it starts.
    
    
    
    • he’ll get bored of you
    
    
    • quickly
      
      
      
      • quicker than you thought
      
      
      • he’ll text another girl that night
        
        
        
        • one who will probably do a little more
        
        
        
        
      
      
      
      
    
    
    
    


15. you get your shoes back on.
    
    
    
    • there’s not much scuffle, no clothing really came off
    
    
    
    


16. as you walk out the door, he’ll call your name.
    
    
    
    • you’ll turn around, expecting an apology of some sort
      
      
      
      • maybe you should be the one apologizing?
      
      
      
      
    
    
    • then he says it:
    
    
    • you’re just the flavor of the night. you know that, right?