Page 2 of Ink & Ambition

“You mind moving a little to the left, sunshine?” He says.

Looking to my left and then to my right, I come up empty before settling my gaze back at him.Is he talking to me?

Alex lets out a sound that could almost be described as laughter along with a smile that certainly doesn’t fit the demeanor he was just portraying mere seconds ago. “Yes, you.” He nods his head toward the direction he wants me to go.

Hesitantly shifting away from the doorway, I watch as Alex bends back down, grabs the boy by the shirt and throws him out the door and onto the dewy grass beyond. He grunts loudly in my ear before bringing himself back up to tower over me and the rest of the crowd.

“And that’s the last warning,” he yells to the roughed-up guy. Immediately the noise of the party starts up again, as if the last thirty seconds didn’t happen.

I hear the gruff voice in my ear. “Sorry for the shove,” Alex says, looking down at me from his impressive height. Gazing up at him, my eyes connect with his deep brown, almost black irises. I can’t tell if this is his natural eye color or if his pupils are completely dilated from the adrenaline of what he just did.

Pursing my lips, I give a curt nod before attempting my exit again. If I didn’t already hate this party, that violent scene certainly didn’t help. Before I can take another step, a rough hand reaches out and grabs my wrist, stopping me from leaving.

“Are you okay?” Alex says. “He didn’t hit you in the head or anything, right? No permanent brain damage?”

This guy just picked up a whole human, tossed him out the door without any regard for his well-being and is now wondering ifI’mokay? Is he out of his mind?

Raising my eyebrows, I shake my head as I reply. “Nope. All brain cells still intact…not that I could say the same for you.” I mutter that last part but it’s louder than I thought, causing Sydney to gasp and Danika to giggle with glee.

Alex narrows his eyes, tilting his head a little to show his confusion. “Excuse me?”Oops, guess he heard me too.I should apologize but I find myself not feeling the least bit sorry.

I think spending so much time in a place I didn’t want to be coupled with being spilled on has caused me to toe the line on an emotional meltdown. And seeing the way this orge treated that other guy tipped me right over the edge.

“Who do you think you are treating people like that?”

Pulling himself to his full, still impressive, height, he asserts, “I’m the president of this frat.”

“And that makes you god?”

He leans down so he’s whispering in my ear, “In some circles.”

I pull my head back in disgust. First he shoves into me, then he has the audacity to try and flirt? His eyes twinkle as his gaze reaches mine again and I’m sure he’s ignoring the disdain in my glare. While I’m no pushover, I’ve never been this outwardly rude to somebody, especially someone I don’t even know. Danika has been training me to be assertive like her for years but it’s hardly stuck.

“And who are you, anyway? I’ve never seen you here before.”

We’re standing directly in the doorway now, blocking anyone from entering or exiting–a situation made apparent when two drunk girls stumble into us, pushing me out the door and shoving Alex back inside.

Perfect.Without another word, I swing around, grabbing Sydney and Danika’s arms and bringing them on either side of me. I hear the faint sound of Alex yelling something from the doorway but I can’t make it out.

“Margot, what the hell was that?” Dani asks with pride in her voice.

I sigh. “All I know is, I’m never going to another frat party.”

The overhead light flickers as I flip the switch.

“We really need to change that bulb,” I remind Danika who shrugs as she kicks off her shoes. Our apartment is small but it works for the three of us. The entryway houses our impossibly long shoe rack, which is mostly overtaken by Danika’s sneaker collection. Our coats are lined one by one along the wall, justwaiting for fall to turn into winter. With the warmer weather this September, we haven’t needed them just yet.

“Any pizza left over?” Sydney asks as we make our way into the kitchen. Danika collapses on the sofa nearby and I already know she’s going to fall asleep there.

Shaking my head, I open the fridge. “We finished it before we left. But there’s…” I search through the empty refrigerator to find something of sustenance. “Grapes?”

“Pass,” Sydney sighs. “Sleep it is, then. Night, ladies.”

“Night,” I reply, draping a blanket over Danika’s sleeping form. Her bedroom is only steps away from the couch–all of ours are–yet she always manages to make herself at home wherever she is.

Making quick work of brushing my teeth and cleaning my face, I head into my bedroom to finally pick up where I left off with my syllabus readings. While this first week of class was mainly introductory, it did give me the schedules for assignments and tests for the semester and I’ve been working non-stop on whatever I can to get ahead of the game.

The first two weeks of coursework for “Investigating Journalism” and “Journalistic Inquiry: The Written Word” are already done. I am so excited to truly start my journalism major courses this year that I might’ve gotten a little ahead of myself, but I didn’t mind. From what I heard from my colleagues on the newspaper, junior year is the best in terms of true journalistic content learning. I can’t wait to jump in and hit the pavement, as they say.

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