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College Freshman Research Paper

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It’s freshman year and my mom helps me move cross country from Colorado to Nebraska, unload my stuff from the mini-van in giant rolling laundry carts into McGloin Hall, my home for the next nine months. McGloin is supposed to be just for sophomores but all the freshman dorms filled up so they stuck me in there, too. It’s half-reward, half-punishment, newer and nicer but isolated, tucked and hidden by deep green deciduous trees on the far end of campus.

Like new cellmates, my new roommates and I have each other, at least. We’re marooned as the on the second floor, what’s supposed to be a common room but apparently doubles as overflow for wayward freshmen. Brien and John are from Nebraska, close enough to leave campus for family dinners, visits …show more content…

Girls are always swooning over Sam, at the gym with his wife beaters I’m constantly making fun of, around campus with his Birkenstocks and curly brown hair. So it’s no surprise when I start to see signs of Bianca swooning over him, too, laughing longer at his jokes, meeting us for lunch in the dining hall, texting on Friday nights to see what we’re doing. I’m swooning myself over Jasey, Bianca’s roommate, a Minnesotan and cute as a button, so it seems all perfect, Sam and Bianca, me and Jasey, until late one night we’re in Kiewit, as usual. Bianca’s room as usual. Me trying and failing with Jasey as usual. She gets a text from her friend and wanders off, drunken giggling down the hall. I watch her go and Sam pulls me aside at the doorway and tells me I should go, …show more content…

He looks me in the eye, this time no glaze. Calm.

Dude, what’s going on?

I tell him, tell him what Bianca told me. After I left that night he shut and locked the door. They kissed, which was okay, what she wanted. He tried to go further, push her down but she stopped him. He kept going and she tried to stop him again but he grabbed her by the wrists. In the end she fought him off, or at least enough for him to finally give up, but if he thinks he can get away with shit like that then—

He stops me, shaking his head. Of course he would deny it. I knew he would. But something in his face makes me question it. Something genuine, or close enough that I can’t tell the difference. What he says happened is the exact opposite: Bianca tried to kiss him but he didn’t want to, knew she was too drunk, tripping and swaying around the room. He tried to put her in bed but not like that, he was just trying to help. He finally got her on the futon and she tried to pull him down with her but he laughed it off and left.

He holds that look the whole time he’s telling me. He can’t believe she would say that. He honestly can’t believe it. I’m not sure I believe him, or her, or anything, but whatever adrenaline I had before is gone. He pats me on the shoulder, old

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