James was at one of the restaurants just off campus, head down, working on his laptop. The place was crowded as usual, filled with students trying to multitask food and coursework. His plate was half-empty, barely touched, while his screen was filled with code and a document he'd been stuck on for over an hour.
"Yo bro," a voice said.
James looked up. Barry.
Tall as ever, backpack slung over one shoulder, holding a bottle of water like it was the last thing keeping him alive.
"Hey," James said.
Barry pulled out a chair without asking and sat down. "You been here long?"
"Couple hours."
"Mad," Barry said, stretching his legs. "Bro, this week is already looking like a setup."
James nodded. "Same. I've got that 302 problem set due, plus Mech Design."
Barry shook his head. "Don't talk about Mech Design, please. That class is deliberate evil. I missed like two lectures and now it's like they're speaking a new language."
"I was in the lecture and I still don't understand it" James said.
They both laughed.
Barry opened his water and took a long sip. "That Thermo test next week? I'm not even pretending to prepare."
"I haven't even opened the notes. I didn't even know there were notes."
"Nah, I think we're all just surviving. Nobody's thriving," Barry said. "One more test and I might just switch to Sociology."
"Go ahead. I'll join you."
They both sat back for a second, staring blankly at nothing in particular. Just silence, the kind that comes from mutual academic stress.
"You eating that?" Barry asked, breaking the silence.
Barry took a bite of James's half-eaten shawarma, chewing slowly like he was thinking about something. He wiped his hand on a napkin, then glanced at James.
"Hey... uh, I was meaning to ask," he said finally. "You think I could, like... stay at your place for a while?"
James looked up, brows slightly raised.
Barry cleared his throat. "Kinda ran into some issues with my fees. Might get kicked outta the dorm soon."
James didn't say anything at first.
"Not tryna cause trouble or anything," Barry added quickly. "I'll sort myself out once I get some things in place."
James sat back a little, eyeing him. "How long's 'a while'?"
Barry shrugged. "Dunno yet. Just... till I figure it out."
Then James nodded. "Alright. Cool."
Barry gave a small, grateful smile. "Appreciate it, man. For real."
James just went back to his laptop. "Just don't eat my stuff."
Barry chuckled. "Now that's a promise j can't keep."
"Man... I hope I pass these tests," James muttered, dragging a hand down his face. "Didn't study much, and there's still a lot I haven't even touched. Damn, shit's stressful here."
He flopped onto his bed, arms spread out like he'd just been knocked out. "Where's good ol' God when you need him?" he said, staring at the ceiling. Then, half-joking, half-serious, he added,
"A lil help here, please."
Just then, a loud bang hit the door.
"Ayooooo! You home??" Barry's voice followed right after, already way too loud for the hour.
James sighed. "He must be here with his stuff," he muttered, pulling himself off the bed.
As he headed for the door, he didn't know that on the other side of his room, the window was being carefully slid open. Tami, crouched outside, slipped a leg over the sill. She was halfway in, whispering to herself.
"Alright, quick in and out. Maybe he keeps a diary or something. Just one little clue," she muttered, eyes scanning the desk like it held state secrets. "I don't even know why I'm doing this, but... I can't lie, it's fun."
James opened the door.
"Wagwaaaaaaan dawg!" Barry said, stepping in like he owned the place, a duffel bag slung over one shoulder. "Damnnnn, this place is dull. Where the lights at?"
"I don't really vibe with the lights on," James replied, shutting the door. "Then I gotta turn them off before bed... too much work."
"Weird motherfucker" Barry laughed. "Anyway, thanks for letting me crash, man. BTW, where the booze at? Where we going tonight?"
James blinked, already dragging his feet toward the kitchen. "Bro... what do you mean 'where we going'? I was just about to go to bed."
Barry followed him in, leaning against the counter while James opened the fridge. "C'mon, man. You can't be for real," Barry said. "A whole Friday night?"
"I'm not against going out. I just... I don't really have people. No wingman, can't fly solo. Plus, no one really invites me."
James pulled out a single dusty bottle of champagne and set it on the counter.
Barry stared at it. "Yo. Champagne?"
James shrugged.
"Who the hell keeps champagne as booze?" Barry complained "And yeah, duh. That's 'cause you don't talk to anyone," Barry said. "You're pretty popular in our department, but everyone thinks you're some weird lame guy. You really gotta improve your social status... it's low AF."
"Go get changed, we're going out," Barry said, already kicking off his sneakers.
"Yo, that's what I'm talking about!" James lit up, suddenly energized. "You can drop your stuff in my room."
Barry grabbed his duffel and made his way down the hall. He opened the door—
"What the— yo!"
Tami froze mid-rummage, holding one of James's notebooks like she was caught stealing top-secret government files.
Barry blinked. "Bro… you got a girl?"
From the kitchen, James yelled back, "Huh?"