Tuesday - 8/3
SALEM UNIVERSITY
ALLIE: This looks really cool!
Allie and Manny had gone to the open house at Salem U, and were currently getting a tour of the dorms.
MANNY: It’s nice and roomy. You gonna move into one of these?
ALLIE: That’s the plan. You?
MANNY: Yep. Don’t get me wrong, much as I love the daily commute from Burnt Hill to Salem, I’d rather not have to do it every single day, if I can avoid it.
ALLIE: That makes sense. Maybe we’ll be roommates!
MANNY: That’d be awesome, chicka!
Allie and Manny hugged.
MANNY: They're supposed to email us our room assignments a couple days before we move in, so let’s text each other when we find out which room we get.
ALLIE: Deal. This is so exciting! I didn’t think I’d be this excited for college, but I am!
MANNY: Me too! It’s gonna be a great year!
SAMI & LUCAS’ APARTMENT
SYDNEY: It’s not what it looks like, I swear!
SAMI: Okay, then why don’t you tell me what it is?
Sydney looked down.
SYDNEY: It’s kind of embarrassing.
SAMI: Hey.
Sami knelt down and put a hand on Sydney’s shoulder.
SAMI: I’m sure it’s no more embarrassing than anything I did when I was your age. And, if you wanna know about that, talk to your grandma Marlena sometime. Anyway, it’s me. You know you can tell me anything.
Sydney bit her lip again.
SYDNEY: I was watching a video of people kissing. Just kissing, nothing else. I just did a Ewe Search for it and found a bunch of videos. They looked like normal websites, so I didn’t think anything of it. Then, when I finished watching one video, I went to close it and must have accidentally clicked on an ad, because it took me to a different website that had porn on it. I didn’t watch it or anything, and I closed it immediately. Then I got scared because a popup showed up saying I had a computer virus…
SAMI: Okay, I think I get it now. Thank you for telling me the truth.
SYDNEY: I’m sorry.
SAMI: You don’t need to be sorry. It’s already taken care of, you ran the antivirus program, so it’s all good. Just maybe be careful about what websites you watch videos on, okay?
Sydney nodded.
SAMI: Anyway, why were you watching videos of people kissing? Not judging or anything, I’m just curious.
SYDNEY: That’s the part that’s kind of awkward…
She took a deep breath.
SYDNEY: One of my friends kissed me a few months ago, and I thought I might feel something for her, but I didn’t.
SAMI: One of your friends? You mean that Silver girl that you were practically joined at the hip with? Is that why she hasn’t come over at all this summer?
Sydney nodded.
SYDNEY: After it happened, I told her I didn’t have feelings for her, or anyone. And I don’t. I tried to be nice about it, but I upset her. Then I realized that I’ve never had feelings for anybody.
SAMI: Sydney, you’re still young. There’s a lot of time for that to come.
SYDNEY: That’s why I was watching those videos, to see if I felt something when I saw other people kiss.
SAMI: Did you?
Sydney hesitated.
SAMI: Hey, Sydney, whatever you felt or feel, it’s okay. Lucas, Johnny, Allie and me, we’ll all be here for you.
SYDNEY: That’s the thing, I didn’t feel anything. I don’t know why, but I don’t feel attracted to anybody, at all. It’s not that I want to, I just don’t.
Sami wrapped her arms around Sydney, who leaned into her.
SAMI: It’s okay, we’ll figure this out. I promise. It’ll be okay.
TITAN
X: You know who I am.
BRADY: No, I really don’t! And I’m getting kind of tired of going around in circles with you on this.
X: Look, if you think about it for a minute, you’ll understand. You’re a smart guy. At least, you should be.
BRADY: And how would you know?
X: Because I know you. Well, in a sense, anyway.
BRADY: Do you always talk in riddles?
X; No, I’m just trying to help you figure it out.
BRADY: Well, you’re not helping! Now, if you want, I can call Nico and have him escort you out of the building-
X: Nico still works here, good to know.
BRADY: Not the point, but yes. So, either we can do that, or you can stop wasting my time and tell me who the hell you are!
X: I’m Brady Black, you moron!