Circles within Circles, Ch. 2 (Tier 2+)

"Hey, bro – long time, no see!"

At the sound of the friendly greeting, Ethan's hand jerked up instinctively in a salutary wave… only to sink back down awkwardly as the speaker hurried past. Oh. Oh, that guy hadn't been talking to him at all. He half-turned and cast a backward glance just in time to see the two guys exchanging high fives and launching into an animated discussion of where the hell they'd been, and what they'd done over summer break, and what dorm they'd been assigned…

Frick. So now besides feeling like a complete idiot, he also had to be reminded that he was pretty much alone on campus this year.

Oh, it wasn't that he didn't know anyone else. After three years of undergrad study at this modest-sized university, one naturally made a few casual friends and acquaintances. But he'd never really considered himself the gregarious type: didn't go to many parties, rarely got invited out on weekend excursions, and generally spent more time studying and playing video games and making playlists than socializing with fellow humans…

With the exception of hanging out with Sandeep, of course.

He emitted a tiny sigh now as he strode across the sunlit campus, the noise and bustle of move-in day receding into the background as thoughts of his old roommate filled his memory. Sandeep had been cool. Really cool. They'd chilled together, studied together, talked awkwardly about girls together, laughed about stupid YouTube videos together… Yeah. Sandeep had been the perfect kind of bro friend.

Sucked that Sandeep had transferred out to California. Because what the heck was an introverted, lonely senior to do to make his final year enjoyable? Or at least not a howling wilderness of isolation?

"Get outside! Come out of that silly shell of yours! Make new friends!" He could still hear his older sister's well-intentioned advice in his ears. "Why, when I was in college, I didn't have any trouble. You just gotta friggin' talk to people, okay? They won't bite, I promise. Just socialize, for goodness' sake!"

Ethan stepped aside as a bevy of giggling children – okay, maybe just baby-faced freshmen – trotted past, exclaiming about what sounded like some celebrity's latest Instagram post. Socialize… with them? No way in hell. He was a senior, for crying out loud. He had neither the desire nor the energy to even try to be #relatable with them. He felt like a sore thumb in most gatherings, but with freshmen? No. Simply no.

Well, let's see. There were always clubs, right? Fencing club, chess club, debate team? He knew of a whole host of others for special identities, too: the Asian-American club, the LGBTQIA+ club, the international student club, the Christian students' club… the list went on and on. But he didn't really seem to fit in any of them. There'd been a sci-fi book club two years ago, sure – or at least, an attempt at one. He'd been super pumped for it, too. But it had fizzled after a few short months, and though some said it was a pity, no one had really seemed that broken up about it when it did. At least, not broken up enough to try to breathe it back to life…

His gaze drifted out over the grassy quad to the rippling white plastic of the tent being busily erected there. Hmm. Another welcome supper. The same old university tradition of free, mediocre food and ten-year-stale pop music and amiable, middle-aged folks from admissions and student advising standing around trying their level best to help everyone feel at home.

It was something he'd passed on for the past two years in favor of setting up his Xbox. But maybe… maybe tonight he'd go. It was his final chance before graduating, after all. And even if he didn't meet anyone cool… well, at least there'd be free food.

***

Geez, maybe this had been a mistake.

Ethan shifted awkwardly from one sneaker to another, acutely aware of the loud laughter and air of confident, athletic masculinity swirling through this corner of the tent. These fellows were part of the cool set: juniors and fellow seniors on the soccer and football teams, into gym regimens and protein shakes and the like. Fortunately, as far as physique went he didn't stick out terribly much; he'd inherited his dad's height and was reasonably fit… or at least, he liked to think so. No, the real challenge lay in acting interested and knowledgeable about all the sports they were discussing in great detail…

Which meant faking it.

"Oh, yeah. No, like that guy was clearly out of bounds. Like, what was the ref even thinking?!" Aha, time to cut in! "I know, right? Like, dude, you literally had one fucking job…" Yep, just like that. The resulting laughter reassured him that the others were buying it. He didn't have the faintest notion of who they were discussing, but that didn't matter. As long as he nodded along and stuffed more crumbly cookie into his mouth and laughed with the others, he could pass as one of them.

And then, as he raised his cup and gulped at his soda once more, his eyes slid across the rim and met… hers.

He'd never seen the girl before, and he'd been around long enough to have seen pretty much everyone. She must be a transfer? Tall – almost comically so. Lithe and athletic in build, leaning easily against a table with her blonde hair drawn back in a sensible ponytail. Dressed in clothes that seemed almost ordinary, yet had something unfamiliar about them… something slimming and fashionable…

And her eyes?

Ethan dropped his gaze and half-turned back to the guys, his mind suddenly searching for the phrase to describe them. Something about the sea, something epic and noble… What the heck was it again? But before he could quite recall, he felt a hand on his shoulder – and spun to find her standing quietly behind him.

"Hello," she offered, and even in those two syllables he could hear the traces of a strange accent. "What are we talking about? Is it about the match yesterday?"

Shit. Gotta play it cool in front of the hot girl. She looks like the sporty type, after all- "Umm- well, yeah…" Wait, what was it guys said was good for getting girls? Pretending to not be interested? He cleared his throat. "Yeah, well, I mean. I still can't believe the score, ya know?" Don't look at her full on. Don't stare at her boobs. Don't-

She was regarding him with an inscrutable expression, and he suddenly noticed that the rest of the guys behind him had fallen silent. "Oh, really? I was not able to watch it," she replied – polite as anything, with just the barest hint of a smile on her lips. "So tell me, umm…?"

"Ethan," he blurted, and behind him he could hear the other guys whispering among themselves. "My name's Ethan." "Nice to meet you, Ethan," she smiled. "So could you tell me: what was the score again?"

Of course he didn't know. And of course he stuttered and tried to say he didn't remember the exact numbers, and the beautiful girl smiled politely while his face flamed and the guys sniggered behind him and he felt his heart sinking down into quiet embarrassment. The bitch had seen through his BS immediately… and deliberately or not, had with a few simple words scuttled any chances he might have had for making friends with the cool guys on campus.

Frick it all!

And yet, as he lay in the safety of his little bed that night reflecting on the evening's embarrassing outcome, he couldn't help but find his mind circling endlessly back to her: the mysterious tall girl and her odd accent and her infuriatingly polite smile. And her eyes…

Her eyes grey as the sea were hard and fell, and yet tears were on her cheek. The words of his favorite fantasy novel came back at last to him: words used to describe a similar young woman, tall and blonde and tragic…

Oh, forget it. No sense in getting all broody and sentimental over a girl who'd just embarrassed him like that. Time to go to sleep and forget it all ever happened…

Dang it. He didn't even know her name!