You arrive on East Campus straight from a town everybody has heard of, but nobody gets too excited about.
Having come into your own your senior year of high-school--you lost your virginity that year to a girl two grades behind you who remained your girlfriend throughout your first semester at Duke. Although all of your friends told you that the long distance college/high-school relationship would not work, you have faith that your 17-year old junior-in-high-school girlfriend would stay true to you. However, unbeknownst to you the guys at your high-school take advantage of your absence, pursue your first love, and she gives in.
Despite the picture of her on your wall, you manage to befriend a close group of guys in your hallway and quickly become introduced to fraternity life at Duke. One day, coming back from class you hold the door of your dorm open for a shy yet attractive girl who politely says "thank you" as she looks directly into your eyes making you feel uncomfortable. She hails from the Midwest, having been a star athlete, she draws sketches, and joins a ladies' acappella group. You keep a look out for her throughout the course of that first semester and sometimes see her at breakfast reading The Chronicle, or catching the bus for the Tuesday/Thursday 10:55 class on West. Late at night during finals you go to the Brown clusters and fortuitously run into her. You try not to let her think you are checking her out, and only manage a quiet "hi," which she responds to with a bright and excited "hello," but you do nothing because you wish to be faithful to a girl who you believe you could marry, yet she has already moved on. By second semester, you find the older sorority girls who talk to you during rush intriguing, and having discovered that your high-school sweetheart cheated on you these older "women" come off as goddesses. You yearn to become just like the guys in "section" hooking up with freshmen girls, and you gradually forget about that captivating girl from your dorm.
At your frat section on West sophomore year, you immediately assume the role of the guys before you on that first weekend before classes. On the first the day of class, while sitting in Spanish 101 you cannot help but notice the well-dressed and pretty girl who must be a freshman by the look of anxiety in her lovely brown eyes. You get the courage to invite her to sit next you, and after class take her to Alpine for her first time. You find it amazing that she seems interested in you for who actually are, and not the titles that have been bestowed upon you by others. That weekend at an off-campus party you end up taking back another freshman girl who will eventually get with numerous guys in your fraternity. After your orgasm, you want nothing to do with her as she lays next you in your bed, but you keep up with this pattern of girls throughout that year. Even though you continue to talk to that sweet girl, who ends up majoring in Economics while completing her pre-Med courses, you never fully notice the glimmer in her eyes every time you speak to her that semester.
Your junior year you begin to step outside your fraternity and become involved with other parts of campus. Walking back from the library one afternoon you exchange looks with a natural beauty that happens to make you uncontrollably smile. The following week you see her in the same place and recognize that the two you have a mutual friend from whom you find out that she hails from up East, majors in Public Policy, writes for Recess and loves basketball. One night at George's you see her on the other side of the bar, and you think she sees you as well. As you begin to work your way over to talk to her a sophomore frat brother cuts you off with two freshmen girls, and after putting on your game face you look up and realize that she has left. You end up helping the senior girls not have any regrets before they leave college and quit intentionally walking by that spot on the quad everyday to try to run into her.
Having interned in a major city over the summer your boundaries have expanded and although most of your senior comrades living off of East hype up the freshmen girls and their pre-college forms, you go to Sati's for Senior Night. The gorgeous faces of girls holding their big-beers mesmerize you, so you start to work your way around the room talking to old friends. You strike up a conversation with a stunning girl and find out that she too is applying to law school. Judging by her choices of Harvard and Columbia you realize she must have done better than you on the LSAT, but she stays modest asking questions about your life pursuits. Even though you get her phone number, you end up getting swayed over to Ninth Street where the sorority girls of "Pi Delta Kappa" are out in full effect, and once again you give in and set the tone for your last year.
On your last night of celebrating an awesome basketball victory with burning benches on the quad, you look up and see the natural beauty from your junior year standing there cheering, but right afterwards you observe another guy putting his arm around her and kissing her cheek. For some strange reason you wish you were the one standing next to her, and after shaking off the ill-sensation you chug your beer and reluctantly move on.
While at the Alumni House for the Senior Picnic enjoying free Bullock's and beer, you come across the pre-law senior. When you try to talk to her this time the initial interest she had in your life is absent. She seems distant, almost wishing you would leave so you abide by her hints and walk away wondering whether you should have called her. You quickly dismiss this thought and get back in line at the keg, although your beer buzz has lost its luster.
Your last Myrtle lives up to its build-up as your 20-hour days of decadence do not faze you and the boys who arrived in South Carolina Thursday evening. After consuming some "Purple Passion" you look up and see that the shy girl from your Spanish class has become a "hottie." Wanting to keep up your momentum you rush over to her, but as you begin to talk one of your acquaintances walks over and starts talking to you both. It takes you a second to understand that they are together, and although you have nothing against him, you know that you made a mistake as you finally see the twinkle in her eyes, but it no longer shines for you.
On your last night of college as you bounce from one house party to another, it is close to 6 a.m. when you end up at a random house of girls who wisely waited until late to tap their keg. Working your away around the boxes, the awe of the girl from your freshman dorm takes you over. She no longer is that cute girl you remember, but has blossomed into a beautiful woman. After talking to another girl you discover she will be in NYC next year doing the I-Banking thing and she is single. What will you do? Carpe Diem, lads, Carpe Diem.
David Nefouse is a second year law student. His column appears every other Friday.
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