Quest

brownie?

I look up from my math homework to see the message and smile. I try to gauge how close I am to a stopping point. I'm far enough ahead that this doesn't really need to be done tonight. Then AIM dings again

quest?

My reply is quick.

yes and yes

Homework forgotten, I grab my sweatshirt from my bed and a vanilla Coke from the mini-fridge. I swallow a few mouthfuls of Coke, refill the bottle with vodka, slip on my flip flops and head outside.

Sarah and I exit our suites at almost the same moment, and we meet at the top of the staircase between our rooms. She has her own drink in hand, and we're both sipping as we head down. The conversation stays light and inconsequential, focusing mostly on homework and how much it sucks. Are we planning to go to tutoring for help with the physics homework tomorrow? Of course. Are we looking forward to the party this weekend? Absolutely. But what will we wear?

We exit our dorm and head south, leaving our campus and crossing the street to the campus next door. Our campus has been dubbed one of the ugliest in America. Some enterprising public relations artist coined the phrase "Neo-Mayan" to describe the rows of concrete buildings pockmarked with concrete blocks. Next door is one of the most beautiful campuses in America, with open walkways, secret gardens, and gorgeous courtyards, all surrounded by a medieval wall. It's a sanctuary in more ways than one.

The coffee shop is nestled in the center of the campus, right next to the dining hall. They share one of the many picturesque courtyards. Sarah buys the brownie this time while I claim a table for us. After a quick check to make sure no one we know is here, and with an eye on the door just in case, we relax into the real conversation. We complain about our roommates. We gossip about our friends. We leave no stone unturned in this ritual cleansing of ours.

When the brownie has been devoured and the grievances fully aired (and our first drinks of the evening long since drunk) we turn our attention to the next task as hand: finding boyfriends.

You'd think this would be easy. Two smart, pretty young girls at a school that is 75% male. But it has proven to be quite the challenge. There were a few false starts at the beginning of the school year. Since then it's been nothing but one night stands. So here we are, almost done with our first year of college and with no relationships to show for it. We are determined to change that.

There's a party at another college, farther south. But it's more of a gathering really, and it turns out that we don't know anyone there. An exploration of that campus reveals that nothing else of interest is going on. We trek back up to our own campus, determined not to give up quite yet.
Of the eight dorms on campus there are three where anything interesting might be happening right now. We come upon the first one as soon as we get back to campus. Maybe one of the guys who lives here deserves another shot? They'd be good for some entertainment anyway. But a knock on the door reveals them to be doing homework. Studying. And they refuse to be distracted.

We head across the courtyard to the next dorm. A knock on this door reveals a beer pong game in progress. These guys never let us down. We grab beers of our own, settle on chairs, and proceed to tell Zach and Kevin all about our quest for boyfriends, which is not going nearly as well as we'd hoped. Not that it ever does.

Eventually we plan to make our way to the final dorm on the list. But for now there's beer pong. Then another game and drunken shenanigans besides. We end up staying at North for hours.

When it's time to head to bed, we're feeling a bit bittersweet. It was a fun evening, sure. Beer pong is always a good time. And the guys there are always good for a laugh. But they're not exactly boyfriend material. Somehow, though, our quest always leads back to their room. If you'd told us then that these were the guys we'd eventually marry we wouldn't believe you. But quests for strangers can't hold a candle to evenings spilling into months and years spent together.