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would forever be Pluto, small and insignificant, cold and dark. Billions of miles away from her source of light, of warmth. Her gaze was so fixed on her sister that she didn’t notice the man until she heard the scrape of the chair’s legs across the tile floor. Startled, she turned her head to him as he sat down on the other side of the table. “Well, you don’t look like a college student,” he said with a quirk of his lips, a weird attempt at a smile. Neither did he, really. He looked like he should already be out of college, doing something other than talking to teenage girls in college dining halls. He had a thin beard covering his face, the same rusty reddish brown as the hair pulled back into a ponytail down his back. His green eyes were framed by a pair of horn-rimmed glasses, and he wore a green flannel shirt with jeans. Even from across the table, Jenny could smell some type of earthy scent on him. Maybe it was a hint of pine or evergreen. Whatever it was, it seemed almost as out of place in this setting as she did. Since she didn’t answer right away, he filled the silence. “That your sister?” Again she just looked at him. She had no idea who he was. Why should she tell him anything about herself ? “I saw you looking at her, that’s all,” he added. As if that made it any more normal. Despite being a little weirded out, Jenny had to say there was something alluring about him. Almost in the same way as Jess, but in a wild, near-chaotic way. She was just drawn to him. And so she answered, “Yeah, that’s my sister.” “She speaks!” he laughed, an expression of mock excitement coming over his face. “She’s a freshman. First day.” Jenny didn’t quite know why she said that without his asking. Maybe she just wanted a little fun. After all, that’s what Jess was always
painting by Leo Smith
telling her to do. Go out and make friends. Other than me. Jess didn’t have to say it. They both knew what she meant. “Me too,” he told her, much to her surprise. Her eyes again wandered to his beard, the way the auburn hair naturally curved around the corner of his mouth, and then the loose hair from his head hanging by his glasses. Wanting to mask her dismay, she turned, searching the room for Jess and Bridget. They were easy to spot, with Bridget’s flaming curls and the group already surrounding Jess. “Let me guess,” he said, following Jenny’s gaze. “The whole world revolves around her. The queen bee.” Once again he was right. It was almost as if he could read her mind. “So what does that make you?” Jenny thought for a moment as she watched Jess. Her older sister was now look-
