Secrets: The Truth is Slowly Revealed - 12. Chapter 12 S1

Chapter 12 – A Problem and a Solution

The first class in each of the courses I’d enrolled in was basically just an introductory session during which the professor told us what would be expected of us during the semester. By the second class, though, things had picked up dramatically and I began to realize how much harder college was going to be than high school. In fact, it almost made me wish that I hadn’t passed the AP tests in the math classes I’d taken in high school. If I hadn’t done that, then I’d be in the basic classes for those courses, instead of the intermediate class. If I was in the basic classes, it would have allowed me a chance to ease into the college experience, rather than to be thrown into a sink or swim situation, but I was determined to do my best.

Devin and I spent most of our time completing various assignments, doing the reading, and preparing for quizzes, but we were finding this difficult to do in our dorm room. Unfortunately, there was a group of upperclassmen on our floor that seemed to look at college as a social experience, rather than an academic endeavor. Due to that, they had a large number of friends and acquaintances that would come up to their room to chat or just mess around.

They weren’t obnoxiously rowdy or totally out of control, but their actions were enough to disturb us and made it difficult to concentrate. What I’m referring to is their constant talking in the hallway, much of it quite loud, as well as bumping into the wall that separated our rooms when they were horsing around. Those things proved to be very distracting, and when combined with the heavy clomping sounds their friends made when walking up and down the stairway next to our room made it extremely difficult for us to concentrate.

No matter how annoying it was, Devin and I didn’t feel their actions were severe enough to register a complaint with the RAs, but it made it nearly impossible to get any work done in our room. Therefore, we had to find a way to eliminate those problems.

“What are we going to do, because I’m not accomplishing very much?” I said to Devin.

“Maybe we’ll just have to find somewhere else to do our work, like at the house or the library.”

“But why should we have to leave our room just to get anything accomplished? Let me go talk with those guys to see if I can get them to be more considerate.”

“Good luck with that,” Devin scoffed as I headed out the door.

Undeterred, I walked over to the room next to ours, which was the source of most of the problems. I was going to knock, but the door was wide open, and although I hesitated momentarily, I eventually knocked.

“What do you want?” one of the guys inside snarled. It didn’t seem as if he was happy that anyone not part of his little clique was there.

“I’m in the room next door and I was wondering if I could speak with you in private.”

“Just say what you came here to say. These guys are all my friends and I don’t have anything to hide from them.”

“In that case, you guys are making it very difficult for my roommate and me to study and nearly impossible to concentrate on our class work.”

“Ahhh, you must be freshmen then, but you’ll soon learn that you don’t have to be so conscientious.”

“But my roommate and I both want to do well and get good grades.”

“And we’re popular and our friends like hanging out with us, so maybe you should try going to the library to study.”

“Thanks for the help,” I said sarcastically before heading back to my room.

“How did it go?” Devin asked when I returned.

“Just as you suspected and tried to warn me would happen. They were assholes and didn’t want to cooperate. They’re obviously more concerned with being popular than studying, and I can’t imagine how they’ve made it this far. They must have chosen some Mickey Mouse majors that they can pass with hardly any effort at all.”

“Yeah, that’s possible, so let’s take our things and head over to the library so we can get something done.”

“That’s what one of our neighbors suggested we do, and I was surprised that he even knew what a library was or that there was one on campus.”

Unfortunately, that’s the way it went for the next week and a half, and then on Thursday we ran into the same guy in the hallway as we were returning to our room.

“Hey, this weekend you can study as much as you want in your room, because we aren’t going to be around. We’re all heading to Rocky Mountain National Park to party over Labor Day weekend.”

“Why are you going there?”

“Not that it’s any of you business, but Deke, one of our friends who just transferred here, lives in Iowa and has never seen any mountains up close before. A group of us are going to take him there to see Longs Peak, and it’s also as good a place to party as anywhere else.”

“Thanks for letting us know.”

When we were in our room, Devin looked at me and grinned. I thought it was because we were finally going to have some peace and quiet, but he had something else in mind.

“I think I’ve got an idea about how we can make those guys look like assholes in front of their other friends and diminish their popularity so they won’t have so many people coming to their room to see them.”

“And how do you expect to do that?”

“We’ll drive out to Rocky Mountain National Park on Saturday and I’ll put on a little show for them. I know some of those guys will have their phones with them and will probably record what I’m doing, and then when they show it to their other friends when they get back, they’ll find out it contains a little surprise.”

“Why? What are you planning to do?”

Devin then told me the details of what he had in mind and I thought it was brilliant. It had a good chance of making those guys look more like duds than studs, and at most it would only cost us a half day away from our studies, because the park is only 35 miles from Fort Collins.

“It sounds great! Count me in.”

On Friday, we were looking forward to the next day and didn’t care about how much noise was being made. We were concentrating on putting our plan into action and hopefully it will end up making those guys less popular in the long run, as well as ending the problem we’ve been having with them.

Since there was still a lot of noise and we couldn’t do much else, we decided to move up to the dildo that was about the same size as each of us. Devin was a little nervous about doing this at first, since he wanted to accomplish it without doing any transitioning. I used the next smallest dildo on him first, before using the one that was about the same size as either of us. I took my time with each one and he didn’t have any trouble accepting the one about the same size as us than he had with the smaller one. When we went to sleep later, I believe we both knew that it wouldn’t be much longer before we’d be doing this for real on a fairly regular basis.

After going over to the dining hall to have breakfast on Saturday morning, we watched for our neighbors to head out on their trip. After they left, we gave them a couple hours head start, because we felt they would probably be stopping to buy beer and other items before reaching their destination.

When Devin and I eventually arrived at the park, Devin found an isolated parking space that was far away from anyone else, and then he began to set his plan into motion.

“Are you sure about this? I mean, I didn’t know you could change into a bird.”

“I don’t do it often, because flying isn’t easy and it’s not something you want to do alone. I’m able to do it, though, because Grandpa Jacob took the skin and feathers from a dead falcon that he’d found, and after drying it out, he covered me with those things for a week so I could absorb the DNA. After that, it still took me an entire spring and summer to learn how to transition into a bird and get the feathers and hollow bones just right, and I also had to learn how to fly as well. Grandpa Jacob stayed with me the entire time to protect me from other predators, but I still had a few accidents before I could fly and land very well. Actually, flying can be kinda dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing, but I’m much better at it now. Besides, I have to get out on the snow without leaving any human footprints behind and this is the best way to do it.”

“Will I be able to watch what you’re doing?”

“Not all of it, but you’ll be able to see some of it and I’ll tell you about the rest when I get back.”

“I suppose that will have to do then.”

Devin then undressed and I watched him transition into a hawk. He said his Grandpa Jacob had taught him how to do this in case he was forced to get away from a dangerous situation over treacherous or impassible terrain. He also told Devin that a hawk would be easiest for him to learn to mimic, because once the hawk got into the air it would be able to glide on the air currents. This meant that Devin wouldn’t get as tired as he would if he had to continually flap his wings to get around.

After watching him lift off into the air, I followed his movements for as long as I could, but he soon disappeared from sight as he flew further into the mountains. Devin had told me that he was going to fly around until he spotted those guys, so he’d know where to land in order to carry out his plan.

Approximately twenty minutes later I heard an ungodly roar and knew Devin was in the next phase of his plan. I was unhappy that I couldn’t see what was going on, but I knew Devin would tell me about it when he got back.

About fifteen minutes after that, I heard another of those unnerving roars, so I had a feeling it was working out as Devin wanted. It wasn’t until a half hour after that before I saw the hawk gliding back in my direction, and before long the hawk was landing a short distance from the SUV. After looking around, he slowly transitioned back into himself, and as soon as that happened I began asking questions.

“How did it go? Did they take the bait?”

“It went well and they did pretty much what I expected.”

“Man, I wish I could have seen what you looked like!”

Devin scanned the area quickly again to made sure no one else was around, and then he spoke. “I suppose I can do it quickly for you, if you want.”

“Yes, I do.”

As soon as I said that, Devin began to morph into a different creature and I watched as he grew into a nine foot (2.75 m) tall monster that was covered in tangled reddish-brown fur and had huge feet.

“Damn, you look just like the drawings I’ve seen of Bigfoot, as well as the images from those grainy videos that I’ve viewed online.”

“I know, because that’s where I got the idea about how to do this,” Devin said after he changed back into himself. He also began to hurriedly get dressed.

“So, what happened?”

“After I spotted where they were, I landed out of their sight and transitioned into Bigfoot. Since they weren’t looking in my direction, I walked out into the open and let out a roar to get their attention.”

“Yeah, I heard that.”

“Yes, it’s amazing how sound carries a really long distance out here. Anyway, after I got their attention and heard them calling out to one another and saw them pointing in my direction, I roared again and then hurried back to the area where I’d transitioned. Once they couldn’t see me any longer, I transitioned into the hawk again and took flight. I flew in the other direction to make it appear as if Bigfoot had scared the hawk into taking off, and then I flew back here.”

“Damn, I wish I could have seen you do that and witnessed how they reacted.”

“Maybe you’ll be able to do that eventually, because I saw a couple of them grab their phones so they could video the entire thing.”

As soon as Devin was dressed and had finished telling me his story, we got in the SUV and drove back to campus. We weren’t certain as to when the others would return, but we could hardly wait to hear their stories when they got back.

We were on pins and needles as we waited for them to arrive, but in the interim we got a lot more work done. The quiet lasted throughout the rest of Saturday, all day Sunday, and the first half of Labor Day, because they didn’t return to the residence hall until Monday around noon. We knew they were back because we heard their posse clomping up the stairs and making their way to the room next to ours. Those guys didn’t even get to their room before I heard one of our targets summoning some of the other guys on our floor.

“Hurry up and come here, because you won’t believe what we saw on Saturday. Luckily, I got it on video on my phone.”

He hadn’t even gone into his room yet before he started showing the video to them right there in the hallway. Almost immediately, we began hearing their reactions.

“Is that what I think it is?” one of the other guys gasped.

“Did you really see Bigfoot?” another one asked.

“Yep, we did.”

“What is Bigfoot doing?” another questioned.

“It roared at something and scared it away, and that’s when we first saw it. A few seconds later it must have spotted us gawking in its direction and pointing at it, so it shook its fist at us and roared again.”

“I don’t know. There’s just something about what he’s doing that doesn’t look quite right. It looks kinda weird,” one of the other guys said, but the rest of the group ignored his comment.

Instead, our target was busy summoning the remainder of our floor to come and see what he’d captured on video. Apparently, he wasn’t getting enough attention and praise from those already there.

“Everybody come see this. It’s amazing,” he yelled to anyone who could hear him, which was probably everyone in the entire building and possibly a couple of the buildings next to ours.

Since he’d offered an open invitation, Devin and I went too. A minute later he was playing the video on his phone again and I got to witness what Devin had done. Devin merely came along so he could see how the video had turned out.

“I still say something doesn’t looks right, but I don’t know exactly what bothers me about the video,” the doubting Thomas of the group said. “Why don’t you transfer it to your laptop, because I want to see it on a larger screen?”

“What the hell is your problem?” someone else objected. “Bigfoot’s gait looks natural as it moves quickly away from the area, so what do you think is wrong?”

“I don’t know, but maybe I’ll be able to tell better when I see it on the laptop.”

“Ok, just give me a minute or two and I’ll transfer it over.”

As soon as that process had been completed, our target began playing the video again. It hadn’t completely finished playing when the objector spotted the problem.

“See, I told you something wasn’t right. It isn’t just shaking its fist at you. It’s giving you the finger.”

“No it isn’t.”

“It is too. Play it again and watch closely.”

Our main target started the video again and we all had our eyes glued to the screen. Sure enough, when Bigfoot raised its arm it wasn’t merely shaking its fist; it was giving them the finger.”

“Damn, this video is totally bogus,” someone else sneered. “Bigfoot wouldn’t do something like that, because it wouldn’t know what giving you the finger meant.”

“Yeah, you must have faked the video,” another voice chimed in. “Who did you get to dress up in a Chewbacca costume and pretend to be Bigfoot?”

“We didn’t get anyone to play Bigfoot. It’s the real deal!. We don’t know any fuckin’ nine-foot tall guys, or even a seven footer, and Bigfoot was huge.”

“It doesn’t matter how tall it is. This was all a hoax. We used to think you guys were cool, but you’re lame and just a couple of phonies.”

“Yeah, it’s really sad that you had to stoop to doing something like this just to get attention,” another added.

“No, I’m telling you we didn’t fake anything. The only thing I had to do with this was to use my phone to make the video. If this was all a fake, then someone else set it up and we just happened to be there?”

“Yeah, like we believe that some guy dressed up as Bigfoot and then just stayed there waiting for who knows how long for some suckers to show up.”

“I’m telling you it really was Bigfoot. Does that roar it made a couple of times sound like something a human could make?”

“No, but it could have been a recording.”

“Do you see Bigfoot carrying a tape recorder? Even if it was, it would have needed really good speakers to make it sound that loud. I’m telling you, if someone was in a Bigfoot costume then I didn’t have anything to do with it. I still say it was Bigfoot, though, and if you don’t believe me, then I’ll take you out there and you can see the footprints for yourself, because there was some frost or snow on the ground. You’ll be able to see where the footprints came from and where they went as well.”

“Do we even have time to do that before it gets dark?”

“Yes, we do, because it only takes about 40 minutes to get there.”

“And will it be difficult for us to get to the place where you supposedly saw Bigfoot?”

“No, you’ll just have to walk down to the base of the mountain.”

“And how do you think Bigfoot is going to react if it is really him and it sees us following its footprints.”

“Didn’t you just say this was all a hoax?”

“Ok, in that case I’m willing to call your bluff so I can prove it was faked.”

Almost immediately, several of the guys left to make another trip out to the park, and they took their phones with them so they could record whatever evidence they found. Devin and I were doing all we could to keep from laughing, and now I was looking forward to two things. First, I couldn’t wait to ask Devin what made him have Bigfoot give those guys the finger, and second, I couldn’t wait for those guys to return so I could hear about what they’d found. I might even get to see whatever ‘evidence’ they came up with.

Now that a group of them had gone on their quest, everyone else left the room next door as well and Devin and I went back to our room. Once the door had closed behind us and we were alone, I turned to him and spoke.

“That was awesome, but what made you decide to have Bigfoot give them the finger?”

“I did it because I knew if they tried to sell the video or post it online and then someone would spot that sooner or later and call them out for it. To my surprise, it happened sooner than I expected, thanks to that eagle-eyed former friend of theirs.”

“So, what are they going to find out there, now that they’ll be able to video any evidence?”

“They’ll merely discover an enigma. They’ll find a bunch of tracks on the ground, but those tracks will seem to appear to have come out of nowhere and then they’ll disappear into thin air as well. It’s because when they walk out to the area where they first spotted Bigfoot to find its footprints, they’ll discover that it turned around and returned to the same place where it started from.”

“Won’t they spot any signs of the hawk’s talons in the snow?”

“No, because any signs of the hawk being there was completely erased when Big Foot trampled the area.”

“I can’t wait to hear what they have to say when they get back. Do you think they’ll take photos or videos of the footprints?”

“Of course they will. It will be the only evidence they’ll have to indicate it truly was Bigfoot that they saw.”

“Damn, you’re so devious, but it was perfect. Do you think this will quiet things down around here?”

“Yes, because I believe it will damage their reputations and they’ll no longer be the alpha dogs they once were.”

“If you’ve never worn a Bigfoot pelt, then how were you able to transition to look like Bigfoot?”

“I think it had a lot to do with the fact that I could picture Bigfoot very clearly in my mind, so my body merely combined some animal DNA with human DNA to make it happen.”

“Ok, I guess that would work.”

After we finished our discussion, we went back to studying until the group returned a couple of hours later. We immediately heard them boasting that they had video evidence of what they claimed were Bigfoot’s footprints. In fact, they had different guys place their foot next to the various footprints so we could get an idea about how large the footprints were.

“Did you discover where the footprints came from and where they went to?” I asked.

“Yeah, but they just led us around in a big loop. They didn’t really come from anywhere or go anyplace.”

“Did you find any human footprints out there as well?” someone else followed.

“Not anywhere close to where Bigfoot was. It’s like it just dropped out of the sky or came from another dimension, and then after we saw it, it must have just vanished or returned to the same dimension it came from.”

I almost burst out laughing when I heard that last comment, but I was able to stifle it and maintain my composure.

“So, in other words you don’t have any idea if Bigfoot was real or a fake.”

“We didn’t come across any evidence to prove it either way, except for the large footprints and no human footprints anywhere near them. The footprints sure looked real.”

“It still could have been a fake,” someone else said. “Whoever did this could have attached false feet to his boots and left the same type of impressions.”

“Nah, I doubt that’s what happened. Bigfoot wasn’t walking like it had something attached to its feet. It was moving smoothly and rapidly, not jerky and clunky like an imposter might move.”

“Then possibly the imposter practiced a great deal before you guys saw him, so it would appear real.”

“Yes, I guess that’s a possibility too, but it still doesn’t explain how the guy got there or where he went afterward. There were no footprints of any sort near Bigfoot’s footprints, and it also wouldn’t explain why Bigfoot gave you the finger.”

“Yeah, I guess we’ll never know for sure,” someone added, ending the conversation.

Things began to change after this, although not to the extent that we had hoped for. A lot of people were convinced the video was a fake and their opinion of our neighbors changed, so not as many others were coming around as before. However, our neighbors’ closest friends were still coming around, though, and clomping up the stairs, as well as talking loudly in the hall. They were making just as much noise as before, even though there weren’t as many of them, so it was still difficult for us to concentrate on our studies. The worst time was when they would start wrestling next door and accidentally, or possibly intentionally, collided with the wall that separated our rooms. Whenever that happened, Devin and I would just look at each other in disbelief, since we knew it would do no good to complain.

“Do you have any other bright ideas?” I asked Devin.

“I might, but I’ll have to do some research first. I’ll have to look for another way to drive a wedge between the various members of the pack, and the key is the alpha dog that lives next door.”

“You mean the guy who was rude and arrogant when I asked for a little cooperation?”

“Yes, that would be the alpha dog of this pack.”

“What are you going to do then?”

“I’ll tell you more about it as soon as I figure it out. Ok?”

“Sure, but I hope you know what you’re doing.”

A couple of days later, Devin made an announcement. “I’ve got to go shopping before the weekend.”

“Shopping for what?”

“For the things I’ll need to put my plan into action.”

He then explained his plan to me and I agreed it sounded good. If it worked out as he expected, it would set the alpha dog and one of his best friends against one another and possibly cause the others to choose sides as well. If we’re lucky, it will finally solve our problem permanently.

On Thursday, we went to get the SUV after our last classes ended and then we drove around to a bunch of different stores until Devin found exactly what he was looking for. It wasn’t easy, because he wanted to find just the right items, and the first store had one of the things he was longing for, and the next couple of stores didn’t have anything he wanted. In the end, it required us to make multiple stops before he had everything that he wanted, and then we went back to our room so he could begin his preparations.

“So, where do you plan on doing this?”

“I’ll know better after the home football game tomorrow. I know those guys all go to the games and I’ll be able to watch and study them at that time so I’ll know when, where, and how I’m going to pull this off.”

“You mean you don’t know yet?”

“I know what I want to do, but I need a few more details before I know exactly how I’m going to do it.”

Devin and I went to the home football game on Saturday and I was surprised when I saw Devin was wearing something different than what he usually wore to the games. He was also wearing a light jacket over those items so our neighbors wouldn’t notice what he had on.”

“What’s up with that?” I asked, referring to the different things he was wearing.

“I only want one of the people that hangs around next door to recognize these things, but not until I make my move later.”

I wasn’t sure if I understood what he meant by that, but I didn’t press the issue further. I merely decided to watch the game and root for our team, while Devin spent most of his time observing the alpha dog and his friends.

“Have you learned anything?” I asked Devin during halftime.

“Yes, so far it’s pretty much as I expected, so now I just have to stay close enough to them until I see what they’re planning to do after the game. It means I’ll be transitioning into someone else when I leave here so I can follow them around. It would be best if you return to our room while I’m doing it.”

“Why can’t I go with you?”

“I don’t want them to recognize me, and that’s why I’ll be transitioning into someone else until I’m ready to make my move. I’m afraid if the alpha dog or the others see you with me they’ll get suspicious, since they all know who you are.”

“Damn, I’m always getting left out.”

“I’m sorry, but this can’t be helped. He knows you, because you went over to his room to ask them to quiet down, and most of his friends know who you are as well.”

Needless to say, I wasn’t happy, because when the game ended he zipped up his jacket and we headed off in different directions. When I turned back to see what Devin was doing, I noticed that he’d already transitioned and I didn’t want to upset him by paying attention to him in his current disguise. For that reason, I merely went back to our room and waited for him to return.

Devin was gone for a lot longer than I anticipated and I was beginning to worry that something had gone wrong. In fact, I didn’t even go to eat supper at the dining hall because he wasn’t back yet, and then the later it got, the more worried I became. It was quite late when the door to our room finally opened and he walked inside.

“Where the hell have you been?” I shouted louder than I meant to.

“Calm down. I had to wait for the right moment to pull off my little scheme.”

“You could have called to let me know that.”

“No, I couldn’t, because I didn’t take my phone with me while I was doing this.”

“So, what did you do?”

“Ok, I can tell you now. You probably know that Brent is the alpha dog from next door and his best friend is Chris, but what you may not know is that Chris’ girlfriend’s name is Sherry. When she wasn’t with Chris or Brent I took off my jacket, since I didn’t want to be wearing it when I did this. The clothes that I bought were similar to things that Brent usually wore to the games, because I knew that way she’d really believe she was dealing with Brent.”

“But I never saw Brent wear a jacket like that before.”

“I know, and I took it off before I approached Sherry.”

“Damn, I’m surprised you were able to keep all of this straight so you didn’t mess things up. So, what happened?”

“It took a while, because I not only had to wait until Sherry wasn’t with the other two, but Brent and Chris weren’t together either. If they were together when I acted, then Chris would know that Brent couldn’t have done the things I was going to do while looking like him. Part of it was easy, because Brent and Chris began drinking beer with their friends, so Sherry started hanging around and talking with some of her girl friends instead.”

“But weren’t Chris and Brent still together?”

“For a while they were, but eventually they started messing around with different groups of guys, so I quickly transitioned into Brent and took off the jacket before I went over to find Sherry.”

“Weren’t you worried her girl friends would see you?”

“No, because they’d actually be able to verify that Brent did the things that I was planning to do, and now that she wasn’t with them, I went over and started talking to her.”

“Did she believe you were Brent?”

“Yes, she did, and she got really upset when I started hitting on her.”

“Why? What did you do?”

“I told her that she needed a real man, not some tagalong, and then I attempted to kiss her. When she pushed me away, I told her we should meet up later and I’d show her what she’d been missing out on by only going with Chris.”

“Did she run away and tell Chris what you did?”

“Not right away. She slapped me first and then she told her girl friends what I’d done before she went off to find Chris, but I’m not certain if she told Chris about it right away. As soon as she was with Chris, I put the jacket on again and transitioned into someone else so I could watch what took place after that. She must not have told him about it right away, because Chris never showed any signs of being upset, but I’m convinced she’ll tell Chris what happened eventually. When she does, then I’m certain Chris will confront Brent about it.”

“Ok, I just hope you’re right. Did you eat yet, because I haven’t? I didn’t go to supper because I was waiting for you.”

“No, I haven’t eaten either, so do you want to go somewhere to get something?”

“Yeah, but the dining hall isn’t open now, so we’ll have to go off campus.”

“It’s not a problem and we’ll just go get the SUV. Do you want to go to Dominick’s?”

“No, not tonight. Let’s just grab something quick and then we’ll be able to come back here so you can make it up to me for making me worry.”

“Sounds good to me and I know just what the doctor would order to patch things up when we get back.”

It sounded good to me, so we walked to the house and picked up the SUV first, and then Devin drove over to Arby’s so we could quiet our rumbling bellies. After we’d downed our meals, we returned the SUV to the garage and walked back to our room, and then Devin and I made love. It was his way of making me feel better about causing me to worry, since he’d taken so long. Needless to say, I accepted his apology and then we cuddled in his bed as we fell asleep.

After breakfast on Sunday morningDevin and I were in our room studying when we heard shouting coming from next door. It appeared that Sherry had finally told Chris about what Devin, I mean Brent, had done.

“Some friend you are,” Chris shouted. “What the fuck did you think you were doing when you were hitting on my girl and telling her she needed a real man?”

“What? I never hit on Sherry or told her that!”

“Yes, you did, and you even told her you’d show her what she’d been missing out on. She told me all about it.”

“I don’t know what she was drinking yesterday, but I never did any of that.”

“She doesn’t drink because she’s allergic to alcohol. That’s why she’s always our designated driver, and a bunch of her friends heard you say those things too.”

“That may be, but they must have me confused with someone else.”

“You’re pathetic. You knew she was my girl and you still tried to hit on her, and now you’re trying to blame it on her or someone else. I don’t know how I could have ever been friends with you, but I’m no longer your friend. You’re lucky that I don’t want to risk getting kicked out of college for fighting or I’d beat the fucking shit out of you.”

We surmised that Chris must have stormed out of the room at that point, because we heard the door slam. A short time after that we started hearing others telling Brent how wrong and terrible it was that he did that to his former best friend’s girl. It appeared that Devin’s plan had worked and the cracks were now appearing to let us know that Brent was no longer the alpha dog.

From that point on, things got a lot quieter in the room next to ours, but there were still a couple of guys that remained close to Brent. They were no longer doing the same things as before, at least not to the same extent, so it was a lot quieter, much to our delight. If only Brent had been more receptive to my initial request for them to quiet down and hadn’t been so fucking rude and uncooperative, because this didn’t have to happen. He’d brought it all on himself.

Now that we were able to study without interruption again, things got a lot better for Devin and me. We knew we had to maintain an overall A average and make the Honor Roll to achieve our goal, but it wasn’t going to be easy. CSU doesn’t give out an A+ grade, so we couldn’t rely on getting an A+ if we messed up on something else. We’d have to get an A in every class.

We’d just suffered through a rough stretch when dealing with our noisy neighbors, but there hadn’t been any major exams yet, or a lot of quizzes or other assignments for grades up to this point. What it meant was that we didn’t have a lot of grades to make up for, so we were still in good shape. Our goal of getting on the Honor Roll was looking possible again, and hopefully this will be the only problem we’ll face, at least during this academic year.