Coffee Break (Part 2)

       ​Ceta entered the pub only to be welcomed by the faint smell of stale beer and partially cleaned up vomit. Fred had arrived minutes before and eagerly waived her down from the back of the dimly lit room. He made his way down the line of high fives and awkwardly angled hugs to a table of twelve or so people. A more disjointed group, Ceta’d never seen. She couldn’t imagine that most of them would actually be seen together in other circumstances. 

​       “Hey, everybody, this is my contracts buddy…”
 
        “Ceta,” she said finishing his sentence. 
 
     “Ceta, this is every Black person in section B and a few other sprinkled in,” said Fred waiving his hand across the tightly packed table of people. 
 
         Ceta greeted the group while she pulled her wooden chair out, troubled by the tackiness of the pub floor. Most responded to Ceta nearly in unison, others were too far down the table to hear her. They seemed deep in conversation. 
 
       Ceta grabbed a menu and started searching for something she wouldn’t hate, but her focus was immediately interrupted.
 
         “I heard you got called out in contracts.” 
 
       Ceta looked up to meet the voice coming from her right. A woman in thick, crimson plastic glasses with a mound of sloppily gathered puffy hair met her gaze while sipping her drink. 
 
       “Called out how?” Ceta asked. 
 
       “It’s not a bad thing!” she said shaking her palms in defense. “Somebody has to be the one to get chewed out first during cold calls. At least you got your embarrassing moment over with on day one. Don’t feel bad, no one will remember that,” the woman said crossing her fleshy arms over her sprawling chest and placing her elbows on the table. 
 
       “I volunteered. Wasn’t really a cold call. And I don’t think he was ‘chewing me out’. I did have a partial right answer,” Ceta said. 
 
         “Aww, it’s okay,” the woman said gesturing as though petting Ceta. The surrounding three students closest to them snickered at the exchange. 
 
        Ceta, shifted her focus back to the menu, rolling her eyes behind the cover of the sticky laminated paper. 
 
          “Why can’t you leave people alone?” A male voice called out in the woman’s direction. 
 
         “What? I’m trying to help! I want her to win,” the glasses wearing woman responded in a high-pitched tone. 
 
         “Excuse her, please. She means well, she’s just an asshole. What’s your name, again?” the man asked Ceta. Ceta introduced herself, this time with less enthusiasm. 
 
         “That’s Xandria,” he said as he pointed at the spectacled girl. “I’m Greggory, or Gregg with two g’s. It’s nice to meet you. Fred told us someone else was joining us, but he failed to say how pretty you are,” the man said sweetly. 
 
        “Aww, thanks” Ceta said dryly. Gregg’s countenance hardened slightly at Ceta’s unmoved response to his flattery. 
 
         “Seems like you guys already know each other. How’d you meet?” Ceta asked. 
 
        “The online group section,” he said matter of factly. Ceta’s eyes squinted as she tried to recall such a group. 
 
         “You’re not in the group?!” he asked gasping histrionically. “Oh, girl. We gotta get you up to speed, you’re missing out on some important intel,” he said smirking, looking over at Xandria.
 
          “So, it’s a gossip page,” Ceta said resolutely.
 
         “No, of course not,” he said, his face growing serious. “But we do discuss more than just readings. Join it. If nothing else, you’ll at least know to read the materials before class.” Gregg took a sip of his drink. Ceta’s face grew flush with embarrassment.

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