America 1982-Chapter 77 - 1: Welcome Party
What met his eyes was the azure sky, the verdant lawns, and towering palm trees; the distinctively styled Stanford University buildings with their ochre walls and red tiles loomed ahead, and from time to time, parents and freshmen passing by reminded him he was on a college campus. Despite that, Tommy Hawk felt as if he was on a tropical island resort.
"Remember to tell Tony that the car he gave me lost power on arrival in Glendale, Los Angeles. A kind parent of another student towed it to Stanford for me. His car repair skills still need a lot of work." Tommy Hawk stood in front of a telephone booth, speaking with his dad:
"Which state is your roommate from? I’m staying in the dorm that the school assigned to me, not a brothel, dad. That’s all for now, I need to start my rigorous academic life. I’ll call you when I have time, love you guys."
After hanging up, Tommy, carrying his luggage, headed towards the Hope student apartments behind him. According to the orientation guide, he was staying in dorm E-66, which was a double. His roommate, named Jason White, had already checked in and was one of the first new students to arrive.
It seemed that most new students at the Hope apartments hadn’t arrived yet; there weren’t many students coming and going. Tommy walked to his dorm room following the door numbers and opened the door with the key he was given.
He then saw a tall Caucasian young man with his back to him, engrossed in magazines or illustrations on the desk.
Hearing the door open, the young man turned his head and greeted Tommy warmly, "Tommy Hawk? I’m Jason, Jason White, from Greenville, Mississippi."
Although he greeted Tommy warmly with his voice, his actions showed no intention of stopping.
"Hey there, roommate. I’m Tommy Hawk from Warwick, Rhode Island. Honestly, I didn’t expect our first meeting to be so... revealing," Tommy said with a laugh, pushing his luggage towards his bed.
After Jason finished what he was doing, he tidied up a bit, "It’s not what you’re thinking. I’m just preparing for the Fraternity recruitment."
Tommy took out a cigarette case, offered one to his new acquaintance, and Jason, without hesitation, took it with practiced ease.
"I’ve never heard of freshmen needing to clear out their tadpoles before Fraternity recruitment. But I have heard that many fantasize about saying goodbye to their virginity at the recruitment night Party," Tommy said with a laugh as he lit his cigarette.
"First-generation college student?" Jason eyed Tommy and burst out laughing upon hearing his comment.
Tommy nodded, "Is it that obvious?"
"Of course. I’m the third Stanford student from the White family. Before me, an uncle and a cousin both studied here and joined a Fraternity. Once, my cousin let slip about his initiation period after having too much to drink. He was supposed to keep it a secret, but he talked. So, I know some inside stories, like how you might be expected to pull it off five times in ten minutes when joining a Fraternity," Jason said as he sat back on his bed, gesturing towards a nude magazine on the desk, "So, do you need me to lend you the magazine to get some practice in advance?"
Tommy turned to unpack his backpack and pulled out a bottle of vodka to toss to Jason, "I think it’s more useful to train my alcohol tolerance. Passing out after just two drinks won’t get a girl’s favor at a party."
"You got alcohol? Damn cool! A freshman managing to buy booze on campus?" Jason said in surprise, examining the vodka in his hand, "Looks like this bottle of alcohol alone has set the status of dorm E-66. You’re the boss."
Tommy sat on his bed and smiled, "Bought it while passing through Nevada. You can buy alcohol there once you turn eighteen. I drove myself for reporting, so I picked up a few things along the way."
"Wow," Jason got up and walked over to the desk, hefting the globe that was there, observing the map of the United State America, "You drove all the way here from the East Coast, across the United State America?"
"Yes." Tommy finished arranging his bed and lay down lazily, "As roommates, I think we should have an honest talk on the first day. That way, if we find out we have incompatible interests or hobbies, we can switch roommates early to avoid bad vibes."
"That’s a great idea. The main purpose of coming to college is, of course, to study but... that’s a fucking hypocritical thing to say. Okay, mainly, it’s about the girls. If I’m in California to study, do you think it’s to grow old alone in the temple of knowledge?" Jason tried to look serious but soon gave up and admitted frankly.
Tommy Hawk nodded, "Good, I came for the women too."
"You wouldn’t happen to have a weekly goal of hooking up with more than five girls too, would you?" Jason put down the globe, lay down on his bed, and asked.
Tommy turned his face towards his roommate with a smile and said, "Pretty much, roughly the same. Aside from studying, I’ll smoke a little, drink a little, but I won’t touch weed or dope."
"Great, that means our interests and goals are completely aligned. I have no problem then, as long as you don’t insist on switching roommates because of my earlier ’five-finger exercise,’ I think we can become great friends." Jason, holding his vodka, said, "Want me to take you to the library, maybe check out the flea market and buy some textbooks? How about I give you some of my exclusive tips, like which classes are easy to skate through? This is information ordinary freshmen can’t get their hands on."
Tommy nodded, "Of course, in exchange, I can tell you some news I heard, our advisor said the department has several welcome Parties during orientation week, and tonight just happens to be one. Want to check out what an adult Party looks like? I’ve heard Stanford University’s Parties are famously wild."
Hearing Tommy mention adult Parties, Jason grinned knowingly, "Of course, let’s go. We’ll first sort out your textbooks, then experience the adult world tonight, Boss."
...
At seven o’clock in the evening, at Stanford University’s Computer Science Department.
"Is this what you call a raging adult Party, roommate?" Having shaved specially for this Party, Jason styled his hair with a comb and wax, suited up, and, holding that bottle of vodka, stared blankly at the Party scene. He turned to the equally bewildered Tommy and asked, "Are you sure you didn’t bring me to the wrong venue?"
In front of them, the venue indeed gathered dozens of college students. It was decorated with colorful welcome balloons, and the large banner above, reading "WELCOMES YOU" alongside the Computer Science Department’s emblem, reminded all guests this was indeed the place for the welcome Party.
A group of nerdy-looking guys and girls were engrossed in a Brick Breaker competition on the computers on-site, with occasional cheers erupting, while to the side, a separate area was set up for robot battles, where teams controlled their robots in combat. Various free juices and snacks were available for self-service.
Jason turned to Tommy, "I’m now starting to doubt not only whether our interests and goals align but even our cognitive abilities. Are you sure this is what you call ’wild’? To be honest, I’m considering requesting a roommate change and suggesting to the teacher to send you to Stanford University’s Center for the Attention of the Intellectually Challenged."
"I only heard it was wild, but obviously, the advisor’s definition of ’wild’ isn’t the kind I had in mind," Tommy said weakly, "I’m a victim too, Jason."
Jason nodded, "Okay, let’s redefine our understanding of an adult Party. First, there should be girls in skimpy outfits."
"Next, there should be an unlimited supply of drinks," Tommy picked up.
Jason said gloomily, "Good, I’m glad we’ve still got the original spirit of why we came to university. What should we do now? As far as I know, the fraternities’ recruitment Parties won’t start until all the freshmen have completed registration, and it seems our only option left is to head back to our dorm and finish this bottle ourselves."
"The recruitment events by the fraternities are during the weekend of orientation week, and now it’s only Monday. That means we have five days to find some fun," Tommy pondered and said to Jason.
Jason looked at Tommy and then at himself, "What kind of fun? Are we going back to the dorm to read magazines and spend the next four days filling up this bottle? It’s clear the school-run welcome Parties are all like this; there’s no use in having any further expectations."
"Are you well-informed about the fraternities at Stanford University?" Tommy looked at Jason.
Jason nodded, "Of course, all seventeen fraternities and thirteen sororities, I know them like the back of my hand. But just a heads up, I don’t know about the activities they keep secret from non-members."
"Good, you take care of compiling the inside information you have into a freshman handbook, and I’ll take care of selling it to those newbies planning to join a fraternity, then with the money we make, we can invite girls to join us for a real adult Party," Tommy said as he walked out of the venue:
"We might not be the two freshmen with the best grades, but we’ll definitely be the first two to attract the ladies."
