25

It’s Monday afternoon, the first day after Fall Break. Several of my suitemates are here, relaxing a bit before we hit the dining hall and then scatter, like debris from a bomb. There are a zillion things to do on campus, on any given night. Lisa and I are going to a seminar, Anna and Sunny are going to a Uni play and Leong’s going to see a documentary. Leong was hunched over a cup of dark tea, reading ‘J-14’ magazine. “Do any of you guys think Travis Kelce is hot?” She asked, not looking up. Leong subscribes to several ‘teen’ magazines, like ‘J-14’, ‘Girls' World’ and ‘Girl’s Life.’ She says that Yale is her chance to be the ‘American teenager’ she could never be at home (Macaw, China). We’d make fun of her if we didn’t all read them after she finished, and they were lying around. “No,” said Lisa and I about the same time as Anna and Sunny said, “Yeah,” to varying degrees. “Did you think he was hot before he started dating Taylor?” she asked, pushing the enquiry even further. “No,” said Lisa and I repeated in unison - we had this down now. “He wasn’t on my radar,” Anna admitted. Sunny said, “Yeah, same here.” “Why do YOU think he’s hot?” Leong asked Sunny (who’s fem-facing). “I can appreciate a hot guy,” she said, sounding a little defensive, “as someone who could draw hetero interest.” Then Lisa reported, from head down in her textbook, “Your mouth retains the DNA of everyone you ever kissed.” She looked up and asked me, how many guys have you kissed? “You mean politely kissed or Deep-kissed,” I asked back, tilting my head, sticking out my tongue and slobbering it around, like a dog eating peanut butter. “They mean French-kissed,” she replied, rescanning the last paragraphs as I calculated. “So, the five guys I've dated, but we used to play ‘spin the bottle’ at parties too.. so.. 25?” I said. “You s1ut!” she laughed. “I have my truth,” I updogged, “How about you?” “I’d forgotten ‘spin the bottle,’ Lisa admitted, recalculating.. “Yeah, 25 sounds about right.” “Leong?” she asked Leong. “Two,” Leong answered instantly. “Anna?” she asked Anna, so Lisa was going completely around the room with this survey. “25 sounds right” Anna answered, “including spin,” (the bottle). “Sunny?” Leong asked Sunny. “A HUNDRED,” I said, hijacking Sunny’s answer, and everyone chuckled. Every Friday night Sunny brings a different girl home to ‘spend the night.’ It’s rather impressive. “A few,” Sunny answered, shrugging nonchalantly, “A girl doesn’t kiss and tell.” “I’ve got a calculator,” Anna said, “if you change your mind,” holding her phone up like an offer. . . *notes… Our seminar: "The Evolution of Protein Dynamics and its Exploitation for Enzyme and Drug Design" *****This was actually a very interesting talk. They figured out how to inhibit 'protease' enzymes (catalyst proteins) which HIV cells need to develop in order to mature. Protease blocking prevents the HIV virus multiplying. Genius.***** Anna & Sunny’s play: University Theatre, ‘F'king A’ by Suzan-Lori Parks Leong’s documentary: Paywall: The Business of Scholarship Film Screening*