College confidential

"What's with that look you both are giving each other?" Sarah asked suspiciously, eyeing us. "Nothing," Mia and I answered nervously, silently agreeing to keep our concerns to ourselves.

"Anyway, for what it's worth, I can get him to like me," Sarah said, suddenly brightening. "I mean, we have good sex, good conversation... sometimes, and overall, a good vibe. I just think he doesn't know what he wants yet, and I can help him figure it out."

Mia and I exchanged a look, and Mia stood up from Sarah's bed, exclaiming, "Okay, I give up! Bitch has gone nuts!" She walked over to her own bed, leaving me to stare at Sarah in wide-eyed disbelief.

"Girl, you can't change a man's mind or heart," I explained, trying to reason with her. "Men usually know what they want before sex, and the fact that he hasn't said anything about dating you, even after the good sex you both had, just goes to show that he doesn't want a relationship with you."

Sarah didn't respond, so I dropped my bag of chips and continued, "Just look at me and Chris, for example. We met at the gym, started talking as friends, and just when I thought things were about to kick off, he suddenly gave me distance. No explanation, nothing! We didn't even get to kiss or anything."

I stopped, realizing I was getting too caught up in my own thoughts. "What I'm trying to say is that guys' minds are not like ours. They do whatever they want, and they can dump you without reason or choose not to give you any reason at all. What I'm saying is, you, my dear Sarah, can't make a man like you if he doesn't want to. Trust me, it's a waste of time and effort."

I took a deep breath to calm my mind, as it had taken quite an effort to separate my emotions from reason to explain this to her. Sarah just stared at me in silence, then sighed, "Look, I know what you mean, okay, but I just want to try. I want to say that at least I tried, instead of not trying at all."

But what made this situation even more complicated was that Chris's other name was also JK. It could be just a coincidence, but it seemed unlikely. "I see," I murmured, testing the waters. "Is JK his birth name? If it is, what's the full meaning of JK?"

Sarah replied, "I asked him the same question, but he didn't answer me. He said only people close to him are allowed to know his birth name." I was surprised, and Sarah quickly explained, "But that was the first day we met, so I didn't think much of it. I hadn't asked about it since then." She smiled, and I smiled back at her, thinking that this was almost exactly what he had told me when he said his name was JK, but later revealed his real name to be Chris. Well, this just got a lot weirder.

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The next day was the first day of school in college, and Mia and I were heading to our classes. As we walked, Mia asked me, "Zoey, what would you do if Sarah's JK is actually your Chris?" I rolled my eyes and replied, "First of all, Chris is not mine. And secondly, many people share the same name and nickname, so there's nothing to worry about. For all we know, it could be that her JK has straight hair while Chris has curly hair."

Mia murmured, "We didn't ask about the hair, though." I lightly slapped her arm, and she chuckled. "You know what I mean," I continued. "And even if the two are the same person... " I trailed off, unsure of what to say next.

Mia prompted me, "Then...?" I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself. "Look, I don't know, okay? I want to be a good friend and let Sarah have him if she wants him, if that ever happens. But you and I know that even her JK sounds like a jerk, which, by the way, sounds like his name."

Mia asked calmly, "So you're saying you would let Sarah have Chris if he ends up feeling her too?" I replied, trying to sound convincing, "Of course, why not?" But Mia didn't seem convinced. "Hmmm," she said, raising an eyebrow.

I tried to reassure her, "Okay, anything that helps you sleep at night. Let's just hope we're being paranoid and they're not the same person." Mia changed the subject, "Anyway, Sarah said let's get lunch outside after class. She said she has some kind of surprise to show us or something."

I nodded, and we continued to our class, both of us lost in our own thoughts about the possibility of Chris and JK being the same person. The uncertainty was unsettling, and I couldn't help but wonder what Sarah's surprise could be. Was it related to JK, or was it something entirely different? I pushed the thoughts aside and focused on the day ahead, trying to enjoy the first day of college with my friends.