#5 - Nothing Set In Stone

Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten (Cover)

George Washington University was not a school, it was a state. It’s own, large, confusing, state.
Evidentially, the part of the school Sidney and I saw the other day, was not the actual school, but the entrance. The real school, was a baffling multitude of buildings and walkways; all of which seemed to lead back to where I was now. Groaning softly I unfolded the papers in my hand, once again. One was a map of the school, the other, my schedule; both given to me by one of the secretaries, both didn’t help at all.

I checked my schedule again, finding the building I needed to be in, then finding it on the map.
I glanced around the giant courtyard again, realizing that I was one of the last few left; everyone else was apparently better at reading a map than me. “Lost?” A girl asked, coming towards me from the opposite direction.

“That obvious?” I chuckled as she came to stand in front of me.

She nodded, smiling as she extended her hand towards my schedule. I gave it over and watched as her finger traced the list. “Medical?” She looked up and I nodded. “Cool, I’m in medical too… and my first class is in the same building as yours.” She grinned at me as she handed the paper back to me.
Sighing with relief I folded it up and put it in my pocket; following after her down the walkway. “So… you’re from Pittsburgh?” She asked slyly, glancing over at me.

I opened my mouth, concerned. I wasn’t a famous face, except for people who were hard core fans of my dad, but there was always the off chance that someone might recognize me. “Umm… yah… how‘d you know?” I asked slowly, defeated. If the first person I met in Washington knew who I was, I was in worse shape here than in Pittsburgh.

“Your shirt.” She replied, nodding towards my t-shirt. I looked down, realizing for the first time that I was, in fact, wearing a Pen’s shirt.

“Oh yah… yah I am.” I laughed too, blushing slightly at my mental, over-reaction. “How’d you know I wasn’t just a Pens fan from Washington?”

She rolled her eyes in a joking manner before answering. “Everyone knows it’s Caps or bust here… no way you’d see a Washington girl wearing a Pens shirt, not if she valued her reputation anyway…” We both giggled at that as we headed up the stairs of a large brick building. “So… this is it. You’re next class is in the next building over… shouldn’t be too hard to find.”

I stopped walking and turned around to face her. “Look… thank you so much… I wasn’t sure how I was going to get here.” I gave her a warm smile before adding, “I’m Jespin, by the way.”

“Keisha.” She smiled, glancing over her shoulder at the deserted hallway. “Well… we should go but, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around!” I nodded in agreement before heading up the stairs towards room 223.



“Hey Jespin!” I heard someone yell as I headed down the walkway towards the sidewalk. I stopped walking and turned around, finding Keisha waving at me as she sat with a small group of people. I grinned, heading over towards her; glad for any reason to stay out of my lonely loft. “Hey alright guys, this is Jespin… Jespin this is Anna, James and Eric.” She said pointing at each one in turn.

“Hey.” I said quietly, taking a seat beside Keisha on the picnic table that they were occupying.

“So we were just talking about our internships… where we’re thinking of applying. Did you figure out where you’re gonna try?”

I shrugged as all eyes turned to me. “Umm… I really want to work with hockey so… I might try the boy’s team here; maybe some local hockey clubs too.”

“I know a few people that are applying for the Capitals, you should try there.” The blond-haired Eric suggested. I raised my eyebrows, trying not to laugh out loud at the idea. Dad would just love that…

“Oh, yah I might… I never thought about that…” I said, trying to sound serious; I didn’t want to come off looking like a bitch.

Next it was James who talked. “Did you finish your application? I’m going down there in a couple minutes… you want to come?”

“Oh! I’ll come too… any chance to see cute hockey boys.” I laughed along with everyone else, as Keisha jumped up excitedly.


Keisha was an overly friendly person. She walked down the sidewalk, her arm linked through mine; chatting animatly about everything - it felt like I‘d known her for years. Her crow black hair swung loosely down her back; it was the same color as mine, only not as long. I smiled at how easy it was to feel comfortable with her. She was like Beth in a lot of ways, easy-going, happy, confident.
James was also a friendly guy, only more reserved. He walked a few paces ahead of us, moving with purpose and confidence; easily following the sidewalks towards the Verizon Center.

The building was huge. It was modern, clean and almost empty. With my backpack snug on my shoulders and my arm still linked firmly with Keisha; I followed James down the wide hall, towards the ticket booth. “Hey…” James said to the lady behind the desk. “We’re here to drop off some intern applications for the medical staff.” She nodded knowingly and motioned for us to stay put, before disappearing through another door.

While we waited, the three of us fished for our applications; pulling them out of our bags just in time to see the lady returning with an older man. “So all three of you are here to hand them in?” He asked warmly, coming out into the hallway to greet us. We all nodded, causing him to smile. “Excellent, excellent… alright. My name’s Ben and I’m in charge of the medical staff… and so I’ll be the one filling the intern positions.”
I swallowed audibly as Keisha stiffened beside me. Ben chuckled slightly before extending a hand to each of us in turn. “I promise I’m not a bad guy… I’ll take your applications and I’m sure you’ll be hearing from me soon.”



“Come on Jespin! It’s going to be so much fun… everyone says that the back-to-school-pub is the best party all year!” I groaned as Keisha’s voice carried into the kitchen. I glanced back into the living room - where she was sitting on the couch - shaking my head at the thought.
I really didn’t want to go out, I especially didn’t want to go out to a bar full of drunk people; but I also didn’t want to look like a hermit. Keisha turned her attention from the TV back to me, shooting me a pleading look.

“Umm… maybe just for a bit.” I said slowly, hoping that the words ’a bit’ would stand out.

“Yes!” She squealed; jumping up and pulling her phone out of her pocket. “I’m gonna call Anna and let her know we’re going… ugh! I didn’t bring any clothes with me… mind if we swing by my place?”

I shrugged, as I finished refilling my drink. “I have some shirts in my room… we look about the same size…” I suggested, nodding towards the upstairs of the loft. Keisha shot me a grateful grin before dashing up the stairs towards my opened closet.
I shook my head and took a few sips of water, dumping the rest back down the sink and moving to follow after her. I was halfway up the stairs when the phone rang; causing me to dash back down into the kitchen - grabbing the phone of the receiver. “Hello?”

“Hey Jes!” I grinned as Sidney’s voice flooded the phone line.

“Hey! What’s up?”

“Not a lot, just getting ready for a game. Thought I’d call and see how your first day of school went…”

I filled him in on my classes, the campus and the people that I’d met. He seemed genuinely interested in everything that I had to say; before he began telling me about what was new there. It was a comfortable conversation, on that flowed easily; almost making me glad that he wasn‘t here anymore. “Well, your dad’s hanging on… barely. I’m not saying that to be mean either… he misses you, a lot.” I nodded against the phone, forgetting he couldn’t see me. “Besides that… everythings going good. You missing me yet?”

I laughed loudly, unable to keep the grin off my face. “A bit I guess… it’s weird, not having to share a bed with a cover-hog.”

“Hey… do you like this one!?” Keisha shouted coming around the corner in one of my shirts. It was yellow and low-cut; the colour standing out brightly against her dark brown skin as she did a twirl for me. “Oops, sorry… I didn’t know you were on the phone.” I gave a her a smile and a thumbs-up.

“Who’s that?”

“That’s just Keisha… we’re going to the school pub tonight so, she’s trying on some different things.”

Sidney cleared his throat before he spoke again. “I guess I should let you go then… have fun.” He sounded annoyed, but I wasn’t sure why.

“Is everything ok?”

“Yah it’s fine. I should go finish getting ready anyway… I’ll talk to you later…” He hung before I could say anything else, leaving me feeling a bit offended.

“Oh… was that your boyfriend?” I turned around to face a smiling Keisha.

I put the phone back on the receiver before answering. “Umm… not really… no.” I sighed, not sure how to explain it. “He’s… just some guy from back home.”

“Some guy that’s not happy about you going out tonight?” I shook my head, my brow crinckling in consentration.

“It’s not like that… he’s just… use to things being about him all the time… if that makes sense?”

She nodded, tilting her head to the side as she watched me. “I guess so, just don’t let it get you down. Tonight’s gonna be a great time!”

I grinned at her unwavering enthusiasm, following her back up the stairs to my bedroom; mentally trying to figure out what I was going to wear tonight. I absorbed myself in our make-up, outfit selection and hair preparation; anything to keep my mind off the build up of guilt that was spreading through my body. For the life of me, I couldn’t understand Sidney’s problem; it wasn’t like I belonged to him - it wasn’t like anything had been set in stone.