Gena/Finn (16 page)

in Gena's welcome packet

August 11th

Welcome to Oakmoor!

Our entire community, from the Student Welcoming Organization all the way to our top-tier professors and faculty members, looks forward to meeting you during this orientation period. Not only will this week introduce you to fellow members of your incoming class, but it will introduce you to the standards we expect here at Oakmoor, the policies of the dorm and classroom affairs, and the Oakmoor expectations for living in our vibrant community.

Through a combination of mandatory activities, small seminars, and optional (but always highly attended!) social events, our
carefully organized orientation program should teach you everything you need to begin your journey as an integral part of the Oakmoor University community. Should you have any unanswered questions or require any individual attention, please turn to any student wearing a Welcoming Organization T-shirt or consult with your resident advisor. And don't be afraid to ask any returning student you may see this week to help guide you as you begin your time in our community! We're all here to help.

We wish you all the best! A detailed schedule, with requirements carefully noted, is within.

—The Oakmoor University
Student Welcoming Organization

Text with Finn

+1 815-555-9255: hey finn,
ignore the weird number, it's
genevieve. My phone plan
expired and i'm (predictably)
having a bitch of a time getting
in touch with my parents for
them to fix it. And of course
wi-fi is out in my dorm and fuck
if i know where the computer
lab is. and all my roommate
has is this shitty unsmart
phone (it's taken me 6 minutes
to type this much) so no email
for gena. probably dont text
me back because im already
getting death looks for using
her phone (is it too early to
request a roommate transfer?
dear lord i hope i remember to
erase this text) but i wanted to
let you know im here safe and
thinking about u on your first
day! hope you got the flowers!!

Text with Finn

+1 401-555-0507: hey it's
me again, phone hopping.
still no internet and the lab isnt
open until regular semester
starts, OF COURSE. frustrating
because no youuuu and also i
need to get in touch with zack/
producers about scheduling
stuff. i still cant believe I agreed
to do this. im such a moron.

+1 401-555-0507: you can
text me back if you're here im
here for a while. eli seems cool,
hes letting me hang to this for
a sec

August 12, 11:21 AM

+1 401-555-0507: did i tell
you im taking a drama class?
fucking ridiculous, right? But i
cant guest star next to fucking
ZACK this rusty...omg can you
imagine mal's internet glee if
i suck? ACING this class if my
life depends on it

August 12, 11:34 AM

+1 401-555-0507: oh you
probably cant text during work
at your new job! im so dumb.
okay im gonna give elijah back
his phone. hope everythings
okay over there, say hey to
charlie from me. everything's
pretty okay here. orientation
is fucking exhausting, running
around all the time. tired already
and classes havent even
started. sure itll be fine. love you

Text with Finn

+1 401-555-0507: hey finny
eli said you tried to call this
number last night? he said you
sounded upset. are you there?
ive been trying to call you

August 13, 11:16 AM

+1 401-555-0507: im really
worried babe

August 13, 11:44 AM

+1 401-555-0507: fuck i wish i
had charlies number

August 13, 11:56 AM

+1 401-555-0507: fuck shit
eli has to go, ill try calling from
joannes phone tonight

memo from the front office

Genevieve Goldman—

The campus pharmacy requires additional information to fill your prescriptions. Please go online to http://www.oakmoor.edu/student_services/health_center at your earliest convenience to resolve the issue.

Text with Finn

+1 815-555-9255: u there?
pick up

August 14, 3:16 AM

+1 815-555-9255: i'm sorry I
couldnt call I was at a fucking
mandatory bonfire i fucking
hate fires someday ill be
around when youre not either
at work or its not the fucking
middle of the night.

August 14, 3:46 AM

+1 815-555-9255: fuck
everything.

letter to Seth and Naomi
shoved under Gena's mattress

Hey Mom and Dad.

Orientation week is almost over. I guess really it was
orientation four days but it felt like a week. Or year.

This isn't exactly what I thought it would be.

Maybe some of it is that my phone still isn't working-hopefully by the time this letter reaches you guys that will have been taken care of? I've tried calling you from the office like ten times but it says you guys are out of service, which I guess makes sense but...I'm just feeling really isolated and in all honesty fucking fuck you guys for being inaccessible.

I'd apologize but obviously I'm not going to send this because you DON'T HAVE A FUCKING ADDRESS so I don't have to.

I haven't slept in two days. Everyone's running around having
this great time and making friends and oh my god let's go to the diner!! and I guess living in dorms and shit is really exciting for them or something, and everyone said I would have so much more freedom here than I did in boarding school and I'm not actually sure those people knew what freedom means. Yeah, I don't have adults breathing down my neck, but at boarding school at least they didn't run around trying to make me believe this was some sort of Disney World happiest place on earth bullshit, like everyone at this school is in on some special secret and the rest of the world has noooo idea how much fun we're having. Stoneyhall was some pretentious bullshit but at least it was honest about it.

And maybe Alanah was right. Maybe I'm part of the problem.
I really did think I was some big deal for getting in here, and I guess I expected to get that slapped out of me pretty quickly, but no, everyone else is patting themselves on the back for getting in here and the upperclassmen are here now too and it's exactly the same thing. Everyone knows you got into Oakmoor. What the fuck are you BRAGGING about?

Tell me it's too early to hate this.

Tell me I'm being stupid.

Tell me I was just expecting too much.

Tell me I was an idiot for taking an acting class and thinking no one would recognize me, or thinking my fucking professor wouldn't recognize me and point me out to the entire class and then hand me a letter the second day of class telling me she can tell I have an attitude about my acting and think I'm better than everyone and I'm just here to show off and she won't indulge me.

Tell me I was an idiot to think the guy whose phone I borrowed wouldn't read my texts and sing the fucking Up Below theme song at me every time I walk by.

Tell me I was an idiot for thinking I could go to a bonfire and be totally fine with it and not have to stare at people to make sure they see the fire too and that it's real real real until someone notices and calls me creepy and then flirts with some other girl by threatening to push her in.

Tell me I was an idiot for trying to bring up my fanfic journal on someone else's phone.

Tell me I was an idiot for ever leaving my pretentious goddamn hideous easy safe Stoneyhall bubble.

Come get me and bring me to Thailand or Uzbekistan or wherever the hell you are nowadays.

-bug

Text with John C.

+1 260-555-7175: im gonna
quit school and be an actress

August 15, 11:47 PM

what?

I think you have the
wrong number

August 15, 11:53 PM

oh god. genevieve?