Eat'em Read Online Free Page A

days.
    “Not really,” I looked over the campus. It spread out like oil on a cloth, same as everything in Texas. Most of the buildings were only a couple stories tall – the space between, utilized only as a walking path, was wide enough to land a fleet of jumbo jets.
    “I got you,” Isaac dropped his smoke and smashed it into the curb. “I know this campus better than anyone. Don’t even worry about it.”
    The second we climbed out of the car, the heat once again hit me like the open door of a sauna. Sweat dripped from my fingertips, my face, and my elbows. Isaac led the way as I left a trail of droplets in my wake.
    “There is literally not a room on this campus I haven’t been in,” Isaac spoke so matter-of-factly, I didn’t question whether he might be embellishing. As out of place as he should have looked wearing a suit under the Texas sun, he actually fit right in. He walked with a sense of arrogance, though his head canted forward and the jacket gave him the slightest appearance of a hunchback. Even with his squat stature, his awkward posture, and formal attire, he looked like any other student walking the campus.
    Some girls walked by in pajamas and slippers. One had a sundress. A few people wore shirts with the university mascot, which was either a horse or a bull depending on the shirt. There were a few cyclists and a dude wearing a wife beater, swim trunks and flip-flops, gliding by on a long board.
    “If you need to know anything I pretty much have my finger planted on the pulse of this place. I know what’s playing in the theater, I know when the next basketball game is, I know where the best house party will be this weekend. Heck, if people are getting it on in the library,” Isaac pointed to a large building to our right, “I know about it. Truth is, I’ve seen it all. I can tell you what’s hot and what’s not.”
    “He’s a regular Van Wilder, yes?” Eat’em said from my backpack. “I hope he steps into traffic.”
    “There’s a coffee shop in both the theater building and the library, sweet hangout spots, you can usually find me at either place reading the paper, which by the way, is Arlington’s main local paper.”
    “Yay…” Eat’em groaned.
    “Over here’s the science building,” Isaac pointed to one of the taller structures, “there’s a couple science buildings, actually. This one’s mostly for biology crap, if you like that stuff. They are in the process of planting a garden on the roof. There’s also a building where they’re researching how to convert water into power, like gas for cars, and I’m pretty sure that one has a garage where they build stockcars if you want to take a mechanics course. You can actually race them too, which is pretty fun.”
    “You’ve done that?” I asked.
    “Yeah, man,” he increased his pace a bit, “I’ve done everything here. Seriously, professional student! On the west side of campus there’s a nanotech lab. They’re making a microchip that’s small enough to fit into the tip of a pen. South of that, near the theater, that’s where you’re going to take a lot of your English, history, languages are spread all over, but there’s also photography, that kind of crap. Humanities. Do you like sports?”
    “Sure.”
    “Well, I hope you don’t like football,” he pointed off in the distance to an ambiguous location blocked by countless buildings. “There’s a football field and used to be a team, but it’s gotten nixed. Still though, there’s basketball, but they’re in a gym that doesn’t really have a designated court. Maybe someday, but even if not, there are sporting events all over Texas. The state is obsessed. Here though, it’s about girl’s volleyball. I’ve seen every game.”
    “How do you have time for everything?” Val asked.
    “Patty,” Isaac smiled, baring all teeth, “there’s always time for girl’s volleyball. Plus, I practically live here”.”
    Eat’em chimed in, “Does your grand