“You’re out of order,” the president said, looking around for help. No one ever asked to leave a meeting. The girls looked embarrassed.

“I’m behind in biology lab. I need to work.”

“Well, go on then. We’re almost through anyway. We’re almost to the prayer.”

“Okay. I’m leaving.” I made my escape and went down to my room and found some change and bought a couple of Butterfinger candy bars out of a machine and tried to settle down to study. I worked on biology for a while, memorizing the classifications of animals. Then I decided to work on world history. I was writing a paper on the Great Ages of Man. “The great ages of man all began with political organization. There has to be a leader, whether he is a pharaoh, a king, a caesar or a pope. The problem comes in when the leader starts thinking he is God and can do whatever he likes. That’s why democracy was invented. If the leader has to be voted on by the people, he has to keep in touch with them and give them what they want.”

“Rhoda.” It was Irise. I hadn’t seen much of her in the past few weeks as she belonged to a different sorority and didn’t go out much except to classes.

“Irise. Where’ve you been? I haven’t seen you in so long. I have a thousand things to tell you.” I got up and went to the door and pulled her into the room.

“Charles William said to tell you he’s got it all fixed up for Homecoming. He got you a date with a wonderful boy. You’re going to go, aren’t you? Are you still going to go with me?” She sat down on a corner of my bed. She was all dressed up in a green corduroy jumper and a soft white blouse with puffed sleeves. Her face smiled out from her short brown hair. I had forgotten how much I liked her, how much it brightened up a room to have Irise around.

“God, I’m glad to see you. Everybody’s driving me crazy.”

“Can you go? He wants us to call him tonight and talk to him about it.”

“When is it?”

“Weekend after next. Can you go? Will you go? He’s building the Wreck again, this thing they build out of old cars. His won last year. It was a mountain made of beer cans with a goat on top.”

“God, yes, I’ll go. I’m dying to get away from here. I shouldn’t have moved in the house, Irise. They’re driving me crazy. I have to study in the middle of the night. So what’s his name, my wonderful date?”