ivy & gold

PINTEREST | PLAYLIST

-

Conny immediately lit up when Wendy recognised a film he mentioned, and started telling a tale of when she’d watched it. It didn’t matter that it was possibly one of the most well known documentaries of the twenty first century, that would never matter. Nodding along, and chuckling a little when she spoke about one of the penguins falling. “ Right? It’s so good, ” He enthused, as he followed behind her, “ I can’t believe your neighbour told on you, like it’s penguins. What a grinch. ” He said, shaking his head with a smile. Deciding to go with the angle that that was the reason Wendy’s neighbour had tattled on her and her sister. And not that they were kids being noisy late at night. 

He followed behind her, hands tracing over poles as he did just in case the bus suddenly started moving before he was ready. “ There’s so much of that, ” He assured, “ So much petty drama, and it’s just so ridiculous. Because it’s not even personal, it’s just about Donkey Kong. And arcade games. And just, this attitude of wanting to be the best at something. It’s bonkers. ” He continued, having forgotten how much he’d enjoyed the doc after not watching it for years. “ We’ll have to watch it, I’m sure it’s on something. ” He said as he swung himself into the seat beside Wendy. He tried to turn his body to meet her’s, but with his knees against the back of the seat in front of them it left little room for movement. Much less comfortable movement. Instead his upper body angled in, head turned towards her. Though it turned away a moment later with bashful shake of his head. A real film maker. He didn’t know about that but it was kinda crazy to think that his portfolio was genuinely starting to grow. It wasn’t just shitty high school project made by him and his sister that he wasn’t even bold enough to put online anywhere. It was real things, that he worked on with other people. He looked back to assure her, “ Oh, of course you’re getting an invite, ” In this hypothetical and somewhat fantastical Cannes scenario, “ You’re, like, my number one hype man. It would literally be the least I could do. Just remember to tell old Timothee all sorts of nice things about my movie. ” His joked, though the first part was true. Wendy was one of the most supportive people he’d ever met, especially when it came to creative passions. She was such a great friend. “ I’m still trying to think of ideas though, like– obviously I’d wanna do something niche, something unique, but I dunno. I’ve still got time, it’s a whole semester away. ” He was certain he could find a topic that fit the categories niche and unique in a state like Vermont. His issue was more so finding something he could make interesting. Something people might want to watch. Something he’d want to watch. “ And I don’t even know what the criteria for grading is gonna be, so it’s probably for the best I don’t get too ahead of myself. ”

.

Wendy, who was the absolute Queen of Getting Ahead of Herself, couldn’t relate but she did respect Conny and his artistic processes. “If I had to do a documentary about something around here, do you know what I’d do?” She allowed herself a dramatic pause, which she was sure Conny was familiar enough with to wait out before she continued. “The Vermont Teddy Bear Factory. But get this: it would start with a montage entirely from the Pee-Oh-Vee of one of the bears.” Was that how documentaries worked? She didn’t really know. She’d really only seen the one that she liked, and then a couple that bored her to tears and then into forcefully removing the memories from her brain. “Carefully made, shipped off in his little ‘Bear-Gram’, beloved by some little child in some random corner of the country. But — gasp! He’s absolutely messed the hell up when he’s thrown out the car window on the highway by a disgruntled older sibling. We’re talking mud and we’re talking run over by an eighteen-wheeler, it’s looking rough for Mister Teddy. So, lo and behold... what’s there to do?”

She smiled as the bus rattled on, eight minutes or so from their destination. “Send him back to the factory, to — guess what? Be healed and nursed back to health at the Bear Hospital. Did you know they have a Bear Hospital? And it’s totally free. How chic and generous of them, right?” She knew this because she had ordered one for her little cousin during her freshman year, and she was utterly charmed by the information. “And then... I don’t know, there must be some other story buried in there to make this whole thing real compelling, I’d just have to put my detective cap on and do some digging. Nancy Drew the hell out of it. And you, of course, would be my trusty cameraman. Then we’ll be heading to Cannes as equals.” The bus slowed as it approached the next stop, and Wendy relaxed further into her seat. She felt so warm and giddy, being reunited with him. For all that she liked to talk, she wasn’t entirely sure how to put the feeling into words. She wanted to know everything that happened to him between the end of last semester and now. Every dream, meal, and movie he saw. Everything that didn’t fit into their FaceTime calls and text conversations. “Hey, did you experience any life-changing events over the break I should be privy to? Or anything less major, I guess. I should’ve asked that first. It was a long, long summer and all.”

-

Lucas never ceased to be amazed by the sheer speed of Wendy’s thoughts, especially considering the quality of what was being said. She was highly amusing, although he did start to wonder if perhaps she’d had some form of ADHD he was unaware of. Women presented differently, or so he’d learnt recently. But he was not a doctor yet, and he was not confident enough to ask. Nor did it really matter. “Least I can do, in exchange for some company.” he smiles. He never really knew how to accept gratitude. “You want some sugar with that?”

At the following, he nods, a smile glued to his face as she talks about the exact lecture routine she was working out today. Lucas was like that too. He liked to be on time, and to have everything worked out in advance instead of worrying about it last minute. Or messing up and appearing lazy, or worse, unreliable. “With five minutes to spare, huh? Look at you go.” and although any regular person would use those five minutes to prep for the class, he raises a brow. “They got a new coffee machine on the second floor at Fairchild. It’s pretty good.” it wasn’t. “Maybe I can waste those five minutes before your ‘lame-o-lab’ sometime.” he felt a bit weird saying that, but so what if he wanted actually make some genuine friends this yeah? – When she mentions Red Sox as a notable summer event, his expression takes on a very apparent look of surprise and he instantly tones it down not to give off the wrong impression. “You like baseball?” and hot dogs apparently, some of his favourite things.

He was so interested in her baseball interest that he’d nearly missed the question back. “Oh yeah, no summer was fine. I went to Korea on this med-exchange programme for a month. Didn’t do much else once I got back, can’t lie.” he wished he was one of those people who got more excited about things. For the most part, he was just waiting to go back to college. “It’s good to be back.”

.

Wendy started to wave him off graciously, but then stopped the motion halfway through.  “Do you have some on you?” she asked curiously, hand momentarily froze mid-air, because if so, well, that was fate telling that she deserved a little sweetness. When Lucas said look at you go, she mimed flipping her hair over both shoulders—one after the other, in a sort of prissy, Valley Girl way she’d seen in movies. “Orientation leaders are gonna start begging me for my insights if word gets around. Just you watch,” she said grandly. “They’ll call it ‘Pulling a Wendy’. You got a tight sched but you still manage to make it to class just under the wire? Sweat at your temples, panting a little, earning a couple looks from the other students waiting outside the classroom door? Boom. You just Pulled a Wendy.”

Her playful grin softened at his offer and tried not to let it lead her down rose-colored visions of late-night texting and breakfasts in the dining hall or getting a better whiff of his cologne. She internally paused. Was that last one creepy? She paused to think again. Plus, he had a girlfriend. An inconvenient fact in the face of her harmless and borderline delusional daydreaming. The vision shattered, but the giddy pleasure remained. “Please,” she said smilingly. “Imagine how many brain cells I’d lose to boredom in those five minutes alone if I don’t have caffeine and a little tête-à-tête. I’m pretty sure I’m like, medically reliant on chit-chat. It’s ugly when I’m deprived.” Wendy took another sip from her coffee, nudging her notebook aside with her free hand. Inside, she had just been doodling little flowers and swirls while she listened to music. “My dad likes baseball,” she answered. “And I like baseball pants and when people sing songs really loudly together. Belting out ‘Sweet Caroline’ with a bunch of sweaty white guys was kind of, like, iconic.” 

Wendy’s eyes widened when Lucas revealed where he had been over the summer. “Korea? Seriously? Oh my God, that’s so cool,” she enthused. She didn’t know much about the country beyond some of the music she listened to. “Did you work like, nonstop or did you get to go out and explore and stuff?” she inquired excitedly. “I’ve never been out of the country, except the one time we drove up to Niagara Falls after I graduated high school. We were on the New York side the whole time, but obviously I saw Canada from where we were.” Jokingly, she added on: “Surprise! It looked just like upstate New York.” 

closed starter @wendysandersons​ where: their dorm when: random weekday evening

admittedly, shane did not spend much time in the dorm, always either at class or practice or she was busy with various hookups and parties. so in the first few weeks since she moved in, she hasn’t spent much time with her roommates. not that she cared much about that. but now she was sitting in the dorm, plans canceled on her, and she was a little desperate for company. so desperate that she was crossing the common room over to wendy’s and drea’s room and knocking on the doorframe. “hey, uh, i ordered some food and expected to share it with someone but they bailed and now i have way too much,” they paused, realizing how last resort this sounds, but she’s already been pretty awkward around wendy’s extroverted personality, so she just pushed through it. “so if you’re hungry or something and wanna…” her words trailed off with a shrug of her shoulders, already feeling weird for asking. 

.

Wendy had been back in the dorm long enough to change into her pajamas—a matching pink leopard print set with a cute fuzzy trim. She’d been in the process of tying a silk scarf over her head when a knock came at her door, barely heard over the sound of STAYC coming through her Bluetooth speaker. Drea was at her boyfriend’s, she was like ninety percent sure, and Ari would probably holler through the door instead of knocking. That left Shane. Probably. “One sec!” she called out, finishing the knot she was tying. She reached for her phone, quickly turned the volume down on her music, then made the few steps to the door. “Heya,” Wendy greeted, wondering if Shane saw the ring Wendy inadvertently left on the shared coffee table that morning and came to complain about it. She was totally going to fix it! She just hadn’t gotten to it yet. But what her roommate said next was far more surprising. “Oh,” she started, blinked, and then grinned. “Totally! You asked the perfect gal, because the one thing I love more than food—?” She paused for effect. “Is free food.” Wendy stepped through the door, glancing over Shane’s shoulder real quick. “What’d you get?”

-

Conny’s smile remained, looking down for a moment as he let out a chuckle with a shake of his head. He wasn’t sure he believed Wendy’s parents actually held that much interest in him (like, how much could Wendy or anyone possibly say about him), but it was easy to go along with it like it was some sort of prolonged bit. “Okay, well, when you put it like that, it’d be rude not to. ” He said, looking up once more and placing hand over his chest momentarily before it fell back to his side. “ And I say hi back, ” He quipped in response about Wendy’s sister, smile resting easily on his features. “ Mom and Casey say hi as well, too, obviously, ” He tacked on a beat later, having forgotten Casey’s exact hello after the long drive. Admittedly his mom hadn’t said hello, but he thought that if she were the sort of mom to say that thing then she definitely would.

Like a ragdoll he was easily tugged along when Wendy again pulled at his elbow, another chuckle falling from his lips. “ Oh, completely. They’ll be feeling very like the scarecrow in Wizard of Oz. ” He started, continuing on with a direct reference, hand lifted over his heart in a lamenting sort of fashion. “ If I only had a brain, you know, ” And though he didn’t sing it, technically, because he’d rather die, he did allow his tone to go up and down and drag out ‘brain’ a little with the tune of the song from the 1939 classic. 

His mouth hangs open a little bit, ready to answer whether or not he would be making his own documentary in a semester’s time, but there was a more pressing matter revealed first. “ Well, hey now, not all documentaries are black and white history books on screen, ” Though notably, yes, many of the first ones were, “ Not to sound like a dweeb, ” Though he was, “ They can be very, very fun. You know, like, March of the Penguins was a real cultural phenomenon when it came out. ” Probably one of the best known documentaries that came to mind, though there was a whole plethora of nature documentaries thanks to David Attenborough and the likes. “ And there’s Summer of Soul and Truffle Hunters that came out a couple years ago. American Movie, ” He could have kept going with them, Have A Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics, The Aristocrats, Toys That Made Us, Cursed Films– but what use was listing when the examples were probably unrecognisable. “ King of Kong was this one about these guys trying to have the highest score on Donkey Kong– ” He started his explanation as the people stepping off the bus finally stopped, without even thinking he approached the bus with her but stepped to the side at the last moment, offering hand up while preventing anyone from trying to bustle past her. “ Which, I know, sounds kinda silly but it was like all this potentially tampering with machines and these dudes getting so competitive and passionate about a game that game out like thirty years ago. ” He explained passionately, he couldn’t even remember the story all that well, but he remembered enjoying it. A movie that he and Casey had watched during the summer of their freshman year in high school. All the windows open because it was hot, taking up the entire couch as they often did, and accidentally waiting until popcorn cooled to eat it. He stepped on board after Wendy, holding onto pole as he rounded the corner to the body of the bus. After a beat he remembered there had actually been a question, following Wendy to a seat, “ But, to answer your original question, ” He said, tone a little goofy, acknowledging that he’d gotten totally sidetracked, “ I think it’s a bit of both. First half, watching and analysing documentaries, second half, make your own. ” Though Conny had no flying idea what he might make a documentary about. He figured that was a later issue. Inspiration always strikes at the right time, all that.

.

Wendy smiled easily, charmed by his Wizard of Oz reference, and then laughed fondly. “You’re definitely a dweeb, but I love it,” Wendy said truthfully. Quickly, her eyes widened as he continued. “Ohhh, wait. I loved the penguin one,” she interjected, actually kind of excited to realize that she recognized the title of a documentary. It made her feel kind of sophisticated, even if said documentary was one about a bunch of cute animals. “Nell and I watched that over Christmas break one year. I think I was in eighth grade... ish. We were totally hopped up on sugar and we laughed sooo hard when this one little penguin slipped and all his buddies kind of went ‘aaahhh!’ Our next door neighbor banged his cane against the wall to make us shut up. My dad was super peeved at us when Mr. Garcia tattled the next day.” She didn’t recognize the other movie Conny listed, but she wouldn’t have said no if he offered up the idea of a marathon—just the two of them. Their tastes sometimes differed but that didn’t mean they couldn’t have a good time. 

“That, I could dig. I like the hyper-niche of it all. Plus—” Wendy smiled again as she took Conny’s preferred hand and stepped onto the bus, shooting the bus driver a smile as she went. Leading Conny to a seat somewhere in the middle, she continued: “No matter how silly it is, if there’s petty drama in it? I’m there.” It was one of those things that was always a lot of fun to watch, which explained her passion for House Wives, and less so to be a part of.  And, to be fair, the premise seemed just outrageous and silly enough that it could conceivably hold her attention. She sat down then slid toward the window so Conny could sit beside her, immediately turning to face him as he did so. “Are you so totally excited? Do you have any ideas for it? You’re like, a totally real filmmaker. Color me extremely impressed.” Wendy sighed with exaggerated wistfulness. “Remember me when you’re at Cannes, basking in the sun and surrounded by supermodels. Or, better yet, invite me so I can wear a gorgeous gown and get my photo taken with Jonathan Majors. Oh my God—or Timothee Chalamet.”

where: outside the library when: day after the party (any time) @wendysandersons​

he wasn’t gonna be around when everyone at the frat woke up, so he finished his breakfast, put on a pair of nice joggers, got his books and dipped. the day was nice enough, sun was out and the clouds spread out across the clear sky and it was not too hot for it to be bothersome. he usually hated this type of weather. he was more of a ‘rain and stay in’ type of guy, but today he found himself quite happy with it. relaxed, slower in his step. he didn’t even care to enter the library once he got there. he spotted wendy sitting outside and decided to grab himself, and her a coffee and join her for a chat. he knew the girl could talk, and he could use some of that to break the monotony of constant arguing with mel and endless discussions with the boys. 

“hi…” it’s a simple greeting, as he lowers into a space next to her. “got you a coffee, hope you don’t mind.” a pause as he unloads the books on the surface beside him, and then his focus shifts to her and he smiles. he smiled a lot, or he tried anyway, he thought it helped people feel at ease. “you good? had a good summer?”

.

Okay, so... a hot guy, totally unprovoked, came up to her, Wendy Sanderson, with a cup of coffee... for her, and she was—what? Supposed to be normal about that? “Oh, heeeeey,” Wendy eked out, then cleared her throat as she reached for the coffee. She smiled as she wrapped her hands around the cup. “Oh my God, angel much? How could I ever mind? As if I’m in the position to reject or begrudge free caffeine. This is like, totally heaven-sent.” Wendy had already treated herself to a dirty chai that morning, and then she drank half of her friend’s Red Bull, so maybe a coffee wasn’t super advisable. But again, what was the other option? Saying no? As if.

“I’m fab. I decided to do a little practice run of my class route before they start on Monday, because I noticed my Tuesday-Thursday sched cuts it pretty close in the morning,” she explained. “I’ve got a 9 AM in Sanborn House, and then I have to haul my ass to Fairchild for the lame-o lab I’ve gotta take by 11:00. But I totally nailed it. With five minutes to spare, no less. I’m feeling a little cocky. And like, surprisingly athletic? Try and control your shock and awe.”  She moved the tab of the coffee lid out of the way, then brought the drink to her lips for a little sip. Would she have added more sugar? Yes. But she was fine with Lucas thinking she was one of those girls who didn’t need all that. “Summer slayed. I actually went to a Red Sox game. They lost by like, a scary amount, but the hot dog was delish. How was your break?”

-

Immediately, he was sucked back into the pleasant whirlpool that was Wendy Sanderson’s presence. Like there hadn’t even been three months and a shit load of miles since they last saw each other face to face. Even if he wanted to look away as she spoke about her parents getting a BnB (which he did not!), he probably wouldn’t have been able to. A smile resting easily on his features as he listened, nodding his head along a little in that active listening way. “ That’ll be nice. And, I mean, speaking as someone who just drove for two days straight, ” A slight exaggeration, but the only other things he had done in the last 48 hours were eat and sleep, “ I get it. Doesn’t sound super romantic to drive all the way up and back for the second time in a week just to be fussed about dates. ” He said, tone light and easily. Playful in a sense. Though it wasn’t as though he had much authority to speak on anything romantic. 

He felt her arm loop through his. Obviously he did as she tugged him along. But he made sure not to look down. Something, something, didn’t want her to think he was thinking anything of it. Even if he was. But he wasn’t. Definitely wasn’t. Instead he raised his brows in pleasant surprise when she announced he had been invited to brunch day after tomorrow. He would have said no. Declined politely for fear of intruding, but the mention of churros made it hard to believe she was just saying it to be kind. “ Well, if my churro shovelling services are needed, then how can I say no? ” He joked in reply, though swiftly followed it up with a genuine, “ But, like, I’m so down. If that’s cool, of course– you know, don’t wanna intrude on the fam-time or anything. ” Fam-time? God, he was going to end it all, why the fuck did he say that? Anyway!

He gave a sympathetic click of his tongue in response to the news that the Moulin Rouge soundtrack had been banned for Wendy’s drive up. Shoving his hands in his pockets as she continued just for something to do with them. His mouth opened in a small ‘o’ as he heard the words ‘Horror Fiction’, immediately excited for her even if she wasn’t as big a horror fan as he was. Or a horror fan at all, but maybe that had changed for her to take up the class. “ That’s sick, that’s gonna be so good. ” He enthused, “ And congrats, obviously. Your advisor sounds like they’re completely underestimating you. ” He added on, a little bit of a joke but a little bit genuine too. In the time he’d known Wendy he knew she was a lot smarter and a lot more determined than people seemed to assume. A tiny beat later he remembered there had also been question for him. “ I did, I did get into the classes I wanted to. I don’t know if you remember but I was trying to get into that nonfiction writing one. Creative Nonfiction: uh … something, something, integrity and vulnerability? ” He tried jogging his own memory along with her’s. Creative Nonfiction: Inquiry, Integrity, and Vulnerability. He’d literally been looking at it earlier that day, but his mind was still a little fried from the drive. “ But yeah, I got into that, I think it’ll give me a real edge for that documentary class I wanna do next semester. ”

.

“Um, you’re more than welcome to join fam-time, it’s never an intrusion. You know my parents are like, addicted to you,” Wendy assured him with a smile. Her dad would have a blast grilling him about his courses and post-grad plans, at least, and take the heat off Wendy for a total of ten minutes. Which, well, she loved Conny and hated to put him on the spot like that, but she was pretty sure she deserved a break now and again. “And Nell says hi, bee-tee-dubs.”

Your advisor sounds like they’re completely underestimating you. Wendy sighed dramatically. “Tell me about it,” she lamented. “I am like, Top 5 Underdogs of All-Time. This university is going to be cursing their lack of foresight in... five... ten years tops when they realize they should’ve made me the face of this whole operation.” She smiled warmly at Conny, then tugged on his elbow again when she heard the shuttle rounding the corner. Turning her head and going up onto her tip-toes, she could see the sun reflecting off the front of the bus.

“Ooooh, yes! I remember you telling me about that one,” she said, even though the memory was hazy—which definitely wasn’t a reflection on whether or not Wendy cared or listened or whatever. She totally did! Things just slipped sometimes. “Do you get to like actually, make your own documentary in that class, or are you gonna be forced to watch a bunch of bleak black-and-white Eastern European ones all semester?” The fear for him was inspired by a Hungarian film she had to watch for her Literature and Utopia class last semester, which wasn’t a documentary but definitely black-and-white and boooring. She bounced on her toes twice as the bus pulled up, and waited with barely-concealed impatience as about half a dozen passengers walked out first. “Because that would so suck.”

-

ari slinks out of her bedroom clad in a tank top and a pair of shorts, her arms stretched out behind her as she loosens up her muscles and yawns. it had taken a wake and bake to make the hangover abate, and now she’s just trying to acclimate herself to the waking world before she has to decide if she’s picking up her co-worker’s shift tonight, or passing it off to someone else. she raises an eyebrow when she hears wendy’s cry for help, leaning over the back of the couch and looking down at her, sympathetic. “rough night?” ari asks, her tone playful as she runs a hand through her tangled hair. “what do you need? water? an upper? some weed? i’m good for all of the above.” which isn’t to imply that ari’s the one who’s been changing the communal brita pitcher, but, you know, someone has, and ari’s perfectly capable of pouring out a glass for the roomies. 

.

Eyes squeezed shut, Wendy was relieved to hear Ari’s voice. “It was a very long, fruitful night. Full of firsts and lifelong memories and so many weird smells, but...,” she started with a theatrical wave of her hand through the air. “By God, am I feeling rough.” Wendy listened to Ari list off potential modes of treatment for the the dozens of invisible little people drilling into her skull with a modicum of attention. Her mind drifted. To the smell of McDonald’s. To the taste of a hot caramel macchiato, one as big as her entire face—whole milk, extra caramel, and yes, she knew she was like, kind of, sort of lactose-sensitive, but she was willing to suffer a tummy ache in place of what she suffered now. “I need a sausage and egg biscuit... or a bacon, egg, and cheese. And oh my God, those incred hash browns. Plus, a cup of coffee the width of my ass.” Eyes still closed, she reached up toward Ari, her hand latching onto her roommate’s arm. “Please, I’m desperate. How can we make this happen?”

“Well, I don’t know if swapsies are like a rule, just something my mom once about to me as a kid about….” He trailed off because by that point he had become distracted by watching Wendy placing things on the counter. “Oh, no that’s way too much. ”

He forgot momentarily that american currency could have bills less than 5, which didn’t really matter since Wendy did put a five down, but Blue didn’t really read the bill before he slid it back to her. “I have an idea, I’ll leave ‘em this guy,” He removed a tiny, green alien baby keychain from his set of keys for the car, the frat house, mailbox and his bedroom and placed in on the counter. “And you can give me something, and we’ll call it even.” He smiled, hoping to reassure her as he really hadn’t meant to worry or upset anyone, just avoid some confrontation from someone who wanted to lay any claim. “That b word you use, bawka-something, tell me what it means, please?” He figured going to university might come with some words he had no idea of and was determined to not be afraid to find out.

“You’ve never had a beer?” He was pretty suprised by this, mouthing the word 'wow’ at the news, complete with an exploding brain miming moment. It was the first alcohol he had, the one he most preferred, but to never? “Well, a toast then? To your first beer and the lack of party inflections

.

Well, if that was the case... Wendy tucked the beer bottle cap into her pocket (new memory box item unlocked!) without guilt. She watched with interest as the boy took out his keys, and her eyes widened at the sight of the keychain. “Oh noooo, but he’s a cutie!” she argued, cooing over the sight of the alien baby. Wendy quickly picked it up for inspection. She smiled at its face, then turned it to face the boy. “How can you bear to part with this little guy?” Placing the keychain back down on the counter, she tapped her finger against the top of its head. “Well, I have a better idea: you take my five dollars and I take this one home with me,” she suggested. “And then we can, um... Huh.” She glanced around the kitchen, to the couple sucking each other’s faces off in the corner, to the boys playing some rowdy game at the table. “Find... a replacement...”

Wendy blinked then smiled again at his question. “Ba-kuh-nay-lee-uh,” she repeated slowly, already revved up and ready to explain it to him. “Do you know anything about Ancient Rome? Gladiators, pagan festivals, dirty graffiti of yore, the very inventors of fast food...? Well, a bacchanalia was like, one of their big ragers. There was wine.” She held up her bottle of beer—close enough. “There was girl-boy mingling.” She gestured between the two of them. “There was loud music. People were getting real freaky. It was like, a total free-for-all. All in the name of Bacchus, who was like, the god of wine and partying and stuff. Doesn’t that sound totally amaze?” She very conveniently left out the fact that it was also, technically speaking, a cult. But who said those couldn’t fun? She was sure they weren’t all tragedy and brainwashing. You’ve never had a beer? Wendy shook her head. “Never have I ever,” she confirmed, laughing at his miming. “I always thought the smell was gross, but I figured if I were to, you know...” She wiggled her fingers. “Bleeend in, then I have to do as the Romans do.” Wendy grinned. “Cheers! To my first beer, to not pissing anyone off, and... to Bacchus.” Wendy brought the drink up to her mouth, took a sip, and immediately made a face. It took everything in her to actually swallow it down. When she finished, she stuck her tongue out. “Oh my god, it tastes worst than it smells.”