Three weeks without seeing jeans and t-shirts.

Wild concoctions of fashion permeated every nook

and cranny of this school, how was it that no one had entertained the idea of just wearing something
normal?

“Well maybe you just need to rethink your standard definition of the word ‘normal’, Stan.”

He could still hear echoes of his mother’s muffled voice over the phone. The first time talking to
her in weeks after moving 3,000 miles away for his new life as a college student. And all it took to
get her to go into lecture-mode again was an honest response to her question: How are the students
up there?

“They’re strange. Walking into Astronomy 170 just to find yourself surrounded by a bunch of white
people sporting do-rags and bejeweled butt-pockets is disorienting.”

He had hoped that this would make her laugh. He could’ve even done with a scoff, any sign of
reassurance that he wasn’t teetering over the edge of a complete mental breakdown less than a
month after moving away. But even now, after crossing the threshold of adulthood, Stanley’s
mother still felt the need to play devil’s advocate for any and all of his judgements.

Stan was pacing out front of the Engineering Library, a few paces away from his dorm. His
roommate was listening to K-pop loudly, but