Previously: Hardin was not rude for 10 seconds.
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Samantha: Tessa wakes up and right away notices that Steph is “snoring unattractively.” God. I just do not like you, Tessabelle. Let people sleep without your judgment clouding their auras or whatever.
She wonders how they’re going to get back to the dorms and heads out into the hallway looking for Nate. She realizes that she doesn’t even know if Nate is part of the frat, and yeah, that’s what happens when you spend more time judging on people than actually talking to them.
She heads downstairs and calls out for Nate, noticing 25 people sleeping in the living room, which I cannot even imagine. She also comments on the huge amounts of trash everywhere and by the time she reaches the kitchen, is actively resisting the urge to start cleaning up. This makes her think of Hardin doing the dirty work of throwing out all the solo cups and she giggles to herself. This is, of course, the moment that Hardin strolls in with a trashbag.
Marines: Wow, the comedic timing here is amazing. I’m just kidding. I actually think this is the first joke Anna Todd ever told.
Samantha: She quickly stops laughing, because laughing around potential sociopaths is dangerous stuff. She asks Hardin if Nate lives here as well and he ignores her. Cool. Swell. Can’t wait to see how Todd tries to spin him into a dreamboat.
Tessa tells him that the sooner he gives her some information, the sooner she can leave and this gets his attention. He sneers at her thinking Nate would be a frat boy and she points out that it’s just as likely as him being in one. She asks about a bus stop and informs her there is one a block away. When she presses for a little more information, he grins at her frustration and taunts her. Yay.
Tessa rolls her eyes and leaves the kitchen.
Hardin’s momentary civility last night was obviously a onetime thing and today he’ll be coming at me full force.
Are we going to get some tragic crack whore backstory later that’s supposed to justify Hardin’s behavior? Bets on what it’s going to be? Oh oh oh maybe he was raised in a circus and the lion escaped and ate his mother! And then he can say things like, “The lion devoured my mother, Theresa. Goodnight.”
Mari: Beautiful! This is an actual Crack Whore Story Telling Game!
Can I try?
Okay, as a child, Hardin was really into candles. Something about scented candles just calmed his troubled soul, or whatever, and he always burned them in his room. His father, mother, sister and trusty puppy all thought it was an innocent thing but one night he left his candles burning and his drapes caught on fire and he only woke up when his whole room was up in flames. He made it out alive, but no one else did.
“I killed my whole family with a lavender candle, Theresa. Sweet dreams.”
I can’t wait to see what it actually is!
Samantha: I am snort laughing at “lavender candle.” Best.
Tessa goes and wakes up Steph, who smiles at her like a nice person. She tells this nice person her bus plan and Steph is all, “Please. One of the boys will drive us home.” They head back downstairs and Steph asks Hardin if he’s ready to go and of course he is. He was just giving Tessa a Hard-in time. Get it?
We get a fascinating drive back to the dorms where Hardin refuses to roll up the windows and calls Tess “Theresa” again. Oh and she notices his “long fingers” drumming on the steering wheel. But I bet it was purely a scientific curiosity.
Next time on After: Tessa gets ready for the first day of school in Chapter 13!
I'm a 28 year old graduated English major and almost librarian. I can often be found singing too loudly (poorly) in the car or spending some time (hours) on Tumblr. I am a lover of Harry Potter, the Spice Girls, and too many other things.
I'm a 30-something south Floridan who loves the beach but cannot swim. Such is my life, full of small contradictions and little trivialities. My main life goals are never to take life too seriously, but to do everything I attempt seriously well. After that, my life goals devolve into things like not wearing pants and eating all of the Zebra Cakes in the world. THE WORLD.
