Roderick sits by himself in the Dining Hall. Molly got up early to go and practice, and he thinks Megan and Anna have classes.
A little news. Natasha plans to move in to her room later today; her parents got her into one of the nicer suites on the second floor of East Quad. The babies will remain in Beauneville with Mrs. Pampers.
An Asian girl Roderick has seen around campus -- he thinks she's a second or third year student -- puts her tray on the table next to him. "OK if I sit here?" she asks.
Roderick nods. She sits.
"You're Roderick Smith, aren't you?" she queries.
Roderick nods again, surprised that she knows his name.
"I'm Lily Chang." She offers her hand to shake hands, which Roderick accepts while checking her out. Lily is a strikingly good-looking girl, with longish black hair tied back in a single French braid. She wears boots, a tight plaid skirt and an armless blouse that reveals she is surprisingly buxom for an Asian girl.
"You're surprisingly buxom for an Asian girl" says Roderick, with his customary reserve.
"I'm from Minneapolis. Daddy owns the local distributorship of Stars and Stripes Pale Ale."
Ah, Stars and Stripes, the Great American Pale Ale, bottled in Shanghai, shipped around the world and marketed as fresh. Stars and Stripes is best known for its Smelly Underwear brand Mint-Chocolately-Chip One Hundred Twenty Minute India Pale Ale, winner of Snoot Magazine's most recent Snoot award for the snootiest brew.
But Roderick is slightly confused by Lily's use of "from Minneapolis" as an explanation for her buxomness. Are women from Minneapolis inherently more buxom than other women? Something in the air, perhaps? Roderick thinks he would like to go to Minneapolis, because he likes buxom women, but he also likes Molly who is not overly buxom. Sometimes life is a muddle.
Roderick soldiers on. "I've never been to Minneapolis."
"It's a nice place, you should come home with me some time."
"Do you have a Tiger Mom?"
"No, Mom and Dad pretty much let me do as I pleased when I was growing up. They offered to send me to Suzuki Violin and Mandarin language classes, but I told them I wanted to watch TV and hang out with Negroes and they were cool with that."
Roderick muses that there is some fine programming on television, and that Negroes have many redeeming qualities.
"But let's get down to business. Cyathos et Gladios: yes or no?"
Ah, Cyathos et Gladios, the secret society of Old Ivy. Roderick had heard if this from his Dad, who was also a member. An Old Ivy student has just one chance to join, which he must accept on the spot or forever live in the wilderness. How students are selected for membership is not known; it is, after all, a secret society.
"Yes."
"Tonight. Six o'clock. Don't be late." With that, Lily is off. Roderick watches her carry her tray to the tray disposal thingy and observes that in addition to being surprisingly buxom for an Asian girl she has a lovely bottom. He wonders if this, too has something to do with Minneapolis.
