My name is Kyle Barnum. I’m a junior at Ozarka Tech University, studying Electrical Engineering, and in my twenty years of life, I’ve never had a girlfriend. Granted, all that extra time spent studying and working got me a full scholarship to the best engineering university in the state with a nice bit of savings. And I do have a friend. And a job, sorta. So it’s not like I’m missing out on anything. And who knows, maybe this year will be different?

August in Arkansas is hot, humid, and miserable. The rising sun, far from being the symbol of hope and rebirth popularized by over-poetic English majors, was a signal that the cool but muggy night air was soon to become a boiling soup of sweat and turmoil. This particular sunrise was just like any other, meant to lead to a day like any other, but for me, it was the start of my social life doing a complete turnaround.

My alarm clock’s shrill blaring pulled me from sleep like a buzzard tearing the liver out of a raccoon on the side of the highway. That…sounded a lot better before I said it. Blame the fact that it’s seven in the morning and I’m tired.

With a groan, I rolled over to slap my clock silent and flopped back on my bed. Classes would start in an hour, including the Circuits class I was a Teacher’s Assistant for. On the other hand, it was the first day of class, so all we’d really do is go over the syllabi and make sure everyone had the right book, and Circuits wasn’t until noon. I could sleep for a couple more hours.