Romance at a College Bar

  It was close to the end of the spring semester, the time when students hang on to the college nightlife before they part for the summer and ignore their academic responsibilities. My roommates had planned for this night out at the beginning of the week, trekking through the days with the hope that this night would make up for all the all-nighters and early morning exams that they complained had taken over our young adult lives. I would have preferred a classier night in the city.  The air inside the bar was thick and heavy, and the only source of light came from neon signs and camera flashes. I followed my friends as we rounded the bar, giving our obligatory hellos to anyone we even remotely know. The floor was sticky and the walls dirty and there indeed were many people. A group of fraternity boys and dressed-up girls danced off-rhythm near the DJ. Chairs were pushed to the side allowing for standing room only at the bar– behind it staffed two bartenders whose exhaustion an...