This piece shares the dangers of not using the buddy system. It's a scary world out there and you never know what can happen.

1. Emily Ruterbusch
The Walk Home
Loud punk rocker music sounded throughout the frat house. Each college student
present was consuming unhealthy amounts of alcohol while grinding on whatever they
could get their hands on.
“Of all places, you think that coming to a frat party is what will take my mind off
things?” I desperately checked her watch for the time.
“What?! You never get out! You spend all of your time working and actually
studying that you don’t have time to think about enjoying yourself!” Connie repeated this
often.
“And you think that I don’t enjoy myself when I do those things?”
“You work for a company that treats you like a slave for little pay, you work
crazy hours and you spend your outside time doing whatever homework you have for the
week. No one could possibly enjoy that.”
“Okay, I’ll give you that one. A frat party though? How is this supposed to help?”
“Well, for one thing, that sweater of yours is totally boy repellant. AND it
probably would help if you tried to have a good time, instead of just stand in a corner and
people watch.”
“Well after spending four years in college already, the last thing I really want to
do is get drunk and wake up in some strangers’ bed.”
She didn’t even say anything at this point, but just shook her head at my ill
attempt to socialize.

2. “On that happy note, I’m going to head out. I’m sure the police will be here to
bust this giant orgy soon. You wanna come with me? Or are you going to stay and risk
getting drugged?”
“Ha ha ha, you think you are so funny don’t you?” She hiccupped.
She finished her last chug of her red solo cup of foamy beer and made her way to
the door. She stumbled over couples that refused to get a room and coughed through
smoke that enveloped the air.
After dodging some unpleasant conversations of drunken boys just trying to get in
the pants of anything that looked remotely like a woman, we managed to move to the
green front lawn. It was one of those moments where I still couldn’t believe that this
house looked so good for having so many parties.
“I still find it surprising that this lawn manages to stay so green with all of the
parties that this house has.”
“Shit, you and me both!”
“Hey, check it out!” She pointed down the street where a police car sat. “Good
timing with the party killer! That was a good call.”
“Hey, I don’t know about you, but I never really caught on to getting caught by
the cops.”
“Are you kidding? I’m always up for a good party. You should know this.”
“Well considering two seconds ago?” I mentioned sarcastically.
I shook my head at her as we walked back towards the dorms. Unfortunately for
us, our place of residence was still on the other side of the campus, and all I could think
about was ‘Thank God I wasn’t drunk’ because this trip would be the longest ever.

3. “Come on Connie, this way will be so much quicker!”
“I’m not sure. That just looks like we are going completely out of our way to get
back to the dorm.”
“Seriously? It can’t be that bad, I’ve taken this road at least one time before.”
“Woo, ONE TIME! That’s just so convincing I think I’m just going to follow you
down this creepy sidewalk with no lights!”
“You think you are just so funny don’t you?” I emphasized my snarky tone.
I honestly couldn’t blame her from the looks of the place. The trees were all
overgrown and top heavy. The cement path looked like it had been forgotten for years.
The grass was stale in some parts from the lack of sunlight and was overgrown through
the cracks. It was like adventuring into a jungle full of poisonous creatures waiting to nip
at your ankles.
I shook my head as I walked towards the dark path that I was convinced was the
shorter way back to the dorm though I barely felt convinced myself. I tried to ignore her
as I decided to stick with my decision. I was stubborn that way.
“Abby! Come back! I was just kidding!”
I could hear her faintly through my fingers that were stuck in my ears. It was kind
of childish, but there was only one way to get my point across.
I slumped away realizing that she clearly wasn’t going to follow my directions. I
could see why she was freaked out by going this way in the first place, it was like
walking in to a dark basement that was abandoned for years. I had this eerie feeling that
someone was following right behind me, though every time I looked I was alone.

4. Each step that I took crunched beneath my green flip-flops. There was an obvious
distinction of the lack of travelers. I couldn’t figure out why I had such a brilliant plan to
take this way home. Not even the lawn service that the university paid for would come
down this way. There was a faint sound of voices being flushed out by the cops in the
distance.
I could see faint lights in the distance from other dorm rooms. Subtle giggles of
underage girls making their way from parties, in which they are way too drunk to even
remember getting back home. I was surprised that they were able to make is back on their
own. I could easily tell that they were freshmen. They just seemed to have this carefree
aura about them. Unlike the higher-level college students that finally figured out that they
didn’t have time to waste going to parties and drinking their nights away waiting to
possibly get roofied.
Amidst my wandering thoughts of roofied freshmen girls, I realized that I had
never seen this part of the campus before. There was only one light that lit a small portion
of the sidewalk.
As I took each step lightly through the jungle path, I could hear slight rustling of
the bushes around me. It was the kind of soft noise that made every hair on my body
stand on end.
“Okay Connie! You can come out now! You have made your point!”
I scanned the area quickly to hopefully see Connie’s bright smile and a quick sigh
of laughter for the joke she had pulled. As if everything was just going to blow over, like
all the crazy times before. Then we would just walk back to our dorms and move on with
our life. Such sighting never came.

5. I quickened my walk towards the light, like it was a safe haven. It was like once I
reached the light, nothing else could touch me. It was as if the light was an impenetrable
force that nothing bad could break through.
“Come on Abs, think happy thoughts.” I gave myself a pep talk to keep it all
together.
My eyes were wider than I ever knew they could get. The rustling grew closer and
closer but kept at a steady pace. I braced myself for what could happen next.
“W-who’s there!?”
Before I could say anything else, as fearful as my shaky voice was, it happened.
Meow
A longhaired white cat made its appearance. It had a small pink collar that at least
said that this adorable creature belonged to someone.
The cat made its way up to me purring the entire time. It rubbed and rubbed all
over my scrawny white legs. I took the opportunity to calm my heartbeat from adrenaline
rush that had happened moments before. My heart was racing so fast that I was sure it
was going to beat right out of my chest.
I managed to gather up my courage and leave what seemed to be this safe zone
from all of the monsters in the dark. I managed to pump out a smile and began my pace
towards the end of the path. There was a sense of relief that allowed me to breathe a little
smoother.
As the end of the path came near its end, the rustling of the jungle-like bushes
began to creep through my soul once again. I couldn’t help but think that this wasn’t
normal. There wasn’t any type of breeze that could move the leaves to such extent.

6. I looked back on the dark path that I had survived, thinking that the cat was
following me again. There wasn’t anything that I could see. The furry white animal was
still under the single light on the path. It was rolling around on the ground in awe of the
overgrown green grass perking up through the cracks.
I bent down and called the furry animal. Cats were always strange creatures,
wanting attention one minute then wanting to nothing to do with you the next. I wasn’t
quite sure what side I was going to get but it was worth a shot.
“Here kitty!” I patted my leg hoping that the noise would help.
The cat sprang up on all fours then trotted its way towards the end of the path.
Part of me wished that I had enough courage like that cat to just mosey through the
overgrown jungle.
The little cat was just as happy as it was the few minutes ago that I left it. I picked
it up and it seemed to snuggle right into my chest. I figured that if I take the cat home
there is probably a better chance of getting in touch with the owner.
“HEY!”
I jumped so much that my sandal managed to slide right off my foot.
“Abby! What’s going on?! You left that party so early! It was so nice seeing you
out and about!”
“Beth you scared the shit out of me!”
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to do tha-a-a-t, who’s your friend?” She reached over
and scratched the animal behind the ear.
“Not quite sure. I just found it following me down this path.”

7. “I just saw you standing there and I figured I would stop. I figured we could walk
back to the dorm together. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s alright, I was a little nervous anyway. I was second guessing going that way
home. But I found this little guy, so I guess it can’t be that bad.”
Beth and I lived in the same dorm. We got along pretty well; she had more free
time than I did though. Just like Connie, she knew how much time I got out other than for
work or class.
“I have no idea why you decided to go that way. It’s only a shortcut in the
daylight! Shoot, at night you have to be crazier than Martha Stewart in prison to walk that
way at night!”
“Well, lets just say that was the only time I was going to go that way home. Say,
have you seen Connie anywhere?”
“No I haven’t. The last time I saw her she was with you at the party.”
“I’m sure she is probably at her dorm by now. She is a pretty quick walker.”
“I don’t see why not. I’m sure we will see her tomorrow.”
“Yeah, maybe you’re right.”
We began walking towards our dorms that were just a few more feet away. The
dark path was a shortcut, but with the amount of time being worried that someone was
following you just made it the same amount as any other path home.
“So, are you and Dan still seeing each other?”
“Yes I am. He’s just so sweet! I mean just the other day, he brought me flowers.”
“Well, that was a sweet gesture. What did he do?”

8. “Ha ha. That’s funny. We never really fight about anything. I just think that he
felt bad about having to cut out on our date. He had to study for a big exam.”
At this point, I was pretty sure that the gesture was because he felt bad about
something else, and it wasn’t studying. Dan was the partying type and never had just one
girlfriend. How do you tell a friend that? Especially one who is as excited as Beth was to
be with him.
I pulled out my key to get into the dorm room. Beth just kept rambling about how
much she loved Dan and how he was just so great.
“So what are we gonna do with our new visitor?”
“I’m sure I’ll find something. Maybe some milk or something? I had a cat when I
was younger, I’ll figure something out until I can find its owner.”
I felt tired. It was about midnight, which was way later than I stay up at night with
my busy schedule. Not to mention the dark path incident that seemed to freak me out so
much. It was definitely a true relief to be safe behind a locked door.
“Well Beth, thanks for finding me tonight!”
“No problem! Just good timing I guess.”
“I’ll see you in the morning?”
“Bright and early! Need to make sure that this little guy gets some substance.”
I gave her a quick smile in agreement and unlocked my room. Everything was the
way that I had left it. My room was a little mess for not having enough time to actually
clean it. My books were still open on my desk from where Connie managed to pull me
away to go to that stupid party. I really hoped that she made it to her dorm.

9. The cat hopped down from my arms and began to explore its new home for the
next little while. Finally finding a comfy spot on the end of my bed, the small animal
curled up and closed it eyes.
I slipped into my pajamas and crawled my way into my comfy bed next to the cat.
And I was out like a light (my mother would always say).
“ABBY!!! Abby wake up!!”
I rolled over to the flustered knocking of my roommate on my door. I rubbed my
eyes and sluggishly pulled myself out of my bed. I almost forgot that the cat was at the
end of the bed. It jumped up faster than I have ever seen anything move.
“What? I don’t have to be in class until eleven!”
I opened the door to see a horrified look on Beth’s face. “You need to come here.”
I followed her to the common room where the television was playing. The volume
was faint but I could hear that it was the news. Before I even saw the screen, I somehow
knew exactly what was on the screen.
“Late last night, after the police broke up a local fraternity party, a young woman
was found…”