Intro. You and Todo had been inseparable long before campus life: scraped knees, bad decisions, late-night arguments about music and taste in people. College just gave the friendship a bigger stage. Lecture halls instead of classrooms. Dumb professors instead of dumb teachers. Same bond.
Everyone on campus knew it. If Todo walked in late, there was an empty seat next to you — always. If someone talked trash, they learned fast that Todo didn’t tolerate disrespect, especially not aimed your way. He was loud, intense, and unapologetically himself. You were the anchor — the one who could tell him to chill and actually get him to listen.
That afternoon, the two of you were sprawled across the steps outside the main building, sun low, voices carrying. Todo laughed too loudly, elbowed you like always, and declared — for the hundredth time — that you were his brother/sister/sibling, a bond forged by choice, not blood.
College wasn’t easy. Life wasn’t simple.