Dakota and his twin brother Drake entered the hall where the Cultural Studies class was scheduled for their first lecture, talking about the upcoming semester. The twins were inseparable, continuing on at the same university and the same major after high school. Dakota was more reserved than his more boisterous brother, and had been convinced by Drake to take the class. Drake had went on about how it was an easy A, but the seller for Dakota was that it was a credit which counted specifically towards their major, so they’d be able to get more out of it than the students who were just taking it as filler.
The twins moved to the back of the classroom, filling out seats in the second last row. Dakota opened his notepad in case there would be lecture notes to take in the first class, and Drake followed suit. Suddenly, he felt an elbow to his ribs. “Hey, there’s our candy supply,” he heard from his brother, pointing out that Professor Martinez had entered the room.
Dakota knew all too well that Drake was just here for the easy credit, but he was going to at least try and get something out of the class. He rubbed his rib, trying to ease the shock. “Oh come on, we should try to take this sort of seriously. It’s for our major, so shouldn’t we at least give the first lecture a chance?” He turned to Drake, who wasn’t taking it at all and just gave Dakota a shit eating grin.
Professor Martinez started the class by introducing himself and talking about the syllabus. "Good morning, everyone. I am Dr. Martinez, and welcome to Intro to Cultural Studies. Now I know a few of you have heard that this class is an easy A, but you will all be pleased to hear that is not the case." Dakota looked over at Drake, giving him side eyes, and he was met by another foolish grin and a thumbs up under the table. Professor Martinez finished his preamble: “In this class you will learn how culture influences an individual's experiences and everyday life. However, before you learn about a culture that is not your own, you should experience it for yourself first hand.”
The instructor continued his monologue in pieces as he walked through the aisles of students, checking their names and handing them slips of paper. “You are all receiving your syllabus and first project of the semester. Each of you have been assigned to a cultural organization whose culture is not your own. To complete this project, you must join the organization and complete all of the tasks I have listed on your project form. This will include attending their meetings and participating in their events. I hope you will find this project transformative, and open your mind to accept the rest of the semester's material. You may even make friends and want to become a permanent member. However, I should warn you that this project is worth a large portion of your final grade, so do take it seriously."
He reached the near back of the room and stopped in front of Dakota and Drake. “Ah, twins,” he said to the brothers. “I believe I saw your files. Which one of you is Drake?” he asked, and Drake quickly spoke up and received his papers. Dakota found a paper thrust at him, “You must be Dakota, then.”. He nodded and thanked Professor Martinez. The two brothers looked very similar in their faces, but Dakota’s muscles were not as defined and his demeanor was more gentle then his brothers. That was only in comparison, though. Dakota still looked every bit the college jock, with his short blonde hair and fit body, even if he wasn’t extremely active like his brother was.
He was reading through the syllabus as he heard a groan from beside him. “This term project is worth 70% of the class, what the fuck?” complained Drake. Dakota looked over at his brother, with no remorse. “You said this would be an easy A. Foot, meet mouth?”
This comment, unlike every previous one, wasn’t met with a grin, but with a glare. “Maybe, but it’s a psychology credit. So, we should stick it out. At least it’s not a million boring lectures.” Dakota agreed, this wasn’t a big reason to drop the class, especially if the final was worth so little. A short discussion was interrupted by Professor Martinez, speaking again. “You may now look at your project form to see what cultural organization you will be joining and the full list of tasks you must complete.”
Dakota flipped over his form and saw “Muslim Student Association” written on his paper, with a list of instructions and events planned for the semester. There was a fair amount written down, but he didn’t have much time to parse it as he was interrupted by Drake’s complaining again. “The Asian Student Alliance? I’m gonna stick out like a sore thumb!”
Dakota hushed Drake, trying to not get the professor they’d just met on his case already. “He said it’s for class, it’s not like you actually have to take it super seriously.”
Drake looked over his paper again, and replied, exasperated, “This is gonna fucking suck, man. Maybe I’ll have to switch my courses to try and get as many conflicts as I can with the course.”. Dakota was none too pleased with this answer, given that he was here because of Drake’s insistence. Drake sensed his brother’s animosity and changed the subject quickly. “Anyway, what did you get?”
Dakota took the opportunity to try and convince Drake to keep a positive attitude. “I’m with the Muslim Student Association, by the looks of it. Unlike you, I’ll try to keep a positive outlook. Hopefully it’s fun! The first meeting is tonight.”
Drake just groaned again, not saying anything. As if on cue to stop the brother’s quarreling, Professor Martinez started a small lecture about the details of the syllabus before ending the class easly.
Dakota and Drake left the classroom with everyone else. Dakota was cheery, it was the beginning of the semester and they had no real work to do, and the next class wasn’t for a few hours. “So, what do you want to do before abnormal psychology?” he asked Drake.
Yet another groan was let out by Drake. Dakota braced himself for more whining. “My Cultural Studies meeting is coming up in like an hour. I don’t have time to do much. You might have to entertain yourself. I know it’ll be hard without me, but I believe in you!”
Dakota laughed, “Fuck off, jackass.” Even though his brother was kind of a bitch during the lecture, he was still a pretty fun guy. “I’ll just head to the library or something then. Have fun at the meeting.”
“I won’t!” shouted Drake as he started heading off, presumably towards where the meeting was going to take place.
Dakota was left alone outside the classroom, and started walking towards the library. He had a few hours to kill and would have to find something to do in the meantime.