After his dorm was destroyed by a category 4 tornado, Jackson was relocated to Essex College to continue his education. Soon after his arrival, he had found a sexual partner and had sex that could be heard by his dorm neighbors. He also attended the traditional snow run and the Omega Pi party that followed. At the party, Kimberly confronted him about the noise he'd been making and he gave her his number so she could text him when he was being too loud.
When Dean Miller told Bela she couldn't have a strip show, she ran to Jackson's room and asked him to do her a favor.
They went back to Dean Miller and Jackson talked to her about how much it meant to him, as a climate refugee, to have the students of his new school raising money for climate change. Dean Miller agreed to let them have the show, but said it had to end by midnight and no nudity was allowed. Once she was gone, Bela thanked Jackson for his help and he went back to his room. While walking to class one day, Jackson and Kimberly realized they were in the same Irish Literature class. They also bonded over their difficulties fitting in at Essex and he said he hoped she wouldn't have to leave.
When Jackson and Kimberly saw the large amount of reading they had to do for Irish Lit, they decided that each of them could read part of it and they could discuss it once they were done. Jackson invited Fred , another classmate, to join them when Fred admitted to having a crush on Kimberly and asked Jackson for help asking her out. They went over the reading notes and when Fred stepped out to get his food delivery, Jackson told her what he'd done.
Later, at a party, Jackson thanked Kimberly for her help and said that he'd helped Fred because guys like Fred wouldn't usually have a shot with girls like Kimberly, meaning hot girls. When Kimberly got locked out of her room after her egg retrieval, Jackson took her back to his room and said she could wait there until her friends got home.
