Ch. 1: Drive
There was a chill in the air as it snapped past my neck, wrapping my sand colored shoulder-blade length hair around my neck like a noose. I could see dead leaves, damp from the rain earlier, floating past my feet as I walked toward the campus building ahead of me. The building rose four stories, an old imposing mass of Greek styled columns along the front with ivy branches clinging to the stone capital adorned with chipped statues, worn with time and indistinguishable. This university had a taste for the grandiose to be certain. I peered over the heads of other students outpacing me, and pouring from the building, searching for a familiar set of black frames and striped beanie. Although I already stand a good head above most women, I still rose on my toes in anticipation, frowning. I stopped at the first column and reached for my pocket to check the time as a sudden burst of cold wrapped around the back of my neck and cheek.
"Jesus! What the-", I yelped as I swung around to a giggling, pink faced girl of less than average height. Her brown eyes were barely visible through the fog forming on her glasses from the laughter escaping her.
"I got you good this time Twig! You should'a seen your face!", Laura continued to laugh as her usually unnoticed southern drawl made itself known. "Yea, yea, good for you. Very funny. Can we go now? I've got a lab to write up and I want to get it done before game night this time", I retorted, rolling my eyes and pulling my neck away from her hands that lingered. "Oh? You mean you didn't have fun trying to do equations and keep track of what card we were on last time? I found it quite enjoyable myself", she teased back, holding an invisible shot glass and swigging back her head.
"If I could remember it, I'm sure I would have hated it. I can tell you for certain that the 'D' I got when Richards saw my half legible shit was more than enough evidence I don't need to try again" I sang back, faking frustration. I smiled down at her goofy hat, with its green stripes and embroidered alien eyes staring in all directions, hiding most of her pecan colored curls that barely peaked out around her cheeks. We continued our banter strolling to my dingy two door powder blue truck. I got in and reached across to unlock and open the broken passenger door as she waited impenitently, hopping from one foot to the other.
"You should really get that fixed 'ya know? You're gonna take someone out on a date one day and they're gonna think you're a total weird-o", Laura laughed as she climbed in, throwing her book bag into the messy floor board. I side-eyed her and asked her with what money. "If you've got the cash, have at it money bags. Otherwise, its the poor-man's valet for you", I continued as I tossed her the CD bag. The old truck built in the 90's, rolling on hopes and dreams wasn't outfitted with the latest stereo, and as such we had to make use of my mom's old collection of scratched CD's and tapes. "Besides, its not exactly like anyone's been beating down my door", I sighed and glanced at her profile out of the corner of my eyes while I threw the clunker in reverse and left the lot. Beside me I could her her hum quietly to herself, slide a silver disk in, and skip to her preferred choice. The familiar upbeat and folksy rasp of the song played, and I could hear Laura quietly sing along under her breath, hitting the notes well enough to tell she'd been dragged to church most Sunday mornings as a kid, "...I'm choosing my confessions, trying to keep an eye on you, like a hurt lost and blinded fool...".
We sat like that for the twenty minuet drive to our apartment as we zoomed past dying trees and a grey background, rain lightly misting my windshield until her phone dinged. Laura reached for it and grunted as she read the notification. "Fucking hell", she swore as she rolled her eyes in frustration. "What's wrong?", I asked.
"It's Don again. You'd think he'd take a damn hint by now, but Jesus he just don't get it! If I was interested, I would have let let him know last time he tried to choke me with that lizard tongue of his". I chucked at the thought of her assumed knight in shining-or maybe scaled-armor chasing after her with his weird beady eyes and oddly long tongue. The oddity seemed to show up at every event our friend group planned, and none of us knew who exactly brought him into the fold, or who kept informing him of our plans, but it was getting old. Laura was generally a nice girl, not minding appearances or rumors, and would go out of her way to make friends with anyone she could. Which is how she managed to get Don in tow. The lanky "lizard man" as she called him had no social skills and would go off the cuff with comments that felt intrusive and, if not overbearing, then at least tinged with sexism. He was entertaining to be around when drinking though, and while not exactly attractive, he did have a deep, soul piercing voice that no one could quite match with him. It was akin to ordering a dollar menu burger and finding a steak dinner instead. Strange, and unexpected but not unwelcome. Unfortunately for Laura, growing up in the deep south, we found she had a soft spot for deep voices, particularly after one too many drinks.
"Well, have you told him directly? He's not exactly.. ya know..?", I shrugged and motioned to my head, indicating a clear lack of intelligence upstairs. "If you don't tell him upfront you're the one who's gonna have your next date think you're a weird-o with him being a third fucking wheel", I continued as we pulled into the lot to my apartment. "Yes I told him!", she exclaimed pointedly looking annoyed. "Really? And by 'told him' do you mean 'buzz the fuck off creep'? or 'ha-ha-ha you know, I'm actually kinda busy today, maybe some other time' ?" I asked pointedly.
"I'll have you know I told him I wasn't actually into him like that!", I could hear the frustration growing in her voice and saw her brow furrowing under her hat. I sighed and laughed a little."Wow! Look who's making some progress on their spine jelly-girl!", I said as I reached over and rigged the door open for her. "Look, if he won't listen when I see him again I'll say something if you want", I offered. My eyes met hers as I maneuvered back to my side of the truck and she bit her lip in thought. A sigh later, she spoke, "You don't need to do that, it'll probably just make it worse".
"You sure?" I asked. Laura paused and then nodded. "I'm sending out a message to everyone that he's officially uninvited to everything though. He creeps me out too at this point", I told her as I slid out of the heat and back into the wind. Laura and I trotted up the sidewalk to the steady "ding" of her cellphone and the frustrated huffs of her annoyance. More groans and I had had enough. I reached over and plucked the phone from her hands and placed it in my back pocket. "Nope! We're done. It's homework time and then game night. He's not gonna fuck with either of those. I need an 'A' and you need a break, clearly." I slung my arm around her shoulders as we entered the building and made our way up the stairs.
Three hours and two half-assed assignments later, we were moving furniture around my three bedroom apartment making room for our friends. This month our friend group was meeting at my out-dated residence again because both of my roomates were gone for the week. The two thirty-something year olds who had gotten pretty close since moving in a few years ago, decided to go hiking someplace. Where exactly, I couldn't recall- the guys had written the whereabouts down on a sticky note pinned to the fridge that I hadn't bothered to look at. While most people were uncomfortable with a 24 year old woman living with two relatively strange men, I was rather unfazed. Rent was cheap and they were gone pretty frequently, so I had no complaints. They were good company when they were around, loud and goofy with a steady supply of liquor, and more furniture than most people my age.
Laura and I were attempting to push the ugly black scratched leather couch back against the wall when we heard several sets of heavy footsteps outside my door and throaty laughter. "It's open!" I yelled at our friends as Laura grunted, her tiny frame doing very little to move the heavy couch. I could hear the sound of glass clinking together, the crinkle of junk food in loud bags and the smell cigarettes. I looked up to see six familiar figures crowding around our small kitchen table. Laura, ever the social butterfly, jumped up and embraced each one, welcoming them in as though the place was hers. Which, it might as well have been, for as often as she was here. She had a permanent drawer of belongings in my dresser, and left an extra toothbrush in my bathroom. As our friends began to make their way over, they draped their extra layers on the counter, joking and teasing one another. I smiled, and hoped that I'd actually remember the night come tomorrow morning.