Chapter Two
“I bet that all of you here assume that you know a thing or two about ghosts due to all the paranormal shows you watch on television. Well I’m here to tell you…that’s all bullshit.” Professor Cadenza’s voice heavily accented voice rang out inside the wide classroom.
The first day in this paranormal studies class and I already feel intimidated. There are some strikingly similar features between the professor and his daughter. They both have the same dark eyes and skin, and even with a touch of distinguished gray running through it, his hair color was as black as night…as black as hers. The one main difference between the two, aside from their extremely different accents, is their conflicting personalities.
When I first met Jessica, I immediately felt at ease by her smiles and friendliness. Her father, however, isn’t doing so hot in the impression department. I took my gaze off the professor at the front of the room and looked around at my fellow 50-something classmates. By judging the expressions on their faces, I was able to divide them into 3 groups. One-third of them were the Nubes, or the “generally interested” category. With their butts on the edge of their seats, eyes glued to the front, pen/pencil in hand writing down every last word that came out of Cadenza’s mouth. The other third of my classmates were the Snoozers: “bored out of their mind” category. Their eyes were down to half-slits, some of those eyes found the wall behind him much more interesting than the professor himself. Yawns were spreading as quick as the plague and some of the Nubies even caught it, unawares. And the last third of the population that made up that classroom were the Yellow-Bellies. This was the group that looked like they’d pee their pants at the drop of a hat. Sitting there with their wide eyes and shaking hands like they were just figuring out that this wasn’t Pottery Making 101…this guy was talking about GHOSTS! And what category do I fall into? Well you can just call me a Yellow-Bellied-Snoozing-Nube, because I believe I fall into all 3. Especially with a professor like Cadenza.
“That trash you call ‘entertainment’ is nothing but a group of idiots looking for 15 minutes of fame. You joined this class because you wanted to learn about the supernatural right?” Mixture of indifferent, incoherent mumblings erupts. “Well I’m here to shield your young minds from that petty mumbo-jumbo on those ghost shows. I’m here to teach you the facts. The true experiments and studies that real scientists have put together for us. They are called parapsychologists, not ‘ghost catchers’ or whatever kind of bullshit the media is feeding you.” He really likes that word.
I glanced around again, and for about the 5th time, thought about the fact that Jessica wasn’t in this class. Since it was fairly new, there were only 2 times available; 7:30am and 12:15pm. Unless Jessica is the ray of sunshine she turns into after she gets her morning coffee, which she is so NOT, she isn’t taking her daddy’s class. There could be many reasons for this: 1)she isn’t interested in the paranormal 2)she doesn’t get along with her father 3)her schedule was already filled up, and so on. Whichever the reason, it’s none of my business. Still, my mind prefers to stay on that topic rather than listen to Cadenza ramble on about ‘glory-seeking dickwads.’ His words not mine. And his lecture pretty much consisted of that and not much else that first day, I’m afraid.
“Well that was…interesting,” Johnny muttered as we shuffled our way out the door. “Why did I let you talk me into taking this class again?” I asked as I leaned against the wall so I could massage my feet. Breaking in new shoes on the first day of classes, not one of my brightest ideas. But hey, Jessica bought them for me. I thought it appropriate to wear them on the first day in her dad’s class. Again, bad choice.
“Awe come on. It’s just the first day. Besides, it’s the only class you have with me. That’s your deal breaker right there.” He could be so full of himself sometimes. And, as if to prove his point, he knelt down to care for my aching feet. I really don’t deserve him.
“You wanna go grab a late lunch with me in the dining hall?” As my stomach let out a very un-ladylike sound, that sounded marvelous to me. But then I remembered something. “I’m sorry, I promised Jessica that I would help her with her sheet music. She’s auditioning for choir tomorrow morning.” I really was sorry, but for a fraction of a second, I thought I saw a flicker of anger in his eyes. But it disappeared just as quickly as it had arrived when he said, “Oh yeah I remember you telling me about that. It’s cool, just save your dinner card for me alright?” I smiled, “Always.”
His face lit up and I completely forgot about that random rush of jealousy I saw and felt…if that was even what it was. I loved making him happy. We parted ways at the dining hall and I made my way to the music center. Jessica was there waiting for me, looking like a child at their first visit to the dentist. I had no earthly idea what she could be worried about. She literally had the voice of an angel. What with her being a fan of singing in the shower, I’ve been able to hear a sample of her work. The second morning of us living here together, I heard her sing a version of Rufus Wainwright’s “Hallelujah” that made me burst into tears.
Today she was going to practice singing Judy Garland’s classic, “Over the Rainbow.” We’ve only lived together for about a week, but in that time we’ve managed to watch The Wizard of Oz so often that the sidewalk outside is starting to morph into yellow bricks. As soon as Jessica saw me, her eyes screamed “help!” I knew my cue when I saw it.
For the next hour and a half I heard a mixture of, “was that on key,” “did that part sound flat to you,” and the ever popular, “is this the right song for me?” But what made it all worthwhile, was the music itself. I loved hearing her voice and I told her so. She thought I was putting her on and I wanted to smack some sense into her. Honestly, she was her worst critic. After what seemed like forever, we finally made our way back to the dorm. But just as I was thinking about taking a nap or getting something to nibble on before dinner, I see a girl waiting outside our door. She was taller than Jessica and me, probably by a few inches. With her golden blonde wavy hair, bright blue eyes, and olive skin tone, she reminded me of a modern day Sleeping Beauty. She even had the full red lips that parted to make way for a brilliant smile that captured me as soon as she saw us.
“Jessi!” She exclaimed and ran over to hug my roommate. Jessica seemed just as shocked as I was, but shock quickly turned into sheer joy as soon as she registered “Briar Rose’s” face in her mind. “Oh..my..God! Lizzie! I haven’t seen you in forever!” Jessica called out as she clung to her friend for dear life. I’m not gonna lie, I kind of felt like an idiot just standing there awkwardly while they held each other. Jessica must have noticed because she sort of broke away, but just enough to where she was still holding hands with her, and said, “Oh I’m so sorry! I’m being so rude. Lizzie, this is my roommate, Anna Kirby. And Anna, this is my best friend ever since cheerleading camp in the 6th grade, Elizabeth Carter!”
“You can call me Liz,” she said, “Elizabeth is reserved for my mother.” She took my hand in hers and her grip was even firmer than Jessica’s, so much in fact that it hurt a bit. “It’s nice to meet you Liz. So you’re a cheerleader?” I don’t know why that was the first question I decided to ask, but it was out before I could stop it. She just let out a breathy laugh and said, “Oh as if! The only thing good that came out of cheerleading was meeting Jessi! But she got into her music and I got into volleyball…,” that explained the grip, “Cheerleading was too stressful and time consuming, and to be honest, one too many lesbians for my taste.” At this, she and Jessica both burst into hysterics at the seemingly uncomfortable memories from camp.
“Haha wow, I never would have guessed,” I said. Actually, it was kind of obvious to me if the girls at that camp were anything like the cheerleaders back home. Meagan Baxter, the head cheerleader in the 10th grade, invited me to a slumber party she was having. Now, don’t get me wrong. Not all the girls on the squad were gay, not even half. But they sure did like to have what they called “sexy parties.” That night is still a sore spot with me.
“Do you wanna come in Liz?” Jessica asked. “We were just about to go in and have some downtime. Anna was just helping me work on my choir audition piece for tomorrow.” With that, Jessica flashed me a smile, and I didn’t feel much like an outsider anymore. Then Liz said, “Oh I would love to, but I only came by to say hello. I’m on my way over to the library to meet my roommate and help her study. Do you guys wanna come?”
Jessica looked at me hopefully and I knew what she was thinking. She wasn’t going to go if I didn’t want to, and I could tell she really wanted to go. Ah…what the heck, my stomach could wait. “Sure,” I said, “just let me put my bag away real fast.”
“No problem,” Liz said. And as I unlocked the door, she and Jessica were already starting some deep conversation. It didn’t take me long to pass through the living area and drop off my bag in my room, but soon I realized that I was taking a little too long admiring my soft, welcoming bed. I shook my head and thought, if my stomach could wait, sleep certainly could. After all, that was what nighttime was for right?
As soon as I let them know I was ready to go, Liz lead the way…but not before linking arms with Jessica. Of course. I know that they didn’t mean to exclude me, they were just catching up with each other, but I couldn’t help feeling like the 3rd wheel. All the more reason for my excitement about meeting Liz’s roommate. Hopefully she knows as little about Jessica as I do about Liz. That would be a relief.
As we neared the library I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. This was followed by an odd sensation in my ears. Not a tingle, but more like a stinging. I haven’t felt a stinging in my ears since my Gammy died when I was 12. Suddenly I wasn’t so excited about meeting this new roommate, but it was too late to turn back now.
When we entered the library, Liz made a beeline for the first table by the window. Jessica and I had to basically power walk it in order to keep up with her without running. Right when we got to the table, Liz whispered, “Mandi, this is my friend I told you about, Jessica, and her roommate, Anna. Jessica and Anna, this is my roommate, Mandi Mills.” I looked at the figure leaning over some psychology book right as she raised her head. If I thought that Jessica and Liz were beautiful, Mandi was a goddess. Shiny red hair with thick wavy curls cascading down to her collar bone (just like in the shampoo commercials), fair skin (like me), just a hint of freckles around her nose and cheekbones, and the most intense green eyes I had ever seen. Too bad her looks completely misled me from what lay underneath. She realized that I was staring at her.
“What are you looking at?” she sneered. I hadn’t realized that I’d been gawking at her. “Oh…uh…hm…sorry,” I stumbled. Smooth. “It’s nice to meet you.” She just rolled her eyes and focused her attention back to the book in her hands. And then, like a voice from the heavens, Jessica spoke up. “I don’t believe that qualifies as a response. My friend may have just lied to your face, but she did it to be polite. The least you could possibly do is make eye contact and manage to crack a smile.” She didn’t whisper that either. The room became so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. The tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. I could go on like this forever.
To my utter astonishment, Mandi looked amused. Then she tore her gaze from Jessica, bore those eyes directly into my skull, put on one of the most beautiful smiles I have ever seen, and said, “Nice to meet you too,” with so much sarcasm it made me sick. Then she firmly closed her book, stood up (I discovered that she was probably as tall as Liz, if not taller), and walked out of the library. After a moment, Liz said, “Well…she has PMS.” Jessica and I looked away from the library exit and moved our gaze to Liz. “Sorry, Mandi is sort of…an acquired taste. Her bark is worse than her bite.”
For the next two hours, I got to know Liz and was really glad I did. Any fears I may have had about her driving a wedge between Jessica and myself were laid to rest as time flew by. I learned that she loved old movies, vintage jewelry and antiques, and that she had a boyfriend in France. She said she met him online 2 years ago. While this made me nervous, I realized I wouldn’t feel that way unless I was forming a bond with her, which I was. Mandi never came back into the library, and if she did, I couldn’t care less. I don’t know what it was that crawled up her butt and died, but I didn’t want to be anywhere near that.
We were all getting a little sleepy, so we decided to walk over to the Starbucks on campus and get a pick-me-up. My usual was mint chocolate chip. Both Jessica and Liz were strawberries & crème girls. I should have known. While we were chatting it up in an environment of wannabe writers on their fancy laptops, Jessica’s stomach started rumbling. “Wow…I forgot how hungry I was. I haven’t eaten since breakfast,” she said. And then it hit me. “Oh…my…God…” I stammered.
“What?” Liz inquired. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. I sprinted the whole way to my dorm, scrambled for the right key on my chain, and burst into the room. As I made my way to my bag and sifted through the junk inside, I wondered how bad it could be. When I finally reached my phone, I took it out and flipped it open. Five text messages and three missed calls. All from Johnny. Oh…shit.
No comments:
Post a Comment