"Hmmm... maybe we should go to Shaw’s instead?"
"Sounds like a plan." They turned around and walked back, crossed Mass. Ave and started laughing about their teachers, classes and SGC. Emily felt a twinge when she passed by the Reflecting Pool, but she brushed it off. She’d been by it many times before and today was no different.
They got to Shaw’s and picked up the store brand versions of cereal, canned beans and rice- "it has to be brown"- then got a pound of cheddar cheese, some apples, oranges, soymilk, whole wheat bread, lettuce, sprouts, cumin, and mayonnaise. After everything, Emily counted her change. "Wow, a whole dollar seventy-nine left!"
They walked back to Drew’s apartment. It was only one, so Drew wasn’t back yet.
"So," Emily said as she put away the last of her groceries, "will you stick around for lunch? I think I’m having... a cheese sandwich."
Zainab looked at her watch. "I’m going out tonight, and I need to get started on my packing. So, love to, but can’t."
"When are you coming back?"
"I think they’re letting me go the Friday before classes start, so I can settle in and get all of my books."
"That’s, like, two weeks away! What am I supposed to do?"
"You’ll be fine. And isn't Jessie going to be here?"
"Yeah, that should keep me busy." She hugged Zainab. "Tell everyone I said hi-"
"I don’t think you’ve met them."
"Tell them anyway. And don’t do anything... I wouldn’t do."
"Considering I just helped you move in with someone you just met, that shouldn’t be hard."
"Goodbye!" They hugged again, and then Zainab walked out.
CHAPTER 25
Emily sighed then turned her attention to her luggage. She took everything to the bedroom and hung up as much as she could in the closet. She looked through some of the drawers to see if one was empty. When she opened the bottom drawer of one of the bureaus, she saw a ledger. She looked at it, but didn’t open it. That was all there was in there, but she didn’t want to move it.
She lay down on the bed. So tired.
She jumped up when her cell phone rang. "Hello?"
"Did I wake you?" It was Drew.
"Um, yeah, but it’s time to wake up. What’s going on?"
"I was hoping you wouldn’t mind if I brought Richard over."
It was sweet that Drew would ask for permission to bring someone to his own place. "That’ll be great."
"Excellent. We’ve got a couple of things we need to finish up here, so maybe five."
"Sounds good. See you then."
Richard. Now she was really awake. That first meeting was awkward even by first meeting standards. She was trying to think of conversation to make with him and wished she had a smart phone so she could look up the latest and greatest on solar cars.
In honor of a guest coming over, she made the bed. She washed up, put on some lip gloss and then looked in the kitchen cabinets to see if there was something she could make. She found an old box of instant hot chocolate, the kind with the tiny marshmallows. She boiled a kettle of water, and then mixed three cups. There, now it was like a home.
Five minutes later, Drew opened the door. "Emily?"
"Hey there!" she called from the kitchen. Drew came in and gave her a kiss. She waved to Richard. "And hello again!"
Richard came over. "Nice to see you again, Emily. So tell me, what terrible, dark secrets has Jessie already told you about me?"
Emily forced a laugh. "Would you be offended if I said that 'terrible and dark' has not come up on the text messages?"
"Very, because she hasn't been able to stop talking about you. In the good way which is unusual for her."
"I wouldn't take it too seriously. Besides, I’m sure she likes Zainab better."
"I'm sorry," Drew interrupted absent-mindedly. "Would you excuse me?" Before they could answer, Drew walked toward the kitchen and then into the bedroom. Emily looked after him, puzzled. She turned to Richard, who also looked confused.
"Sorry," Emily said after a moment. "You were saying?"
"Actually, you were saying."
"Huh? Oh, never mind. What's your story? Your story at school."
Richard looked at her like he was waiting for her to say something else. "I’m a senior," he said at last. "I'm getting a double major in Engineering and Business. I like Vietnamese food. Solar power is my life." He shrugged and sheepishly grinned. "I’m not that interesting."
"Oh, I don’t know." There was good stuff there. "Let’s start with the double major. How did you manage that?"
"I’m an older student, but in my case not because I wanted to be on co-op for the rest of my twenties, but because I needed to get a lot of class work in. I was on co-op for what seemed like an eternity, but I was in class just as much. What’s so funny?"
Emily was smiling. "You’re an ‘older student’; I’m a ‘younger student.’ I’m going to be very pleased with myself if I get out of here at the end of the spring quarter, but I won’t have a double major to show for it. So, you rock!"
Richard chuckled. "And how young are you?"
"I’ll tell you if you tell me how old you are."
"Twenty-six."
"Oh."
"’Oh?’ Am I that old?"
"No, not at all, I..." She had to finish her sentence. "I thought you were closer to twenty-eight."
"I see. And that would make you, what, seventeen?"
"Oh! Nineteen."
"That’s... not much older than seventeen, and barely older than Jess. Hey Drew, how old did you say you were?"
Emily turned around, expecting to see Drew in the kitchen. But Drew had closed the bedroom door. "Drew?"
Drew came out a moment later, looking a little frazzled. "Sorry, what?"
"I was just telling Emily not to get too upset with you because you’re a lousy host."
"Sorry," Drew said sheepishly, walking into the kitchen. "I was just making sure I had some space for Emily’s things. Ooh, is that hot chocolate?"
They sipped their hot chocolate while sitting on the couch. Emily got to learn a little bit more about the solar car project from Richard. "Our prototype is good. I think we can take it to market in a few years." But generally the conversation stayed pretty light, with Drew providing most of the anecdotes and entertainment. "So," Richard said around six, "what are everyone’s plans for the holidays?"
Drew looked guiltily at Emily. "I just found out my parents are demanding my presence next week for Christmas."
Emily’s face dropped. "The whole week?"
"I’m sorry," Drew sighed. "I was hoping we’d be able to spend Christmas together, but my dad is very into the holidays. And aside from trying to be a good son, I need to keep him happy. He’s the one holding the purse strings to my scholarships."
"That’s a good reason to keep someone happy." She looked at Richard and squeezed Drew’s hand. "And what about you?"
"I’m having a little party on Christmas, and if you’re looking for something to do, you’re more than welcome to come."
"I think Jessie already invited me."
"I hope you'll be better behaved than some of her previous invites."
"Depends on the food you put out. If there is no vegetarian fare, it’s going to get ugly."
"Consider it done. And since Jessie can be a little mischievous, I'll even make sure that she doesn't sneak any meat in it after the fact."
"What a gentleman."
"I try." Richard finished his hot chocolate then stood up. "Alright, I’m going to leave you two crazy kids alone now. This little conversation reminded me of a few things I need to tidy up before the party."
"Isn’t that in a week?" Emily recognized a kindred worrier.
"I do have a very nice home after it’s been cleaned for a few days straight. Bury a few bodies, stuff a few skeletons into the closet, and of course all the drug paraphernalia."
Emily laughed. So did Drew, but not as heartily. Richard smil
ed. "Don’t worry. Jessie and I won’t corrupt her while you’re gone. "
Emily smiled sweetly. "You couldn’t if you tried."
"If you say so." Richard turned to Drew. "But if I don’t see you for at least a few hours this weekend-"
"Say no more!" Drew said, then stood up and shook his hand as he escorted Richard to the door. "See you!" he called as Richard walked down the landing.
"I think I like him," Emily said after Drew closed the door.
Drew turned around. His face was blank. "Do I have to worry about you at this party?"
"What?"
"You certainly laughed at most of his jokes."
"Because they were funny, or maybe a few times I was trying to be nice. That’s what you’re supposed to do when friends come over, right? Make them feel comfortable."
"You were doing a really good job of it."
"He’s nice. He’s funny. He’s your friend. He's my friend's cousin. Was I supposed to make him feel stupid?"
"Give me a break. Don’t try to make me feel guilty because you were flirting with someone right in front of me."
Emily blinked. "Flirting? Are you crazy? I was having a conversation with someone, and yes, sorry, I was enjoying myself. Again, silly me, I thought that’s what you were supposed to do with friends. No problem. Next time I’ll make sure to look as uncomfortable and put upon as I can and speak only when I’m spoken to. Is that going to satisfy you?"
"Do you always start calling people names in the middle of an argument?"
"Oops. I didn’t realize we were in the middle, because as far as I’m concerned this is the end of it."
"You can’t just end a conversation like that."
"True, but I can end an argument like that, especially one where you start accusing me of flirting with your friend in front of you."
"But it would be okay if it wasn’t in front of me?"
Emily stood up. "That’s it. I’m going to Zainab’s tonight, and I’ll be back for my stuff tomorrow."
"What?"
"This is crap. I’ve been here for a day and you’re already pulling the jealous psycho? Whatever."
She tried to get her coat, but Drew moved to stop her. "Wait, just calm down a second."
"You’re telling me to calm down? You’re the one making ridiculous accusations."
Drew closed his eyes. "You’re right. I’m sorry. It drove me crazy to hear you laugh at someone else’s jokes."
Emily softened a little bit. "That’s touching in a semi-crazy way."
"It wouldn’t bother you if I started chatting up Zainab or Jessie the next time we were together?"
"I’d be happy that you liked my friends, and then I’d feel like you were trying to make me happy, and then I’d be even happier."
"So the world is just one big happy place for you?"
Emily put her arms around Drew’s neck. "It was this morning."
Drew kissed her on the forehead. "Will you stay?"
"Will you stop being crazy?"
"I’ll try."
"Then I’ll stay while you’re sane."
"Then I’ll try really hard." She smiled as he kissed her again.
CHAPTER 26
Mitch and Kyra boarded their plane to Ireland the week after finals ended. The program had made plans to open with a Christmas party with the other students in their program. There was a lot of grumbling, but Mitch shrugged it off. It was just that much sooner to his final destination.
Mitch was seated on the plane next to Martin. "Nice!" Martin said when Mitch sat down. "Now I'll have someone to talk to on the way over."
Mitch grinned. "Let's save the silent treatment for the students from the other programs."
"I don’t want to avoid them. I want to see if they fit my preconceived notions. Of course, the people in our classes probably aren’t going to represent the average European, but it’s some insight."
"Why won’t they?"
"Students are always more opinionated than the general public. Take Vietnam. People protested, but on average college campuses were much more radical than the outside world."
"Even our university?"
Martin laughed. "Yeah, I think even we managed to get off our apathetic asses a couple of times in the sixties, but generally speaking not enough to risk getting our heads bashed in."
"The mark of a real thinker: knowing when it’s okay to take a calculated risk."
"We have our moments. The gays in the military issue saw a lot of activity in the nineties. Not so much now though."
"Since they seem to need everybody they can get, they can’t really afford to ‘ask’ or ‘tell’."
"Wonder what the Irish would have to say about that?"
"Not sure. They’ve gotten much more open and maybe even ‘progressive’ in the last ten years, but abortion is still pretty much illegal, so go figure."
"Change takes time, right? Maybe a little longer in some cases."
"I’m going to be much happier contemplating some other country’s messes for a few months rather than our own." Or, Mitch thought, my own.
"Good luck with that! I bet half the reason they let us to come over is so they can bitch at us about the Middle East, oil prices, greenhouse gases and intelligent design. Enjoy this plane ride, because it will be the last time in a while that you won’t be ashamed of being an American."
Mitch was about to ask Martin where else he had visited when he saw Kyra standing next to him. "Hey there!"
She lightly tapped her fingers on his seat. "Thought I’d come and visit now that the seatbelt sign is off."
"Oh, sorry, I should have come to visit, but Martin here was giving me a preview of the grief we’re going to get once we land. Martin, this is Kyra, Kyra, this is Martin."
Kyra extended her hand and Martin shook it. "Pleased to meet you," she said sweetly. "I’m jealous. My seat mate has been whining for the last half hour about how she just dumped her ex-boyfriend and how lonely she is. It’s too bad. She’s pretty, and she seems smart, but she’s so needy I feel like she’d hop into bed with the first guy who smiled at her."
"Oh, really?" Martin said lightly. "What’s her name?"
"Nikki. And she’s sitting in forty-five B."
Martin turned around then turned back. "You know, it looks like you guys deserve a little alone time. Why don’t you and I just switch seats for the remainder of the flight?"
"Are you sure you don’t mind?"
"Not at all." He grabbed his book and stood up. "Mitch, I’ll catch up with you later and Kyra, nice to meet you."
Kyra looked over her shoulder to make sure Martin was seated then sat down. Mitch grinned. "You better have been telling him the truth. He’s going to be around for the next three months."
"It was the truth. Mostly. Her name is Nikki and she is attractive. Maybe not that smart, though."
"That’s a little cold."
Kyra snuggled against his chest. "I said she might not be that smart, I didn’t say she was mentally challenged. And I wouldn’t feel too bad, because the boyfriend in question hasn’t exactly been dumped, but more... Postponed? Delayed?" She looked up and smiled. "You know, out of sight, out of mind."
"Oh yeah?" Mitch felt the heat rising to his face. "And that’s okay with you?"
"I just met the girl, I’m not her mother."
"You know what I mean."
Kyra stiffened. "When are you going to stop throwing that in my face?"
"I’m not trying to start anything, but maybe you can appreciate how being so light about someone cheating on their boyfriend might get me a little defensive."
"Right, because you’re the one I was cheating with."
"And it doesn’t seem to bother you." No, that wasn’t what he wanted to say. Something else was bothering him, but he was so warm he lost it.
"Would you like to call Todd yourself and verify that I broke up with him?"
"Can you keep your voice down?"
"Can you stop being a jealous ass?" she h
issed. "Fine, what am I guilty of today? Trying to sit next to you? Okay, sorry. Why don’t I just save your poor friend and send him back over here?"
Mitch sighed. "That’s not what I want."
"Then what do you want? Because having me doesn’t seem to be good enough for you."
"Fine. I’m sorry I was so touchy just now, but I think I’m entitled to it after everything that happened last week."
Kyra set her lips and shook her head. "No, you are not, because I ended everything else for you. You have no idea what that cost me, but I thought you were worth it. I guess I was wrong." Her lip started to tremble.
Oh great. "Alright, I’m sorry. I was being a jerk. I know you gave someone else up for me. I don’t want you to leave."
Kyra sniffled a little bit. "Are you sure? Because I want to be with you, but if you’re going to put me through this for the next three months, forget it."
"I’m sorry." He held her hand. "Can we please pretend that conversation never happened?"
"Okay." She kissed him again. "So tell me about your friend. Martin? He seems nice."
All was well by the time they landed and got off the plane, but Mitch had an annoying feeling that there was something he forgot to do.
CHAPTER 27
Mitch and Martin were able to trade off their original roommates for each other, but Martin disappeared for a while (with Nikki?), which left Mitch open for a visit from Kyra. They lay in bed in the dark, Mitch absently playing with her hair and wondering when Martin was going to return. They were technically in violation of the rules, but the Resident in Charge had disappeared from site as soon as everyone had settled in, no doubt getting into the Christmas spirit with some of the new arrivals.
"Is there any television here?" Kyra asked suddenly.
"Yeah, I think they wired the country a couple of months ago."
"Ha ha. I meant on campus. Once classes start, we’re probably not going to have much of a chance to watch too much of anything."
After about ten minutes of wandering they found the student lounge. It was ten-thirty, and they could hear most of the other students laughing from some of the rooms. The lounge was empty with the exception of two half-awake, half-drunk students.
The Smartest Girl in the Room Page 13