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The College Years (Chapter 9)
By Vader
THE COLLEGE YEARS
Entry I: The Beginning
Continued from Chapter 8 . . .
CHAPTER 9
I walked across the sidewalk in bewilderment, still reeling from the after effects of the horrible confrontation. I stared emptily, my mind not focusing on anything but how Scott would exact his revenge. Only the familiar, thunderous voice of a classmate interrupted my discombobulating. “Jack!” the call sounded, as a behemoth of a figure leapt in front of me.
“Yo, did you see my boys take care of that punk?” Emanuel clapped his hands to together in amusement. I wasn’t nearly as enthralled as him, and the look on my face undoubtedly displayed such an attitude.
“Yeah, I did – and they only made it worse for me!” I shouted, annoyed to the point where I didn’t care how intimidating that giant whale was. “Just do me a favor and stay out of this business from now on!”
“What the hell is wrong with you? They took care of him, dude!”
“What’s wrong with me is that Scott will never stop trying to ruin my semester – especially not after your sending that gang. You were an idiot to think he would.”
“Listen: Don’t you ever call me an idiot, dude. I mean that.” Emanuel abandoned his jovial mood, a serious look coming to his face as he pointed his giant finger at me. Realizing how I sounded, I gave a long exhale, rubbed my eyes and then looked back at him.
“Sorry. I know you were trying to help. But please just leave this alone. This is my problem, and I don’t want anyone else getting mixed up in it from now on.” I glared at him with sincerity, hoping he’d understand.
“Fine. Whatever,” he remarked, waving his hands at me and then turning to barge away. At first, I wasn’t sure if I’d really upset him, or if he was just exasperated. I then figured that if I really had made him angry, he would have taken care of me right then and there. Still, from that point on, things were never the same as they had been between me and Emanuel. Whereas he had joked and started conversations with me on the first day of school, for the rest of the semester his demeanor was incredibly formal and toned down whenever I would try to rekindle such acquaintance.
Probably too emotionally off balance at the time, I didn’t try to stop Emanuel’s storming off. Instead, I simply continued onward towards my gym class, and once arriving, could barely pay attention to anything the blatantly lesbian instructor was telling us. It must have been completely noticeable how distraught I was, for a young man who looked to be in his early twenties nudged me, asking, “Dude, are you alright?”
Once it registered in my brain that I was being asked a question, I just nodded, to the evoking of a smirk. “You don’t look it. First days of class rough on you?” I wasn’t in the mood for a conversation whatsoever, but I tried to quickly sum up my problems so he would stop asking questions.
“If you call having gotten involved in a fight with a temperamental classmate and five henchmen sent by another temperamental classmate, then yeah things have been rough,” I sighed.
“God, you are in a bind. I’ve had to crash five classes, but that doesn’t sound as bad as you’ve got it,” he replied, appearing to feel pity for me. “I’m Luke. Nice to meet you.”
“Yeah, nice to meet you too, Luke. Sorry, but I’m just not in the mood to talk about this right now.”
“Nah, I understand. Forget I brought it up, dude.” By that time, the lesson of how to properly lift weights had been taught, and we were directed to leave early, and begin our work-out sessions the following class. At least this gave me more time to study for my Health exam (if that were even possible for me to accomplish).
Within five minutes I sat motionless at a table in the middle of the campus courtyards. The wind became chillier, racing through the canyons in between blades of grass and weaving in and out of the colorful leaves that enveloped the tops of nearby trees, creating a whisper that sounded both harsh and gentle at the same time. While sitting there, doing my best to escape the anxiety that encompassed my train of thought, I realized I couldn’t let my schoolwork suffer because of Scott. Doing a lackluster job of preparing for the test would only further the hole I was in, causing yet another aspect of my schooling to be impaired.
I clamped my eyelids tight, blocking any oncoming distractions and forcing any that were already in my head outwards. I reopened them, my pupils resizing to adjust to the light of the sun as it shimmered through a layer of clouds. Determined to put my best effort into studying for my test, I reached into my backpack, pulled out my Health book, and began taking notes.
Switching from analyzing my Health notes to endlessly debating what Scott had planned was what consumed my time for so long afterwards. At first, I was terrified that I wouldn’t be able to remember a thing for my health exam, but after I requested that my father drill me on every aspect, I was surprised at how well I recalled everything.
That memory was only further backed up by my mother’s quizzing while giving me a ride up to school the day of the test. I felt like I’d stuffed my brain to the tilt, and that anymore trivia would cause it to overflow. Yet as I approached Dr. Hopkins’ class, I felt confident I was capable of at least a ‘A’ grade. I felt proud of myself, for I’d managed to struggle through my preparation for my first test, with the fear of what the grim-seeming future held clinging to the back of my mind throughout.
The moment finally arrived. I took my seat, and was handed a test sheet. I began.
(More to come)
1/3/2003 11:16:45 AM
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