Between the Asymptote

Chapter 4

Today marks one of the historical moments in my life, the opening of classes. The streets start to become mildly crowded when the classes start. It’s as if everyone wants to go to school and start the year right. I got up early, got comfortable in my jeans, plain white shirt, and got my stuff ready in a gray leather backpack.

“Is it me or is the town a bit noisier?” Amir said closing the door to his apartment.

“I think it’s the town bro” I replied as we walked towards the truck. I hopped in first while Amir did jumping jacks just outside the truck’s door.

“What’re you doing?” I asked as he looked really tense.

“Releasing the stress of being back to school” He answered getting in.

“Don’t you feel a little bit nervous?” He followed up a question.

“Nervous about what? It’s not the exams yet” I replied.

“I feel like vomiting” He said as I faced him to see if he was faking it.

“Not in the truck Amir, not here” I said.

“Okay, let me swallow it”

“Breathe in and out, you’re going to be fine” I drove through the main road towards the gates of the college. In the last two days, I’ve never seen the streets become this lively. Nearing the gates of the college was a hard drive. I had to brake abruptly often due to the number of vehicles that lined up on the road.

“Man, it’s never been busy like this before.” I said to Amir who had not uttered a word since.

“This just scares me even more” He replied. It was still early and we made it past the gates of the college in time. The parking lot still had good spaces, but most were occupied. I never knew if it was a good or bad thing. Students crowded the pathways and the stairway that leads to the entrance.

“You okay?” I asked Amir. His face looked like he was going to pass out.

“I will be, I will be” He repeated those words as he walked, staring blankly towards the entrance. On the way in, something caught my attention. The vehicle the sheriffs described as a ‘black luxury car’ seemed to have found its way in the college. It parked at least six cars away from my truck. The vehicle was clearly expensive. I’ve never seen anything like it in town before and no doubt it took the sheriffs attention as well. From a distance, I saw what seemed to be parents quarreling distinctly. The way they dressed made me confirm my assumption that they were definitely wealthy.

“Where’s Amir?” David asked, following where my eyes were at the moment.

“Damn, that’s a good car” He said.

“I know, but the people beside it” I said as he looked a little bit closer from where we were standing.

“Well, parents go crazy on the first day of school, that’s normal”

“My parents didn’t go that crazy”

“Hm, you’re lucky then. Let’s go” He said, making our way towards the entrance. The first class went underway, and we were arranged differently from the seating plan that we were used to last year. Amir and David weren’t close to where I was seated, but it didn’t feel uncomfortable at all. I don’t know, but introducing ourselves to new professors were already part of the culture. Literature became an easy start for me, a good appetizer for the opening. The first class was then cut off shortly.

“Listen everyone, we have a new student” The Literature professor checked his class record for the name.

“Ava, yes, Ava Watkins. Make sure to help her settle in the new environment alright?” The professor made sure he pronounced the name right as she entered the room. All eyes were on her. She was charming, had slightly short hair, fair skin, and dark eyes. She had a petite physique that matched her denim jacket, black jeans, Chuck Taylor’s, and beige backpack. She found a spot on the very corner of the room where she laid her backpack on the desk and looked outside the window as soon as she sat. Her face had a story to tell, but it felt hidden behind her emotions. The professor continued his lecture. He introduced the very common points of literature and how crucial it was in the culture today. The duration of the class however was only an hour and a half, and ten minutes before the bell rang it was almost over.

“Alright class, I will have to pair you up for your homework” The professor announced before closing the class. All paid good attention for their names to be called and who their pairs would be. The professor called out names randomly and didn’t pair them in order.

“Grayson and Carter” The professor said calling my last name.

“Oh hold on, my bad. Carter was-” He said and checked the class record again.

“Dropped out, so Grayson, you will be with Watkins, our transferee” He said, and that was something I had not prepared for. It was going to be difficult for me to communicate with someone who I just know by name. “What you’re going to do is simple, agree on one literary masterpiece that you like and report it in front as to why you liked it, understood?” He continued. Everyone replied ‘Yes sir’ in chorus.

“Alright guys, I’ll see you next time. Enjoy your first day as a sophomore!” The professor ended on a high note. All started to meet up with their pairs to discuss about the homework. I stared back at her as she grabbed her bag and went out of the room in haste. I followed her since there was still time before the next class. She went outside the corridors heading back to the entrance stairway.

“Hey” I said as she stopped and faced me, her hair following the direction. In her eyes, I felt tension and anger. It was almost telling me she was in a very bad mood.

“I’m Clyde, Clyde Grayson? I was your pair in the homework” I said, in case she forgot the whole thing. She sighed and looked around for a second.

“Yeah I know, I’ll work on it” She replied. Her voice was modulated, pleasing to hear. Surprisingly, she walked away after answering.

“Wait-” She pretended not to hear me at all and went on walking further distance from where I stood.

“She’s got attitude” Amir said from behind.

“She’s pretty though, isn’t she?” David said, looking at her as she moved further from the crowd.

“I never thought my first day was going to be this hard” I said as Amir patted my back. The day went on normally. Classes lined up on the schedule and was much busier than before. Time flew towards lunch break.

“Hey hey hey, look, over there” David said pointing his finger to Catherine. Her hair was wavy and her pretty face always created a lasting impression. I held his finger and slammed it down.

“Aw, what was that for?” He said in pain.

“Don’t go pointing fingers” I replied.

“She’s hot, isn’t she Amir?” David said shaking his finger to ease the pain.

“I don’t even have to say it” Amir nodded, feasting on a sandwich.

“You have to admit she is Clyde” David insisted. I reconsidered after a while..

“She is, but I can’t let myself be distracted by little things.” I answered. I had to be reminded of the goal, which was to finish my degree and get back home.

“What do you think about the new girl?” Amir queried.

“She’s got something shady going on behind the charm” David expressed his side.

“I think she’s going through something, I don’t know” I said. From the way I gazed into her eyes, there was something I couldn’t figure out.

“She looked mad” Amir continued.

“I haven’t seen her after literature” David added. I didn’t feel like talking about it at the moment.

“Guys, we’ve got a project to worry about” I said, reminding them of what was much more important at the moment.

“Right! So where do we start finding members?” David asked. He looked around.

“Maybe in the next classes, hopefully we find someone” Amir replied. In the half of the day, we never found anyone at all.

“We wouldn’t be able to start without the final member” I said worriedly.

“Let’s get pumped up, we still got a few more hours of class, we’ll get someone” David said in hope for the better.. We went on inviting for the remaining hours of class, but we had no luck. Everyone either had a group, or was just not interested at all. Mr. Henderson would only wait until tomorrow, and if we couldn’t find the last member, we would lose the chance to participate. Most especially, the chance to get the scholarship. We were all exhausted from inviting students, and from the classes that got our energies adjusting. Amir and David decided to call it a day since they needed to work on their homework with their respective pairs. I made my way to the library to start working on the literature homework. I had to finish it alone. I had some books opened for research and reading when I saw her sat on one of the desks from afar. She didn’t intend to see me at all, but she did. She carried the same face she did in the morning but I managed to smile at her. It took a minute before she stood up and sat right directly in front of me.

“Hey” She said in a low tone.

“Hey” I responded the way she greeted me. She tapped her fingers alternately on the wooden desk. She breathed out slowly.

“I’m sorry about … earlier” She apologized and it was sincere enough for me. I was sure I could’ve done the homework by myself, but two brains are better than one.

“Oh that … it’s fine, I figured you might’ve been in a bad mood” I replied to acknowledge her apology.

“I was, quite. I had an argument just before I came in” She answered.

“I see, an argument with who?” I assumed it would be with her boyfriend. From the way she looked and her charm, it was a valid assumption to make.

“My parents, but I wouldn’t want to talk about it” She answered, forcing a smile on her face.

“Sure, no problem, I totally understand” At least I pretended to be, but I didn’t have the idea of the specifics. “Good … let’s get started then shall we?” She suggested.

We decided to start the homework by laying out the best literary masterpieces of all time. There was an equal share of ideas and plausible suggestions. She spoke a little still and I had to look at her everytime she did. She scanned through the books I had on the desk, picking the good ones from the ones she didn’t prefer. Surprisingly, I mostly agreed with her choices, but we had to pick one that we had to discuss in front of the class.

“What about …” She pondered. “Invictus” I said.

“Invictus” She said as well at exactly the same time. We paused and smiled at each other as we agreed to have Invictus as our choice of masterpiece.

“I didn’t know who wrote it but I loved the thought” She said.

“William Ernest Henley, he wrote it when he was ill and felt like the world was ending for him.” I said. She silently clapped, smiling.

“You don’t look like a nerd” She responded.

“I’m not” I replied defensively. I took out my laptop and worked on the report.

“Why did you prefer Invictus?” I asked. She was reading a book when I asked.

“I just remembered it back when I was young” She replied, her eyes left scanning through the book.

“Why do you think about it as a masterpiece then?” I asked. It was natural to be curious about her preference. She slightly tilted her head upwards and started to look for an answer.

“I think it was a matter of the perspective it gave me, and how it affected me the most” She answered.

“What line affected you the most?” She never knew I was picking up answers to type on the report.

“The last line, ‘I am the captain of my soul’” She said and it was like she remembered the line by heart.

“What about you?” She passed the question to me. I was surprised she’d ask back.

“Well, I guess it would be the second to the last line, ‘I am the master of my fate’” I answered.

“But the two have completely different meanings right?” She asked. I wasn’t sure if her idea was correct, but it was an interesting one.

“Perhaps, the master of my fate means I control my destiny, while the captain of my soul could mean the freedom to do as you please. Separate the two lines and they would definitely not go together” I tried my best to express my point.

“Right, and I was just starting to confirm you’re definitely smarter than I thought.” She said. It was true in the first place, the separation of the two lines would cause different ideas to emerge.

“I just remember the things I learn” I smiled as she smiled back.

It was getting dark when we finished the homework. The students have silently dispersed from the library. She checked her phone as the brightness of the screen illuminated her face.

“I gotta go” She said as she raised her bag from the floor..

“Sure, thanks for helping out” I replied to her as I fixed my things and walked together with her. Even as we were walking out, it felt like her mind was still thinking of something deep. I didn’t had any clue as to where she lived or how to offer her a ride home.

“Do you live nearby?” It was my best attempt. We were near the exit when she faced me.

“Very far, actually, but I would be, maybe tomorrow” She responded. I didn’t know what she meant by ‘maybe tomorrow’.

“Oh, by the way, we have this project for a competition” I had to invite her in as a member. She was the only one we hadn’t asked. Perhaps the only hope of our project.

“What competition?” She queried.

“A technology showcase, it’s for a scholarship grant” I added. She had to show a slight sign of interest..

“I’ll think about it, but just to give you a heads up, I really don’t have a knack for technology” She answered. “It’s fine! Just find me if you’re in” I offered.

“Sure, will do” She said as she walked out the exit of the college. She never said goodbye or anything, not even exchange emails or numbers. One thing caught my eye as she walked out. It was the same luxury car I saw this morning, just down the stairway. I watched from the glass pane as she carefully entered the vehicle. So it was true all along that there was a rich family in town, and she was a part of it. It was then when I was leaving that I received a text message from David.

‘Where are you? Come over to Amir’s apartment’ It said.

I drove back to the apartment and found them with the blueprint on the floor and trying to piece it together. “Finally, he’s here” Amir said.

“I thought we wouldn’t be working on the project without the last member” I said. It was what we agreed on.

“I know, that’s what we’re going to talk about” David said, slapping the spot on the floor beside him, advising me to have a seat. I sat beside him, forming a circle between us.

“Tomorrow’s our deadline for the last member, and it feels like we’re not able to find one at all.” Hearing his words made me feel hopeless. David just pouted her lips and kind of agreed to the idea.

“We need to come up with a decision, we may have decided too early” He said. We were silent.

“If we do not find anyone tomorrow, then we’d not go on with the project” I suggested.

“Alright then, maybe we’ll wait until tomorrow.” Amir said with a sad look on his face.

“I had to invite her.” I announced as their eyes batted.

“Who?” They asked.

“The new girl” As I spoke, they even looked the more hopeless.

“She’s our only chance” David said wiping his face.

“We’ll see if she turns up tomorrow” Amir said. David left with fistbumps as I got back to my room.

I took an evening bat and had my dinner when my phone rang.

“How’s first day at school?” Mom asked. The sound on the other line was more peaceful.

“Great! Things are going good, are you home?”

“Yes I am, don’t tell me you miss home too” She asked with a little laugh.

“I kind of, makes me want to go home every day”

“You will soon”

“By the way, thank you for the picture” Referring to the one she sent me in the mail.

“I figured you might’ve needed it, take good care of it for me”

“I will”

“How’s the project for the scholarship?” She asked. I had to lie for a bit, knowing she’d worry if she’d know about the missing member of the group.

“Oh that? It was good, good. We actually have a plan for it” I replied.

“Good, make sure you do your best okay?”

“Sure, sure, I have to call you back some other time mom, take care, love you.” I said. Today was exhausting and my body had slowly shifted again to the demands of college. I couldn’t even bear being on the phone for just a moment. All I wanted to do was slumber in bed and wait for what comes next.