The Conspiration of the Universe

Chapter 13

13

(page 3-5 of 126)

For the past three days, even though I want to say everything went smooth and normal, it didn’t.

Monday: the first day that I have to leave Eureka alone in our apartment like she was some pet. Matt had already gone to his 7 am class while I was running late for my 8:30 class and Eureka was not yet awake so I had to leave a note:

Got class. Eat breakfast at We Deliver or eat the ones we bought yesterday.

-Luke

I was half running half walking to my class and I barely made it to the cut. The only good thing is that our professor was not around yet when I arrived breathless. Sydney was the second bad thing that happened that day. She was seated just across from my seat. We planned to be seated in that way when we were still together. Now it’s backfiring.

I don’t want to notice her. I don’t want to notice her. Crap why is her hair now dyed brown? Like coppery brown. And did she cut it? It seems shorter than before. A glimpse of her. Just a glimpse of her makes my day feel the worse.

“Good morning class! Have all of you brought your sack baby? Have you been taking care of your babies, like a single parent you are?” our professor’s voice resonated throughout the room. He was a little jolly for someone having an 8:30 class on a Monday. If it was me, then I’ll be grumpy like Garfield.

The class got noisy as they answer our teacher’s question in chorus. They were all excited about their sack babies. Well, this is Humanity 10 after all. It is all about being a responsible adolescent.

“We shall call them Lucile and Mark.” Sydney once said referring to our rice sack baby project. We made our rice sack baby together over a month ago and she was the one who named them. Lucile was hers and Mark was mine. And I didn’t even want to name my sack Mark. It’s too common.

“I’m sorry Mark, but you and Lucile shall not grow together anymore.” I mumbled to Mark. His button eyes are staring at me though one had already drooped. Monday’s are the only days that I got to hang out with Mark. If it’s not a Monday then it means closet for him. That’s weird and bad parenting to me but who cares. It would make him safer there.

Out of my peripheral, I saw Sid hugging Lucile like a pillow, though it is really a pillow. What surprised me was now they got matching hair colour. What’s wrong with her?

***

“Time sure flies when you could feel the awkward, isn’t it?” I told myself. Our lecture went into one ear and exits on the other. I’ll just have to read my notes for later, I guess.

Students began to exit the hall and as usual, I waited for them to leave.

“Hey,” a cold voice sends my spine to quiver. It was Sydney. She was standing beside me. I looked up at her and held my gaze for a second. I couldn’t believe she still could return my stares.

What is it you want? What could you ever possibly take from me now? Thoughts encompassed in my head.

“How are you?” she asked. Her voice was still calm and nonchalant.

“I’m doing fine” Yeah I am doing fine an hour and a half ago. Now I am not. “I see you dyed your hair.”

“Yeah, I did.”

And we were quiet. I don’t know what to say anymore. I motioned to stand up but my knees feel weak and shaky.

“Do you want to eat together? Like old times?” she asked.

“Probably not.”

“Luke, how could you be so mean?”

“Mean? Me?” I sighed.

“I just want to tell you that we should be friends. We should remain close.”

“And why should we?” I finally stumbled to my feet.

“Because I don’t want you to feel awkward and tensed when we see each other.”

“Sid...Sydney you don’t have to do this. I don’t want your pity.”

“Oh Luke,”

“Sydney, its fine. I’m fine, really. So you don’t have to feel God-knows-what you are feeling towards me. We could still be friends, we could still talk to each other when we want to but there is something already broken, alright? You cannot fix it, even I, couldn’t fix it even though I really wanted to because...because holding the shrapnel of what is broken hurts, okay?”

She was quiet and pale. I don’t know what I have said. If I really wanted to, I would hold out each of the broken parts together even though it hurts. But I couldn’t anymore.

She stormed out of the room and I followed afterwards. I went back to my apartment not looking to anyone.

***

“Hey” Eureka opened the door for me. She was holding out Iris, her camcorder, and films right in an instant.

“Hey” I said. My voice was filled with gloom, I wonder if she could tell.

“What’s the matter? Have you been late in class?” she flicked Iris’s lens closed.

“Yeah, a little bit.” I removed my white cardigan leaving me with my red BAZINGA shirt.

“Oh, don’t worry about him; it is his usual Monday state since two, no, three weeks ago.” Matt called out from our room. He was home from his laboratory class. I wonder what they did this time, because last time I know he had brought home a disgusting dissected frog with no frigging eyes. And he was like “Hey look at this lens I got from the frog’s eye. Now I feel super magical!” I hate squishy, bloody stuff.

“Why? What happened three weeks ago?”

“Eureka, have you eaten?” I squeaked trying to change the topic.

“Luke, I think it would be better if you would be the one to explain it to her.”

“I think it would have been better if you have shut your mouth, Matt.” I argued.

“Hey, come on, tell me Luke.”

I sighed. “I got dumped, three weeks ago.”

“You had a girlfriend?” Eureka said sounding so surprised.

“You don’t have to yell it like it is somewhat impossible It’s a statistical probability.” My eyeglass fogged up so I had to wipe it.

“Yeah, it was for real, man, I mean woman.” Matt claimed joining us at the living area.

I re-told the story to Eureka. She listened well, her brown eyes almost not blinking. She was fiddling with her lips and I wondered what makes her feel scared. Does my story make her anxious?

“Luke, I know how you could feel better.” Eureka said after hearing the story. She went to the room and came back with both her hand on her back. “Here you go!” She held out her pack of Oreos now half-empty. “Whenever I’m sad, Oreo was my hero.”

I smiled at her for really trying but it would take a lot more of Oreos to make me feel better.

And thus, the next two days was a mess. Just because of Sydney. Just because...