INTO THE VOID

CHAPTER 10: THE LONGEST RIDE

“So will I be seeing you around?” Sarah asked.

“I might come around once in a while. The library has amazing internet speed.” Xaviere responded.

“I know right. We have the best download speed here.” Sarah said. “I still can’t believe you’ve worked 100 hours since the beginning of the semester.”

“Well unlike the majority of students that put in an hour a day for 100 days; I put in 4 hours.”

“That’s because you have no social life. All you do is go to classes and work at the library.”

“Look at the pot calling the kettle black. The only extracurricular activity you indulge in is your book club. Does that even count as extracurricular?

“Oh, why you… of course it does. You should come around sometime maybe you might learn a thing or two from moi.” Sarah said lifting her chin and spreading her arms in gloat.

“Oh please; and have myself subjected to romance novel reviews? I’ll pass.”

“No but you’ll rather dabble in history of ancient cultures.”

“That’s important.”

“And love isn’t?”

“Love is hyped. That four letter word is the most used word in the English vocabulary. Its meaning is ambiguous and changes with context. It’s manipulative and vague. Love is a regular emotion like anger or fear but people think it’s something else; something bigger. Well guess what; Disney lied to you.”

“Whoa… you hurt you?”

“That’s the truth; whether you choose to believe it or not.” Xaviere said. There was a brief silence. Then Sarah rushed in for a hug. In an instant, Xaviere was encased in the embrace of this buxom female. He never actually touched her; just a few handshakes. But right now, chest to chest, arms wrapped around bodies Xaviere realize how soft she was.

“I’ll miss you.” Sarah said with a shaky voice.

“I will miss you too.” Xaviere responded. “Chill; it’s not like I'm going away forever.” Xaviere blurted out ending the awkward hug.

“What are you going to do with all this free time?” Sarah asked.

“Honestly, I haven’t thought about it.” Xaviere responded.

“Well you can take out that pretty girl from Psychology; the one you a crush on.” Sarah said with a smirk and then raised both her eyebrows twice. Xaviere bent his head and shyly adjusted his glasses. Then he said,

“Petrichor---the last time I tried something fun with her; I broke my nose and had a concussion.”

“C’mon, you were in an ice rink. Anybody could have got hit with a puck.” Sarah said. “Give her a chance. She feels guilty about the whole thing. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have come around so frequently to check up on you. She even got you hot cocoa the last time. You’re the one always talking about how the world got love all wrong and at your first try; your one chance to show us all how it’s done, you just give up?”

“I really don’t know to be honest. There are no manuals for these things.”

“Au contraire Mon ami; there are. There are and they are called romance novels.” Sarah said with a proud tone.

“Oh please, will you give it a rest already. And what’s with all the French you’ve been speaking lately.”

“I’ve been dabbling in some classic French literature and ooh lala; those men know how to serenade their women. Nothing is more romantic than the French. I mean, have you heard their accents?”

“Yes, unfortunately I have. We were taught foreign languages back in school and for a while, yes, I was encumbered twice a week by the French accent. Our teacher Mossier De La Gris was a proud French man; a very proud one indeed. The language was quite of a hassle for me. In the 10th grade when we were given the liberty to choose, I chose to do Latin instead.”

“Only you Xaviere and nobody else; only you will choose to study Latin over French, the language has no actual relevance anymore.”

“I just felt it was more authentic and plus I could understand some works of antiquity better.”

“You chose it because it’s old.” Sarah said. “And stop trying to change the topic. Better call her up.”

“Ok, ok I will. Ah, please give me a break.” Xaviere said as he got his bag packed. They hugged once again and then parted ways.

“See you around Sarah.”

“You to X” She responded.

As she walked away she was so disappointed and angry at herself. She was supposed to ask him out on a date. She has been meaning too. Over the few weeks they had shared in the library, she had grown quite fond of him. She like his afro hair and the way it shone under the sun, she like the way he adjusted his glasses whenever he was feeling shy and oh, how she loved his British accent. She was one who was generally attracted to machismo. Xaviere was not the typical macho man; in fact he was not the typical man. He did not have a deep baritone to his voice; if anything he sounded a little feminine the pitch of his words going higher in correspondence to how excited he was. Although, recently she notice his shoulders broadened and his posture was more erect. The morning routines were working. All these tiny bits that she loved made her wondered whether she was in love. But she could never bring herself to tell him.

“X” that’s what she just called him. Why did the name sound so familiar? James did call him “Professor X” but not just “X”. Ever since the concussion, he has been having some strange feelings. He could hear something, or see something or smell something that will trigger a memory; just blips of it.

As he walked to his dorm, he took out his phone and then texted Petrichor, “You busy tonight?”

“Hey big man, what’s popping?” Logan asked. As usual he was propped behind his gaming monitor.

“I’m good man; last working day at the library for me.” Xaviere said with a sigh of relieve.

“Whoa, that’s rad dude. We should c***k open a six-pack to celebrate.” Logan said. Xaviere laughed. “I don’t drink alcohol remember?”

“Oh, yeah I forgot. You’re like a Catholic Shoa Lin Monk or something.” Logan said rocking left and right on his chair.

“Yeah I am Catholic but I am no monk. Religious values are not the reason I don’t drink.”

“Oh really, what is the reason then?” Logan asked.

“We have hormones and neurotransmitters in our bodies and brains; regulate stuff, controlling our emotions. Oxytocin, epinephrine, dopamine; these are our bodies’ high. When we get intoxicated, we mess around with them. Honestly I like to have a clear head.”

“It’s always some science stuff with you, huh?” Logan asked. Xaviere laughed again. Over the weeks, they have become close. Not as close as he was with Andrew but at least they had few conversations; which is a big improvement from when they first met.

As he sat on his bed eating leftover pizza, he heard his phone buzz. It was Petrichor and she texted, “No, I'm not. What’s up?” Xaviere was shaken up. At the site of the text, he raised his brows, widened his lids and dilated his pupils. He did not expect her to reply. He just texted to fulfill all righteousness; he did tell Sarah he would reach out and that’s exactly what he did. But was he going to tell her. He had never actually had a real date; just their conversations over coffee in Alice’s shop. He did not usually hang out at night. All he did was sit in the room eating pizza or Chinese food he often ordered on such nights of solitude; read books educational or otherwise, watch movies or sometimes j******f to p**n. But tonight he was going to do something different. He was going to hangout this night and hangout with a girl; but where?

“Hey…Logan”

‘What’s up bruv?” Logan asked. Xaviere said nothing. At this silence he decided to turn to look at his roommate. He saw Xaviere looking all nervous with a weird expression on his face.

“Whoa, dude you good?” Logan said as he put the game on pause.

“I… I need your help.” Xaviere said with beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.

“What’s up bro?” Logan said now facing Xaviere directly keenly listening to him.

“Well there’s this girl and I think we have a date and well…”

“Oh snap, the monk has a date.” Logan said as he burst out laughing interrupting Xaviere.

“Bro… I'm serious.” Xaviere said looking sternly at Logan after he let him have a good laugh.

“Oh snap, you actually are serious.” Logan said with a look of sudden realization on his face. “So what do want? Some make out points, bruv I’ve got you covered.

“No, no, no it’s not that. The thing is I don’t exactly have a place in mind. Where I'm I going to take her too?”

“Well my good man, you’re in luck. There’s a frat party tonight. I wasn’t going to go but right now I think we should. I’d just call up my guys; we can get a car around and pick your date up on the way.”

“Well, I don’t really think a party would be…”

“C’mon bruv, loosen up for once. Girls hate it when you’re uptight.

“Okay, okay. Let me text her.” Xaviere said. He did just that and she accepted the offer. He got in the shower, brushed his teeth and got ready.

“What the hell are you wearing?” Logan asked.

“My clothes…” Xaviere responded looking confused. He looked at his cloths he had on. He did not see anything wrong with it. He actually picked out his best clothes; his favorite long sleeved white shirt tucked into some brown khakis with black loafers on his feet. He had a black jacket on too.

“The whole team is going to be there. You can’t follow me dressed up like that!” Logan said.

“Like what? I don’t see what’s wrong with this.”

“Like you’re to church; c’mon Xaviere it’s a party. Logan said in a persuasive tone.

“Fine” Xaviere said after sighing heavily.

“Ok… let’s see what we are working with.” Logan said as he peered through Xaviere wardrobe, looking apprehensively at the clothes on the hangers. He looked through a lot of things until he saw some cargo pants folded in a drawer.

“Ok… we can work with this.” Logan said. He then found a long sleeved white shirt and a black T-shirt. None of Xaviere’s shoes complimented the look, so, Logan offered him a pair of laced vans.

“Yes now look bomb.” Logan said.

Just as they planned, they were picked up by a car. The driver was a friend of Logan. While Logan sat in the front, Xaviere and his date were seated behind. Xaviere was tensed; not just by the fact that he had never been on an actually date or the fact that the date was slated for the night but also by the company in the front. He could not freely make conversation as easily as he had done in the coffee shop. He felt an unnecessary urge to impress. He felt like he had been put on the spot. He had that feeling; the uneasiness, butterflies flying ever so violently in his belly--- that feeling, the one he got on stage during those choir recitals in high school.

Petrichor on the other hand was quite comfortable. She felt safe in the company of Xaviere and his nervous expressions. She noticed his jitteriness and tried her possible best to make him feel at ease. She sparked conversations, made inside jokes and laughed when appropriate. She even commented on the music playing over the car stereo. The distance from the dorm to the party was not such a far one but to Xaviere, it felt like eternity.