The Second Day (2)

After an extended back and forth on the way to the dorms, Emma eventually caved and agreed to cut me in on dinner. I've never been much of a cook, instant food has had me covered for the most part but there's no getting that here easily and I have to get sustenance from somewhere. She kicked me out of the kitchen the second I opened my mouth. “Fuck off and annoy someone else or you're not getting any." Those were her exact words.

Now I find myself once again with nothing to do. Classmate #1 was an interesting find, maybe I should go find myself a second one. It doesn't take me long to figure out where to go because as soon as I set foot outside my room I hear the sound of a TV coming from where I know the common room to be. I haven't been there yet but Lloyd vaguely gestured toward it in her poor excuse of a tour of the facilities. Wandering over in the direction of the noise, I find myself looking at quite the spectacle.

There's a scene to be set here, I could start with the girl at the centre but I think it would be better to work from outward in to get a better idea of the absurdity of the image.

The ‘common’ room is anything but; a complete mishmash of furniture befitting of any other room than the one I'm meant to be standing in. Wardrobes, mirrors, chests of drawers and even a fridge or two. Most glaring of all, however, is the assortment of bunk beds in the centre of the room, arranged in a semi-circle of sorts around a large flat-screen TV. Earlier, I had noticed the scuff marks on the wooden flooring of the dorms, I'm guessing this is why they’re there.

The girl in question is sat on the bottom bunk of the bed situated directly across from the TV which is playing some sort of romantic comedy. Her long, dark hair, accentuated by a couple of pink streaks, is tied up into a ponytail with the help of a blue bow. She’s wearing some pale pink pyjamas and hugging a big plush... banana? That's what it seems to be, yeah.

I take a step into the common room from the hallway and land on a loose floorboard, sending a loud creak reverberating around the room. This makes the girl snap her attention towards me. As soon as she realizes I'm not one of her fellow students, her eyes go wide. She jumps up and hits her head off the underside of the top bunk, dropping the banana pillow out of her grasp.

"Owwwww..." the girl says as she rubs her head with her now unoccupied hands.

"Ummmm, are you OK?"

My voice appears to be a grade-A painkiller because the second she hears it her head seems to miraculously heal and she snatches the banana pillow up off the floor to hide behind it.

"Who are you…"

"Oh, it's this game again. Didn't someone let you know I was coming?"

The girl peaks slightly over the banana revealing the inner scepticism that's seeping into her face.

"You're the new errand boy?"

"Thief, errand, whatever prefix you want to put before it is fine but yeah, I'm a boy and I'm new. No need to be wary of me"

"You look mean."

Now that's very direct. I know I come across as a bit abrasive but usually, people have the common courtesy to not mention that right away.

"Instead of taking easy shots based on appearance, which I could easily do as well, how about we go through the formalities of introductions, exchange a name or two."

"Why bother? I'll just have to forget about it sooner or later."

"Well we don't have to learn each other's names but if you're going to call me "errand boy" then I'll have to go with ‘banana girl’."

"No!!!"

"So what should I call you instead, banana girl?"

"..."

"Look, names are just names. We've already exchanged appearances and voices inadvertently, what difference does a name make?

"...My name is Reina."

Just as I suspected, all too easy to manipulate, an uninteresting type. Well maybe ‘manipulate’ gives me too much credit, makes me sound like I have some sort of uncanny ability to read people when I don't, not on any deep level anyway. It's more a case that some people are very easy to push into directions you want, they're very open. I wanted to know Reina's name, she wanted to keep her name from me. It's just about finding something they want more than that and pushing the conversation there. In this case, she wants to not be called ‘banana girl’ more than she desires to keep her name a secret, pretty simple stuff.

"What's your name?"

"It’s Abel."

There's no point in keeping my name a secret anymore, it would hold little more value as a bargaining chip than any other fact about me to Reina. This is what makes people like her so uninteresting, the lack of challenge provided in the tug-of-war of information. I'm sure I could come up with a thousand ways to get what I want out of this girl without ever having to tell her my name.

Looking over towards Reina she's fully hiding her face behind her pillow, maybe I should've pulled myself out of that tangent sooner, I might've missed something important.

"Mind if I ask what you're doing?"

"I'm waiting for you to go away."

"We have to wait a full week for that though don't we?"

"I can wait a week, waiting isn't hard."

"Won't you get tired holding up the pillow though? I can get you some soluble adhesive to attach it to your face hands-free if you want."

She throws the pillow at me weakly allowing me to catch it easily with one hand. Just as quickly as she threw it she runs up, snatches it out of my hand and rushes back to her previous position on the bottom bunk. Strange girl, I guess she's a decoration suiting the environment.

"So Reina, I know you're not a respectable member of society, but being in your pyjamas after midday suggests a concerning level of apathy."

"It's Saturday, the only day I can get the TV to myself."

"What's that got to do with the pyjamas?"

"They're comfy, isn't that obvious? Are you blind or something?"

"I'm not convinced that my appraisal of your pyjamas' comfort levels is really connected at all to my ocular abilities, it relates to the sense of touch."

"So now you're trying to touch me as well as eye me up? How did we hire such a pervert?"

"You didn't hire me for anything, definitely not for touching you. I doubt you have the budget to convince me to do that."

Pillow incoming. I sidestep it this time, better to vary the methods of avoidance so she can't determine a rhythm to aim for. She doesn't run up to get it this time, instead opting to obscure her face behind a blanket. I still haven't seen below her eyes.

"Get the pillow."

"No."

"..."

She gives me a filthy look, eyes only.

"What do I get if I bring you your banana?"

"You get to help the poor, shy girl. Act the man. You love doing that sort of thing."

"No I don't."

"Not ‘you’ like you, I mean guys. You love when people need your help, makes you feel like the big strong capable man you're meant to be."

"Well, I hate when people need my help, it doesn't make me feel anything but annoyed."

She pauses for a moment, unsure of how to react to my harsh refusal to participate in her game. I'm sure any predecessors I may have had were too scared to dare refuse a request from anyone here.

"...at least close your eyes while I get it."

"Again, I've got to ask why I should?"

"Please..."

I still can't see her face but her voice tells me she's about to cry. On one hand, I don't want to do as I'm told, on the other, I'm not in the business of upsetting people, at least not like this. It's not the sort of reaction I'm used to with my peers, it makes me uncomfortable.

"Fine."

I close my eyes and I immediately hear her hop off the bed onto to floor below. Funny how she trusts me to not open them again right away. As she passes by me I can hear her muttering to herself. Something about "the same". That could be referring to any number of things. Me, the situation, the male sex or even just Sundays, no use in speculating about it. She might have even said, "not the same" it was sort of hard to make out. Wait this is speculation, I'm meant to be not doing that.

"You can open your eyes now."

I open my eyes and it's like I just reset 5 minutes. Here we are again, I still haven't moved from where I am and Reina is back behind the banana. I guess her eyes seem a bit less hostile.

"Thanks..."

"I haven't really done anything worth thanking me for."

"You didn't have to close your eyes."

"I didn't have to keep them open either."

"Yeah… but… thanks anyway."

"Why did you want me to close them in the first place?"

"Telling you would sort of defeat the purpose of making you close them, wouldn't it?"

"Well it depends, is what you're hiding from me something I can't know at all or merely something I can't be allowed to see?"

Just before the silence becomes unbearable, as I'm about to say something to break it, she speaks softly.

"...my face… I'm not wearing any makeup."

"Neither am I, what's so bad about that?"

"Well it's different for you, you don't need it to not feel naked."

"So you're naked right now?"

"No that's not right, it doesn't feel like, actual nakedness just… without it I feel people can see something I'm meant to keep hidden."

God, why is she being so open about this? I don't know how to walk the line of being abrasive without actually making her into a sobbing mess. Are all girls this difficult?

"Right, well, I'm going to go back to my room. Enjoy whatever it is you're doing."

Not giving her a chance to respond, I make haste back to my room, slam the door behind me and slide onto my bed. That was exhausting. I make a mental note to avoid her as much as possible for the next week.

***

*knock* *knock*

I must have dozed off at some point because the next thing I know I have someone knocking incessantly at my door. Probably Emma coming to ask why I didn't show for dinner after berating her so much to make some for me.

*knock* *knock*

"I'm coming, give it a rest."

I open the door and come face to face with a non-Emma, non-Reina type individual. This must be my third and final classmate. Her short, sandy-blonde hair is messy and her eyes have attitude. She's in basketball gear and smells like sweat, guess she's who the halfcourt is for. In her hands is a plate of curry, which presumably is for me.

"Emma asked me to bring you this."

"Thanks."

She hands over the plate but doesn't motion to leave, instead looking me up and down like some sort of vulture.

"Disappointing."

"Wanna elaborate?"

"I was sorta hoping you'd be hotter."

Try as I might to formulate a quick response in my head, anything I can think of in the moment would only make the insult sting more. Instead, I opt to stand there with my plate of curry in silence, like a fucking idiot.

"Anyway, I'm Lexi. I won't ask you to get along with me but a few situps and a shave would go a long way to making your tenure more interesting."

"I'm, uh… I'm gonna go.... eat. This... uh, now."

"Ok, hope it's not too hot for you."

She walks away chuckling to herself. Goddamn, that smile was evil, that's how I imagine myself looking when I say something particularly nasty but she was just wearing it. I was bested on our first meeting, that won't do. She thinks she has the upper hand but she doesn't. I'll fucking show her who's who. If I'm going to fuck her up tomorrow like I intend to, I need a good night's sleep.

I wolf down my curry, do some situps and go straight to sleep. Tomorrow I shall rise!