Chapter 2: Reflections

Rrriiiiiiing!

Groaning with sleepiness after waking up from her nap, Wendy reaches up and grabs the abominable ringing phone from the top of the small drawer right next to her bed. She looks on the caller ID to find out who would rouse her awake.

Sean.

Rrriiiiiiing!

Wendy couldn't keep herself from smiling. Wendy knows he loves her, but did Sean really have to disturb her sleep? Most other times she would let the phone ring after hitting the 'quiet' button until someone reached her voicemail in a situation like this. But this was Sean. She was always interested when he wanted to talk to her. Pressing the 'talk' button on her phone, she puts it up to her ear and says in a sleepy but cheerful tone, "Hello, Sean."

"Wendy, I… Were you asleep?"

"Not anymore Sean, since he woke her up."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I know how much you like to sleep," he says with a chuckle. "I'll just let you go and you can…"

"Sean, it's okay. Really," Wendy interrupted. "What's up?"

Wendy heard a sigh from the other end before Sean says, "I met Spears today."

Already!? Well, it's not like Starf is a really bug campus. Those two were bound to see each other. Especially since they both know her. But the day before class starts? Setting aside her mental surprise, Wendy decides to get straight to the point. "So, who won, Wendy's best friend or her love interest?"

"Your love interest. It's currently my eight to his fifteen," Sean answered with an aggravated sigh. "Did you know he was up here?"

Wendy hoped he wouldn't ask that question. Floyd was her best friend; of course she knew that he was up here at Starf. In her mind, who would tell anyone that their best friend and love interest were in the same place, especially when they were both archenemies? Wendy herself has been a spectator to many of their fights, and she has been torn to bits that two people she cares so much about always have to butt heads.

"Well, Sean, the truth is… Wendy did know that Floyd was up here. But she didn't want anyone to…"

"It figures," interrupted Sean. "Wendy, you don't have to explain yourself. You were just looking out for our best interests, is that right?"

"Yes…"

Sean, understanding as always.

"And I know you hate seeing us fight. But, fights between me and Spears are an even bigger guarantee than death." Sean pointed out. "Well, I wanted you to know that it looks like things are still going to be the same as high school, despite your intentions. See, what happened was that your best friend had the nerve to call me out after I walked you back to your room. But, lucky for us, the fight didn't even last for five seconds. Twenty-three fights and counting, and I still don't know why he hates me so much… Well, I think I have an idea why."

"What is Sean thinking?"

"Well, Sean's thinking that Floyd likes you as more than a best friend. Naturally, if that's true, any other guy would be seen as a threat to his possibility of a relationship with you. And considering how close we are already…"

Wendy laughed. "It's not that, Sean. Floyd doesn't like her in that kind of way, and vice versa. If he did, Wendy might have been his girlfriend already, don't you think?"

Sean grimaced at the thought. Brawl-happy Floyd… and Wendy? He couldn't live it down if he found out that they hooked up. But then again, Wendy says she had a thing for me since the start of high school. And Floyd always hooked up with whatever popular girl he laid eyes on. His last ex… Ugh. His taste in girls is severely screwed up.

"Hmm… I guess you're right, Wendy. Besides, anybody who hooked up in high school didn't need to tell anybody else because word would spread like wildfire drenched in oil. Still, I can't think of any other reason he would fight me so much. I don't even talk to him unless we have to work on some assignment together, and… this whole thing is stupid."

"Oh, Sean," Wendy cooed.

"I'll be alright. But this isn't going to stop until one of us feels he can't take anymore. Maybe if Floyd explains the reason why he fights me so much then I'll be able to solve the problem, whatever it is. But he wouldn't explain, not even for a million dollars, a mansion, and a law allowing polygamy with every hot girl in the world."

"Polygamy? Does Sean really think about that?" questioned Wendy, dryly.

"Sure, I always wanted to marry three girls: you, you, and you," quipped Sean.

"But there can only be one Wendy, Sean. And she wants to be all his."

"There's one problem: Floyd, your best friend. He won't approve, you know that."

"Maybe Sean and Wendy can convince him…"

"We tried that already, remember?" Sean sighed for the second time in two minutes. "He'll continue to fight me until the day one of us dies. When I fought him, there was a bit of a crowd watching. I embarrassed him in front of all of those people. He's not going to let that slide. If he sees me tomorrow— and he will, I'm sure of it—he and I will fight again. And maybe I can get to the bottom of all this once and for all."

Sean suddenly burst into melancholy laughter, startling Wendy, which subsided after a few moments. "I can't believe I'm optimistic about this…"

"Sean, it's a good thing to be optimistic about a thing like this. You know what? Wendy is going to call Floyd when she gets the chance and ask him for Sean."

"Hey, why didn't I think of that?" asked Sean. "It makes sense. You're his best friend; he'll definitely open up to you if provoked long enough."

"Mm-hmm. Alright. Wendy is going to call him and get his answer. After that, she'll call Sean right back."

"Okay, Wendy. I'm counting on you."

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"Hold on just a second, Cinnamon; my phone's buzzing."

Floyd and Cinnamon have just finished dinner at Passho's, a quiet Italian restaurant only seven minutes walking distance from Starf University. Over dinner, the two inquired a great deal of each other, such as career paths (Floyd pursuing architecture and Cinnamon pursuing culinary arts), ages, family, and philosophies of life to little trivial things such as favorite colors and cartoon characters. They joked and just simply enjoyed each other's company.

It was a good hour and fifteen minutes into the date when Floyd had to take the phone out of his pocket and see who was calling him. "Hmm, it's Wendy. I didn't forget something important, did I?" As much as he enjoyed hanging out with Cinnamon, he would not hesitate to rush to his best friend if she needed him for anything important.

Pressing the 'call' button, he then holds it up to his ear. "Hey, Wendy. What's up?"

"Um… is Floyd busy right now?" was the reply.

"Well… to tell the truth, I'm kind of in the middle of a date right now. Is there a problem?"

A gasp came on Wendy's side of the phone. "A date!? Floyd hasn't even been on this campus for a whole three days and he already has a date? How does he manage to keep attracting people?"

"I just… do, I guess."

"Well, Wendy wanted to ask him about something, but it'll have to wait, because Wendy doesn't want to ruin Floyd's good time… he is having a good time, right?"

"Of course I am!" Floyd exclaimed. "And about what you said about ruining my good time… I'll talk to you about Freshwater when the date's over."

"How did Floyd know what Wendy was going to…?"

"Because he's the only reason that I would even be in a bad mood. Actually, he's the reason why I'm on a date right now." Floyd explained.

"Floyd means to tell Wendy that some girl went out with her because she was sympathetic to him getting his butt kicked?"

"It's not just that! And how did you… Humph. I guess Freshwater told you about the fight already. Probably gloated about it, too."

"No, no, he… Well, Wendy and Floyd will talk about it later. Floyd can't have his date waiting while he's on the phone now."

"Yeah, we'll talk about it later, okay? 'Till then."

"Bye, Floyd." And with a click, Wendy was gone.

"So, Freshwater's his name?" Cinnamon inquired after regaining Floyd's full attention. "The guy who beat you up?"

"Yeah, that's his last name anyway," said Floyd. Really, did she have to be so blunt about it? "He and I have something of a fighting rivalry."

"Can I ask about it? I-If you want to talk about it, that is."

Floyd thought for a moment or so. Should I tell a complete stranger about what's been going on between me and Freshwater? But I haven't even told Wendy, because she might tell Sean because she likes him, and then the whole situation would be weird. But Cinnamon… nah, she won't tell. She doesn't even know the guy.

Having made up his mind that he will tell Cinnamon about his fighting history, Floyd clears his throat before saying, "Okay, I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell."

"Alright, then. Just take your time so I can let it marinade," Cinnamon requested.

"I'll try," Floyd promised. Clearing his throat for a second time, he prepares to tell his date his story. "See, back in high school, I only knew Freshwater… well, Sean is his first name… because he took some of the same classes as I did… which was odd, considering he was one grade level below me."

"Hmm. Must've been a smart cookie."

Floyd nodded his head. "Yeah, he was. I never really spoke to him outside of class, except when we had to work on an assignment together in class. Sean… was seen as a little weird to most people at the school. Always talking about beliefs and stuff. He would be proud of anything he did, as long as he wasn't hurting anybody because of it. Because of that, he was quickly put into the 'unpopular' tier." Floyd made quotation marks with his fingers for emphasis on 'unpopular.' "As a rule, anybody who was 'popular' would be humiliated and disgraced if they associate closely with anyone who was 'unpopular.' Everybody wanted to be popular because there were after-school and weekend parties for those who were rightly considered, among other benefits. But you had to meet a few requirements first: One, you had to be handsome or beautiful. Like you are," he said gesturing to Cinnamon, getting a blush and a giggle out of her. "Two: You didn't do things that weren't considered cool."

"Like?"

"Joining the band."

Cinnamon grimaced. "That's a stupid rule. I played the sax three years ago in high school. I made people melt like butter!"

Floyd laughed. "I'm sure you did, but if you went to my high school, you would've been 'unpopular' like Freshwater. Now, I wasn't in either group until the beginning of my senior year. One day, this guy named Ashton came up to me and said that I should meet him in the gym when school let out. Ashton was one of the most 'popular' guys in the school. Almost every girl wanted to date him, and… some people would say he redefined the definition of 'cool.' I figured that it was my turn to be popular if he himself would come talking to me about it. So after school, I went to the gym, and met him. He said that the 'populars' had an eye on me and they wanted me to join them, all the while explaining all the quirks such as the parties, the girls who I could date, the people who had my back when stuff went down, and all that. All I had to do was one thing: I had to trounce a random 'unpopular' kid."

"And that kid turned out to be Freshwater," Cinnamon reasoned.

"Yep, Little Boy Blue himself. The next day, a group of the 'populars' had managed to secure a classroom after school. A couple of them had coaxed Sean to come. When he got there, imagine his surprise when he found out that he had to fight me in that room. If I won that bout, I would be one of the 'populars'. A few had blocked the door so that Sean couldn't escape, but I could tell in his eyes. He would fight. And if he somehow managed to win, he would probably go for everyone else in that room, too. Problem was, Sean was… physically inept at the time. He fights with his mind much more than his fists. Still holds true today, now that I think about it. To shorten the story, I broke him in half. I had nothing against the guy, believe me, but I just wanted to be popular. I would talk to him later and explain everything."

"I take it that you did?"

"Nope, and that was both of our faults. Next day. The news about Sean's ass-kicking spread like a plague. Freshwater was laughed at the entire day, but I heard he didn't even let it faze him one bit. Meanwhile, I was suddenly popular, had people giving me my fifteen minutes of fame and a couple of girls had given me winks and everything. But I still felt bad about it, especially after my best friend Wendy approached me after school after hearing the news. I found out that day that she had a crush on Freshwater. I explained everything to her, but she still didn't approve of it. That's when I opened my locker and saw a folded invitation to a fight at the nearby park after school. I figured that this would be my chance to explain everything to him."

Cinnamon shifted around in her seat into a more comfortable position.

"When I got there, I found him in a large sandbox in a huge circle he had drawn himself. He immediately explained that he wanted revenge for yesterday. But first, I would tell him why people sent to fetch him in order to fight me. I told him, I never sent anyone, but he wouldn't listen. Eventually, I somehow figured that if I told him the real reason why I fought him, he and I would never have any sort of reconciliation. I thought about what it must've felt like for him. Would he really be so forgiving after hearing that I trounced him to further my own status? Nobody would. So I never told him. Infuriated at his lack of a response from me, he charged. It was the only fight he ever instigated. The guy was set in a blind rage because someone wanted to set him up for a fight for no apparent reason… or so he thinks. But I was laid out flat in fifteen seconds.

"When I came to, I resolved to fight Sean again just because nobody lays me out and gets away with it. With some discreet—and some not-so-discreet—gestures, I had fought him a number of times without the knowledge of the 'populars' most of the time. I didn't think why I fought him in the first place or even my best friend's feelings towards him. This was my personal pride; I wouldn't let him get the best of me. Now when I realize that Sean is on the same campus as me after a year has passed since my graduation, it dawns on me that he and I will be fighting for a long time to come."

"So let me get this straight," said Cinnamon, who soaked up the details of Floyd's story like a sponge. "All this time, he never figured out the real reason why you beat him up?"

"Nope. He thinks the 'populars' had set up the fight for their entertainment, and after seeing what I did to him, they want to make sure he suffers for as long as we attended the same school. Every other meeting ends with a beating. Usually from me to him."

"Hmm. You also tell me that you had nothing against Freshwater, right? And the only reason you continued to fight him was to prove that you were the better man?" Floyd nodded to both inquiries. "I have a suggestion, then."

"Okay, let's hear it."

"Just stop fighting. The way I see it, you're not in high school anymore; there's no such thing as a 'popular' person in college. You two could make up, like, platonically speaking, and if you still want to fight, just make it a friendly spar."

She might be right, thought Floyd. It's not like I have to be with a group of people who are so closed-minded about everything in order to prove that I'm somebody. Wait a minute, that doesn't even make any sense when I put it like that.

But still…

"I don't think it's going to happen, Cinnamon."

"But, why not?"

"Well, first off, I have to get revenge against Sean for what he did to me today, even if it led to me going out with a hot girl." Cinnamon blushed while Floyd continued. "I guess also because I have an image to keep up in front of him. For the whole of a year, I've been proving to him that I'm everything he only wishes he was: popular, cool, respected, and able to get any girl I wanted and not have anyone see me as an outcast. Away from everyone's eyes though, I did things that would've gotten me laughed at and kicked out of the group had anyone else known about it."

"Like what?"

"…I play Pokémon over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. A lot."

Cinnamon burst out in laughter.

"You see?" exclaimed Floyd, his arms outstretched to Cinnamon. "Stuff like that…"

"…Would've been fine," finishes Cinnamon, stifling her laughter. "A lot of people play Pokémon. Everyone's done it at least once. I still play myself."

"What version do you have, then?" Floyd asked.

"Diamond."

"And this is why I got the Pearl version," explains Floyd, "because somehow everyone else would get Diamond, just like Wendy. She plays Pokémon, too."

"Wendy is your best friend's name, right? Was she 'popular', too?" asked Cinnamon.

"Nah, she got an invitation to join when she was in the 10th grade, though. She was usually quiet and kept to herself, and she talks a bit unusual too, but the 'populars' wanted her to join because of her… um… figure, if you know what I mean. Some of the guys thought that if Wendy could join the group, then they could date the most physically alluring girl in the school. Wendy rejected them though, but she still had guys running after her, 'populars' and 'unpopulars' alike. Even though she and I hung round each other a lot, none of the 'populars' said anything about it because they thought that I was trying to hook up with her, which wasn't true."

"You know, my roommate's name is Wendy. She has a voluptuous figure and she talks a little weird, too. Just like your best friend."

"Weird. How does she talk?" Floyd was secretly wondering if he and Cinnamon knew the same Wendy. What a shock it would be if he found out that he was dating his best friend's roommate!

"Well, the main thing is… she doesn't speak in first-person," explained Cinnamon. Floyd's eyes widened considerably. "I know, right?"

"No, that's not it. Cinnamon, your roommate… is my best friend. I'm sure of it."

"Wait. Seriously?"

"Yeah. Seriously."

Cinnamon was quiet for a few moments. Suddenly, "Oh my God!" followed by a burst of laughter. "I would've never thought I would date a roommate's best friend or something."

"Small world, huh?" proclaimed Floyd.

"No kidding. But, you know something? If I wanted to be devious, I could get her to spill the beans about you."

"What?" cried Floyd, voice filled with panic.

"Everyone has things they tell their best friend and nobody else," said Cinnamon, her lips curling up in a smile. "I want to know what fruit your best friend will bear about you."

"No, don't do that! Don't ask her anything!" Floyd begged.

"Oh, but of course I won't. I like it when people open up to me themselves, the way you just did. That way, there's no deception, and I can tell for sure if they're sincere or not. And I think you are very sincere, even given that I've only known you for not even a whole day," said Cinnamon.

"You're sincere yourself, coming over to clean me up like that earlier," remarked Floyd, getting yet another blush out of Cinnamon in the process.

"Do you think Wendy will be okay with me dating her best friend?" she asks. "I mean, I have to share a room with her, and I don't want her to have any hard feelings towards me."

"I'll talk to her about it tonight. Hey, why don't I walk you back to your room, and both of us can talk about it with Wendy there?" Floyd suggested.

"Sounds like a peachy idea to me. Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, I can't eat anymore." Taking a good look at Cinnamon, Floyd thinks to himself, I wonder if I can get a taste of her one of these days.

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"We should've done it earlier than we did, Sylvia."

"What's wrong, Douglas? Didn't get enough sleep?"

"No, I was too excited after we did it in your office."

"Then we should've done it again in the car."

"And what if we had gotten caught by the police? Or robbed?"

"We could've gone to the top of a parking garage. Nobody would've noticed us."

"Yeah, and people wouldn't have noticed us in your office. You really don't care where we do it at, do you?"

"No, not really. But I always wanted somebody to lick me in a pool of melted chocolate."

"Fantasy, Miss Pine?"

"Reality, Mr. Dogwood. At least one day."

"You know, sometimes I still can't believe that we're in this relationship."

"Yeah, remember the first time we met online? The two of us just looking for a wild night with someone."

"Of course I do. When we met face-to-face and talked, I was surprised that you and I were in the same profession and taught at the same university. I mean, what are the odds?"

"At first, I was thinking it would be a little awkward to sex another teacher from Starf. But I was just so… magnetized by you."

"You were the one doing most of the magnetizing, Silvia. Pretty soon, I had taken you back to my house and carried you up the stairs, sloppy kisses all the way."

"We both plopped down on your queen-sized bed, and you practically tore my dress open and starting fondling my breasts. And then you took your mouth and sucked them both like there was no tomorrow."

"If there really wasn't a tomorrow, you could definitely say that your last night was your best night. And then after a few gratuitous moans from you…"

"It was time for me to return the favor. I had pulled down your zipper ever so slowly. And then I went to work on your shaft, working it until it got hard in my mouth."

"After that amazing blowjob, I had put you down and spread your legs as far as they would go, and I plunged inside you. The feeling of your vagina clamping down on my penis over and over; I would come to know it for a long time afterward."

"We had tried so many positions…"

"…The two of us screaming incoherent words for the whole 45 minutes."

"Well, you said something I could understand clearly: 'I'm gonna cum!'"

"And when I said that, you just wrapped your legs and arms around me and pulled me even closer to you, if that was even possible."

"Oh, the feeling when you shot into me! It was nirvana times ten! I came twice already, but that triggered a third one that was even more powerful than the first two. Oh, I remember just writhing with pleasure!"

"You weren't the only one."

"We had fallen asleep in each other's arms that night. I remember you waking me up around 8:30 in the morning, your eyes wide with terror that you may have gotten me pregnant."

"Man, it was such a relief when you said you were on birth control. I didn't want to have any kids yet, and apparently you didn't either."

"Yeah, right then in my life, I wanted to live life the way I wanted and minimize the consequences as much as possible. Actually, I still feel that way."

"Last night was great, too. But I don't think that anything can compare to that one time."

"Well, Douglas, that didn't stop us from trying. We'll probably keep trying until we're physically unable to try anymore."

"Speaking of trying, I have to get through the first day of classes with little to no sleep, thanks to you. They start in about another half-hour."

"I'll come by and check on you in between classes."

"As usual."

"Hahaha. Who would've ever known that you, ever the professional, would have such a wild side to you at times?"

"You help bring it out, you know. My life… has been a lot more exciting these last two years with you around."

"I'm touched, Douglas. Truly, I am. And in more ways than one."

"The feeling is mutual. I'll come see you when my classes are over for the day. There's something I want to talk to you about."

"After classes are over? Must be really important."

"It is, Sylvia."

"What time is it… 8:10. I have a Biology class to teach at 8:40. So I'll see you later, Douglas. Hopefully I'll figure out what you want to talk to me about."

"Take care, Sylvia." And Douglas grabs her by the waist for a long kiss goodbye before Sylvia heads out of his office.