A New Beginning
Chapter Two: Opportunities and Incidents
9:00 am...
Octavius awoke the next morning to someone knocking on the door. He turned over and put the pillow over his head, hoping the knocking would stop and the person would go away.
Then he remembered: he was supposed to meet Norman Osborn at 10 am...
Oh, right... I forgot about that...
"Alright, I'm UP!" He shouted to the person knocking on the door, and the knocking stopped.
He reluctantly crawled out of bed and got himself ready, then walked out of the motel, towards Osborn Industries...
--
"Mr. Osborn, I'm still unsure about this..." Stromm was still trying to convince Osborn to think twice about this meeting with Octavius.
Osborn rolled his eyes and said, "You're never sure of anything. As I told you last night, if you have any issues with this, you can leave."
Stromm was about to say something else when Octavius walked into the office.
Osborn whispered to Stromm, "Keep your mouth shut..." then walked over to Octavius, extending his hand.
"Ah, yes, you must be Dr. Octavius. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Octavius shook Osborn's hand and said, "Likewise. I was actually hoping an opportunity would present itself to continue my research as soon as possible... that is what this meeting is for, correct?"
Osborn nodded and said, "Of course. I've heard great things about you."
At this, Octavius was no longer surprised, but he took a seat and said, "I didn't think I was that well-known in America..."
Osborn took his own seat behind the desk and said, "Oh, yes. Just about every scientist in this country has heard of you."
Octavius remained silent for a moment, before saying, "If I may ask... how did you know I was even coming to America?"
The room was silent a moment more before Osborn said, "I have my methods... let's just leave it at that."
Octavius was slightly perturbed at this, thinking that Osborn had been spying on him, but the thought passed. "Of course... so... what, exactly, would you have me working on?"
Osborn shrugged and said, "Exactly what you were working on in your homeland. I am offering you a place of research, Doctor. You would be working in your area of expertise."
Octavius raised an eyebrow. "And what would you get out of it?"
Osborn simply nodded. "Suspicion, I see. I am the same way. Very well... since you would be working under my supervision, part of the credit for any discoveries made would go to the company. But this is not to say I would get all the credit, of course, since the discovery itself would be yours."
"Well, of course." Octavius replied, leaning back in the chair. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
"But wait, there is more." Osborn said. "You would be given complete access to any materials you may need for your research. Carte blanche. I think you'll go far with this company. So... do you accept?"
Octavius thought for a moment and said, "I'll do it. I'm in."
Osborn stood up and nodded. "Excellent. I assume you can start tomorrow?"
At this, Octavius shrugged. "It's not like I have anything else to do."
"Excellent." Osborn said. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Octavius did not say anything as he left the office. He appreciated this opportunity... but there was something about Osborn that Octavius didn't like... but he didn't know what...
Stromm had been standing in the corner the entire time, motionless. Finally he spoke up.
"So, Norman, do you still think this is a good idea?"
Osborn simply smirked.
"Of course. He'll put this company on the map where it belongs."
"And if he figures out what you're truly up to?" Stromm said, an edge to his voice.
At this, Osborn laughed outright.
"That shouldn't be too much of a problem. He should be easy to convince. And if not... well, I don't think anyone would be wont to notice if he went missing... would they?"
Stromm inwardly shuddered at what Osborn was insinuating, but he said, "N-No sir."
Osborn said, "I thought you'd say that. Now leave me. I have something to attend to."
He watched as Stromm left the office, a cruel smirk on his face.
I know I can convince him of my plan, if he discovers it. And if I can't... well, he won't be around much longer, will he?
--
30 minutes later...
"Hey, Otto, glad you could make it!" Curt Connors said as he saw Octavius enter the diner they had been to yesterday. "What have you been up to?"
"Hello yourself, Curt." Octavius said as he took a seat. "I was in a meeting with Norman Osborn. He left me a note yesterday saying he wanted to meet with me. He offered me a position in his company. I accepted."
Curt nodded and said, "Well, that's great! You've been here less than a day, and you've already got a job."
Octavius looked down at the table and said, "Yeah... there was something about Osborn, though... something's not right with that man, and I don't know what it is..."
Curt looked concerned at this. "Well, I have heard rumors that he's got somewhat of a shady past... I don't know if it's true, though. I don't think you'll have a problem with that."
Octavius cocked his head and looked at Curt, a doubtful look on his face. "Have you even met him?"
Curt shook his head and said, "O.K, I've never met him. But how bad can he be? I mean, he's one of the city's most well-known businessmen. I don't think you'll have a problem, but don't quote me on that."
At that, Octavius rolled his eyes, a slight smirk on his face. "If you say so."
Curt snickered and said, "Well, glad to see you agree with me. Hey, I went to see the guy who owns the building I mentioned yesterday. He said he'd be willing to cut you a deal on it, if you're interested."
Octavius looked out the window of the diner and said, "Well, I'll have to see the place first. Where is it?"
Curt pulled a piece of paper from his jacket and wrote down an address. "It's somewhere in the East Village, that's what he told me. I'll see if I can help you find it later."
Octavius would have replied to that, but that's when she walked in...
The woman had long brown hair, eyes the color of slate, and a slightly exotic look to her. She caught Octavius' attention quickly...
Curt looked at Octavius and said, "Hey, Otto, did you hear me?"
Octavius did not respond. Curt waved his hand in front of Otto's face to get his attention, but Octavius pushed it down and said, "Who is that woman?"
Curt looked at the woman of which he spoke and said, "Her? That's Rosalie Harris. She teaches English at the University. I've never actually talked to her, but I've seen her around."
Octavius could say nothing as he gazed upon her, his heart pounding. He had to shake his head to clear it and said, "What were you saying about that place in the..." He broke off when he saw the grin on Curt's face.
"What are you smiling about?"
It took Curt a second to respond, but what he said surprised Octavius...
"You like her, don't you, Otto?"
Octavius stumbled over his words. "N-No, I don't."
"You're a terrible liar." Curt said, still smiling. "Come on, I'll introduce you."
Octavius said, "I-I couldn't! I don't even know her!"
Curt said, "No, I'll introduce you. Come on." He grabbed Octavius by the arm and pulled him away from the table. Octavius tried to pull away, but in a few seconds he found himself standing before Rosalie.
"Hello, Miss Harris?" Curt said. "I believe you know me? I teach physics at E.S.U-"
Rosalie looked up at Curt and smiled. "Of course. You're Curt Connors. I've seen you in the halls." She stole a glance at Octavius. "Who's your friend?"
Curt said, "I'll let him introduce himself," and stepped back.
Rosalie looked up at Octavius and said, "Hello there."
Octavius could not respond.
"What's your name?" Rosie said, with a slight smile on her face.
Octavius scratched the back of his neck and said, "I-I'm Otto Octavius..." He looked back at Curt, who gave him the thumbs-up, then turned back around. "Um... so, I, uh... heard you teach English at t-the university here..."
Rosie nodded and said, "Yes, I do. English Literature, to be precise."
Octavius could think of nothing to say. Rosie finally said, "Would you like to come over to my apartment tonight? We could talk there, I have to leave in a few minutes."
Octavius just nodded, still unable to speak.
Rosie said, "O.K, great." She wrote down her address and handed it to Octavius, then said, "So, I'll see you tonight at 7?"
Octavius pocketed the paper and said, "S-Sure..."
Rosie smiled and said, "Great. See you then," and walked out.
Octavius watched her leave, then suddenly everything went black...
--
He woke up to water being splashed in his face. When he woke up, he saw the face of Curt Connors, kneeled over top of him.
"Hey, Otto, are you awake? Answer me."
Octavius only looked up at Curt and said, "Don't... make me do that again. I'm serious."
Curt couldn't help but laugh. "Aw, come on. What was I supposed to do? It's obvious you liked her." He helped Octavius to his feet, then said, "Sorry, but I couldn't watch you miss the opportunity."
Octavius said, "The opportunity to what? Make an idiot out of myself?"
Curt said, "No, the opportunity to meet her. I think she likes you. Otherwise she wouldn't have invited you over tonight."
Octavius shook his head and said, "I swear to God, if you do that again, I'll-"
Curt cut him off. "Yeah, we'll see what you say after tonight." He had to try and hold back the laughter that was threatening to overtake him, but it was too much. He doubled over in laughter and said, "I'm sorry, Otto, but you should have seen the look on your face... I wish I had a camera to catch it."
Octavius whacked Curt in the back of the head and left the diner, but Curt ran after him.
"Alright, Otto, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you would blank like that. It's just..." he laughed again, then said, "I thought you'd be able to talk to her."
Octavius looked at Curt and said, "I have no experience with women! The only woman I've ever really been able to talk to was my mother! I have absolutely no idea how to talk to them!!"
At this, Curt stopped laughing.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I seriously thought you'd be able to handle it."
Octavius did not respond.
Curt was silent for a moment before he said, "Alright, you have no idea how to handle women, but you can't walk out on this date."
Octavius said, "It's not a date!"
Curt said, "Whatever. Either way, we've got to figure out what to do with you."
Octavius growled, "Right now, the only thing I'm trying to figure out is how to beat you senseless without crippling you for life."
Curt said, "Alright, alright, I'm sorry. But seriously, what are we going to do with you?"
Octavius rolled his eyes and said, "How should I know? As I said, I have no idea how to handle women."
They were silent a moment more before Curt said, "Alright, I'll help you."
Octavius was slightly apprehensive about that...
"Help me how? You got me into this situation in the first place."
Curt said, "I'll give you a few tips. I could-"
Octavius cut him off. "O.K, I see where this is going. I do not need this in my life right now. I just got here! I don't even have my own place yet!"
Curt said, "But you will soon. My point is, we don't need you going in there and making an idiot out of yourself."
Octavius shook his head and said, "Well, of course not. I've done that enough today, thanks to you."
Curt said, "That's why I'm offering to help. Come on, I'm married. I'd definitely say I have experience with this sort of thing. So, do you want my help or not?"
Octavius thought on this, then said, "Do I want your help? No. Do I need it?" He sighed and said, "Unfortunately, yes."
Curt nodded and said, "Glad I could be of assistance..."
--
Several hours later...
Octavius was standing at Rosie's door, trying not to black out yet again. He had tried to talk Curt out of making him go, to no avail.
What am I doing here!? He thought to himself. I'm going to make an idiot of myself again!!
He knocked on the door, waited for a minute as footsteps approached the door, and then Rosie was standing there, looking at him and smiling.
"Glad you could make it, Dr. Octavius." Rosie said. She motioned for him to enter. "Come in?"
Octavius entered the apartment, looking around. He was trying to keep Rosie from noticing the barely-disguised panic, so he took a seat at the table, not saying a word.
Rosie closed the door and walked over to the kitchen counter, grabbing a pitcher of something and walking back to the table.
Octavius tried to think of something to say, but only one thing came to mind...
"How did you know of my title? You called me 'Dr. Octavius." I don't remember telling you about that."
Rosie laughed slightly at that and said, "Oh, Curt told me that much. We talked for a while earlier. You don't have to be nervous to talk to me, you know. I don't bite."
Octavius looked down at the floor, not able to think of something to say.
Rosie looked at him a minute, before saying, "So, you're from Europe? Germany, I'm assuming?"
Octavius nodded, but didn't respond.
Rosie grabbed one of the glasses on the table and poured a glass of whatever was in the pitcher, then handed the glass to Octavius. He took it and said, "What is it?"
"Oh, it's tea." She poured herself a glass, then said, "So, Curt told me about your reasons for coming to the States. He told me you were quite the eminent scientist over there..."
Octavius looked up and said, "I couldn't continue my research. Too many problems with the rules over there... they get stricter almost every day...
Rosie nodded and said, "Well, hopefully you'll find life here easier..."
Octavius didn't respond to that. He just looked at the clock on the wall.
I've only been here 5 minutes!? Please just kill me now...
"Um, Ms. Harris..." he said, "Do you have a bathroom?"
Rosie said, "Sure. It's right down the hall."
Octavius walked down the hall, shut the door, and turned on the faucet. Splashing some water in his face, he looked in the mirror.
Come on, Octavius... he thought to himself. You've handled tougher situations than this... you can handle this...
He opened the door to walk back to the table, but suddenly, a wave of dizziness washed over him, and he blacked out.
Rosie heard a 'thud' in the hall and walked over to see what it was. She saw Octavius lying on the floor unconscious, and ran up to him.
"Otto! Are you alright?" she said. Kneeling down, she looked him over, then picked him up and laid him on the couch. She grabbed a chair from the table and sat beside him, waiting for him to wake up.
Is he really that afraid? she thought to herself, laying her hand on his head, pushing the hair out of his face. I can't imagine why...
She sat there for 10 minutes before he started to wake up. Rolling over, he looked at her, half-asleep.
"W-What happened to me?" He said, only half-awake.
Rosie looked at him sadly. "You blacked out. Are you really that scared of me?"
Octavius closed his eyes and said, "It's not you... I... I'm just not good with women..."
Rosie laid her hand on his shoulder, surprised when he flinched slightly.
"I was worried about you. I've never seen someone that afraid of a lady before. If I may ask... why is that?"
It was several seconds before Octavius replied, in a near-whisper, "I've never been well-liked by the ladies... they always thought of me as a lesser being, mostly because of my intelligence... and because I... well, I was never the toughest person out there... I'd always get beaten up by the other young men... the athletes and such... I was bigger than a lot of them, but they... they were just tougher."
Rosie looked saddened at this. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."
Octavius muttered, "I didn't expect you to..."
Rosie nodded at that. "Of course..."
Octavius sat up on the couch and looked at the clock.
"Was I really out for 10 minutes?"
Rosie said, "Yes, you were... mind if I sit next to you?"
Octavius said, "It's your house..."
Rosie moved from the chair, over to the couch, and said, "That it is..."
They sat there for a half hour or so, just talking, him not as much as her, until Octavius checked the clock, stood up and said, "Well, I'd better get going..."
Rosie said, "Wait, where are you staying?"
"I've got a room at a motel a few blocks from here..." he replied indifferently.
Rosie shook her head and said, "No, you can stay here for the night, if you wish."
Octavius thought on that, before saying, "I suppose it would be preferable to having someone beat my door down in the morning to wake me up..."
Rosie laughed at that.
"Otto Octavius, you are a very strange man."
Octavius shrugged and said, "So I've been told."
Rosie laughed again and said, "At least you can admit it."
"Well, of course," Octavius replied, a half-smirk on his face. "Where would I be if I couldn't?"
Rosie said, "I suppose you're right."
They were both silent, until Octavius said, "Well, I'm really tired, I think I'll go to bed for the night."
A smirk crossed Rosie's face as she said, "Oh, that blackout didn't help?"
At this, Octavius snickered.
"No. If anything, it made me even more tired than I already was."
Rosie said, "Alright then." She walked towards her room and said, "Well, goodnight then." she smiled and closed the door.
Octavius returned to the couch and laid down, looking up at the ceiling.
And here I thought yesterday was the weirdest day of my life...
-To be continued...