To Meet Again:
Part 10:
Duncan
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Knote: I know most of y'all probably know this…but just in case… Lestat is a vampire… Yes it is applicable…trust me…but not because he's in the story or anything. ^^;
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The woman approached him, her dark brown hair flowing around her shoulders. In her hands she balanced a silver tray and on it was a chrome laptop. Duncan stared, open mouthed. Could it really be the Stargazer? The best piece of portable technology that was ever invented for the use of man?
"Is that…for me?" he asked, eyes wide. The woman nodded and opened her mouth.
"The time is five-thirty in the a.m.! Wake up to the hit music of WQDR the best light rock in Colorado! Next, a hit song by Japanese sensation, Andy Wong! Get ready boys and girls for 'You are In My-" the happy voice abruptly stopped as Duncan hit the snooze button. He let his hand fall and hang of the edge of the bed, fingers brushing the floor. Ugh. It was morning again. Morning and he had a class in two hours. With a groan he lurched out of bed, pausing a moment to straighten the covers and smooth the wrinkles, before stumbling his way to the shower. Luckily enough, his dorm room was equipped with a small shower. Not all had that luxury. Unfortunately however, his roommate was in it. Duncan glared and knocked on the plastic door.
"How long have you been in there?"
"T…two hours. I'll b…be out s…soon."
"Soon meaning sometime before the apocalypse?"
"G…get b…bent D…Duncan." The twenty-year-old narrowed his eyes and went over to the sink. Then with an innocent whistle turned on the hot water. There was a shriek and a stuttered curse, then the shower door slammed open and Calvin stood there, murder in his strange, cat-like, eyes.
"D…dammit Duncan!"
"Dammit nothing. Your first class is at noon. Now get out, I didn't take a shower last night and I feel disgusting."
"Y…you look disgusting," Calvin grumbled, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his middle. Duncan gave his grumpy friend a well aimed but gentle kick out the door and closed it behind him. Then he stripped and stepped in the shower. Calvin had left the water running and now it was warm again. Sighing with pleasure, he soaked under it awhile, then began to wash.
Living with Calvin was an interesting experience. Calvin was an outcast and proud. He wore black lipstick and spiked his hair, which he claimed was naturally black, but strangely enough…his roots were teal colored. He stuttered a lot and was a slow learner. Duncan was willing to bet Calvin had been teased unmercifully all through school. Duncan knew how it felt to be teased. When he'd moved to New Jersey with his stepmother, he was deemed smart enough to be moved from fourth grade to seventh. Nobody there liked a know-it-all nine-year-old. If it hadn't been for Joshua, Duncan would have been purely miserable.
Duncan smiled as he remembered. He'd always looked
up to Joshua and wanted to be like him. Joshua was the only boy Duncan had ever
met who could cram seventeen marbles in his mouth and call it a talent. The two
years Duncan had lived there, Joshua had been his best friend, always at his
side, always ready to plan up some new adventure. And in the summer when
Joshua's cousin Kevin came down from Brooklyn, it got even better. Duncan had
learned to skateboard and even picked up a new word or two that he wouldn't
dare say aloud. That had been great. But then Duncan had moved to Virginia and
lost contact with his wild friend. Even though it had been ten years, he could
still remember Joshua's face. Wild red-gold hair, perpetually grinning amber
eyes, and fangs that would make Lestat proud.
Shower done, Duncan shut off
the water and wiped his fingerprints off the knobs with a clean washrag. He
dried, brushed his teeth, cleaned the sink, washed the mirror and then went
back into the bedroom to press his clothes. Calvin was a blanketed lump on the
other side of the room. There was a definite dividing line between his
roommate's sides. Duncan shook his head; he could never understand how people
could bear to live in a mess. Of course Calvin was practically a neat freak
compared to Jason.
After ironing a pair of black jeans and a t-shirt he was planning to wear that day, he looked at the clock, saw he had an hour left, and decided to go on the Internet. He pulled his laptop out from under the bed and wrinkled his nose at it. It was three years old. Practically ancient. He would seriously have to look in to getting a new one. He went online, checked his e-mail then went to Neopets to see how his Bruce was doing. There was a knocking sound from the computer, indicating someone had come on IM. It was TMH4ever. Before he could say hi a buddy window flashed up. On it was Japanese kanji with about twelve exclamation points after it. It took him a second to adjust to the language switch.
Hi!!!!!!!!!!!! it read. He chuckled.
Do I know you? he typed back.
Awww don't be meaaaan Chiriko!! You know who this is!!
Taka?
Noooo!! Guess again!! Of course he knew who it was. Only one person in that family used exclamation points like they were going out of style.
Hikari?
lol! lol! Hikari's too little to type!!!
Then it must be Inu!
It's Miakaaaa! Miaka Miaka Miakaaa!!!
lol. Hi Miaka. Is Taka there with you?
T: Yes. I'm here. Hi Chiriko. =)
Hey you guys. What are you doing up so early?
M: Taka kept me up allll night! Hee hee hee hee!!! Duncan blushed.
Thank you for that need to know information
M: lol! Just teasing!
T: Actually Hikari got up and wanted to watch 'toons'. I don't think he understood a word of them though.
M: Yes he diiid! He's smart! He gets that from his Daddy!
Lol. Well I'm glad to hear he didn't get his brains from you, Miaka.
M: Hey!!!
So where are you guys now?
T: Chicago. Our flight got grounded because of a snowstorm. Hopefully we'll be out of here by tomorrow.
M: Do you think we'll miss the opening games?! Taka paid soooo muuuch!!
No. The Olympics don't start for three days yet.
T: Are you going to see them?
No. I have this big exam coming up.
M: Eeeeeww!!!
Exaaam!! You study too much Chiriko! I order you to come with us!!
Maybe.
T: Do you know of any cheap hotels? The ones in Chicago are outrageous! Sixty American dollars for one night! It'd be easier just to pitch a tent.
M: No!!!
Lol. Yeah, there
are a few. I'll show you them when you get here. There was a moment's pause
and then:
T: Well we'd better
go.
M: Hikari's huuuugry!!
T: That he gets from his mother. ;)
See you guys later then.
T&M: Bye!
There was the sound of a closing door. Duncan smiled. Miaka and Taka were such a happy couple. He'd met Miaka some chatroom or the other one day and they'd just clicked. The nickname, 'Chiriko' was a little strange. He'd done some research on it and found it to be in the Chinese zodiac. Why Miaka had given it to him he had no idea…but it seemed natural. He shrugged the thought off, and got dressed. Then he got his notes together and started from the room. He was halfway out the door when the phone rang. As Calvin didn't look like he'd be alive any time soon, Duncan answered it.
"Hell-"
"I have two minutes to get to work Duncan!" Jason bellowed. The twenty-year-old resisted the temptation to hold the phone away from his ear.
"And you're yelling at me because…?"
"Where did you put my socks Mr. Clean?" the older man asked in a softer, but still angry voice. Duncan sighed and rolled his eyes. He could not believe this.
"Have you tried your sock drawer?" He heard the sound of stomping, the grinding of wood and then a moment of silence.
"Oh."
"Yes. Oh. Now do you mind? I have to get to a class."
"Sorry for yelling… I just…" Jason sighed. "I just don't know. I'm sorry."
"It's okay Jason. Hey, you have a weeks vacation coming up don't you? Why don't you come and see the Olympics with me? I've got some friends I want you to meet."
"I don't know. Maybe. I'll…call you later."
"You'd better." Duncan hung up the phone and stared at it. Poor Jason. The Cassandra incident really tore him up. If that's what love did to someone, Duncan didn't think he wanted it. But the flip side was Taka and Miaka. But was that kind of happiness really worth a broken heart?
