Author's note: I've watched five hours of Buffy straight…I'm dizzy.
Frenchy: Yep, and I'm still getting around on how Claire and Leon would fit into the timeline. Well, I'm not big on the American Dream, so heh.
Chapter 3: "Heights"
"Hey mom." Derrick was still drying his hair with a hand towel as he answered the phone. "How did you know it was me?" his mother asked, somewhat amused. "Intuition." Derrick replied, throwing the towel down on the couch. He had on a fitted white shirt and a pair of green, checkered boxers.
"So, how was your first day?" she then asked. Hallie was an intelligent woman; she knew that the reason why Derrick knew it was her, was because her son would never make friends on his first day of classes. "It was okay…the professors were cool and all."
"Think you'll be okay with your subjects this time…?" she asked, cutting right into Derrick.
"Mom…it's the first day, please don't lecture me on how my grades are doing, please."
"I was just asking…" Hallie responded, not realizing that she suddenly got defensive.
"…I'm going to do fine. I have just one math subject for this term, and the rest is pretty much…memorize, analyze, memorize." He hated subjects involving arithmetic and statistics. A natural rejection for all things that needed a calculator ran in both sides of the family.
"That's good! I mean, you're better at…memorizing, analyzing, and…memorizing." Her mother responded supportively, innately frightened of the course cards that were sure to come her way.
Derrick rubbed the back of his neck. He had these kinds of conversations before, with his mother mostly. When it came to his father, there was always shouting involved, psychological threats even. If it were his father who called, he would have slammed the receiver down then and there.
"…How is your block? Meet anyone nice?" Hallie then asked, noticing how silent his son has become after her failed attempt at enthusiasm.
"Yeah, they're cool. They get pretty noise once they feel like they've settled in so…" Derrick replied, beginning to feel awkward about the question. "You know…your father is like that."
"…Like what?" Derrick asked, trying his best to act mature about the subject.
"You and him, both of you get irritated when there's too much noise."
"I…didn't tell you…" Derrick stuttered, wanting to get the idea of any similarity with his insane father out of the window.
"It was in your voice… I'm your mother, it's an empathy thing."
"Cool." He replied casually, keeping his sarcasm a secret. Derrick took a deep breath, rubbing his nose in the process. It was what he always did when he found himself getting nervous over something. "Have you eaten already?" Hallie asked, to which the young man responded with a yes.
"…Is dad there?" Derrick then asked, shifting his weight. "…He's busy." Hallie replied; her voice was weaker that time around. It was always the same excuse, each time he at least tried to communicate with his father, it would always be the same. He was too busy. Sitting, reading, watching the sky, busy.
"Okay." Derrick fell down on the couch. "So…what's he doing?" he then asked, gaining the urge to corner his mother into revealing just exactly how 'busy' his father was. "…Derrick…"
"Well, he's busy isn't he? Can't I know what about?"
"It's about the military…something we shouldn't get involved in."
"…" Her words were good enough for him, as he lost the heart to push through with punishing his mother for his father's shortcomings. "Hey mom, I have to go, I need to read ahead on psych…" he whispered, standing up once again. "Alright. Good night, I love you." She said, almost mechanically. It wasn't an expression of emotion, it was a routine, something that Derrick caught on too. "I love you too." He responded, putting the receiver back down on the cradle. Alex still had on his clothes from earlier that day, as he decided to join Derrick in his room, even though his own was just ten floors below. The room they were in now, the one Derrick's rented for the year, was small, but still elegant.
It was a studio, a rectangular room that had a large glass, sliding doors in the end, to a balcony, boasting a beautiful skyline and a view of their university. From the front door's immediate left was propped a kitchen, separated only by sliding doors, while to the right was the couch, a small dining table, and the bathroom, and straight on ahead was the bed. It was small, expensive. Especially since it was standing right beside their university.
"I've got some swami-guru advice thing…but I don't think you'd be in the mood." Alex announced, just as Derrick took his hand off the receiver. "Yeah…I'm not much for insight right now." He said.
"So…what's up with psych?" Alex asked.
"Nothing, I just wanted to stop talking." He went straight to the balcony. "You know…" Alex tried to at least give his boyfriend a few words of wisdom, but he was soon met with a loud exhalation from Derrick, the young man's way of showing that he wanted nothing of it. "…" Alex shook his head, getting agitated at Derrick's innate stubbornness. "Want to eat?" the younger man asked, eager to change the subject. "…I still have a couple of leftovers over at my room…"
"Oh, okay." Derrick closed his eyes, comforted by the powerful wind that blew his way, but thankfully not into his room. This always calms him, the lights amidst the darkness, the feeling that you were above everyone else in the most literal sense of the word. Admittedly, he was afraid of heights, but when he wanted to feel, to be free, then it wouldn't matter.
"Your folks bagged you a great view." Alex commented, coming up beside him. To get a twenty second floor in a thirty floor building required a lot of money, especially if it's right beside the one of the country's most prestigious universities. Derrick got there through money, while Alex found his way through a scholarship, lucky enough to give him a free room in that building.
"Yeah, I guess they did." Derrick leaned a little more forward, still keeping his eyes closed. Alex nodded, and gently placed his hand over Derrick's.
"Busy again?" Hallie asked her husband as she sat down on the edge of their mattress. "Well, I am reading, you know." Barry replied nonchalantly, turning another page. "That thing is more important to you than your son." She said disgustedly as she slipped under the silk, white covers. There was a wide space in between the husband and wife, something that wasn't there before Derrick reached his teenage years. She faced the comfort room door, turning her nightlight off with a pull of a string. Barry still kept his on, as he leaned on the headboard of the mattress, continuing with the gloomy text.
Their bedroom felt bare, even though it was lushly carpeted with red and yellow borders. One could peer into the fields and the mountain line from the windows that faced Barry's side of the bed. Moonlight poured all over him as he read, oblivious, uncaring of what could be going through his wife's head that very instant. The walls were gray, perfectly symbolizing the lives that they led. A few paintings were hung on the walls, Hallie's attempt to keep the glaring blur of the walls from getting under her skin. "…Do you still dream?" she asked him, still not turning around to face him.
"I still do, yes."
"You know…dreams are most likely the manifestations of what a person thinks about before he or she sleeps." She said, closing her eyes. Barry turned his glance to his wife, who looked like she was now headed off into sleep. "…" Barry put the book down and turned then off the lights.
"Let's talk about Freud." The elderly professor announced as he wrote the name of the psychologist on the blackboard. Derrick mechanically copied the name onto his notebook, half of him was wondering what the professor would say next, while the other wondered where should he be eating for lunch after the class. "You'll be talking about him more in your psychology class, as we will just tackle his psychoanalytic theory." The professor said, taking a drink of coffee from a Styrofoam cup. "Did everyone read up on the text I gave?" he then asked, putting the cup down. The class responded in unison; it was common for freshmen to study for everything in their first few weeks.
"Alright…Mr. Burton, could you give us all a heads up on this theory?"
"…Uh…yes sir." He responded. He was wearing a small, but loose red shirt and a pair of faded jeans.
"Well, we're waiting."
"It's…a psychodynamic theory that states…" Derrick fumbled through his notebook to find the photocopied text. "Okay…the psychoanalytic theory states that there are three principles that construct the human psyche. These are the 'Id', the 'Ego', and the superego."
"Alright, good. Could you tell us more about these three?"
"The 'Id'…is the pleasure principle." He said, making the class start chuckling like mad chickens. "It…shut up you maniacs!" Derrick joked, causing more laughter. "Mr. Burton…" the professor called, putting him, and the class, back into attention. "Yes, sorry sir, the Id is every person's most primal impulse…sex and aggression."
"Next, without reading." The professor then chided, taking another sip from his favorite drink.
"Okay…the ego is the middle ground, it is what we…uh, the ego is the thing that balances the Id and superego." The student replied. "Alright, then what is the superego?"
"Sir, it is…the principle that acts like the conscience."
"Very good. You see class, the psychoanalytic theory is something so basic, so simple. If we are driven by simplicity, then what does that make us?"
"We're just animals." A tall girl in the back commented. "Yes, we are animals…but not 'just' animals. What makes us different?"
"The soul." A guy then answered. "Well, yeah, sure, you can say that…but in the professional world, we do not measure things that we cannot exactly see. In the professional world, we try to look at everything empirically." The professor then replied.
"We see things, we feel things, that we believe are signs. The problem is, what we believe to be signs are nothing more than the manifestation of our optimism or pessimism in any given situation. It would be tricky to believe in signs." He then explained.
"…Sir, what do you believe?" Derrick then asked, gaining the support of his classmates.
"…Let's just say… I'm a professional."
As always, Z2 was bustling with activity. Derrick sat on a table right beside the jalousies, so that he could watch the people pass by. He was with new friends, Aileen, a somewhat chubby girl with short hair. She wore a blue, collared shirt, her personal favorite. Jay was a thin young man with short, curly black hair and pale skin. He was silent, as if always in a deep train of thought. He wore a shirt with the flag of England on it. KC, like Jay, was one of the silent students, though he ended up excelling in every academic load that got in his way. He had short brown hair that was always gelled back for no apparent reason. He wore his favorite blue shirt from Girbeaud.
"So, did you guys study on Macionis?" Aileen asked. It was already customary to refer to books by name of author, just so that it sounds a little more amusing.
"Didn't read it. The prof said that we'll be film viewing today, right?" Jay asked.
"Yeah…Iron and Silk or something." Derrick replied, looking outside.
"Well, that doesn't mean we shouldn't study, right?" Aileen then remarked.
"You had trauma with a pop quiz didn't you?" KC asked, making everyone laugh a bit.
"Hey, did you guys watch Birds of Prey last night?" Derrick asked, referring the reruns of the old show about Batgirl and her badly decorated friends. "Yeah…no wonder it never got to season two." Aileen said. "Talk about evil directing." KC added. "I didn't watch it." Jay then said. "…Lucky bastard."
"Hey." Alex greeted, Derrick didn't notice him come from behind them. "Hey." Derrick responded. "…Uh, guys this is Alex…he's my…friend." The young man then awkwardly introduced. "Hey." They all greeted, in which Alex just waved and smiled back. He wore a fitted, blue shirt and a pair of cargo pants. "Uh, hey, maybe you guys should get something to eat. We are in the canteen after all." Derrick suggested, and there came no protest, as his friends scattered with their wallets.
"…Friend? I think there's supposed to be a noun somewhere before that…" Alex said, trying his best to keep his sadness pushed back. It was a painful feeling to have the person you love act ashamed of you. "You know I don't…Alex…"
"…It's okay, I understand. I mean, it's not like we haven't talked about this thirty million times." He replied, their voices were now just above a faint whisper. College had hundreds of lingering ears, and a thousand open mouths. "Alex…why'd you come here?" Derrick then asked, not realizing how much a question like that could strain a relationship. "…I just thought I'd check up on you. Though from the looks of things…"
"Don't."
"…" Alex shook his head and shifted his weight. "Uh…The Youth for Christ are recruiting members for their university chapter…I thought that you wanted to know…" he started, eager to just change the subject then and there.
"…About that…" Derrick rubbed the back of his neck, looking outside.
"…" Anyone with half a brain knew what those two words, coupled with an apologetic tone, would signify. "…I don't think it's a good idea, at least not yet."
"…"
"I mean, I'm in my first week and I'm already under a mountain of homework and quizzes…"
"That's okay." Alex said, keeping his growing disappointment to himself. "…Have you eaten, maybe we could…?" he then asked, feeling nervous even at the simple offer. "…Sorry, but I'm…eating with my friends…Alex, I…"
"Do you even want to be seen with me?" Alex asked, cutting Derrick in mid-speech.
"…"
Author's note: Blah, blah, bloody blah, the funeral's up the next chapter. Let's all be merry.