The class itself was pretty fascinating. Mr. Bowman seemed to be like most English teachers with his laid-back manner and slightly scruffy clothing, and I could tell he had probably wanted to be a writer in his youth by the zeal he displayed for literature. That sort of passion is something that never leaves those who possess it, even if finances force them to teach rather than create what they love. I was going to like Bowman. He was intelligent, enthusiastic, and pretty easy on the eyes.
However, as much as I liked him, I did leave his class in a rather sour mood. Darien and Nathan noticed, and inquired about my resentful expression.
"We have to read The Catcher in the Rye!" I muttered bitterly.
"What's wrong with that?" Nathan wondered. I rolled my eyes.
"Holden Caufield is the biggest whiner in American Literature! I can't stand that book! I mean, I know why it's considered great, but I just can't take how Salinger gets that point across. Once you think Holden is finally learning something, he just lets everything he's discovered go down the tubes." I shook my head. "It's a good thing I've already read it, I'm just not looking forward to the essay."
Darien whistled. "Wow, you're really that against the book, huh?"
I blushed and shook my head. "I just think there are better books out there. I'm not saying that this book is terrible for everyone, it's just not good for me." I paused. "Some people can identify with Holden's indecisiveness and tendency to run away from problems, but I just can't. I learned pretty early on that if you try to run away from your problems, they always find you in the end." I felt my eyes cloud over, and swallowed hard, suppressing the urge to cry. Nathan didn't appear to notice, but Darien looked at me with concern.
"Well! I don't know who Holden is, but I'm starving!" Nathan broke in, turning towards the mess hall. "You guys coming?"
"In a minute," Darien said quickly, and waved him off. Nathan shrugged and headed for the mess hall at a slow jog. When he was out of sight, Darien turned towards me, his eyes still filled with worry. "You okay man?"
"Yeah," I answered. "Sorry to get choked up, it happens sometimes. I hope Nathan didn't see anything."
"Naw, he's pretty thick sometimes. I wouldn't worry about it. But what's up, do you want to talk about it?"
I shook my head. "It's a long story, and we should probably go eat."
Darien shrugged. "I've got the time, and the food in the mess hall is crap anyway. I mean, do you really want to eat turkey sandwiches on Wonder bread with too much mayo?" He grinned, and starting walking towards the dorms, motioning for me to follow.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"I've got some stuff in my room, and it's a lot better than the junk they serve in the mess hall!"
My eyes grew wide and I stopped short. "Darien, if you have drugs in your room--"
"What?!" he interrupted, his feet sliding to a halt. "Good Lord, no!" He exclaimed, and then started laughing.
"What's so funny?" I asked, slightly fuming.
"It's just that…" He stopped and laughed some more. "Y-You really thought I had…" he trailed off and continued to laugh, shaking his head. Finally he calmed himself and bit and smiled at me gently. "Come on Ren, it's worth it, I promise."
I raised an eyebrow, and finally gave up and followed him. When we did reach his room, I was amazed. He had one to himself-- I knew he and Malcolm both did-- but I didn't expect it to be so neat, or so well-furnished. His bed was a large twin and was set against the left wall along with his dresser. I nearly turned green with envy as my eyes fell upon the stereo and collection of CD's on its surface. Against the right wall, next to his closet, was a large antique mahogany desk with a lamp and laptop on its surface. His closet was bigger than the one Jarod and I had to share, and underneath the window on the far side of the room he had a black leather loveseat. Set on the floor next the couch was a mini-fridge with a microwave set on top. The room's colors consisted mostly of blacks, grays, and a deep red. As I gazed at his crimson comforter, I was reminded of the rose I had picked outside The Comfort Café. It was now laying in the top drawer of my bureau. I struggled to keep my mouth from dropping open, but I couldn't believe this! Compared to my room, Darien's dorm was a palace!
"I know it's a bit much," Darien apologized, obviously embarrassed. "Dad insists on the best, and he shells out the money for it." He shrugged. "I can't say it doesn't have its perks though."
"I'm sure it does, but what are we going to eat?"
"Only man's greatest creation!" Darien exclaimed reverently, reaching under his bed and pulling out a package of chocolate-chip cookies, two paper plates, and two spoons. My mouth instantly watered.
"Oh no way! You're allowed to have those?" I asked excitedly.
"Hey, I bought them, so I can have them. Our weekends are our free time, so if you have a car, you can drive forty miles into the nearest town. It's a long way, but it's so worth it!" He smiled and pulled out four cookies. I reached for them, but he put up his hand. "We're not going to eat them just like this!" He explained patiently, and got up and walked over to the microwave. He then took the cookies and put them in the microwave for thirty seconds.
I looked at him curiously. I had never put my cookies in the microwave before. He noticed my questioning glance and grinned.
Once the time was up he pulled them out, and set them on the floor. Then he opened the fridge and, much to my delight, extracted from the freezer portion a pint of vanilla ice cream. He then took a spoon and placed two scoops of ice cream onto each plate on top of the still steaming cookies. Finally, when I couldn't take it anymore, he handed me a plate, and we both dove in.
"Oh my gosh!" I exclaimed, my mouth full of hot cookie and cold ice cream. "This is awesome! How did you ever think of this?"
"My mom taught me and my sister when we were kids. I guess whenever she got depressed in college, she would eat this stuff." He smiled. "I was hoping it would cheer you up."
I smiled back, resisting the urge to cry again. "Thanks," I murmured. "You're a good friend, Darien."
He shook his head shyly and turned away. "Naw, I just don't like to see people unhappy."
A silence ensued, but somehow it was comfortable. We finished our cookies and ice cream, and settled back, enjoying the peacefulness of our lunch hour. Darien didn't know it, but I fell for him in that period of time. I fell hard, and there was no way I was ever going to get back up.
"So why did you get upset earlier?" Darien asked, sitting up finally.
"It really is a long story," I protested.
"Like I said, I've got the time… Well," he glanced down at his watch, "a half-hour at least. Talk to me." He insisted.
I hesitated. I didn't really want to talk about it, but then again, I did. I never talked about my mom because sometimes it was almost too much to even think about her. I looked up only to see Darien staring at me expectantly, and I smiled softly. . I somehow knew that if there was anyone out there I could share my past with, Darien was that person. I didn't really know him that well, but for some reason I knew I could trust him.
"I was thinking about my mom." I answered finally, laying onto my back.
"Your mom?" he wondered.
"Yeah. She died when I was twelve…" I explained, feeling my eyes begin to water. "It was leukemia, pretty rare for her age group, and it took over too quickly for the doctors to stop it."
"I'm so sorry," he murmured, shaking his head. I didn't answer, I didn't really know what to say, but I went on.
"It was really hard for us, especially for my dad. He and my mom were perfect together-- they used to say they were soul mates. When she died, he changed a lot. He didn't come home very often, he still works all the time, and when he thinks no one's looking, he still cries. My sister and I dealt with it as best as we could, but nothing's really been the same since." I paused, and reached up to wipe the tears before they fell.
"You have a sister?" Darien asked.
"Yeah, a twin sister," I answered before I could stop myself.
Darien smiled. "You guys sound really brave."
I smiled back. "Mina was brave anyway. For a while I just tried to run away from everything. I pretended nothing had happened. I acted as if mom was on vacation and she was coming home soon, but Mina showed me that wasn't the way to go. In the end, my pain caught up with me, and I had to deal with it." My eyes filled again. "Mina saved me from myself by showing me how to cry. I'm more grateful than she'll ever know."
I suddenly felt someone grip my shoulder and I looked up to see Darien staring at me. Suddenly he spoke, what he said almost did make me burst into tears.
"Thanks."
I sniffed and wiped my eyes again. "For what?"
"For letting me in... Most of my friends don't open up that easily, even when I try to help. It took me forever to get Mal to talk to me about anything, and he's my cousin. I guess I just appreciate the trust."
I smiled in spite of myself. "You're welcome."
He nodded and rose to his feet, grabbing his backpack from his bed. "We better get going. Only two more classes to go before we're done for the day, and we shouldn't be late."
I got to my feet too, and grabbed my bag from it's position on the floor. "Hey, Darien?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for listening," I murmured earnestly. "It means a lot, you know?"
"Hey, what are friends for?" He asked, chuckling a little.
I laughed too, but somewhere in my heart, it hurt a little. He was my friend, but he was slowly becoming much more. For the first time, I wished I could be honest with him about who I was. At least I could say what I really felt.
The next few days were a blur. My classes were going well, my friendship with Darien was growing stronger, and I was finally getting used to showering at four a.m. I was having a lot of fun, but by the time Friday came around, I was ready for the weekend. When my last class ended, I cheered inwardly. I'd finally get to relax for the first time since I'd gotten to Madison.
"Hey Ren!" A boy named Melvin called from down the hall. I looked up only to see him standing next to our floor's phone. "You got a call, and it's a girl!"
A few boys hooted as I made my way over, and I felt my cheeks begin to burn. I laughed half-heartedly and took the phone, pressing it to my ear. "Hello?"
"Hey there honey!" Mina squealed from the other end.
"Mina!" I moaned with relief. "I've missed you so much!"
"Oooooh, Mina!" Nathan exclaimed from over my shoulder, and I jumped about three feet. "Your girlfriend on the phone?"
"Ha ha," I said sarcastically, recovering quickly. "It's my sister doofus, so beat it!"
"Geez, Ren!" He whined in mock hurt. "I was only kidding!"
I scowled at him, and turned away. "So how is everything?" I asked.
"Fine, we all miss you a lot though, especially Dad."
"Really?" I asked. "I somehow thought he wouldn't have noticed."
"Don't be like that 'Rena, of course he notices. He loves you very much," Mina chided.
"I know." I said softly, then cleared my throat, determined to change the subject. "Listen, everything's going great here, I'm making a lot of um… progress."
"Really! Are you serious? Have you already talked to you-know-who?"
I smiled to myself. "You could say that."
"Are you serious?! Oh you are so mean! I want details!" she exclaimed impatiently.
I laughed. "I'm not exactly at liberty to disclose anything at the moment. If you want details, you'll just have to come and see me."
"Can I do that?" she wondered.
"Sure, just come up one weekend. Darien's got a car, so we all could go into town and see a movie or something." I grinned wickedly. "There's enough room for everyone, if you know what I mean."
"You are so bad!" She exclaimed. "But I'll just have to see if the girls can made some time, okay?" She paused and I could hear her talking to someone in the background.
"Are you busy?" I asked.
"A little," she admitted.
"Where are you?" There was a sudden pause on the other end, and I grew worried that the line had cut out. "Mina?"
"I'm still here."
"Where are you?" I persisted, realizing the pause had been intentional.
"Well, you see, when you left the Comfort Café, Andrew was short one server, so… He kinda gave me your job." She explained sheepishly.
"My job? You mean, you're at work right now? And on the phone?" I cried.
"Yeah, and Andrew's pretty mad at me too!" She giggled.
"Mina, get off the phone and get to work. I'll call you later--you know, when you're free and not doing a terrible job of taking over my position?"
She laughed and I laughed too. "Okay sis, I love you okay? And good luck with you-know-who!"
"Thanks, love you too."
"Bye!"
"Bye."
I hung up feeling happy, but somewhat homesick. It had been so good to hear Mina's voice, but it made me miss home pretty badly. It was nice to know my dad was thinking of me, but it only made me want to be closer to family even more. I sighed, wishing there was some way I could've pulled this stunt closer to home.
"Was that your sister?" Someone suddenly spoke from behind me. I turned and saw Darien leaning against the hallway.
"Yeah," I answered sadly. "It was good to hear from her, but it makes me miss home."
He nodded. "I know what you mean. I miss my mom and dad like crazy, but it's not so bad. I actually have some family close by, and it definitely makes it easier."
"Really?" I wondered. "Who?"
"My little sister Raye."
I smiled. "You didn't tell me you had a sister."
Darien blushed. "She goes to Madison's School for Girls, right across the pond," he explained. "In fact, I was trying to find you and ask if you'd be interested in joining us tonight. It's no big deal, just me, Jarod, Nate, Mal, and Zach are heading down to the lake to hang out with some girls. I dunno, I thought you'd might like to come."
I smiled. "That would be great, I'd love to."
Darien grinned. "Awesome! We're leaving in an hour, so I'll see you then okay?" He asked.
"All right, sounds good." I agreed, picking up my bag and heading back to my room.