Chapter 9 - Week Five: Monday – Defeat
The seasons began to shift, bringing color to the trees and a cold bite to the air. It seemed the weather had taken a dramatic turn in just four days, leaving the young international women in an unexpected shiver. As Ariel walked into the room she noted that her classmates were bundled in heavy coats, undoubtedly unused to the change of temperature, all except Anastasia of course who understood too well how dramatic weather can be. Even Jane who was accustomed to English seasons preferred the nice warm weather that had graced her beloved city for the past few weeks.
Ariel was early when she walked in and immediately scanned for Pocahontas and Mulan. Once she spotted them chatting by the snack table, she grinned and trotted over while simultaneously pulling out a packet of paper from her satchel. "Look guys!" She exclaimed, waving the papers about. "I got an 88 on my marine geology lab!"
"I got a 90!" Mulan joyously cheered, earning her a big hug from her redheaded friend.
"Congratulations you two! I told you that all it takes is a little nudge of exploration to make science work." Pocahontas said. "You both did really well, and I'm sure you will only continue to improve through the term. Do you feel accomplished?" She asked.
Both girls nodded. "Definitely! I feel like I have a legitimate grasp on what makes marine geology so special." Mulan added.
"If you don't mind, can I borrow Mulan for a bit?" Ariel politely asked Pocahontas. "I'd like us to flaunt to the others some more about our awesome grades!"
Pocahontas just smiled and waved them on as she returned to her snacks. Ariel and Mulan wandered through the room looking for more people to share their news with. "How about Meg?" Mulan offered, pointing in the direction of the slender, sarcastic young woman already in animated conversation with Kida.
"I don't know...she scares me to be honest. I don't think she'll care either." Ariel's eyes shifted uncomfortably to the Grecian woman standing against a wall. Meg's head snapped toward the two young girls as she gave them a wide grin. "Oh boy, she heard us." Ariel instantly ducked her head back and motioned to Mulan that they should move elsewhere in the room. "Hey! How about Tiana? She's always so positive, I'm sure she'd like to know her roommate made us geniuses."
"Good idea, but I don't know where she is." Mulan scanned the room but still couldn't find Tiana. "She's probably running late again. She works two jobs...can you believe that? I hear some guy at work is giving her trouble too."
"I have heard that actually. Doesn't his name start with an N? It's a unique name, one I've never heard before, but I think he goes to the university too."
"Yes! I can't think of his name either but Eric's mentioned him before. Something about how his girlfriend went to Tiana's work and N kept flirting outrageously with her."
"Who? Tiana?" Came Meg, trying to stifle her own voice as she approached the two gossiping girls.
"No, no. Vanessa, Eric's girlfriend. Apparently the flirting was mutual so when Eric found out on Friday, he staked out the restaurant for a bit to get a better look." Mulan explained, not taking her eyes off Meg who had suddenly taken an interest in the conversation.
"Wow..." Ariel sighed, apparently unphased by 'scary' Meg's presence. "I can't believe his girlfriend would do that to him. What happened?"
"I don't know." Mulan answered. "On Saturday he texted me that he was still upset but he didn't say much else."
Ariel bit her bottom lip in thought, her heart racing already at the possibilities of what would happen between Eric and Vanessa. "Do you think they broke up? Or are going to?"
Meg decided that this would be a decent time to chime in. "Look ladies, I have no idea who Eric and Vanessa are but it sounds like you both have something for this guy. "
Ariel and Mulan blushed and looked down at each other, guilty as charged. "I guess...Is that crazy? I just met him last Thursday." Ariel admitted.
"Stranger things have happened. I wouldn't give my hopes up if I were you though. If what Tiana says about this N person being too lazy to even do his job, I doubt he will work too hard to impress this Vanessa anymore. My guess is he's a Class One Flirt, nothing more."
"You really think so? What if Vanessa's the type of person who gets into this situation a lot?" Mulan asked, still skeptical that this relationship was stable.
Meg chuckled and her patted Mulan's shoulder "Why don't we take a seat and discuss this predicament further." She suggested as they walked over to a couple of empty seats. Naturally the meeting would begin soon, at least once Tiana and a couple other stragglers arrived. Mulan looked at her mobile phone for the time just to make sure that they still had a few minutes.
"Ariel, I want you to know that if something should happen between Eric and Vanessa, I would hold no bad thoughts against you." Mulan stated after a few seconds of silence.
This was something unexpected. "What do you mean?" Ariel asked.
"Well, you know that I too had an attraction to Eric. I mean, how could anyone not?" Mulan paused as Meg shook her head at her. "Meg, before you say anything, he's handsome, charming and a genuinely friendly person. But think about it..." Mulan paused again, fidgeting with her phone some more. "We could never be together. We can be friends, but we cannot have a relationship."
"Why? Who says that just because your friend likes him, you can't be with him if he likes you too?" The blunt Grecian woman demanded.
"I understand, but we're friends." Ariel said before turning to Meg. "The reason Mulan can't have a relationship with him is because he's not Chinese and her parents are really strict about who she dates."
Meg just rolled her eyes. "Now that's just stupid..." Then her facial features softened. "But I guess that makes sense. I hear that happens with a lot of parents."
Mulan shrugged in defeat. "I have already resigned myself to the fact that I'm going to spend my life married to an uptight Chinese boy with no personality." The young woman brushed a stray strand of brown hair out of her face and looked over at her friends. "But in any case, Ariel I'm telling you now that you dating Eric would not jeopardize our friendship. Not at all. Even if he returned my attraction – which he doesn't – I would never lead him on or interfere with your own possibilities."
Ariel smiled. "You're a really good friend, Mulan. I doubt anything will happened between me and Eric. I'm probably not even on his radar at this point, there's no sense in getting ahead of myself."
"Ladies, I have to admit that I'm a little worried about your self depreciation." Meg warned, her violet eyes emoting concern at the negativity of her younger classmates.
"With all due respect Meg, you have a reputation among us for being cynical and in general a negative person." Came Mulan, who cautiously wanted to avoid any confrontation.
To her surprise, Meg opened her mouth to say something and began to emphasize a point with her index finger but then stopped. "I guess I deserved that." She concluded, and decidedly kept her opinions to herself for the remainder of the conversation.
"I personally don't want to date, but it would be nice to send home a photo of a good looking boy so that my parents could get off my case and stop trying to arrange blind dates." Mulan admitted.
"That sounds kind of annoying" Ariel replied.
Mulan giggled. "It is a little but I know they mean well. They just want me to be happy like any parents, it's just really difficult to tell them that I don't need a relationship or a marriage to be happy."
"See, I'm a hopeless romantic, but I'm sure you already knew this." Ariel grinned widely. "I don't need a relationship to be happy either, but it certainly would help at this point."
Mulan rested her head on Ariel's shoulder, still giggling about her ridiculous family blind dates and Ariel's statement on romance. "Then let's find you a boyfriend, and me a picture boy for my wallet. And Meg here can be our body guard. How does that sound?"
Just then, Tiana came running into the meeting room, clothes stained red by tomato sauce matching her face equally red with anger. She stopped running once she reached Pocahontas, who was still standing by the snack table. "I HATE Naveen!" Tiana yelled as she slumped against the wall.
"Naveen!" Ariel and Mulan exclaimed at once. So that was his name. Seeing Tiana's confused expressed elicited even more laughter out of the two girls who were so far gone in their now inside joke that no one could extract an explanation from them throughout the entire session.
"Naveen? Really? Oh he's definitely a Class One Flirt. Here I thought you were talking about someone named 'Enn.'" Meg threw her arms in the air in mock frustration but the smile on her face gave it away, causing another fit of laughter from Mulan and Ariel.
Jane took this opportunity to collect the attention of her group. "Well, now that we have had our daily dose of confusion, how about we begin for the day?" She announced, encouraging her students to reach for their seats in the usual circle.
"What's our discussion topic today, Jane?" Anastasia asked.
"I'm actually not too sure to be completely honest. I was thinking we could use this opportunity for a free discussion. What do you all think?"
Meg shrugged. "Works for me, though I'm not sure where we can begin."
Jane pondered for a moment, twisting her lip to one side of her face while she thought. "How about what you've done since you've been here? We're nearly half way done with the term and some of you – if not all of you – will be returning to your home countries once the term ends."
"I didn't think of that before..." Belle muttered quietly.
"Me neither..." Kida added.
"This doesn't need to be a sad discussion, ladies. You still have 11 more weeks until final examinations which means at least 22 more sessions here – I think, if we're not including holidays. Which reminds me, are the Americans returning home for Thanksgiving?" Jane asked Pocahontas and Tiana.
The American young women looked at each other and shrugged. "Honestly, I haven't really thought about it yet." Pocahontas admitted. Tiana nodded in agreement.
"If you guys stay, maybe we can host a Thanksgiving party for you so that you don't feel too far from home." Meg suggested, a warm smile growing on her face. "I'm sure you both miss your families, and we are fast approaching the holiday season."
"We have become a little family haven't we?" Jasmine realized. "I feel that I've become more comfortable in such a short time with this group than I have with my own family. I know I'm quiet, but I feel like I can open up much better here."
"I like the idea of throwing a party." Meg agreed. "Just let us know if you are going to be here or if you are going home."
Tiana looked in Meg's direction, somewhat taken aback by her sudden willingness to interact with the group. "I'll get to that tonight and I should be able to let you know tomorrow." She said, "And thank you for suggesting such a sweet idea."
"Then it's settled! We're going to have a party!" Meg exclaimed with more enthusiasm than she had shown since the term began.
"Hey Jasmine, I was wondering if you wanted to grab lunch today? I was thinking we could brain storm some ideas for the party coming up." Meg asked once the session had ended.
Jasmine nodded. "Sure. I don't know about any ideas so far since I'm not even sure the party is going to happen yet but I definitely could use a distraction; I feel like my mind is going crazy."
Meg exhaled sharply. "Tell me about it. I've been kind of in my own world these days..."
"Where do you want to go? I've been meaning to try the bistro on the South Side. I think it's called Turquoise Buttons?"
"That sounds great! I hear they have a good rate on lunch specials." Meg agreed enthusiastically as she strapped up her shoulder bag and followed Jasmine out of the room.
"There are so many great restaurants in the area, I feel like I'm going to have to leave before I taste even a significant portion of them."
"Where do you and Aladdin go, if you don't mind my asking?" Meg asked cautiously.
Jasmine frowned. She didn't respond immediately. The two women exited the building and entered the vast courtyard before either of them said anything to each other. What did she say wrong? Immediately, Meg became on the defensive. She never did well in awkward silences and tried to think of something to say to break the ice some more. The only problem was thinking of what would be appropriate to say in such a circumstance. Undoubtedly, Meg felt that she had said something offensive without meaning to, but with all the stubbornness within her, she couldn't quite muster the ability to apologize.
Instead, Meg forced herself to admire the scenery around them. Until this point in time, she had never noticed how beautiful the campus was; with its sprawling gardens and small rolls of hills, it seemed more like a vacation spot than a university. What caught her eye most was how colorful everything was, even when the sky was steel gray. Meg loved vibrant colors even when her personality forbid her from sharing this fact. Even the gray sky was breathtaking for it provided a contrast to the otherwise chromatic overload she surrounded herself with. The falling leaves were her favorite; she loved how each leaf had its own signature color to mark its existence and as the leaves fell atop the green, grassy pasture ahead, she focused individually on how the foliage seemed to leave paint streaks across her peripheral vision. Truthfully, it was one of the most beautiful sights she had ever seen and it awakened her to her right-side companion whose face still pointed down to the cement below them in what seemed like sorrow.
Finally, Meg couldn't take the silence anymore and fought down her stubborn refusal to apologize. "I'm sorry." Meg offered. "Did I say something wrong?"
Jasmine just shook her head. "No, no it's not that. It's just that Aladdin and I seem to be drifting apart." She said sadly, all in one breath as though she had been bottling it in for years.
Meg stopped in her tracks and dropped her jaw in shock. "You have to be kidding! All I've heard from the group is how cute you two are together."
The young Jordanian woman just shrugged and watched the ground pass her as she continued walking.
As a particularly strong gust of wind jousted the two women as they walked to the bistro, Meg's favorite scarf unraveled itself from her neck and nearly escaped. In a panic, Meg waved her arms wildly in order to snatch it only for Jasmine to reflexively retrieve the flying purple fabric mid air and hand it back to Meg. Jasmine grinned proudly.
"I'm impressed." Meg said as she retied the scarf around her neck. "Really, that was a good save."
Meanwhile, Jasmine shuffled through her satchel and pulled out a matching scarf in turquoise. "I love pashminas." She stated as she wrapped her own scarf around her neck. "They're so elegant but they can be worn in any situation, casual or formal."
Meg grinned in surprise. "You have good taste."
Just then, Jasmine suddenly exclaimed "There it is!" pointing at the nearest building to them shrouded in trees. The sign was difficult to read but the two students could faintly make out 'Turquoise Buttons' in elegant cursive lettering.
"Two please" Jasmine politely requested once they made their way indoors. The hostess picked up a couple of menus and led them to a corner booth next to a window overlooking the neighboring garden. "Look over there" Jasmine whispered, pointing at a deer outside their window, lightly munching on a few tufts of grass.
Meg smiled softly. "He's so cute...I didn't even know we had deer on campus."
Jasmine looked up at her friend, returning her smile. "I didn't either, but now that I know, I'll be looking for them more often." She paused, her smile faltering a bit. "Hey Meg, I'm sorry about earlier."
"About what?" Meg asked.
"About getting emotional about my situation with Aladdin. It's gotten so complicated and so stressful that I don't feel we have a relationship anymore. Do you know what I mean?" Meg nodded. "Do you have a boyfriend?"
Meg instantly paled. This was not a question she was expecting. "Oh boy...That's not an easy question to answer..."
Jasmine's eyes widened. "I'm so sorry, now it's my turn to have said something...sensitive"
"It's OK, I mean, it is sensitive but I guess it's something I need to acknowledge anyway."
"Now it's my turn to be nosy. May I ask what you need to acknowledge?" Jasmine asked cautiously as the waiter came by and placed a bottle of water and two glasses in front of them. "Do you mind if I open this?" She asked as she picked up the bottle.
Meg waved her hand and shook her head. "No, I don't mind. To either of your questions." She sighed deeply. "Yes, I do have a boyfriend, but like you and Aladdin, I don't think we're going in the right direction."
"Want to tell me about it?" Jasmine offered, taking a sip of her water.
She did. So Meg took a deep breath and began. "His name is Admetus. We met when we were in our mid teens but I didn't pay much attention to him, even though he had seemingly fallen head over heels in love with me."
"Sounds romantic..." Jasmine stated.
"It wasn't and it was. Anyway, about two years ago, we finally decided to start dating. The only problem we realized early on was that we are both very stubborn and easily angered. At first, it wasn't so much of a problem as much as it was an annoyance; one we could live with and conquer with love, but an annoyance all the same."
"I think I see where this is going..." Jasmine added solemnly.
"You probably do. Anyway, for the past six months we've been fighting constantly. It was so bad that I cried myself to sleep almost every night." Meg stopped to take a drink of water. All of a sudden all the memories started to come back; the shouting matches, the low self-esteem, the unending sacrifices Meg had to make in order to make the relationship work. "The problem is that I'm selfish and I feel like I need him, even when it seems feels like I'm holding on to nothing."
"Wow...that sounds bad..."
"Well, it's both of us. I would come home from classes and work and all I would want to do is just vent. But he never wanted to hear any of it. The week before I left to come here, we got into our biggest fight yet. I was stressed after a particularly difficult day at work and when I started crying he basically yelled at me to 'suck it up."
"Meg that doesn't sound-" Jasmine began.
"And I realized that he was right. I shouldn't be bothering him with all this. He has enough on his plate, I shouldn't keep adding baggage to his life." Meg interrupted. "But I was too stubborn, too selfish and too damn needy all at the same time and I snapped."
"As you should ha-"
"And once I kicked him out the door, I realized immediately how much I missed him and how much I want us to work out."
"Meg-"
"And I need him, I really do need him." Tears started welling up in Meg's violet eyes as she recalled her most recent fight with Admetus.
"Meg. Really, you had every right to be angry." Jasmine finally was able to say.
"No, you don't get it! It's my fault!" Meg began to sob, each word becoming more of a croak than the last.
"No, this isn't your fault dear..." Jasmine said soothingly, moving herself over to the other side of the booth next to her friend. "The relationship isn't healthy. It's plain in how terrible you feel, even after five weeks of you being away in England."
"He called me last night to say that he was thinking about breaking it off...and I begged him to stay and reconsider, that I would be back in Greece soon enough and we can be together again." Meg continued to croak.
"What did he say?"
"He said he would think about it." The young Grecian woman spat, more anger in her voice than sadness at this point. "I don't know what I'm going to do. I can't see myself with anyone else now."
"Dear, no one said you have to be with anyone. That's actually why me and Aladdin aren't doing so well; we're forcing ourselves to hold onto something we don't have anymore, and it's not something I want either." Jasmine said as she stroked Meg's back.
"But I don't want to be alone...I don't think I can do it." Meg confessed, fear streaked across her tear-stained face.
"You can do it, and you won't be alone. You have your friends, and most importantly you have yourself."
Meg sniffed. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that you are one of the most fiercely independent women I know! Look at you! You're here on your own in a country that isn't your own, and you've been holding yourself together fairly well considering."
"I guess..."
"You guess nothing. Meg, you terrify a lot of the girls in our group because of your independence and your self-reliance." Jasmine smiled at her friend.
"I terrify them?" Meg tried to smile back.
"Well, maybe not in so many words but you certainly don't make yourself out to be weak or needy. You are far from those qualities."
"But I really love him, Jasmine..." Meg's eyes began to tear once again.
"I know you do, as I think I was beginning to love Aladdin. Yet sometimes love isn't always enough to sustain a relationship. You need more substance. Me and Aladdin need more than just our common heritage – which actually isn't completely true since we have nothing really in common – and you and Admetus...well, if you'll allow me to say it, he sounds like a real jerk."
"No, really he's n-" Meg began to protest.
"No, hear me out." Jasmine interrupted. "You have been giving your all to this relationship and he can't even give you decent respect. You tried to fight it, but he kept scaring you back into your shell, your safe place. So now you're just taking the brutality instead of fighting like you used to and because of that, he's forgotten what you mean to him."
Meg was silent. She stared at the table top in front of her and traced the wood patterns etched into it with her finger. She had never thought about it that way before. "So, you think I should just let it go?"
"If you'll allow me to be blunt, yes." Jasmine confessed. "I'll support you no matter what, but what you're feeling..." She gestured to Meg's distraught appearance "isn't healthy at all, and it's worrisome."
"You might be right..." Meg whispered. She then tilted her head upwards and took in a sharp breath. In the process, a few sobs escaped but she otherwise forced herself to keep composure.
"You don't have to hold in your emotions around me, you know." Jasmine offered, taking Meg's hand in her own. "I'm your friend, and I'm here for you. I won't let you go through this alone – hey, we can get through both our relationship complications together!"
Meg had to laugh. It was a laugh filled with bitterness but it was a laugh all the same. "I really appreciate you hearing me out, Jasmine. And I'm sorry I completely ruined our lunch, especially since it seems you have your own thoughts to get off your chest."
"Mine can wait. Right now, let's work with you."
"Thank you. I really mean it. You've been a great friend to me this afternoon...I'm just sorry we are only now getting to know each other."
"Don't worry about it. We still have plenty more hurdles ahead of us and it's good that at least now we're talking."
Meg took Jasmine completely by surprise by pulling her into a great bear hug. Meg was the last person Jasmine expected to enjoy hugs, but it was nice all the same.
"Sorry for the wait, can I take your order?" Came a chipper voice out of nowhere. The girls looked up in surprise to see a waiter standing at their table, notebook in hand, smile on face, ready to serve them.
Jasmine giggled as she walked back to her side of the booth. Meg was so flustered about Admetus that she had not had a chance to even look at the menu! "I'm sorry...I..." She started as she hurriedly flipped through the pages.
The waiter held out his hand to stop her. "No need miss, take your time. My name's Hercules, just call me over when you're ready."He said giving Meg a reassuring smile before zipping off to the next table.
Meg couldn't help but smile briefly once he had turned away, and Jasmine couldn't help but notice it, as brief of a smile as it was. "Meg, you're going to be alright. " She said. "I promise."
"I know." Meg replied. It would take a while, but she knew she would get through this. Even if it took all her strength and her willpower, she would force herself to get back on her feet. Jasmine was right; Meg was independent and self-reliant. Deep down, she knew this. As she scanned the menu, Meg couldn't help but think about how one person can completely tear another apart; how one person can destroy all remnants of self-respect and dignity in another. She knew what she had with Admetus was bad, no matter how much she loved him.
After settling on an American style grilled cheese sandwich, Meg gazed out the window and watched the deer who was still wandering the pasture, eating away at the grass. She watched as the leaves fell from their stems, knowing that new leaves would grace the same stems in a few months time. Even with this constant shedding and regrowth, the tree remained stable. Meg knew she was strong like this tree; she just didn't have her spring leaves to protect her from the biting cold. Still, she knew that in only a few months time she too will be basking in her own strength with sufficient leaves to protect her from the elements once again. With that thought, she smiled, took a deep breath and called the waiter to make her order.
Author's Note:
I am yet again so sorry to have taken about four months to update this! It's been absolutely hectic on my end and I had no idea what to write about for this chapter. Thank you everyone who voted on my poll! The results were tied between Meg and Anastasia, but because I had more vocal, PM and review requests for Meg, I figured that I would focus on her for this chapter and Anastasia the next.
Now, I know it says in this chapter that there will be at least 22 more sessions. Ideally, that will be the minimal amount of chapters that I will write after this one but there are no guarantees that I can carry it that far. We'll see how it goes and I'll certainly try to keep things interesting.
Here's the plan: as some of you have already noticed, I started writing a new story titled Egyptian Sunsets dedicated to my upcoming trip to Egypt this summer. Since the story will be somewhat based off of my experiences in Egypt, the bulk of the writing will be done while I am there and once I return. I will write a couple 'preparation' chapters until my departure to keep my readers interested in the story, but otherwise the allotted time in between now and when I leave for Egypt will keep me focused on THIS story (You Will Learn From Each Other). Hopefully, in a perfect world, each character will have a feature chapter by the time I leave – which means by the time I really begin to focus on Egyptian Sunsets – in which case, this story will be on a brief hiatus until I have completed Egypt. I hope that makes sense...I may put this information into my profile as well in case there is too much confusion.
To answer any questions about this particular chapter, I chose Admetus to be Meg's troubled boyfriend for Megara's back story in Hercules somewhat alludes to the story of Alcestis who according to Greek mythology, sacrificed herself for her husband, Admetus.
Now, another per-warning...the story is kind of taking its own twists and turns the more it's developed. So I know some will be disappointed about the state of the relationship between Jasmine and Aladdin. Now, couples may stop being canon. Some will remain canon, but others may not depending on how thins go and things are going to inevitably get a little messy as things in the real world naturally do. I'd like to know your thoughts; As usual, reviews are a very welcome reminder as to how this story is going, and I am always open to suggestions, comments questions, etc! Feel free to PM me about anything =]
A special thank you to my ever loyal reviewers: GorgyPorgyGregoria , Demi Brackensick , supersmashkingdomhearts1999, Ms. Emily Vega, sssweetie , yeahIwentthere69, puddingtalk and Solaria daughter of Apollo! Also a special thank you to the wonderful guests who have been stopping by the story and giving their love. Please visit their profiles and check up on their stories as well! If you enjoy mine, you certainly will enjoy theirs!
Much love,
-Suzerenma