Hello again everybody! Fifteen chapters already, woo! Though something tells me the story is going to be moving just a bit faster, but not too much. Here we go, then! ALSO: I don't own the books referenced in this chapter.
I scratched my head and leaned back in my desk chair. My eyes were tired and my brain was beginning to ache. The essay open on my laptop was still only at 480 words while I needed 600 for an ideal grade. I puffed my cheeks out with a sigh and switched to the research tab I had open.
Synopsis of White Noise by Don Delillo
I had been fond of the book over the summer, at first thinking I'd read it out of necessity. It did have a meaning, I could tell, the result of the postmodern jargon and satire of American culture. There wasn't much else in terms of amusement, but that was fine for me. Still, I was having a difficult time expanding my thoughts thoroughly enough in my analysis essay.
Sandy came in the room with two sodas and a bag of snacks.
It was Friday evening, thank heaven. The rest of the week had passed by without too much incident. Sandy had been excitedly gearing up for some time to play his games. As he came in and sat down in front of his own laptop, I asked him:
"Sandy, what do you think of a quote like this: 'All plots tend to move deathward.'"
Sandy frowned slightly before blinking in recognition. He wrote his question on his notepad.
Is that from White Noise?
"So you've read it." he nodded at me. "Well, what do you think?"
I think Jack has a point, but it's not true for every case.
"Naturally there's an exception to every rule."
Many plots do end up in death, I guess. People feel like once they set something in motion, they'll lose control of it. That's why people stall.
"And when they try to control it, they ruin it and ruin themselves…" I looked up at Sandy again; he'd put his notepad down and was opening a bag of candies. He picked a green one and held it out. I stared at him. He waved it closer, looking through his eyelashes at me. I sighed and opened my mouth.
I didn't like candy usually, but this one wasn't sweet at all. I drew back as sourness flooded my taste buds, and I must have had a wonderful expression on my face because Sandy's shoulders jumped with laughter. I frowned and grabbed another green candy from the bag, pushing it into Sandy's mouth. He puffed out his cheeks in protest at the taste. I fought back a laugh but failed miserably.
Sandy kissed me. A flood of sourness hit us both, but after a moment we could taste the underlying sweetness of the hard candy. We stayed that way for a while, then finally separated to finish off the candy. Sandy began loading a game on his PC. He reached into one of his drawers and pulled out a cord – a game controller.
"You can use that with your computer?"
Sandy nodded at me and plugged it into a USB port. He was smiling happily, and I couldn't help but find it endearing how cheerful he was. He ate another piece of candy and opened one of his sodas. He pushed the other one toward me.
"Thanks…"
"Sandy, what are you doing tomorrow?"
It was night, shades drawn and hallways clear. Sandy and I were in bed but awake, doing nothing yet unable to sleep. I turned over so that I could see him; he was looking back at me, thinking about my question. Eventually he shook his head. Nothing.
"Do you want to go into town?"
My eyes had always been well-suited to the dark, so I could see the surprise in Sandy's face. I huffed.
"Yeah, I know. I don't seem the sort to be out and about on the weekends, right?"
Sandy frowned sadly, shaking his head. I sighed, knowing he hadn't meant any harm.
"It's just…if you wanted to do something, and I just figured…you know? W-whatever. Forget I said anything." I turned over.
A warm hand turned me back. Sandy looked down at me with those big, brown eyes and I felt bad again, because now I'd made him feel bad. I shrugged.
"We can talk about it in the morning."
Ugh, these chapters are still too short for my liking. But it's late, and I have school stuff to do :( It wasn't too boring, was it? I'm SO SORRY if a chapter gets boring! Please let me know what you think of the story. I want to improve on anything I can; to be honest I was beginning to struggle with ideas for what happens next…but anyhow, thank you so much for reading!