Author's Note: Honestly, I'm not sure if this is my best chapter. I'm not going to try predicting when I'll be getting the next chapter in from now on. Sometimes I just don't have the time or I suffer writer's block. Don't worry though, I won't abandon this fic. Here's chapter 7 :)
The Presentation
We were getting all our supplies together. Margaret had a check board in her hand. She said her words with haste.
"Okay, do we have the laptop?"
"Yep," Eileen replied.
"Notecards?"
"Check," I answered.
"All the information we need to make this presentation a success?"
"Yes!" We both exclaimed.
"Okay good; sorry I'm just so nervous."
"Don't worry Margaret. Eileen and I will keep you calm; just remember what we practiced," I said to her while holding her shoulder.
It was finally the day of the presentation. The week had started off with visiting Benson at the hospital. He seemed fine, but like Skips said, he still couldn't talk. I know it's the wrong time to make a joke, but this is probably the only time he will be quite in his lifetime. In the end though, I did feel sympathy for him. Seeing anyone in such a condition can put a lot of weight on your heart.
After 2 more days of visits, I then took some time to help Margaret out with her school work. All three of us practiced on how we would present to a college class. I was a little worried, seeing how I never really got the chance to go to college myself. Margaret explained that it was half of a mini coliseum staring at you in the center: that by itself gave me chills. There were times that after a long day of practice, we'd just goof off at Margaret's house. One time in particular, my secret feelings for Margaret were almost revealed.
"Hey what's this?" I asked. We were in Margaret's basement; I had come across some strange toy. It looked like something that belonged to a hair salon. It was in the shape of half a circle. On the top of the dome, were five metal sensors, and below were five lights that were not turned on.
"Oh that's a lie detector. I remember playing with this so much when I was little," she marveled at the toy. "You just put your finger tips on the sensors like this…then someone asks you a question and you answer, and then I just press the button and it calculates your answer. If the majority of the lights are green, you're telling the truth. If they're red, you're lying. Here try it."
"Okay," I placed my feather tips on the sensors lightly. They felt smooth on my feathers and fit perfectly to their shape.
"Alright first question: Are you gay?" she laughed. The age old question girls always ask, just to joke around.
"No," I answered. It would be awkward if they blinked red. I know I'm straight but it would still be awkward.
The light flashed green and red, and after 7 seconds, three of the five light were green. We all shared a laugh.
"Okay next question," Margaret said. "Do you 'like' anyone in this city?"
"Like?" I said starting to sweat.
"You know, 'like-like'," she giggled.
I desperately wanted to say, "Well I actually like you," You know in an innocent, cute voice so that she would say, "Awww," But that was just a fantasy. In retrospect, I didn't want to be too forward with her, you know make this strange. At least…not for now. I have to man up and tell her one day though.
I said the first thing that came to mind.
"No." What were the chances that toy would actually tell if I was lying or not?
The lights started to flash and in the end, four lights were blinking red. I immediately felt a shock through my wings and jumped back in surprise.
Margaret laughed, "Oh yeah I forgot to mention; if you're lying, it gives you a little shock."
Oh shit, shit, shit! Damn toy! Quick think of something! Come on, speak!
"Okay I still have feelings for a girl after a long time." I didn't realize how quick I said it until they both looked at me confused. I slowed down and spoke again, "There's this girl I had a crush on in high school; things didn't go well and now I have feelings for her again."
It was slightly true. When I first came to city for the job offer, before I even met Margaret, I ran into the girl at a department store. Her name was Adria; she was a gold finch with two spikes on her head reaching down to her shoulder.
"So what exactly went wrong?" Margaret asked.
"She was playing hard to get and I just gave up; you know look for someone who would be more straightforward. We still talk though, but not as much." Again, also true.
"Well maybe she's grown out of it and we'll give you a chance this time."
Hearing those words coming out of her mouth sparked something. Could Adria still be in to me? I always planned that if I could never have a chance with Margaret, I'd try to get with Adria. You still have a chance with Margaret, just give it time. Right…time.
[xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
"Mordecai…Mordecai…" Margaret's voiced echoed.
"Huh?" I had snapped out of my memory.
"We're here."
The van was parked in front of the campus. Each building was concrete gray and spread out equally across. We were parked in front of the main building, large windows, double doors and a huge roof. Students were sitting on the grass studying and conversing, almost reminding me of scenes from 80's college movies. We got out of the van and gathered our supplies. I got the notecards, Eileen got the laptop, and Margaret got her purse. The building was getting more and more intimidating the closer we got, as it seemed to tower over us and block the sun. I took a deep breath and continued forward. The interior of the building was hollow and dull: just a high roof with a sign-in desk and a couple of benches. Margaret signed herself in, while I looked around. After getting situated, we made it to her class. Margaret was right; the classroom was filled with coliseum like seating. The walls were dark gray, with black carpeting; the air conditioning hummed loudly. The ceiling lights were flickering constantly. We must have been there early since there were only a few students seated. Once we were all set up, we took our seats and waited for the class to begin.
[xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
"Alright, next up is Margaret," the professor said. He wore a blue button up, with a brown overcoat and pants, and a red tie. He had slick black hair and wore brown tinted glasses.
"Well, here goes nothing. Ugh! I'm so nervous!" she whispered to me.
"Don't worry, just remember what we practiced," I reassured her while patting her shoulder. She took a deep breath and got out of her seat; so did Eileen and I. We went down to the front of the room: center stage. All eyes were on us, including the professor. Eileen set up her up laptop and projected the project on the screen for all to see. Margaret took her place between the two of us and began.
"Good morning everyone: Today I will be presenting the Eurasian plate with my assistances; Mordecai and Eileen." It's strange hearing that. I'm so used to hearing Mordecai and Rigby."Mordecai will be starting, by describing the plate." I took my place in the center and took a deep breath. To my right I could see Margaret, with worried look in her eyes. I knew she was nervous and was afraid to speak after I was finished. I thought of a way to lighten her up though.
I cleared my throat and began to speak in British accent similar to Pop's interpretation of me in his dizzy world. Everyone started to chuckle to themselves, including the professor: Probably surprised by my (pretend) voice. Margaret and Eileen tried to suppress their laughter as well. It was working. Once I was done my part, it was Margaret's turn. As I stepped back and she went up, she mouthed a 'thank you' to me, then gave her part. Eileen followed after her and wrapped it up nicely.
The class applauded us after we finished. While were gathering our materials, the professor spoke up.
"Mordecai is it?"
"Yes," I responded.
"Were you speaking British to me bub?" he said in a pretend British voice.
"Why yes I was," I said in the same tone.
"Really?"
"Bloody hell yes, really!'
The class laughed at our playful banter and the professor gave the three of us a wink.
[xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
"You think we did a good enough job?" Margaret asked me while gripping the steering wheel tight.
"Of course; you saw how he winked at us."
"That doesn't necessarily mean much. He probably just winked because of your British voice," Eileen explained.
"Well yeah, but you have to admit we did do pretty well."
"I don't know, I mean I don't think I had that much eye contact: I had to look at the notecards too much," Margaret said.
"I thought you were all right," Eileen said.
"Yeah so did I."
"Thanks you two." Margaret smiled. "Hey you want to grab a bite?"
"Yeah! How about that Chinese restaurant you showed me?"
"Sure let's go."
We took a different route and headed over to the restaurant. We took our seats and ordered. Margaret and I got the dumplings and Eileen had steamed vegetables and rice. Finally, a day to just sit back, chill with some friends and relax.
"So what do you think I should for my party?" Margaret asked me.
"Party?"
"Yeah, my birthday's coming up and I'm wondering what I should do for it."
"Wait why are you asking me?"
"Well you're invited."
"I am?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't you be?" she smirked.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhh. This is the perfect chance for us to have more together.
"And since you're invited, I wanted to hear your opinion."
"Well what were you thinking of doing?"
"Probably a sleepover."
Get that dirty thought out of your head Mordecai.
What? I wasn't even thinking of-
Don't think about it!
"Yeah that sounds like a good idea."
"Okay thanks."
"So who are you going to be invinting?"
"Well you, Eileen, Repar, and a couple other of my friends you haven't met yet."
"Looking forward to meeting them."
"I think you'll like Repar though."
"Yeah he's really nice," Eileen said.
Yeah I'm sure.
"Cool," I said trying to keep a straight face. Ugh! Just hearing his name made me sick. I gotta see this guy for myself.
Chill man. The important thing is, you were invited to her party.
Yeah…and I'm going to enjoy it.
Again sorry for the wait on this one. Oh, and I'm going to start putting dates to these chapters, seeing how it will be important later on in the story. Hope you enjoyed.