Chapter Six
As the days turned into weeks, and they too into the months, the end of the summer warmth was replaced with the crisp, cool, chill of autumn. The trees that dotted the campus changed, their leaves dried out and drifted to the ground with the breeze, and the once vibrant green grass lost its hue. The array of more revealing clothing had been replaced with hoodies, sweaters, and long pants. The cool air had crept onto the campus as winter clawed its way towards the students. An all too obvious reminder that the clock was ticking for them, and sooner rather than later the semester would be over.
The freshmen had fallen into the routine, and with midterms looming on the horizon the students were taking the necessary time to ensure they weren't blindsided by their first barrage of real college exams. At least most were.
Eddy was pacing back and forth in his room with his two best friends. Ed sat on his own bed and gave his shorter friend his undivided attention, while Double D opted to sit in the one remaining office chair on Ed's side after spraying it with disinfectant. Eddy had long since sold his off for beer money, the fact that it didn't belong to him and was the property of the university didn't stop him.
The topic of discussion was Halloween and the upcoming festivities. It seemed the majority of their classmates were taking that opportunity to unwind the weekend before midterms. It was an unknown blessing to the boys that the holiday fell on a Friday that year. Eddy continued his pace, as he raked his brain with all the information he was presented with regarding that weekend.
"Costumes?" he asked, not breaking stride.
"Excuse me?" Double D inquired. He still wasn't in the loop.
"What are our costumes going to be?" he asked again.
Ed opened his mouth to answer but Double D cut him off, "Honestly Eddy, aren't costume and dressing up a little beneath us? While I have no qualms with getting into the season, I must protest to whatever plans you're no doubt scheming. Our time would be spent more valuably studying for our midterms." he reached into his messenger bag and fished around, "In fact," he continued as he produced two pieces of paper that were, of course, laminated, "I took the liberty of constructing the two of you study plans." the smile on his face vanished as Eddy swiped the papers out of his hands and tossed them into one of the numerous piles of refuse that decorated their floor. Double D grimaced, he was happy he made copies. They too were laminated.
"Oh no!" Eddy shouted as he stopped his stride in front of his smarter friend. "We've all been model students so far this semester. We haven't had the opportunity to let our hair down once! Not a single date, party, or drunk morning after filled with regret."
"Weren't invited to any, Eddy!" Ed smiled. His comments were ignored as Eddy continued.
"We're taking Halloween off. I happen to know that one of the frats is throwing a massive party, and the three of us are going. So, what are we wearing?" he asked again.
Double D sighed, he knew that there was no way he could talk Eddy out of this. And in all fairness, Eddy did have a point. Despite wanting to attend college for the more extravagant reasons, both he and Ed had been on their best behaviors. The two of them were doing, most, of their homework and had even taken the effort to study for the few quizzes they'd had.
"Well, what did you have in mind." he conceded with a raised eyebrow.
"Zombie Elvis might be a little too overplayed." Eddy admitted, turning away as he placed his hand on his chin, deep in thought. This was serious.
"What, you mean the same variation of costume you've worn every year since we first met?"
"If it ain't broke don't fix it." he shrugged, "But the chicks around here might require something a tier or two above."
"And what could that be?" Double D asked, feigning interest. It wasn't that he didn't care about his friend's choice or even Halloween itself, it's just that the three of them had had this conversation every year since they left junior high.
"I don't know." Eddy admitted with a sigh. He turned to his friend, the frustration building. "But you better not even think about some nerdy ass costume again this year!" he accused with a finger jabbed into Double D's chest.
"Whatever do you mean?" Double D asked, genuine surprise slapping him and wearing itself on his face.
"Oh, come on! Every year with you it's some brainy ass germ or something."
"Well, I for one think that bacteria can be even more terrifying than fictional characters and made up concepts. How many times do I need to remind you that the living dead in and of itself is an oxymoron?"
Eddy only narrowed his eyes, "You're doing it again."
Double D was on the verge of exploding but as he sensed the upcoming reaction Ed stepped in, "Fear not dear friends, Ed is here!" he said as he jumped up and enveloped both his friends under each of his arms.
"Would you believe that we could smell him coming?" Eddy gagged. It was true that Ed's hygiene had improved, but old habits die hard.
"I will be your savior!" Ed shouted. His smile didn't wavier.
"While I appreciate the enthusiasm, I think I speak for both of us when I say that's okay, really." Double D said. He pullws himself out of Ed's grip and rolled a respectable distance away in the chair.
"Yeah, I don't think you can help us, Lumpy." Eddy said, he too pushed away from the excited Ed.
"Now now, eager beavers." Ed said in a tone that seemed like he was scolding them, "You all have your specialties and I have mine." he defended, as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a cheap horror comic book. He opened it to a page featuring a radioactive monster feasting on the brains of corporate drones in an office setting.
Eddy only shook his head and crossed his arms, while Double D's eyes scanned and scrutinized the illustration. "Oh, come on guys! I promise I won't let you down!" he pleaded, adopting puppy dog eyes and pouty lips.
"Well…" Double D began, "I don't see any harm in it."
After a few moments of silence, Eddy relented, "Fine!" he bellowed. "But so help me, if you mess this up-" he wasn't able to finish his sentence as Ed had already sprinted out of the room, the door creaked shut behind him.
Double D returned to his room after his meeting with Ed and Eddy. It had proved to be another fruitless endeavor in their educational journey. But Eddy seemed to be excited about the approaching holiday and Ed seemed over the moon with his new responsibility, so Double D counted it as a small victory. Eddy was right, they had earned a break.
As he entered Marie looked up from her laptop with a smile, "Hiya, Ovenmitt!" she greeted. Double D took in the scene before him. She was still dressed in her clothes from the day, a black hoodie and ripped pants, her combat boots kicked off at the foot of her bed.
"Marie," Double D started, examining her, "Where did you get that laptop?" he asked, it wasn't something he had seen her use before, and judging by the amount of stickers on the front of it, it wasn't out-of-box.
She shrugged and returned her attention to the screen, "Found it." He was just so cute when he was trying to do the right thing. If he pushed, she would cave and return the laptop, probably. But she was having far too much fun with her new gadget to get rid of it already.
Double D shook his head, "I do hope that that doesn't mean you stole it."
"I'm offended!" she feigned disgust and stuck her tongue out at him. He paid her no mind as he sat down at his desk ready to start his workload for the night. He heard the laptop shut and felt her presence over him in a blink.
"Why don't we take the night off?" she whispered in his ear, his earned shudders throughout his body. "We could do something to blow off all this stress." her tone only grew more and more sinister with each word.
"Erm…Marie." he stammered. "I really should work." he let a small chuckle and hoped it would get her to leave him alone, it never did.
"Oh, come on, I've been sooooo good." she hissed, her lips less than a centimeter from his ears. The warm sensation caused goosebumps to spring up down his neck. She had been more cordial to him over the past few weeks, he struck it up to her being more into her studies like the rest of the students. That or that she had lost interest in him after spending so much time around him. It seemed now it was more the former than the latter as he felt her body's warmth engulf him.
He was well aware of his living habits and how they were often off putting to those around him. Of course, he had gotten better since his youth, but some things were just too hard to shake. He didn't need to label everything around him to enjoy a night's sleep, but he still found comfort in an almost sterile environment. On some level, he had hoped that all the closeness coupled with his numerous quirks would succeed in driving her away after all these years. It seemed he had been wrong.
"Yes, that seems to be the consensus this week." he chuckled again, before sliding out from under her, coming to a weak stance to her right. "But I'm afraid I must protest. My workload for this week has been totally thrown off track. Considering the party Friday night, I need to make up for that lost time."
"Party?" she questioned. All of the romantic tone vacant from her voice.
"Indeed. Eddy has caught wind of a frat party this Friday for Halloween. He insists we attend, and as a result, I'm going to have to completely change my work schedule around."
On a normal occasion, she would have loved to stay and make him squirm some more, hoping against hope that maybe her advances would elicit a response this time. But this wasn't a normal occasion. He had just given her a valuable piece of information, and she needed to spread it.
She grinned, "Well don't let me stop you." and with that she walked out the door. She stopped short and stuck her head back in, "Oh and if anyone comes around asking about a laptop, tell 'em you don't know nothing." He waved her off as she shut the door behind her. He hoped that knowing less meant a smaller chance of association. She started the trek to her sisters' room and didn't bother to take the time to put on her shoes. This was too important.
"A party, huh?" Lee questioned. Her curiosity piqued.
"That's what he said." Marie nodded, a sly smile on her lips, "My pumpkin just had to tell me. He was obviously asking me out!"
"Yeah right, Marie! Double D wouldn't know how to ask you out if you put a gun to his head!" May laughed.
"Can it!" Marie barked, the dreaminess of tone disappeared and was replaced with anger. "At least he knows how to treat a woman! Ed probably doesn't even know the difference between your parts and his!" she taunted.
May frowned and made for the attack, but her pounce was intercepted by Lee who shoved her back onto the bed, "Would you two shut up?!" she commanded. The gears whirring in her head were almost audible. "We've been given a golden opportunity here to party crash. We can't just throw somethin like this away."
"So, we're going?" May asked, bouncing with excitement.
"Of course we are, you idiot!" Lee replied. "This is our chance to win our boys ova, and it's about time, I might add."
"I thought you more interested in this learnin' stuff than getting you a man!" Marie said, as she raised an accusatory finger.
Lee grabbed her finger and bent it back, earning a yelp from her younger sister, "Just because there's more important things than men doesn't mean we can't have a little fun." she smiled. "Now all we need are some costumes." she trailed off with a laugh that her sisters soon joined in on, each thought about just how much fun they were going to have this Halloween.