I smiled at one another, while Marla playfully coddled Landon.
“I have to go,” I announced abruptly.
“Well don’t leave on my account,” he said, concerned.
“Uh, no, I have to go. Lectures and labs are calling for me,” I said, ill at ease.
I scampered off, making way for the library to sign out a textbook for my computer lab. I needed a nice brisk walk with just me, myself and, as of late, Styx. A part of me said, take the pledge and become immorta. Meanwhile, the other part of me, the rationale part, delineated that being a Charon was respectable work, but it was unpaid work. I’d not only need to learn a trade to survive in this world, but also in the offline world. My silent deliberation was interrupted when Nicholas appeared in my periphery. To the untrained eye, he appeared like any other graduate student . Not a double dead guy in existence for near two centuries.
It took him longer than usual to notice my presence, but once he did, he cut his conversation short.
“Xenia. How are you?” he asked, aloof. He appeared indifferent, even after everything .
“I’ve been busy lately…college busy. Trying to catch up with all I’ve missed.”
“If you need anything, let me know,” he smiled and walked away.
“What the hell, Nicholas?”
“I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?”
“You left! You disappeared right before Orion… sacrificed me,” I said contemptuously.
His stark impassive expression spoke volumes. “Could we talk another time? I have to go now.”
He was a despicable, spineless shell of a man… oh no . That was just it! A shell of a man. The light flickered off his cornea, and his grey eye color swirled on cue ever so faintly.
“The offer still stands,” he reiterated. “Are you going to the Carnival later?”
“Where are you, Nicholas?” I asked, taking hold of his arm.
“Guess I’ll see you there,” he said, robotically staring down where my hand grasped his arm.
I let him go and played along. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
“There you are,” she barked, hysterically. “You’re Xenia, right? I’m your lab partner and boy are you ever hard to track down. Listen here, my grades are very important. Now maybe you plan on failing miserably, potentially dropping out of college, but I’m pre-med and my GPA means something.”
“I’m sorry, but have we met?” I snapped examining her. This small, yet energetic force field of a person surrounded us.
“Not formally. I’m on the basketball team. I’ve seen you once before, flirting with the coach,” she rolled her eyes.
“Wait a minute, there was no flirting. Zero flirtage,” I scolded glancing at Nicholas from the corner of my eye.
“ Right . And you’re never in class.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“And you’re going to get busier—here,” she said, handing over a heavy stack of files. “This is your end of the project.”
I envisioned Nyxta beaming from her throne right about then. Nicholas pressed his lips into a hard line and patted my shoulder sympathetically. “My cue to go.”
The neurotic girl stirred on the verge of another panic attack. This was all a part of college, something I signed up for, yet I somehow felt short changed. I’d hoped for some grand gift of appreciation for all my non-academic hard work— farfetched and delusional, I was well aware.
“No problem. We have the whole semester, right?”
“Try one week. And if for some reason, you pull another disappearing act then consider yourself a goner. I’ve discussed this with our TA. He was very kind to even grant us an extension as these papers are way past due!”
“One week…easy peasy! You can count on me.” I was very dependable—too dependable if you asked me.
“My life depends on it,” she stressed.
“No kidding, trippy.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t know your name, so I’ve named you trippy…you know, because you’re totally tripping. College life is supposed to be fun—you should lighten up. For
“I have to go,” I announced abruptly.
“Well don’t leave on my account,” he said, concerned.
“Uh, no, I have to go. Lectures and labs are calling for me,” I said, ill at ease.
I scampered off, making way for the library to sign out a textbook for my computer lab. I needed a nice brisk walk with just me, myself and, as of late, Styx. A part of me said, take the pledge and become immorta. Meanwhile, the other part of me, the rationale part, delineated that being a Charon was respectable work, but it was unpaid work. I’d not only need to learn a trade to survive in this world, but also in the offline world. My silent deliberation was interrupted when Nicholas appeared in my periphery. To the untrained eye, he appeared like any other graduate student . Not a double dead guy in existence for near two centuries.
It took him longer than usual to notice my presence, but once he did, he cut his conversation short.
“Xenia. How are you?” he asked, aloof. He appeared indifferent, even after everything .
“I’ve been busy lately…college busy. Trying to catch up with all I’ve missed.”
“If you need anything, let me know,” he smiled and walked away.
“What the hell, Nicholas?”
“I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?”
“You left! You disappeared right before Orion… sacrificed me,” I said contemptuously.
His stark impassive expression spoke volumes. “Could we talk another time? I have to go now.”
He was a despicable, spineless shell of a man… oh no . That was just it! A shell of a man. The light flickered off his cornea, and his grey eye color swirled on cue ever so faintly.
“The offer still stands,” he reiterated. “Are you going to the Carnival later?”
“Where are you, Nicholas?” I asked, taking hold of his arm.
“Guess I’ll see you there,” he said, robotically staring down where my hand grasped his arm.
I let him go and played along. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
“There you are,” she barked, hysterically. “You’re Xenia, right? I’m your lab partner and boy are you ever hard to track down. Listen here, my grades are very important. Now maybe you plan on failing miserably, potentially dropping out of college, but I’m pre-med and my GPA means something.”
“I’m sorry, but have we met?” I snapped examining her. This small, yet energetic force field of a person surrounded us.
“Not formally. I’m on the basketball team. I’ve seen you once before, flirting with the coach,” she rolled her eyes.
“Wait a minute, there was no flirting. Zero flirtage,” I scolded glancing at Nicholas from the corner of my eye.
“ Right . And you’re never in class.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“And you’re going to get busier—here,” she said, handing over a heavy stack of files. “This is your end of the project.”
I envisioned Nyxta beaming from her throne right about then. Nicholas pressed his lips into a hard line and patted my shoulder sympathetically. “My cue to go.”
The neurotic girl stirred on the verge of another panic attack. This was all a part of college, something I signed up for, yet I somehow felt short changed. I’d hoped for some grand gift of appreciation for all my non-academic hard work— farfetched and delusional, I was well aware.
“No problem. We have the whole semester, right?”
“Try one week. And if for some reason, you pull another disappearing act then consider yourself a goner. I’ve discussed this with our TA. He was very kind to even grant us an extension as these papers are way past due!”
“One week…easy peasy! You can count on me.” I was very dependable—too dependable if you asked me.
“My life depends on it,” she stressed.
“No kidding, trippy.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t know your name, so I’ve named you trippy…you know, because you’re totally tripping. College life is supposed to be fun—you should lighten up. For
Similar Books
