COLLEGE YEAR by Iceguy
Part two: Realizations and the Ramifications
Bobby climbed the steps up to his room. Still enraged over the conversation with his new ‘Jehovah witnesses’ friends, but he couldn’t help the smirk on his face. His job kept getting easier, now all he has to do is confirm that Zelda is in fact a mutant, and try to do something about this whole pesky violence thing.
Walking through the hallway to his room, he saw that there were many empty rooms. Just a couple weeks of unrest couldn’t empty out the entire floor. There was definitely something else going on, besides a flare-up of ‘routine’ violence.
His room was the exact same when he left it, several minutes ago. Complete with an unmoved roommate from his computer.
"This guy is going to be a joy to live with…" Bobby thought to himself, "thankfully, I’m going to have a very active night life."
"Hey, Peter. How’s the internet doing?" Bobby attempted at conversation.
"Pretty slow actually, where’s your friend?" Peter answered
"Oh, we’re done for the day. She went back to her room I imagine." Bobby said
"Good, These racists have a tendency to give me a…. cold chill sometimes. I usually keep to myself when they’re around." Peter said.
"Nice philosophy. Wish more people could be like you. These guys are pretty persistent. I just ran into their wannabe Jehovah’s Witness chapter down stairs." Bobby laughed, throwing his poorly printed pamphlet in the trash.
"Ah yes. I was wondering when you’d meet her friends." Peter said walking to the fridge.
"Her friends? Ok Pete, sit down. Explain." Bobby interrupted.
Peter grabbed a Pepsi out of the fridge and sat back down at his computer desk. This time turning the chair to face Bobby, who sat in his chair, backward as usual.
"I’m the new guy here man. I need to know what’s going on, so I don’t get involved in something I’ll regret later on." Bobby lied
"Good deal man. I’m not exactly a veteran here, but I’m not blind either." Peter said, "This all started a couple of months ago. Just minor stuff here and there, pamphlets, rallies and such. Which all lead to the two deaths here on campus."
"Two? I was only aware of the most recent one. When did this other one occur? Why isn’t anyone trying to stop this?" Bobby acted.
"Remember, these are mutants dying. The ‘Authorities’ mostly take a part in everything. Things have gotten pretty bad. It won’t take long before people like the X-Men show up." Peter laughed.
"Yeah, hopefully things won’t come to that. The last thing this place needs is to become battle field right?" Bobby avoided.
"Yeah, people shouldn’t have to rely on others to step in for petty differences." Peter said, half mumbling in his Pepsi can.
"So how much is Angie involved?" Bobby asked matter-of-factly
"She is pretty vocal around campus. I have one class with her. She’s a pretty big annoyance when she is actually there." Peter smirked
"Shit. She’s barely said a word to me like this during the day. I almost can’t wait to see what’s in store for me during this field party of hers." Bobby commented.
"She doesn’t normally speak to anyone outside of her circle of friends. I don’t really know a lot about her for that reason. And the fact that she can be a bitch." Peter sipped at his Pepsi again.
"So, do these ‘field parties’ happen often?" Bobby asked.
"Yes. Lately. I haven’t been to one. Not the sort of group I’d normally associate myself with. I’d advise you to do the same, unless that is your thing." Peter said.
"Well, I’d like to see what this party is about before I go and judge something I have no idea about. I don’t like to be wrong a lot, it happens too often on accident. I just would like to be sure." He lied
"Suit yourself. I can’t tell you what to do, I trust after a statement like that you are able to make mature decisions for yourself." Peter sipped.
"Thanks for the advice, but if you expect me to be mature, you don’t know me very well." Bobby laughed, "But I do want to see things for myself."
"Which is a good thing. But I’ll decide if you are mature after I know you for a while." Peter said.
"So, Pete. Did you, uh, know either of the, ya know." Bobby attempted to ask.
"Not personally. But ever since Miss Prydes' death, I’ve been keeping a watchful eye on those that I know are involved." Peter said as his attention quickly shifted to the door.
Bobby looked over to the door to see what had gotten Pete’s attention. But instead all he saw their closed door. No sooner as Peter’s attention shifted back to his computer there was a knock at the door.
Bobby looked at Peter as he typed, thinking that there is more to Peter than he first realized. Taking a mental note of the situation, Bobby got up to answer the door; to see his new lady friend and what he assumed was her boyfriend standing in the hallway.
"Hey. Ready to go?" Angela asked Bobby
"Yeah, just let me get my keys and glasses and we’ll be outta here." He answered
Bobby grabbed his keys and glasses just as he said and he headed out the door. Angela led the two men down the stairs and outside of the dorm building.
"So, Bobby, how is living with Parker?" Angela broke the ice
"Not bad actually. For the entire two hours I’ve known him." Bobby replied leading the two to his car.
"By the way, Bobby, This is my boyfriend Joseph." Angela said as Joseph waved, lighting a cigarette.
Bobby extended his hand, glancing over him. He noticed, that Joseph was taller by a couple inches; he also looked less on the athletic side when compared to him. Additionally Joseph had almost stereotypically short hair, with eyes covered in dark sunglasses.
The three entered the car. Angela was unusually excited for the trip, but Bobby considered this normal behavior for her. Joseph remained quiet, his attention dedicated to his cigarette.
The drive for the first few miles was quiet and uneventful. Neither of Bobby’s passengers said a word to him, nor him to them. Until finally, Angie became vocal and attempted to start a conversation between herself and the other two men.
"Joseph is kinda new here too." Angela attempted at small talk, "He’s only been here, like, three months or so."
"Really? So, I’m not the only new guy on deck huh?" Bobby returned in his normally mocking tone.
"Yup, I just transferred here from Colorado. Rather wish I hadn’t. This place is a shit-hole in the middle of nowhere."
"Ah, yes, the wonderful land of Colorado. Where between the wonderful skiing and the school shootings, is a world where anything can and will happen." Bobby smiled.
"You’re some kinda smartass aren’t ya?" Joseph finally spoke
"That I am, and you’re pretty much a jackass, so far." Bobby scowled.
"Joseph please, Bobby here doesn’t have any friends at school yet. Try to be nice to him." Angela pleaded to her boyfriend.
"Oh yes please. Poor Bobby is a loner with no friends. One that should probably jump out of a window whenever some asshole is mean to him." Bobby snapped angrily as he stopped his car.
"Aww, did we upset our chauffeur?" Joseph snickered.
Just as Joseph spat out his last syllable, Bobby opened the door leading to his rude passenger.
"Look here you little fuck. I didn’t come to this school looking for anyone’s approval of anything!" Bobby spat in Joseph’s face. "If you think I give a damn what you think about me, within the first hour you even know me, and you are sadly mistaken."
"Bobby…wait…you…" Angela tried to interrupt.
"I was not talking to you, Angela. Not yet anyway. Now, since I have a nice guy reputation to uphold, you will both not say a word to me until we arrive to wherever the hell we are going. Is that clear? Or do I have to repeat myself and talk slower?" Bobby said
Joseph and Angela just sat in the car, staring at Bobby, mouths open and wide eyed. Unfortunately the silence did not last long.
"So, Mr. New guy thinks he can intimidate us by throwing a temper tantrum." Joseph scoffed. "You do not scare me, and you have no idea who you are screaming at. Next time think before you open that mouth of yours."
"You’re kidding right?" Bobby laughed back a Joseph, "Dude, get the hell out of my car. I will be goddamned if I let anyone talk to me like that in MY car. Later."
"Bobby! Please don’t be like this, we were only kidding!" Angela pleaded
"I’m sorry Angela, but if you really believe that I’m going to allow your friend to talk to me like I’m some sort of idiot, you are sadly mistaken." Bobby explained.
"But Bobby, we are only like 3 miles away from the party." Angela attempted at sympathy
"Good, I’ll see you two there then. A long walk usually calms me down. Enjoy." Bobby said returning to the confines of his car.
"Bobby, You can’t be serious!" Angela screamed.
"Surprisingly, I am. See you at the party, and thanks for the invite." He smirked as he drove away.
"I don’t believe I just did that." Bobby laughed to himself.
The three miles Bobby had left to drive gave way from the sleepy, misguided college town into several abandoned farms.
These farms looked as though they hadn’t been in use for a couple decades. Each of them had been overgrown, and connected by nature. The only man-made structure that wasn’t crumbling was a small house that had cars encircling it. A circle, which Bobby’s own car was added too.
"Good lord, look at all the people here. This is not going to be a very good night. I can feel it already." He said to himself surveying the house and it’s occupants.
Bobby locked up his car and headed to the house. He knew he screwed up with Angela and Joseph. He wouldn’t be getting any valuable information out of those two. It was time to mingle with the crowd; time to make sure that the enemy was indeed close to him.
Inside the house, he saw, that the enemy was many. If the saying about being in the lion’s den was ever true, tonight was definitely the night. Graydon Creed would kill for numbers like these in such a small town. If he was still alive that is.
Not even five minutes inside and he saw his three Jehovah’s witnesses from earlier. Mocking a wave to them, Bobby moved on. Knowing those three lackeys would do him no good in the long run of his job. What he wanted was someone intelligent, yet gullible. Someone he could easily dupe into telling him anything he need and wanted to know.
Someone intelligent…
Someone energetic…
Someone attractive…
And then it came to him. Or rather she did…
"Hello. You look lost." A voice came from behind him.
"Yeah, you could say that." Bobby said turning
Bobby turned to face a young brunette. A young, and very attractive brunette.
"So, you must be new at the school then?" Said the brunette
"Yeah, I’ve been here all of a day. My name is Bobby, what’s yours?" He answered
"My name is Kalia. Nice to meet you Bobby." Kalia smiled
"Likewise Kalia." Bobby smiled back.
"Only a day at school, how did you even know about this?" Kalia asked him
"Oh, my tour guide asked me to come, well more like she bummed a ride for her boyfriend and herself." Bobby told her
"Oh, so where are they?" Kalia asked him
"Well we had a little disagreement. So I made them walk." He smiled
"They aren’t going to be happy when they get here are they? Who are they?" She asked him
"Some couple that like to be rude. And to think, Angela seemed pretty nice at first. But it turned out she as much of a bitch as her boyfriend." Bobby said
"Joseph?" Kalia interrupted, "Is that the boyfriend?"
"Yeah, lucky guess." Bobby gained back
"You have really no idea who Joseph is do you?" Kalia asked mocking a sense of importance
"Not really, no. Nor do I care." Bobby told
"Well, you probably should. This is his party. Not to mention his house." Kalia laughed.
"Oh, so I pissed off someone important then?" He smirked
"You could say that I guess." Kalia replied
"Well, oops. So is someone going to ground me when daddy shows up?" Bobby laughed.
Kalia laughed at Bobby’s statement. She decided to show him around the house, after getting something to drink. Surprisingly there was no kind of alcoholic beverages. This was an odd thing to Bobby, but it didn’t seem out of place to Kalia, so he just played along. Kalia kept talking about how good the school was, what were the best classes, the best clubs, and the best places to party.
It was apparent to Bobby that Kalia had almost no care in the world. All that mattered to her was getting through school and having a good time while she did it. She was a great choice to befriend. So far, this was just a party to her, this was a good thing. On top of that she at least knew who people were here. This could just work out well.
Kalia walked Bobby around the house introducing him to people she knew. Telling them that he was new at school, everyone welcomed him and shook his hand. Something they probably wouldn’t do if they in fact knew what he was. Both Bobby and Kalia ended up sitting on a couple chairs engaging in small talk, just enjoying each other’s company.
The pair’s isolation didn’t last long. When Bobby received a tap on his left shoulder. Bobby turned and was utterly surprised to see whom he saw.
"Well, Hello again Bobby." The tapper said.
"Zelda??" Bobby said surprised.
"Yeah, how are you doing?" Zelda asked.
"Pretty good. I’d like you to meet my new friend, Kalia."
"Hi Kalia, has he been behaving himself?" Zelda joked
"Yes, he’s been very nice." She smiled
"Jeeze you act like I’m some sort of criminal." Bobby smiled
"I’d never do that." Zelda laughed.
"Yeah sure." Bobby smiled back.
"So how do you know Bobby, Zelda?" Kalia asked
"Oh, we used to date a long time ago." Zelda replied
"Ah, return of the ex-girlfriend?" Kalia laughed
"The?" Zelda smiled
"Don’t start, please don’t." Bobby said turning red.
"Should I even ask?" Kalia said, reacting to Bobby’s blushing face
"No, it’s just a little joke between us. But, we dated when we were in high school, a long time ago." Zelda explained. "Bobby is actually the last person I expected to see here. But I’m glad I finally caught up to him."
"Really? Why?" Kalia asked
"Well, I just never pegged Bobby as a person that would participate in a group that openly hated anybody. He’s just one of those normally tolerant people." Zelda said.
"Actually I wasn’t aware this was any kind of group. Well, until now that is. What are you talking about Zel? What group?" Bobby acted
"Well, Most of the people here are for the party. Nothing more." Kalia told Zelda.
"I’m still confused here. What are you talking about Zel?" Bobby overacted
"Don’t worry about it right now. I’ll tell you later." Zelda reassured him.
Zelda lead Kalia and Bobby outside to one of the overgrown cornfields. Avoiding every question Bobby asked about this ‘group’ that she mentioned. They had spent ten minutes outside when inside the house got noisier. The music stopped and Bobby heard angry voices inside.
"Uh oh…" Bobby laughed
"What is it?" Kalia asked
"Daddy’s home." Bobby snickered
"What?" Zelda was lost in the conversation
"Bobby made Joseph and Angela walk three miles for being rude to him." Kalia summed up
"You didn’t." Zelda laughed.
"Yeah, I did." Bobby smiled back
"This isn’t going to be a good night." Zelda groaned
"Why?" Kalia asked
"Because, Angela is my roommate. And she likes to whine a lot." Zelda complained
"Oh joy." Bobby groaned back
"Yeah, and if Joseph is over tonight, I’ll have to listen to both of them. The guy thinks he is so important." Zelda said
"Yeah, I know about that one." Bobby replied
A sudden movement at the back door to the house got the trio’s attention, especially as Angela walked out of it. Angela stormed down the deck and straight to Bobby’s’ location. Both Zelda and Kalia groaned at her approach, and tried to hide behind Bobby.
"Drake!" Angela screamed at him.
"Ooh the last name…something you’re used to?" Zelda poked.
"Shut up." Bobby held back a smile
"What the hell?" Angela snapped at him
"What?" Bobby pretended
"You didn’t come back for us?" Angela cried
Bobby still holding back a smile
"This is not funny." Angela said almost to the point of tears
"Actually, it would be if you were on my point of view." Bobby laughed, along with the two girls hiding behind him
"Zelda? What are you doing here? You’re the whole reason I asked for a ride from this asshole to begin with. Now you are siding with him?" Angela complained
"Well, I didn’t plan to come here at first. But then I decided to come at the last minute. And what do you mean I’m siding with an asshole?" Zelda said, holding back her own laughter
"Bobby Drake is the asshole I’m talking about. He left me and Joseph to walk from like ten miles away." Angela exaggerated.
"Actually it was a little over three." Bobby corrected
"Whatever, we still had to walk. And it was far." Angela cried
"Well, sorry, but it’s about time someone put you and Joseph in your place." Kalia interrupted
"I wasn’t talking to you, Kalia. I don’t even remember you being allowed to come back here anyway." Angela snapped
"Hey, your mad at me. Not her." Bobby cut her off
"Angie why don’t you just go back inside. Have a drink, cool off a little bit, and maybe you can think a little more clearly why Bobby did what he did." Zelda instructed her
"Yeah, that might be a good idea, before I do something someone might regret." She said staring at Kalia.
"Sure bitch." Kalia smiled
"Ok, Kalia, lets walk this way." Bobby said guiding her away from the general vicinity of Angela
"A little bit of hostility there huh?" Bobby said as he walked with Kalia
"You could say that." Kalia answered
"What did I tell you? This is going to be a really bad night." Zelda said
"It’ll be ok, she just needs to calm down." Bobby said
"That’s the problem. When Joseph is around, no one is able to calm down." Zelda told him
"Oh yeah, the whole whiner thing?" Bobby said
"Yeah. He tends to cause a lot of problems when he is around people. Especially when he is around Angie." Zelda informed them
"I think it would be best to just leave." Zelda pointed out
"Nah, I want to stay here for a while longer." Bobby told them
"I’m not sure that is a good idea Bobby." Zelda said
"Why not?" Bobby asked
"Well, Joseph likes to use his parties to deliver speeches." Zelda explained
"Ok, so the party will get a little boring for a little bit?" Bobby remarked
"It would just be a good thing if we all left." Kalia agreed
"How bad can a speech be? It will be over soon anyway." Bobby persuaded
"If you really want to stay, I can’t make you leave. You always been hardheaded Bobby, you know this and I know this. I’m not going to argue with you." Zelda said
"Well, if you don’t want to stay, just tell me where you live and I’ll meet up with you two later on tonight. I just want to meet some people before I start classes." Bobby acted
"This is not the best place to meet people. Trust me." Kalia told him
"And I love you too." Bobby laughed.
"Shut up. You may be an exception to the rule. But we’ll see ok?" Kalia smiled at him.
"I’m not about to leave you alone here. I just don’t see you accepting anything Joseph has to say." Zelda said
"Okay, so I guess we’re staying?" Bobby smiled
"If you really want to." Kalia said
"Yeah." Zelda groaned
The trio sat around a table, Bobby and Zelda explaining to Kalia how they knew each other. They were alone for the majority of the time outside. Still Bobby was in the dark of what was coming up that the girls didn’t want to be here for, and they were not telling.
Slowly the amount of people in the field started to grow. The girls knew what was coming. Secretly, Bobby also knew what was going to happen. Even though Zelda and Bobby’s history was long, she had no idea what kind of activities Bobby himself was a part of. One secret, which Bobby counted on keeping from her. At least for now.
Joseph himself finally exited the rear of the house. Followed by a few people walking close to him. Joseph pointed his followers off the deck, placing himself at the center of the deck facing the growing crowd.
"Talk about dramatic." Bobby smiled
"Shut up, Bobby." Kalia kicked him
"Fine." Bobby pouted
Two men exited the house with a small platform, and placed it at Joseph’s feet. He climbed the platform, and just as he was raised from the deck the crowd grew silent. Bobby was surprised that the house was large enough to fit the size of the crowd.
"Friends!" Joseph called out. "Congratulations. We have weeded out our first of the impure creatures that infest this campus. We continue to grow stronger. Soon there will be nothing that can stop us, this place will be rid of anyone that is not of a pure human condition."
Bobby’s fists clenched, and his knuckles grew white. He was talking about Kitty as though she was a lamb that had come to the slaughter. His heart beat faster, and his control was wavering.
The only thing that kept him in his seat was the girl next to him. Zelda had saw Bobby’s hands clenching and placed her own hand on his. He looked over and she gave him a reassuring look.
"This gathering is a celebration of sorts." The bigot continued. "Not only are we walking the right path, the community is grateful for our help in ridding them of their Mutant problem. There have been many failed groups, and some would try and persuade you that we are just a bunch of people that thrive on hate and ours will eventually fail. Not so. This is not an organization of hate; in fact we come together out of love for the human race. So great is our love, that we are willing to snuff out the life of the impure that claim our birthright, our lives, our jobs, and use our children to procreate. They will never be allowed to survive long enough to replace us as they claim. We will ensure our very survival."
Zelda looked over at Bobby. She knew that this would hurt him. She just wanted to leave right then, but she knew that Bobby wouldn’t move. It was a very rare thing for him to get angry, and she had never seen him this way. Every muscle was tightened, and his concentration didn’t waver from Joseph’s face. He couldn’t move if he wanted to.
"This is not some petty movement against people of difference. We humans must put our petty prejudices aside. Skin color, Religion, Money. These things do not matter they shouldn’t matter anymore. Right here and now, I declare war on the impure. These freaks will not see us coming, we have the element of surprise. They and those that would go against us must be destroyed. We start at this small campus, with time our influence will catch on. Our members will graduate, and will lead others as the educated members of society. The mutants will not see us coming, and with your help, we will destroy them!" Joseph called to the crowd.
The closing of Joseph’s speech made the crowd roar with excitement. They were proud. Not only that but misguided. Bobby started to get sick. He couldn’t even pretend to be like the crowd. Zelda saw this and helped him to his feet. She and Kalia walked him towards the house.
"What’s wrong with him?" A voice asked from behind them.
Zelda turned to face someone she particularly didn’t want to see right then.
"Nothing Angela. He just suddenly became sick. We’re taking him home now." Zelda said without stopping
"Well, it serves him right. He is probably guilty for making me and Joseph walk after the genius of his speech." Angela said proudly.
"I think it is just food poisoning actually." Kalia avoided as they entered the house.
The two girls managed to get Bobby to his car without running into any other people that wanted to engage in small talk. Zelda sat him into his passenger seat and buckled him in.
"Kalia, did you drive here?" Zelda asked
"Actually no, I got a ride from a friend of mine. Do you want me to drive him back to his dorm?" Kalia asked
"Well, I’d rather you drive my car to my dorm and meet us there. I’m not sure where Bobby lives and I don’t think he’d give me a really good answer right now." Zelda pointed out
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I’ll meet you there." Kalia agreed
Zelda handed her keys over to Kalia and climbed into Bobby’s driver seat. Bobby was still tense within the car’s seat, and had yet to say a word since the speech started.
"Bobby, I told you. Someone like you didn’t need to be there…" Zelda said to the unresponsive Iceman.