Brandon opened the door to his class. There were already several people
there, including the professor. Looking around he saw Tracy. He
took a seat next to her.
"I didn't know you went here." He said, startling her.
"Brandon! I didn't see you come in."
"Were you thinking about something?" She smiled.
"Yeah. How was your summer?"
"Long. And boring."
"What other classes do you have?" Tracy asked.
"English. Math. Other stuff."
"Well, welcome to this class. I've had this teacher before. He is so
boring you'll hardly be able to stay awake. But don't worry, he doesn't
give many tests."
Brandon looked at the teacher. He was almost bald
with only a tuff of white hair at the top. He wore his glasses around
his neck. He was wearing a white shirt with plaid pants. He looked
like he was going to play golf instead of teaching a history class.
"Thanks for the warning." He said blankly.
"I know a lot people in the school. What other teachers do you have?
Let me look at your schedule..."
********************************************
Brandon sat in the shade of a tree. It was nice and cool. His classes
for the day were over and he could leave when he wanted to. He saw
Tracy and a group of friends walking toward the parking lot. She looked
so happy, talking with her friends.
"Hey" Said a guy that had come up to him. "Mind if I sit down?"
"No, go ahead." Brandon responded.
"My name is Mark. What's yours?"
"Brandon." Mark nodded.
"Yeah. Tracy told me about you. That you moved into the room across hers
and now you have a class with her."
"Yep." Brandon replied. "She seems to know a lot of people." Mark nodded
again.
"She does. But I've known her practically all my life." Mark said,
"We grew up together."
"Do you know her husband?" Brandon asked.
"All too well. His name's Curt, but he doesn't go to this college."
Mark looked around.
"Where's your dorm?"
"I don't have one. I live in an apartment." Mark looked at
him.
"Why?"
"Well, I moved here from another city about three months ago.
I've got all my things organized and I didn't want to move again."
"Yeah, but you should still move into a dorm." Mark said.
"Why?"
"Living in the dorms is a benefit of paying for tuition here. By
living in an apartment, you're paying more money."
"Good point. But are there any dorms available?"
"I'll check around. There always people dropping out" Mark said.
He and Brandon stood up.
"Thanks for doing this."
"No problem." Mark responded.
***********************************
Alex laid on his bed watching TV. Across from him, Brian was doing
his homework.
"You should really do your homework." Brian said, "There's going to be
a test on this next week."
"I'll do it later. I can't concentrate right now." Brian looked up
from his work.
"Gee, I wonder why that is." Brian set the books down. "Actually,
a break sounds pretty good right now." He stretched.
"What are you going to do?" Alex asked. Brian shrugged.
"I don't know. Is there anything good on TV?"
"Nope." Alex said, "And I've looked through all the channels."
"Then why don't we go outside? It's a nice day."
"That's a good idea. Hey, I'll call Jason! He'll think of something
to do." Brian nodded.
"Oh, I almost forgot. My parents are having a dinner in a few days
and they said I could invite a few of my friends. My girlfriend's going.
Would you like to go?"
"Sure. Can I bring Jason and Monica?" Alex asked.
"The more the merrier." Brian replied.
*************************************
"Hey, Brandon!" Mark yelled he ran across the campus.
"I found a dorm."
"You did?" Brandon said.
"Yeah. But you're going to have a roommate."
"Who?"
"Isaac Norton. He's in one of my classes. You'll meet him later."
Brandon started walking to his car.
"Thanks. Now all I have to do is move my stuff."
"Hey, I'll help you with that." Mark said as they approached the car.
Brandon unlocked it and opened the door.
"You don't have to do that. You've done a lot already." Brandon said.
Mark shook his head.
"It's alright. I don't mind." Mark replied, "And it will keep my mind
off my own problems. Can I ride with you?"
Brandon nodded and got in the car. He pulled out of the parking lot
drove toward the apartment.
"Hey, Brandon," Mark started, "Why did you move here?"
The question caught Brandon off guard.
"Well," He began, "I was going to attend West Peak Collage with Alex,
but I decided to go out of state at the last minute." Mark looked at
him.
"Is Alex a friend?" Brandon smiled.
"He's my best friend. We met in our first year of high school. We
had a lot of fun." Mark nodded.
"Why did you change your mind?"
"I just decided that maybe it was time for a change. We're here."
Brandon parked the car, and got out.
It didn't take long to put Brandon's stuff in the car. He didn't
pack any of the few pieces of furniture he had. He'd let the landlord
decide what to do with it. After all, it was the landlord who loaned
him the furniture. Mark and Brandon stood in the middle of the room,
making sure they had gotten everything.
"I think that's it." Mark said.
"Yeah, let's take a break." Brandon said, sitting on the bed.
Mark joined. They were silent for a minute.
"Mark?" Brandon said.
"What?"
"What did you mean by getting your mind off your problems?" Mark
sighed.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Brandon said quickly.
"No. I should tell someone, I guess. It has to do with Tracy."
Brandon nodded and kept silent.
"I told you I've known her all my life," Mark went on, "We've always
been friends. Then I noticed her in a different light. I began
to fall in love with her. But I was too afraid to admit it. We both dated
other people. I never felt the same with another girl. She never dated
a guy for more then sixth months. I was beginning to hope she felt the
same way. Then she met Curt.
"I didn't think much of it then, I assumed it wouldn't last. But the next
I knew, they were engaged. I couldn't believe it. I wanted to tell how
I felt about her then, but she looked so happy with him. I couldn't
mess it up for them. At the wedding, when the priest asked if there
were any objections, I held my peace. And I'm still holding it."
Mark finished his story, with tears in his eyes. Brandon was quiet
for a moment.
"I'm sorry." Was all Brandon said. Mark wiped his eyes.
"Don't be. I'll find someone, someday. And don't tell Tracy about this."
"I promise. Shall we leave.?" Brandon said, standing up. Someone knocked
at the door.
"Come in." Brandon said. Tracy come in with two glasses.
"I thought you two would like lemonade after hauling all that stuff out"
She offered.
"Thanks. I'd love some." Mark responded and took one of the glasses.
"I can't wait until Curt comes home. I have some great news."
"What is it?" Brandon asked. She smiled.
"I should tell Curt first, but I just can't wait." She exclaimed.
"Guys, I'm pregnant! Curt and I are going to have a baby!"