First Draft: Chapter 18

I was totally dependent on my father.  My very entrance into the university was based on his high position.  I’m not even sure if my grades would have been good enough to get me in without him.  He paid all of my tuition, which I could never have afforded without him.  And of course the envy of my friends, my single room in the dorms, was given to me only because of who my father was.
I wasn’t really sure what he meant when he said he was through with me.  Did that mean my funding was cut off?  Was it just an idle threat or was he serious?  I could never tell.  Would he calm down in the morning and decide to give me another chance after all?  I could imagine that happening.  I waited nervously for a couple days, waiting for some administrator to arrive and tell me that I was getting a roommate or that my latest tuition payment had not been made or something like that.  Nothing ever happened, but I lived in suspense.
I told the whole story to David one afternoon.  He sat quietly until I was done, and then he just shook his head.  “What?” I asked.  “What?  Do you think I did the wrong thing?”
We were in David’s dorm room.  He was reclined on his bed, while I bounced a rubber ball absentmindedly against the floor.  David sighed.  “No Jon, not really.  I mean if you hate the FJC, no point in continuing it right?”
I scooped up the ball in mid air and shook it in my hand to demonstrate my agreement.  “Right!”
“Besides, the FJCs are just part of the institutional power structure anyway.”  I continued bouncing my ball, not entirely sure what he meant by that second point.  “The thing I don’t get Jon, is why you have to be such a jerk to your dad about it.  I mean, couldn’t you have told him without shouting at him?”
I closed my eyes briefly in frustration.  There were some things David just didn’t understand.  “David you can’t reason with the man.  He won’t listen.  He thinks he’s right and that’s all there is too it.”
David raised his eyebrows to show he had heard me, but I could tell he still didn’t get it.  “Well you still don’t have to shout at him.”
“No, Dave you don’t get it,” I said in an irritated voice.  “The man is so frustrating to talk to, it’s hard not to yell at him.”  His blank face showed me he had no comparable experience.  Everything must go picture perfect at David’s house I guess.  “Forget it Dave.  Nevermind, just forget it.  What are you up to tonight?”
“Oh, I’ve got another one of these meeting things.”
I stood up and paced around the room, bouncing the ball of off the walls now.  “Dave I hardly see you anymore.  You’re always at these meetings.  I have to hang out with Icarus all the time because you’re never around.”
“Well up until a couple weeks ago you didn’t have the time anyway, right?”
“I’ve got time now.”
 “Maybe now that you’re out of FJC, you could come to one of these meetings.”
“Why would I want to go to a church youth group meeting?”
“You’ll find out when you get there.”
“No, forget it.  Dave that’s the last thing I want to do.”
“Just come once Jon, you’ll be glad you did.  Ask Icarus,” David continued.  “He’s been there a couple times.”
“You got Icarus to sit still for a meeting?” I said in amazement.
“He doesn’t come all the time, but he’s as dedicated as I am,” David said.  “Just think about it Jon.”
“Okay.”
“No, I mean really think about it Jon.  I think you might fit in pretty well.”

The very ringing of the school bell filled me with nostalgia.  No, wait, that is much too kind of a word.  The school bell certainly did not bring back any pleasant memories for me, but it brought back a feeling.  I remembered what it was like to sit in those desks and walk those hallways, and long for the day to be done so I could end my daily captivity.  All of that was re-injected into me with the ringing of that bell.
And just as I remembered it, school children poured out into the hallways.  Somehow I didn’t feel awkward or out of place here, like I thought I would.  As soon as I walked into my old school, it was as if I never left.  Kids jostled each other in the hallways in what seemed like a race to grab their books and be the first one out in the sunshine.
I made my way through the crowd, not really sure in which direction I wanted to go, but knowing I just kind of pushing my way through the crowd anyway.  I might have come all this way and not even seen him.  These hallways were so crowded and so many kids flowed through them.  It was just luck I guess that I saw him off in the distance.
“Abel,” I called out as I aggressively pushed my way through the crowd towards him.  “Abel!  Hey!”
He was fifteen now, and the age difference between us that once seemed like an incredible gap seemed to me to be closing fast.  He was surrounded by a bunch of kids, his friends I assumed, who all had a certain look to them.  They were all dressed like they were trying to prove something, I’m not sure what.  I know my description of fashion will be lost on those overseas, but these kids were deliberately dressing against the status quo.  “Hey Abel, you know that idiot?” one of them asked in a voice that indicated he knew I could hear him and he didn’t care.
“I’ll catch up to you guys,” Abel said.  “Give me two minutes.”  A couple of them exchanged elaborate handshakes with Abel before leaving for the inviting sun.  “What’s up Jon?” Abel asked.
I shrugged my shoulders.  “Oh, not much.  I’m just dropping by to visit I guess.  Boy, this place hasn’t changed a bit since I’ve been here.”  I looked around as I said that, trying to confirm if my own words were true.  As far as I could tell, everything was exactly the same as when I was a student at this school.  “So how was school?”
“Good.”
“Learning anything interesting?”
“Not really.  Listen, Jon, I told those guys I’d catch up to them soon.  Does this have a point?”
“Well, no not really I guess.  I just wanted to see how you were doing.  Hey, do you want to get together sometime, maybe?”
“And?”
“I don’t know.  Just talk maybe.  I’ll buy you some food, we can go to a restaurant or something.  You can pick it.”
Abel had been looking at the ground while I was talking to him.  He looked up at me when I was finished.  “Yeah, the thing is I’m real busy lately.”
“Well I’m flexible.  Anytime this week?”
“No I’m busy this week.”
“What about next week?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“What are you so busy doing?”
“I don’t know.  Hanging out with friends.  Schoolwork.  Stuff like that.”
“Okay, well if I come back next week, could you leave a time open for me?”
He was constantly avoiding my eyes.  He was looking down, at his books, out the window, everywhere but at me.  By this time the crowd around us had all but disappeared.  Hundreds of happy kids were now enjoying the outdoors.  “I don’t know,” he said annoyed.  “Maybe.  I don’t want to guarantee anything.  I hang out with my friends a lot.”  There was silence between us briefly, then he turned to go.  “I’ve got catch up to those guys Jon.”
“Hold on a minute,” I said grabbing his arm.  “Dad says you’re getting into trouble at school.”
Abel’s eyes turned fierce.  “He told you that?”
“I just want to know what’s going on?” I said, surprised by the angry look I was now facing.
“I’ve all ready got a dad Jon,” Abel said, tugging to free himself from my grip.  “Let go of me.”
“Look, Abel I want to help you, if I can.”
He freed himself from my hand with a final tug.  “Forget it.  I’m sick of all you adults always prying into my business.  Why don’t you guys just all leave me alone?  I’ll handle it with my friends.”  There must have been a shocked expression on my face, because he was somewhat apologetic afterwards.  “I’m sorry Jon, I’m just so sick of all of you adults.  I’ve got to go, those guys aren’t going to wait long.”  He turned and rushed for the door, yelling to see if his friends were still within earshot.
I was left shocked.  I was an adult?  I was twenty-one, how did I get classified as an adult?  I was with him.  I was struggling against all of the adults.  I suppose this is what I get for spending as little time as I could at home for the past two years.  I had lost any bond I had with Abel.  We were almost like strangers to each other.  But it was never him I was trying to avoid.  It was my father, I never minded Abel.  Abel had almost been like a non-entity to me.  He was neither an enemy nor an ally, just this little kid who was always there.  And now this little kid was suddenly fighting his own war, and was going to fight it independent of me.

I turned the corner one day and there she was.  Clio was right in front of me, and all I had the presence of mind to do was mumble some hello, and she looked at me strangely and before I knew it she was walking down the hall the other way.  It all happened so quickly, and then I realized I had lost an opportunity.
I hadn’t seen her since that day I talked to her in the cafeteria.  Ever since then I had wondered when I would see her again.  I had looked around for her at every time I went in the cafeteria.  I had my eye out for her constantly.  I kept telling myself I had blown it the first time, but the next time I saw her I would find out where she lived or how to contact her or maybe even ask her out on a date or something.  And then all of a sudden she was in front of me and I fumbled my speech and before I realized what was happening she had gone.  Opportunity blown.
Part of my mind tried to console the other half.  “Oh well, it was bad timing.  You’ll probably run into her again sometime.  And, next time you run into her, then you’ll be smooth.  Then you’ll be able to do all those things you planned on doing and next time you’ll say all the right things and not look like such an idiot.”  Of course it was a lie.  Somehow I always managed to look like an idiot.  I might as well look like an idiot now then look like an idiot later.  I turned around and went down the hallway after Clio.
She had disappeared in the crowd somewhat, but I had seen what direction she was going in, so I just kept going at a steady pace, weaving in and out of people.  It was in the middle of the afternoon.  I had just gotten out of class.  Under my arm I held two beat up books, a bunch of papers that I really should organize sometime and put away all in folders before I loose them, but probably never would get around to, and a pen that went dry two days ago, but I still carry around with me because I keep forgetting to buy a new one.  It’s hard to take notes with a dry pen, but I can always borrow someone else’s notes later.
The look she had given me was kind of disturbing too.  It’s probably better not to overanalyze these things, but it was almost as if she didn’t recognize me or something.  I attempted to speed up even more.  A couple people flashed me annoyed faces as I pushed my way past them.
Finally I saw her.  I quickened my pace even more so I could catch up and tapped her lightly on the shoulder.  She was so surprised she gave a short little jump and stopped walking.
“It’s okay Clio.  It’s only me,” I explained.  She started walking again.
“Oh, hey,” she said.  I immediately noticed she didn’t address me by name.  She probably forgot what my name was.  She appeared to recognize me though.  Her eyes danced around my face casually like I was a familiar site.
“Where are you heading?” I asked.
“To my next class.”
“What class is that?”
“Art.  Where are you going?”
“Oh, I just got out of class.  I was going to get some food or something.  I’d invite you with me but-“
“But I’m going to class.”
I smiled.  “Right.  Hey, don’t forget that I’m still interested in seeing some of your work.”
“You mean my brother’s stuff?”
“Right.  Or your brothers I guess.”
“Okay, well, when works good for you?”
“When works good for you?  I’ve got an extremely flexible schedule.”  At least I did now.
“How does tomorrow work?”
“Fine.  Where’s your brothers dorm room at?”
“Down at North Hall.  He’s in room 246.”
“Okay, I’ll show up around eight then.  Is that cool?”
“Yeah.  Whatever time works good for you.”
“That works good for me.”
“Okay, well I see you tomorrow then I guess.”
“Hey Jon,” someone yelled out at me.
“Hey Peter,” I yelled back as Peter rushed by on his way to class.  Perfect timing though.  Now she knows my name again.

I had a lot on my mind that night as I lay still in bed.  Sometimes, going to bed was my least favorite part of the day.
It wasn’t always like this, the bed thing I mean.  Growing up I had tried every excuse in the world to get my father to let me stay up late.  Often, I just wanted to stay up late for no other reason than the fact that I wasn’t supposed too.  As soon as my head hit the pillow though, I was usually out cold
And certainly this was true all through the FJC period.  My body was so exhausted I couldn’t wait to contact the soft mattress and forge about everything as my mind zoomed off into the unconscious.
And now?  Now I had too much on my mind.  My father, and the look on his face tormented me at night.  During the day I was too busy doing other things, and I could push that thought as far back in my brain as it would go.  At night there were no distractions, and the images haunted me.
It wasn’t a hurt look that he gave me in the moments before I left.  That I could have dealt with.  That was something I would have expected.  What I saw in his eyes instead was pure hatred.  My own father hated me.  What a thought to try and sleep with.
To be fair though, it wasn’t just thoughts like that.  Sometimes I was kept away by thoughts of joy.  Sometimes booth.  Admittedly it was an odd combination, but I think every one of my readers can identify with this.  At various points we’ve all had this strange combination invade our thoughts.
Thoughts of joy were at first largely just because FJC was finally over.  I lay awake unable to sleep with the excitement that my life was again my own.  Each new day was an exciting possibility, and I couldn’t sleep because I was too busy thinking about the morning.
And tonight, there was the thought of Clio to keep me awake, and the date …  Well, sort of a date I guess … Anyway, whatever it was, it happens tomorrow.  She was such a strange girl, unlike any other I had met.  And she confused me so much.  I think that’s what intrigued me.  I wasn’t even sure if I was romantically attracted to her, although I wasn’t adverse to romantic possibilities.  I was interested though, interested in finding out what made her tick.
It was a restless night.  I tossed and turned and just couldn’t seem to lie still in bed, let alone fall asleep.  Eventually though, sleep grudgingly surrendered herself to me.
I don’t think I ever achieved a very sound sleep.  I might have, I’m not sure.  The only parts of that night I remember are the tossing and turning parts, but then again if I had been sleeping soundly, I don’t think I would have remembered it.  I remember little fragments of my dreams from that night.  Mostly just images.  The Narratives I have long forgotten.  As usual, my dreams seemed to have nothing to do with what was going on in my life at the time.  It was like my mind always needed an escape from reality.  Other people have dreams or nightmares about people in their life or crisises they are facing, but not me.  Never me.  Most of the time I’m not even myself in my dreams.  Weird, huh?
And what images do I remember from my dreams that night?  It’s really not important.  In fact, it couldn’t have less to do with my story, or the events I’m about to recall.  But, as long as I brought it up, I suppose there’s no sense in keeping you in suspense reader.  I remember fields of grass.  Fields like I don’t think I’ve ever seen before.  Grass just goes on and on in every direction until it disappears into the horizon.  Nice, inviting, soft, green grass, but that’s it.  There’s no buildings in sight to ruin it.  No sign of human presence.  Well, I suppose someone must have been there though, to trim the grass.  It was very nicely trimmed.  And someone must have been there to pull the weeds too.  There were no weeds anywhere, just nice green grass.  And no trees or bushes or animals or anything lick that either.  Kind of strange I suppose, although for some reason it didn’t seem that way in my dream.  The ground wasn’t completely flat.  It rose and fell slightly as my eyes scanned over it.  No big hills, just little ones.  Just enough to keep things interesting, nothing more.  And that’s all I remember.  There was more to the dream, a whole story or something, but this image is all that’s left.
But I should return to the story at hand.  In the course of the night, probably somewhere between five and six in the morning, I was awakened by a loud thud in the hallway, followed by at first loud swearing, and then muffled swearing.  I was instantly awake.
I had been expecting this.  I hoped it wouldn’t happen, but I had expected it.  You see, no one can quit FJC.  Those were the rules, and the Duke could make any rules he wanted to.  Once you signed up, you did your four years or else.
Or else what?  Well, that part really never came up all that often.  Most people were smart enough to just shut up, bear it, and finish out their term.  The law on the books was that technically anyone who quits could just finish up their term in jail.  I knew they’d never do that to me though.  I was too well connected.
That didn’t mean they couldn’t harass me, however.  Zeus was no doubt daily fuming that I was not showing up to FJC sessions and getting away with it.  In fact, I’m surprised he waited this long before he subtly mentioned to a couple of cadets that if they wanted to go knock a little sense into me…well he wouldn’t technically approve of course but he might just overlook the fact that they weren’t on time to the FJC session.  And so, early in the morning, while I still slept, they had sought to catch me in my bed and pound me.
The other cadets were angry at me too.  Most of them had joined FJC out of their own free will, and so ate up all this nonsense about how everyone in FJC is responsible for every other one.  (We heard that line over and over again in FJC).  How could I turn my back on that brotherhood?  Others were probably just annoyed that I had gotten away with quitting and that they didn’t have the luxury.
At any rate, it was a problem I had anticipated.  I had constructed a little trip wire in the hallway so that I could hear them coming.  They approached while it was still dark out, and the hallway was poorly lit.   One of them must have fallen right on his face.  (It wasn’t always the brightest guys who joined FJC).
I lay awake in bed as my heart rate kicked into a frenzy.  I tried to think in spite of the loud beating that my heart made.  They would be at my door soon.  How many of them were there?  It was hard to tell.  I could hear very faint footsteps in the hall, however, now that my ear was attuned to it.
In the remaining seconds before they reached my room, I leapt up from my bed and stood in the corner by my door.  It was perfect.  As the door opened inward into my room, it hid me behind it.  All I had to do was wait until those goons went right past me and into the room.  Then, I could slip out from behind the door and into the hallway while they all had their backs to me.  It was beautiful.
Unfortunately, they were not as dumb as I thought.  When they opened the door, only one of them came.  Through the small space where the door was hinged to the wall I could see another two.  Ajax and Matthew, I recognized them both at once.  The one that was inside, Titus, had only just stepped into the room so that he was directly on the other side of the door.  I struggled to calm my nervous breathing, so as not to give myself away.
“Do you see him?”
“No.  Lower your voice jack-ass.”
“Maybe he’s not in there.”
“I can’t even see.  It’s so dark in there.”
“Well go in then.”
“No way man.  You first.”
“Is he even in there?”
“Hey, check behind the door,” Ajax finally said.  It was possibly the smartest thing he had said all year.
Well, I had to do something.  I drew my up to waste level, and then uncoiled it, kicking the door as hard as I could.  The door slammed into Titus, and he staggered backwards.  His hands were up by his nose, which had been hit square on by the door.  He must have been looking at the door right before I kicked it.
Instantly I was out from my hiding place and my fists were flying.  I hit both Matthew and Ajax, and I was able to force my way past them.  They were caught off guard, so I could easily muscle through them.
While they were still reeling from the blows I had dealt to them, I took off running down the hall.  It was a tremendous feeling, as my nervousness and fear mixed with excitement and confidence.  The rush that I had from grabbing the Strate’s had came flooding back to me.  I was fourteen all over again and I was running from the Strates.  It was the greatest feeling in the world.
Our dorm had three floors, with stairs at both ends of the hall.  My room was on the second floor).  When I got to the stairwell, I could have run down the stairs and out of the dorm and possibly have outrun my pursuers.  Instead, I chose to run up the stairs, knowing full well that would only mean they would trap me again.  I was in the mood for a fight.
By the time I made it to the third floor I could hear two of them scrambling on the stairs below me.  Titus must have gone up the other flight of stairs so that he could come at me from the other side.
A few doors opened and dreary eyed occupants peaked their heads out to see what all the noise was about.  I actually knew very few people in the dorms.  I had spent so much time at FJC I didn’t have time to meet many people.  Some of them were able to tell at a glance what was happening and just shut their doors to return to sleep.  A few watched with interest, hoping to see a fight.  They would not be disappointed.
I ran down the hall with Matthew and Ajax still close at my heels.  Titus, sure enough, was approaching from the other way.  There were two streams of partially dried blood emerging from his nostrils.  He must have been furious with me.
Once I saw Titus I charged towards him, figuring I had a better chance against him then against the two in back of me.  He readied himself for my approach.
I raised my right hand and sought to strike him with it.  He blocked my blow and with his free hand he reached right for my throat.  I leaned back to avoid his grasp.  My left hand struck him in the nose, which I figured was a tender spot.  He winced in pain but instead of backing away from me he just grabbed on to my clothes, giving up on getting a hold of my throat.  He knew that he only had to hold me until the others got there.
I slammed him against the wall and worked frantically to get his hands off of me.  He only tightened them in determination.  Of course when I began striking his face he had to let me loose in order to defend himself.  I bolted from him.
By this time Matthew and Ajax were upon us.  Before I could run very far Matthew grabbed onto the back of my shirt.  It was not a wise move, and I think purely instinctive on his part, because I immediately whirled around and struck him with all the force I had.  While he was still in shock I pushed him into the charging Ajax, causing them both to stumble.  I ran down the stairs.

Once I was out of the dorm, they really had no chance of finding me, although I’m sure they tried.  I had escaped both, loosing only my sleep.  To go back to bed after my adrenaline was this high was impossible.
I had won, but it was a bittersweet victory.  My sleep would never be safe again.  This was only the beginning in a battle that would not soon be over.
I was both surprised and relieved that Orion was not with them.  I was surprised because I didn’t think that he would miss a chance to pound me.  Again, I’m not quite sure why he seemed to relish making my life miserable, but if there was one thing I had learned over the years it was that he relished it fully.  Zeus was probably smart enough not to grant Orion permission to miss the session.  Zeus knew Orion might well go overboard if he was sent after me.
Before too long the school day started up, and I was back in class again.  My thoughts drifted back to Clio.  I was a little nervous about the whole thing.  I’m not sixteen anymore.  I like to think that I can talk to girls without being nervous.  I still get nervous in spite of myself though.  And it was an awkward set up to begin with.  I don’t know why she was so insistent on showing me her brother’s art.  Why would I have any interest in that?  It’s her art I keep talking about.  What is more I have never even met her brother.  I would be nervous enough around her without meeting some other new guy for the first time.  And when to show up?  I mean, I certainly don’t want to get to her brother’s room before she does.  Her brother doesn’t even know who I am.  And yet I didn’t want to be late.
I compromised with myself by showing up fifteen minutes late.  She was waiting for me at the door, and I apologized and made up something about how I had trouble finding the dorm.  She looked like she had dressed up some for the occasion.  She had on a black dress, and I think a hint of make up.  (Although reader I must confess now that I still have a hard time telling if a girl is wearing make up or not).
She was talking excitedly as I entered the room.  “I’m so glad you could make it.  I was worried you wouldn’t be able to show up.  I guess this room is kind of hard to find, isn’t it?  I never even realized that because I come here all the time, so I forget how hard it would be for someone who wasn’t used to it.”  Her brother was sitting behind his desk, hit at first by the shelves on his desk, which were filled with all sorts of books with tittles I had never seen before.  She led me around to him and introduced me.  “This is Orpheus, my brother.  Orpheus, this is Jon.”
Orpheus certainly looked like an interesting character.  He was a little on the short side; his head probably came up to my shoulder.  He was skinny too.  He wasn’t a twig or anything, not as bad as I remember Clodius being when we were younger.  His arms were thin and unmuscular though.  He had eyeglasses that rested on his nose, perfectly round lenses surrounded by very thin copper colored wire.  Too look at it, one would be surprised the wire even stayed in place at all.  I expected it too fall apart any minute.  He had thick black hair, which he kept reasonably short, but that still went in all directions.  The hair covered his forehead in a mass of black, but was short enough so that it didn’t get down into his eyes.
Upon being introduced, I stuck out my hand, eager to make a good impression.  He looked at it awkwardly for a second, then stuck out his hand in reply.  I wanted to shake hands firmly, but I almost felt like I was crushing his hand beneath mine.  His grip was so soft and weak.
“So how do you like the University?” I said, searching for a way to make conversation.
He grinned.  “It’s not bad so far.  A lot of my classes are pretty interesting.  You are what, in your second year now?”
“Third.”
“Third?  Wow.  You’re an old man, huh?”
Was I?  I knew he was joking but the question still made me uncomfortable.  “Yeah, I guess,” I said, forcing a smile back.
“So what do you think of the room,” Clio asked.
I had been so focused on meeting Clio and Orpheus that I hadn’t really taken time to look around me.  I tilted my head back and looked at the walls.
“I should explain,” Orpheus quickly interjected, “that my room mate and I have divided our room in half.”
“What?”
“The room is in two halves.  All of his stuff stays on that side, and all of my stuff stays on this side.”  The desks and bookshelves were set up right through the middle of the room, acting as a kind of barricade between two equal halves.   The side Orpheus sat in was closest to the door.  A very small pathway existed between the barricade and the wall, which opened up into the other side, the side that had windows in it.
“Try and guess whose side is whose,” Clio said, laughing at her brother.  I peaked my head around the barricade and looked at the other half.  It was immaculately clean.  I squeezed my way through the pathway and walked around.  My hand brushed along the desk.  There was absolutely no dust on it.  My hand reached up to the top of the windowsill.  That was perfectly clean as well.  The windows sparkled.  The floor was completely empty.  If any books or clothes were owned by this occupant, they were all put away.  The surface of the desk (which was part of the barricade, but faced in towards that half of the room) was barren.  I opened one of the drawers slightly, and there were all of the kid’s possessions.  Books, pens, papers, folders, they were all there, but all neatly organized and nicely stacked.
I shut the drawer and walked back to the pathway, feeling almost guilty for walking on so clean a surface.  I squeezed my way back through the pathway, and met Orpheus and Clio were there waiting for me.  “So what did you think,” Orpheus asked.
I didn’t answer right away, taking a minute instead to look over the second half of the room.  Scattered clothes and even some books lay spread across the floor.  Paintbrushes were scattered across the room.  One brush lay on a shelf with paint still on it, and a couple drops were on the desk below directly under the brush.  Little jars of paint, with dried paint caked around the outside, were also everywhere around the room.  More interesting though was the artwork scattered around the room.  Not all of it was painted, some of it looked like it had been done with a pen or pencil.  The work hung from the walls, or lay on the floor.  One piece just had a corner sticking out of a drawer, as if it was trying to escape being shut up in the darkness.  “This is your half I take it,” I said to Orpheus.  The answer was so obvious the question didn’t even really need to be asked.  He simply nodded in response.  “This certainly is an interesting set up you guys have here, isn’t it?”
He smiled.  “You like it?”
“I guess.”
“My roommate did it one day when I was away.  He never even asked me about it.  I just got back and the room was divided into two halves: his and mine.  We have sort of an agreement I guess that my stuff will never touch his side of the room.”
“Wow.”
“Well we never actually talked about it, but I think it was kind of assumed.”
“So you two are real close as roommates then.”
He shrugged.  “I never met the guy in my life before I came here.  We were just assigned to each other by the University.  He’s an okay guy and stuff.  I mean, I don’t mind him.  We stay out of each other’s way pretty well.  I don’t think I would ever be good friends or anything with him though.”
“What’s his name?” I asked, on the outside chance that I might know him.
“Dagon.”
I shook my head.  “Never heard of him.”
“It’s a big University,” Clio piped in.
“So how do you like this set up?”  I asked.
“Actually I don’t mind it at all.  I was pretty upset that he did it without even asking me, but once I got used to it, it was kind of nice.  I can just do what ever I want to with my side and I don’t have to worry about upsetting him.”
“Does he upset easily?”
Orpheus leaned back in his chair, twirling his pencil around in his hand.  “Yeah, kind of I guess.  I think what really upset him was just having me as a roommate.”
“He probably wanted someone a little bit more normal,” Clio said.
“Hey!” Orpheus said, pretending to be upset, and Clio playfully hugged her brother to show she was only kidding.  “Actually that’s probably true,” said Orpheus after a minute of thought.  “I think he expected to get a roommate who was just like he was: Popular and outgoing and into sports and all of that stuff.  Instead he got me.”
“Are you that bad?” I asked, smiling to let him know I was kidding.
Orpheus didn’t take it as a joking question though.  “I don’t think I’m that bad.  I’m not what he expected though.  It’s amazing how sometimes people expect you too be just like everyone else.”
Clio became animated at this point.  “Oh it’s terrible.  Everybody is like that too.  If you don’t dress a certain way or you don’t say the right things at the right time, people are so quick to judge you.”
I sat down kind of awkwardly on the edge of the desk.  Orpheus was sitting on the only chair.  Clio, seeing she was the only one standing, sat cross-legged on the floor next to Orpheus.  I must have had a confused look on my face or something, because Orpheus came with a follow up question.  “Well, you’ve noticed that I’m sure, haven’t you Jon?”
I thought back over my experiences in school.  I had never been the most popular kid, but I had always considered myself accepted.  I always felt like I was on the inside of things, that I had a lot of good friends, and that people for the most part respected me.  I began to wonder though how different things must be for Orpheus.  He was a skinny, unathletic kid who probably preferred sitting down and painting to socializing.  He had probably had a much harder time of it then I had in school.  Clio too, probably, for that matter.  “Yeah, I’ve noticed it a little bit.”
“So anyway, Dagon set up the room like this and now he doesn’t have to deal with me anymore.  He doesn’t even bring his friends over to our room.  Ever.  I’m pretty sure it’s just because he is embarrassed by me.”
“Sounds like a real jerk,” I commented.
“So what are you studying here?” Orpheus asked me.
“I’m in Geography right now.  I’m not sure how much I like it though.  I might not stay with it.”
“So what would you do instead?”
“I don’t know.”
“It’s your third year.  Isn’t it a little late to change what you want to study?”
“That’s what everyone keeps telling me.”  He laughed slightly at this, and then I continued.  “Actually it’s not that bad.  All it means is another year or two at the University.”
Orpheus raised his eyebrows.  “Well if you’ve got the money to pay for it then.”
I decided to change the subject away from me.  “What about you?  What are you going into?”
“I’m studying art,” he said.
Clio, deciding that his explanation was insufficient, spoke up.  “He’s really amazing.  All the art professors here think he’s so good.  He has already been allowed to skip all the introductory courses.  They put him right in the advanced ones.”
Orpheus’ face reddened slightly at this praise, but instead of telling his sister to shut up he continued it.  “The head of the art department is personally tutoring me,” he said.  “He doesn’t usually tutor students, but he was so impressed by my work he decided to take me under his wing.”
“He’s already won all sorts of awards,” Clio eagerly interjected.  It seemed she couldn’t praise her brother enough.
“Well can I see some of these paintings?” I asked, my curiosity aroused.
Orpheus sat up in his chair, flattered by the interest.  “Yeah, sure.  Well a lot of them are just lying around the room.”  This was true enough.  The walls were covered with his work.  As I looked around, though, I saw nothing that I could understand.  Most of the “paintings” looked to be just paint splashed across the paper.  I could have done that.  The drawings were random lines or shapes on a piece of paper that didn’t seem to have any relation to each other.  None of these art pieces made any sense.
Clio stood up by my side.  “There wonderful, aren’t they?  Look at that one.  Or that one.”  She pointed at a couple of different paintings, but I really didn’t understand them.
I mumbled something like, “they’re all very nice,” and Clio looked up at me.  She probably couldn’t understand me through my mumbling, because she had a confused look on her face.  She carefully examined me and then let it go, returning her attention to the drawings.
“What do you think?” Orpheus asked me.
“They’re amazing,” I said, not daring to question his genius.
“These aren’t really anything,” he said.  “They’re just little projects I do.  Stuff to pass the time.  Nothing here I’ve spent a lot of energy on.”
“Show him the other stuff,” Clio eagerly said.
“Would you like to see it?” Orpheus asked me.
“Of course,” I said, doing my best to show reverence to this great artist.  I hoped that these would make more sense to me.
He moved to a portfolio that was leaned against the wall, and with great reverence took out a painting.  He handled it very carefully, not wanting to bend it even slightly, and being careful to avoid touching his fingers to the front of it.  He held it out for me to see, but holding it so delicately as if it would crumble any minute.  I was afraid to breath in the same direction as the thing, and stopped breathing for a few seconds without realizing it.
But my hopes of seeing something I understood were quickly dashed.  It was just another piece of paper with paint splattered across it for no apparent reason.  It was very colorful and had a wide variety of paint in it, but it didn’t make any sense to me.  I could have splashed paint on paper.  How did this require talent?
“This is one of my favorite pieces,” Orpheus said.
“He won an award for it,” Clio chimed in.  “First place in our school art contest.”
“It’s beautiful,” I said.  I really didn’t see how this piece was any different then the ones hanging on the wall, however.  It looked like it was exactly the same idea.
Orpheus replaced it with equal ceremony, and removed another one just as carefully.  “This is another one I really like.”
“Amazing,” I intoned in a breathless voice, as if the beauty of the painting had almost taken away my ability to speak.
Orpheus was obviously pleased with my reaction.  “You ought to come by again Jon.  I have lots of other things I can show you.”  Clio gripped my arm proudly.  She had brought over a boy her brother approved of.
A knock on the door attracted every one’s attention, and Orpheus yelled out, “Come in.”  The door opened very slowly.  It seemed as if the person behind it was afraid to disturb us.  “Come in, Eurydice,” Orpheus said.  “You’re right on time.”
A small girl entered.  She had long blonde hair, and glasses not all that dissimilar to those worn by Orpheus.  She was pale and fragile looking and her clothes were rather plain.  She had on brown pants and a white shirt, both of them looked dirty.  She looked at the floor as she walked in, then her eyes flashed nervously up at us.  “Jon, this is Eurydice,” Orpheus said.
I nodded.  “Pleased to meet you.”  Automatically, I extended my hand to shake again, forgetting my experience with Orpheus.  Eurydice immediately placed her hand in mine, and I was careful not to shake too hard.
Orpheus was already putting on his jacket.  “Well, I think we’re going to take off,” he said, as he came towards the girl and put his arm around her.  “You guys have a fun night okay?  Lock the door when you leave.”  He slipped out the door with this girl before I had even been introduced to her.
“That’s his girlfriend,” Clio mentioned to me.
“Yeah I figured,” I said.  “Well, what next?”  She looked confused by the question, and just shrugged her shoulders.  “Do you want to get some coffee?”
“Okay.”
“Come on, I think I know a fun place.”