Chapter 8
“Oh, I’m not looking for a girl. I already have one.” Seneca said simply.
“Do you think she’s single?” Alex asked Ashton.
Seneca flopped back in his pillows, happy that class was over for the day. The sun was setting and he just wanted to tell Gloria about everything that he’s had to go through today. He’d met Yuzuki and Delia, and the other housemate he hadn’t gotten the name of.
But he couldn’t call Gloria. She was busy at her fellowship and they had a strict unplugging rule for the weekdays. Seneca liked to think that Gloria would break the rules for him and talk to him if he called, but he didn’t want to get her in trouble. What if she got extra duties because she used a screen?
What if she was having too much fun to miss him?
Who else could he call? He thought of Henry, how he’d listen and give solid advice every time followed by either a rigorous jog or a good meal. Was there anyone else he could talk to?
As if by divine intervention, his phone buzzed. A new notification of a text message. Seneca looked at the name, and a fuzzy image showed in his mind. “Ethan?”” he asked himself. “I remember an Ethan… from grade school? Why is he texting me?”
The phone then started to ring. “No no no no no! What is he doing? Why is he calling?” Seneca held the phone away from him like a stinky baby for a moment, then decided he should answer. It had been years since he’d heard from Ethan.
“Yo! Bro! It’s me, Ethan!” he shouted from the other end. Seneca held the phone away from his ear, lowering the volume.
“Hey, Ethan. What’s up?”
“I heard you went to college! I wanted to make sure you were settling in ok, it can be lonely! How’re you doin, ma man?” Ethan asked boisterously.
“I’m… doing fine. It was my first day at class today.” Seneca said guardedly.
“First day?! Did anyone treat you like the new kid? Special that you’re the president's kid?”
“Nah, We’re all new. And you know I never liked the public life, so most people don’t know who I am. The teachers thus far have been doing a good job and not broadcasting that I’m the son of the president.”
“Bummer, I bet you could score some real chicks if they knew.” Ethan said.
“Oh, I’m not looking for a girl. I already have one.” Seneca said simply.
“You got a girl? When did that happen?” Ethan asked, sounding enthralled.
“About 2 years ago. We-”
“Hey guys, Sen got a girlfriend!” Ethan cut him off, shouting to an unheard group. “Sorry man, you were saying?”
“We met and it was really… nice. It was nice. I felt like I'd known her forever, you know?”
“I wish man, I have to keep one around longer than one night.” he said, laughing. “You know what I mean. Hey, have you spoken to Velma lately? She’s in town. She’s been asking about you, if you know what I mean.”
Seneca could practically see the eyebrow wagging. “Velma and I broke up years ago, even before I was engaged to Krista.”
“Dude, you were engaged?!” Ethan shouted into the receiver. “Why didn’t you tell anybody?!”
Seneca tried to calm his nerves. Speaking to old friends wasn’t always easy, and this was one of those times. “Mom thought it would be a good idea for me to get engaged to Krista to strengthen our families’ bond. But it didn’t work out between us and I met Gloria.”
“Gloria? I’ve never heard of her. What’s her last name?”
“Dude, what are you going to dox her or something? It’s not important.”
“Like I’m that smart. I was just going to look her up and see what she looks like. No biggie.”
“Is there a reason you’re calling?” Seneca cut to the chase.
Ethan sounded fake hurt. “I just wanted to see how my man’s holding out, meeting anyone interesting.”
“I’m doing fine, thankyou for asking. I’ll keep in touch.” Seneca said, hanging up. It was rude, he knew, but he was tired, and Ethan and his friends were a part of his life he didn’t associate with anymore. They wouldn’t understand him, or his quiet, peaceful life outside of the parties and the tabloids. It was bad enough that his mother had a hand in his life now, he didn’t need all of the old cronies showing up now too.
~*~
Dinner had been delicious, and Gloria had wanted to keep eating, but she knew that her stomach would hurt if she ate too much more. The conversation had been bridged by Miranda and Timothy, bringing up things about each person to try and rope people into the conversation. Maria was here studying herbs for brewing and canning, Ashton was studying to be a nutritionist, and Aquila wanted to learn the most about plants so she could practice her magic. Gloria had been surprised to find out there were other spellcasters here than herself. Miranda hinted at there being others, but no one came forward. She’d just have to figure it out in time, then.
Trudging up to her room, Gloria was full of food, and she was tired. She’d sat in a car for hours, driven on bumpy country roads- She just hoped that the beds would be comfortable and didn’t smell like disinfectant.
Kicking off her shoes, she closed the curtains for a few moments while she changed into her pajamas. The room was stark. The walls were bare and empty like fresh pages of paper, and they felt as unfamiliar as a new genre of music.
“It needs art work,” Aquila said, making Gloria shriek. She was sitting on her bed, in her own pajamas.
“How did you get in here without using the door?!” Gloria said as her heart raced, trying to calm herself down.
“I teleported in. You know how to teleport, right? I’m just really quiet about it.” she said, shrugging.
“You can’t do that. You can never do that,” Gloria gasped.
Aquila looked like she was trying very, very hard not to smile. “You, um, you should have seen your face though. I’ve never gotten anyone so good before.”
“No really?” she said, laying back on her bed, only to jump again when someone pounded on the door.
“Is everything ok?!” asked Arhun through the door.
“We’re fine! Just a prank!” Aquila shouted.
“She nearly scared me to death!” Shouted Gloria.
“...Ok…” Aruhn said, sounding confused. The floor creaked and he went back to his room.
“I promise to not do that to you again and I’ll use the room for coming in,” Aquila made a cross over her heart with her index finger. “You have my word.”
“I’m going to hit you if you do that again. I should hit you for doing it in the first place,”Gloria grumbled.
Aquila stood from her bed and extended her hand. “We met in the living room, but I’m Aquilla. I like plants.”
“I like to grow things,” Gloria said, shaking her hand. “I’m Gloria Reed. Nice to meet you.”
Aquila sat back down on her bed. “So, Gloria, what’s your story?”
~*~
Alec tried to read the same page over and over, but he couldn’t think straight. He finally set the book down, and looked up at the familiar ceiling. “Do you think she’s single?” he asked Ashton.
“Which ‘she’ are we talking about?” Ahston asked, arching his eyebrow but still reading his sci fi book. He never seemed to run out of those.
“Gloria,”
“I- I get the feeling she isn’t. But I’m a horrible judge of these things.”
“I- have you ever met someone who feels magnetic?” Alex asked.
“We both have kids, I think we both do.” he said.
“It’s not like that, it’s something different.” Alex said, shaking his head. “I feel drawn. Like I’m being pulled.”
“That’s called a crush.” Ashton said.
“That doesn’t seem quite the right word for it…”
“You swore off women, didn’t you? You don’t want any more little Alex’s running around by accident, right? Forget about her. We’re only here a few months until the new year.”
“A few months can be a long time,” Alex muttered, crawling into bed and turning off his light.
^ One of the Behr sisters (I never learned her name. There are way too may townies to remember them all) threw petals at Gloria. She loved it!
^ Seneca didn't appreciate the gesture as much.
^ There were a few extra pictures that didn't fit into the scene, but I thought they were nice besides.
^ This picture sets the scene for Alex and Ashton's room, but it didn't work well with the sequence of events or face shots.
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