Chapter 13
“There’s a party tomorrow, everyone goes,” Kaoru leaned in Seneca’s doorway. “Are you going?”
“What’s the party for?” Seneca asked, reading at his desk.
“New alumni. I’m sure your mother would want you to go, meet new people.” he emphasized the word, making fun of it. He knew that Seneca and his mother had a tense relationship, and he empathized.
“I don’t need to meet new people,” Seneca turned a page.
“I’m pretty sure Deliah would love for you to go,” Kaoru said. He sighed, “I know you don’t particularly like her, but she’s got a big crush on you. And I can tell that you don’t think you need any friends. But it’ll make your time here better and more tolerable.”
Seneca leaned back in his chair, stretching. “The last good friend I had died, and the old friends I’ve torn myself away from have come back to haunt me. Something’s not right here, and I know it. I can smell it. I believe my mother intends to try and get me away from Gloria. To fall for someone else,” He hadn’t expected to be so open about what was on his mind, but with no one to talk to about it, it just bubbled out of him like a shaken soda.
Kaoru’s brow furrowed. “Why would you say that? Doesn’t your mom like Gloria?”
“She’s never been fond of Gloria. She thinks that Gloria is too unrefined for our family, and my father chose Gloria’s mom over mine. He divorced her- my mom- over it-” Kaoru’s eyes grew wide, “-that’s not the point. The point is that my mom would rather I date and love anyone else. She was distraught when I told her I wouldn’t be marrying Krista. She started trying to find other girls for me to marry, but I’ve only ever been in love with Gloria. There is no one else.” he said casually.
Seneca spun around in his chair. “And now that I’m forced to be away from Gloria and we’re hours apart, my mother thinks that I will forget about her and find someone else. Like my father did. So no, I don’t want to go to a party where my mother has undoubtedly planted spies, and dressed up girls with bright lipstick and short dresses. I’m not interested.”
Kaoru nodded, absorbing. “I can understand your predicament. I’ll try and snatch you some yummy food then. I’ll make your excuses. After all, your mother doesn’t control everyone,” He ducked out of the room, and Seneca tried to make the anxiety subside within him. If he went he’d be miserable, but if he stayed he’d be lonely. It would be Saturday, so he'd be able to talk to Gloria at least.
His phone buzzed, and he eyed it skeptically. Picking it up, he saw a text from his grammar teacher.
Your homework for next class is to read the first and second chapter
of your Rules For Writers book. Please fill out the form on the class model.
-Nora Ainsworth
Easy enough, he thought.
He set his phone back down. He bent down and rustled through his backpack for the book, and turned to the page. He heard voices walking down the steps and then he felt the house rattle as they pulled the front door closed. He sighed a sigh of relief; he’d have the house to himself.
But he was lonely, as had been the norm for the past few weeks.. He bent his head to read the page, but it didn’t grab his attention. Friday nights wore on too long and he just wanted it to be Saturday so he could talk to Gloria. See her face… Hear her voice… Tell her how everything was awful and cold and his mother was trying to meddle with something. He wanted to share his insecurities with her and have her laugh them away.
He suddenly felt heavy, like he didn’t have the energy to stand up from his chair and go to his bed. It was late enough- 6 pm- could that warrant going to sleep? I should talk to someone about my mental health… he thought.
He picked up his phone, his teacher’s text message still displayed on his screen. She was his academic advisor, maybe she would care? He didn’t feel like he needed an academic advisor, but everyone got one. His just happened to be his grammar teacher.
He waited for a minute before realizing she was probably way too busy to deal with him, she probably got so many texts from students about classwork, she wouldn’t have time for him. He’d just put his phone down on the desk when it buzzed, Mz. Ainsworth having replied.
What was he going to say? He was feeling lonely? He was knocking at depression’s door? He wanted to talk to his girlfriend but couldn’t because she was living on a farm that restricted electronic use?
Well, that’s one way to explain that. Very to the point, he thought.
He saw the little circles appear, showing that she was typing, then they’d appear again, and again, until his phone started to ring.
Seneca slid the circle to answer the phone, holding it up to his ear.
“I try to not be nosey about people, especially young students, but I’m going to need a bit more of an explanation on that.”
“Um,” Seneca’s mouth went dry. “My mom is the prime minister, and she doesn’t approve of my girlfriend and she’s trying to make it so that I break up with her and match with someone else?”
“Hmmm… “ she answered. “I- that’s-”
“Strange? Abnormal? Yep… And now my housemate has a crush on me, and my old friends I’ve removed myself from years ago have reintroduced themselves into my life and I just want to talk to my girlfriend but I can’t do that until tomorrow!” Seneca huffed.
Mz. Ainsworth was quiet for a moment. “Would you like some tea? We could go over curriculum or what makes for good editing in a book? You sound like you could use your mind taken off of things.”
Seneca thought for a moment, weighing his odds. He couldn’t see any downsides to going to see one of his teachers for tea and conversation, and he would be able to pass the time faster if he talked to someone.
“Uh, sure. I guess. Where should I meet you?” he asked.
“If you like, my apartment isn’t far from campus. Totally decent, I assure you.” Seneca blushed. “Otherwise we could meet at the library. Either one, the outcome will be the same. Just tea, old cookies, and books.”
Seneca felt his chest clench up. Her apartment? That wasn’t very professional, but then she wasn’t very professional. Seneca believed that nothing would happen, but wasn’t it a sign when a woman asked you back to her place that things were going to get physical? Not that he didn’t trust himself, but he’d had her class twice now, and he’d been half asleep for both classes. Still, he was half curious to find out what her apartment looked like.
“Um, I could come to your place, I guess. If that’s ok.” he said.
“Excellent! It’s been a while since I’ve had company. You’re not allergic to cats, are you?”
“No, I actually have my own, but she’s back home.” Seneca answered.
“Ok. I’ll text you the address and I’ll buzz you in when you get here.” she hung up, leaving Seneca wondering if this was a good idea. He wouldn’t be lonely, but he also didn’t want the chance of seeing his grammar teacher in lingerie if she turned out to be unhinged…
His phone dutifully buzzed and sure enough, her address was on his screen. Seneca still wasn’t used to the geography of the area, but he recognized the street name which he felt was quite the accomplishment. Look at me, learning to remember my surroundings, he joked with himself.
Seneca shoved his shoes on and walked down the two flights of stairs to the main floor. Everyone else had left to go to the bar or something. Had Yuzuki said something about a scrabble competition? She didn't look like much of a brainiac, and Seneca had to admit that he wasn't the best at Scrabble himself, but some people like that sort of thing.
He shrugged on his coat and walked out the door. It was only about 7 o'clock in the evening and a few knots of people walked along the streets on their way to their destinations. The library, an arcade, a bar, a café- there were lots of casual destinations around to choose from, and all perfectly fine for a midterm Friday night. And yet I'm going to my teacher's apartment...
The building had two front doors, one inside the other. He opened the first, and scanned the list of people who's buzzer he could ring. There were about 8 different apartments, and the entryway smelled like an old, well used vacuum. Not bad, but dusty. It fit well with the atmosphere of the town and the teacher.
He found Ainsworth, Nora in apartment 302, and he pressed the button for a count of 2 seconds. Nearly immediately, the inner door clicked loudly, making him jump as it swung inward slowly on a powered hinge. There was an elevator off to the right, and he pressed the call button. He already had to walk up two flights of stairs to get to his own third floor bedroom, he didn't need to walk up two more flights of stairs to get to his destination.
The elevator came and dinged open. It also smelled like a vacuum, but it seemed a bit newer than the rest of the building's infrastructure. The lights were a bright, warm fluorescent, and the walls were nicely paneled with fake wood grain that didn't match the rest of the building, or at least the entry.
The number rolled up as he ascended, 1...2...3. The doors opened and he looked around. The floors seemed to be rather small, with only 2 apartments on each floor with an extra room for what he assumed was storage? Or maybe it was a garbage chute? Truthfully, the door could be anything, but it didn't have an apartment number next to it so he didn't pay it any mind as he saw number 302.
The door was closed tight, and while the other apartment door was nicely decorated for the fall season with a little dish for candy, Mz. Ainsworth's door was bare.
He had no reason to believe that he had the wrong place, but the bare door felt... foreboding. Like there should be a 'Go Away' sign on it.
He was probably overthinking it all. There was tea and aged cookies on the other side of that door, and he was going to enjoy them if he had to sit through dry conversation or cat hair on his clothes. Anything was better than being catatonic back in his room.
He knocked on the door with a good 1-2-1 rhythm.
"Just a second! Hagrid, I assure you, he doesn't have cat food, stop circling your bowl!" The door swung inward, revealing a fully dressed Mz. Ainsworth. Warm light filled the room behind her, and she beckoned him in. "Come in! Come in! Before Hagrid gets adventurous."
Seneca raised his eyebrows in an Oh, ok way as he moved into the room. It smelled like cat food, old books, cardboard and coffee. It was a friendly smell, but a bit neglected. They were standing in the entryway, with a small kitchen to the right and a living room further in with a counter to separate the two spaces. A small hallway led off to the left where assumably the bathroom and bedroom was. It was pretty cozy, and the feel of the place gave him a 'Second Hand Classy' feel.
"You can keep your shoes on if you like. I'm aware of how it can feel strange to take your shoes off in a stranger's home. Especially one with pets. You can hang your jacket up on the door if you prefer, but I don't mind if you keep it on."
"Ok, I guess I can do that," Seneca said. It was rather toasty in the apartment. The window was closed tightly, and a decorative electric fireplace was on against the wall.
Mz. Ainsworth walked into the room and sat down at her desk, looking at her computer. "I say, some of your classmates are as sharp as a marble. That's not how you use a comma, Deliah!'' She looked at Seneca. "Oh, you didn't hear me say that. I'm not talking to you about your classmates. I'm talking to myself, you just happen to be here," she said with a cocked eyebrow and the goofy smile of a teacher tired of simple mistakes.
"Deliah is actually my housemate," Seneca said, sitting down, still a bit nervous. The tea and cookies were on the table, but he didn't want to seem rude or over-eager to get at them, so he figured he'd wait.
"Is she now? Maybe you could teach her how to use her commas better. Her phrases are all over the place, and I don't want to be the bad teacher and tell her that her whole paper is wrong."
Seneca gave a nervous smile. "Something tells me that she'd like that a bit too much and wouldn't get much out of the lesson."
She swiveled in her chair, facing him. "I'm sorry to hear that. I find it hard to believe that people in this day in age can still not know some vital information, like if their crush is single," Seneca looked up at her and she shrugged. "When I heard your last name, I wondered if your father was the former prime minister, and now your mother is, so you're easier to find information on than most. I find information on people for my profession, I'm pretty good at it. And I know that you're very happy with your girlfriend. Gloria, is it? She seems very nice."
"She is," Seneca smiled genuinely. "She's the best thing to happen to me, and she's saved my neck a couple of times. We've been through our scrapes too, but that's life."
"You live out in Brindleton Bay? I live out in the Bay too, over in town most of the time. When I'm not here." She looked around the place. "It's my home away from home. As you know, the Bay is a few hours from here, but the pay is good, and a change in scenery is refreshing. I like the buildings, but it all feels a bit hollow."
She rolled her eyes and scratched her nose. "I talk about myself a lot, don't mind me. I have depression I'm dealing with. Tell me a bit about you. Let's start somewhere simple; who's your favorite author?"
I finally am posting a new chapter! Whew!
A bit of a personal update: I wasn't posting new chapters for about a month because a ton of change hit me like a pile of bricks 😅. My boss of five and a half years retired, my best friend at work is leaving to work somewhere else, I'm looking for a new job, and my cat lost some of the little weight she has because she decided she didn't want to eat anything but the Fancy Feast Pate, but I didn't know that so I got super freaked out and took her to the vet. Things are looking better now though! The shock of the change is subsiding, my cat is eating several cans of Fancy Feast pate a day, and I finally felt like I could put enough brain power towards this!
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