Fan Fiction ❯ Room 316 ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3

     The sunlight that invaded the room warmed Duncan’s face. Before he opened his eyes, he savored the familiar feeling that it gave him. He turned to his left to see that Deirdre had in fact come out of the bathroom and made it into her bed at some point during the night. He noticed, that even though she was still, she was not sleeping. Her back was turned towards him, but the slight flinch she gave when he stood did not escape his attention. She was still uneasy, but at least she seemed a little less afraid. Duncan turned towards Abby’s section of the room. She was sprawled out across the bed with one foot poking out from under a disheveled comforter. He decided that now would be a good time to take advantage of the vacant bathroom.

     He grabbed his toiletries from his luggage, since he did not have the chance to place them the day before. He stepped into the bathroom and shut the door behind himself. It was about the same size as one in a hotel room, so he could deal. The vanity area was of a fairly good size, and even though there was only one sink, three or four people could easily groom themselves in front of the large mirror. The counter top stretched to meet the length of the mirror itself. He could easily see Deirdre sitting on the counter top typing away at her laptop.

   &nbs p; "Why am I suddenly thinking about that?" He wondered out loud. He shook his head, and placed his travel bag on the counter. He opened it up and pulled out his shaving supplies. He looked at the shaving cream and razor in his hand, then in the mirror.

     "What do I need these for?" He quietly sighed to himself. "It’s not like I’m a gnome. My beard won’t even show for at least another two-hundred years." Gathering them all in one armful, he threw them into the small black trash can. "It was all an act for Charlie anyway." Depressed, he looked into the mirror once more. Then, with a little bit of confidence. "Well, I don’t have to act anymore. No reason to hide myself." He brushed his hair back behind his ears to reveal that they were pointed. "Well," he reconsidered his statement, "I think I might still hide these." He sighed and grabbed his shampoo, soap, conditioner, washcloth, and a towel. He placed the towel on the rack, and placed his other supplies in the shower. Then, he stripped, and stepped behind the curtain. ‘Damn.’ He thought. ‘I forgot to grab some clean clothes.’ Then he shrugged and decided to just enjoy his hot shower.

     Duncan stepped out of the shower just in time to hear Abby wake up.

     "Oh! Looks like someone decided to come out after all." He smacked his head. ‘Oh no!’ was his only thought before the door burst open, then abruptly shut with a very wide-eyed Deirdre pressing her back against it. For a moment, neither of them seemed to realize the situation they were in, but were snapped back when the door opened again. "You know, if a door opens outwards, it’s kinda pointless to lean against it." She looked down at Deirdre as she tumbled backwards, but when she looked up, her eyes were a bout as wide as Deirdre’s had been. "Hell-oo." She drew out. Duncan grabbed the towel, and wrapped it around his waist.

     "Excuse me, but do you mind?" He motioned to the two of them. "I was kinda in the middle of something."

     "All I did was..." He cut Abby off.

     "No, you were loud, and you scared her." Then, he looked down towards Deirdre. "You, on the other hand need to learn how to just deal. If it’s that bad, hide under your bed." He felt bad speaking like that, he only hoped that he hadn’t made a mistake. Deirdre scrambled behind Abby, then out of sight from the doorway. Abby turned suavely, and with a slam,

     "And you should learn how to lock a door." Duncan released a breath that he was unaware of holding. He made a note about having to lock the door from now on. Then embarrassingly stepped out.

     "Forgot my clothes." He grabbed a few pieces, and walked back into the bathroom.

     When he came back out, Abby immediately shot past him and locked the door behind herself. He sighed, and looked around the room. He didn’t see Deirdre anywhere, but the air was filled with frustration that could only be hers. Duncan threw his dirty clothes down at the foot of his bed and walked over to Deirdre’s section of the room. On a wild guess that she had taken him seriously, he looked under the bed. To his surprise, that is exactly where she was. Curled into a tight ball, she radiated many different emotions, that even he could not sort out.

     "She’s in the shower," he placed a hand on her shoulder, and she stiffened, "you can come out now." She seemed even more dead set on staying in her spot. He stood back up, an repositioned himself so that he could sit next to her bed. "Look, I’m sorry for what I said in there, but tomorrow is orientation, and after that, you’ll have classes. Your going to have to deal with people eventually." He paused a moment to see if there was anymore he could say. "Besides, if I’m going to keep you protected from that Vince guy, wouldn’t you have to be in my sight at all times?" This, he noticed received a reaction. Deirdre emerged from under her bed and pulled out her laptop. She pointed to it with a slight grunt, he took it as an indication that she wanted to talk. He walked back to his area, and grabbed his own laptop. He sat down on his bed so that he could be comfortable as he typed. He noticed that Deirdre had done the same. Once he had logged on, he clicked on her screen name and their conversation began.

<Philander>: So, are you willing to talk?

<Bubastis>: I do not owe you that. Though I must admit your screen name is quite inventive, but you might be using it in the wrong context.

<Philander>: Actually, it’s meaning should be taken on all accounts.

<Bubastis>: Fine. Why did you make the comment about Vince?

<Philander>: Actually, I kind of knew that it would get to you. Sorry, but the part about getting used to people is true.

<Bubastis>: It was still wrong.

<Philander>: By the way, what year are you in?

<Bubastis>: This will be my third.

<Philander>: Really? How old are you?

<Bubastis>: Twenty. I do not see the point in this conversation. I have already told you everything that is important.

<Philander>: I just want to know who I’m protecting, and how you could be in your third year of college, and not even have dealt with people.

<Bubastis>: Online courses, but that only got my basics out of the way. I had to come here to focus on my major.

<Philander>: And that would be?

<Bubastis> : Anthropology, focusing on religion, and mythology.

<Philander>: Well, I didn’t expect that. Is that how you know about Elves?

<Bubastis>: Partly, but I think you’ve learned enough for now. If I must go out there, I will merely follow you. Good bye.

Bubastis has signed off 9:35 am.

     "Well, that was eventful." He shut down his computer and turned to look at her. "I’m going to the food court. You want to come?" She started to shake her head no, but stopped to look towards the bathroom. It seemed that Abby has the habit of singing in the shower. A look of deep concentration crossed her eyes. "It’s either come with me, or stay with her." Out of those choices, it seemed that leaving with Duncan would be the smarter of the two.

***

     As they approached the college cafeteria, Deirdre was almost clinging to Duncan’s arm. Suddenly she stiffened.

     "What, did you forget your card?" She shook her head, and began taking in deep whiffs of the air. They had continued a little further when it hit him. Sausage. She had just smelt it before her. That’s when he remembered her warning. ‘Whatever you do, do not let me have meat.’ Then he understood that request. She wasn’t just a vegetarian. She most likely could not control herself around it. He looked at her. Her grip on his arm had become tighter, but not in a frightened manner. More like one of hopeful anticipation. That is when he noticed her little deformity. Her nails were claw like, and her fingers seemed to curl in. Her eyes also changed, they had become more wild than they already were. He was beginning to reconsider his idea of bringing her along.

     They had made their way to the entrance, and by this time, he almost did not recognize the thing clinging to his arm. He was definitely not up for doing this again.

     ; "Hand me your card." He put out his hand. She was practically drooling as she brought the card out from her pocket with one gnarled hand. The smell of sausage, ham, and bacon hung heavy in the air, but he was slightly relieved to see a salad bar as he scanned their cards. He was about to give her’s back when she took off for one of the counters serving bacon and eggs. He grabbed her forearm. "Whoa!" She jerked back a bit at his touch. "You need to calm down. I’ll do you a favor, and I’ll eat off the salad bar too. Okay?" She seemed dazed for a moment, then as if she had regained part of herself she nodded dumbly. They both walked along the salad bar picking out different fruits and some cereal. Duncan noticed that Deirdre was partial to dates and figs, but she did get a few other items. He however loved melons, and was quite happy with his cantaloupe, honeydew, and watermelon fruit salad. They found a small table in the corner that was as far away from the food counter as possible.

     "So, is this okay?" She nodded, this time as if her head were clear. Then he heard a soft clear voice that came from everywhere, but nowhere at once.

     ‘I just wish I could say thank you.’ Duncan was stunned, he looked at Deirdre. She was busy digging into a serving of applesauce.

     ‘Couldn’t have been.’ He thought. ‘Her voice didn’t sound like that last time.’ He ignored the creeping feeling on his neck and began to eat some honeydew. He notice Deirdre stop abruptly, then look in the direction of the dining area entrance. He almost choked when he saw who was walking up.