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By Misti Date: 2001 Oct 21 Comment on this Work [[2001.10.21.22.21.11490]] |
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Hullabaloo, Caneck! Caneck! Hullabaloo, Caneck! Caneck! Good-bye to Texas University So long to the Orange and the White Good luck to the dear old Texas Aggies They are the boys that show the real old fight "The eyes of Texas are upon you..." That is the song they sing so well So good-bye to Texas University We're going to beat you all to-- Chig-gar-roo-gar-rem Chig-gar-roo-gar-rem Rough Tough! Real Stuff! Texas A & M! -from the Texas A&M fight song So they met at a typical Friday night kegger on Fraternity Row. Kessi wasn't in a sorority and she wasn't interested in frat guys. She was just there for the free beer. Her dorm roomie Madison had dragged her along. "Come on, it'll be phat. The TKE guys are so hot," Madison had wheedled as she pranced around the dorm getting ready to her Erasure cd. "I don't want to stay too late. I wish I had a fake ID so we could go to Sixth Street," Kessi had said while doodling a picture of an ankylosaurus in her beginning acting spiral notebook. Madison was flirting with a short, high spirited guy by the bar. He was wearing a TKE t-shirt and glow-in-the-dark boxers. Kessi watched their interaction from the loveseat in the den. She was sipping cold beer from a cup. "That guy cracks me up. His name is Ryan but we call him Lobo. Is that your friend he's talking to?" "Uh...kind of. She's my roommate." "My name is Rick. Mind if I sit down?" "No, that's fine. I'm Kessi." Kessi smiled half-heartedly at the lanky stranger. He was obviously drunk. He was too happy, and for no apparent reason. "So, Kessi. Tell me. What's your major?" Kessi decided to try to scare Rick away. She wasn't in the mood to flirt with someone she wasn't remotely attracted to. "Aberrant animal psychology. Animals have psyches, too. Do you have a pet?" "Yes, I sure do. I have a cat. Percy." "Have you ever really studied Percy? What makes Percy tick?" "Wow, that's really deep. I've never thought about that before. Right on! Cats are people, too!" Kessi took a sip of beer and looked away, wondering how long Rick would linger. Apparently, he was too drunk to be scared off. "Kessi, would you dance with me? I love this song. It's the power ballad of all power ballads," Rick said with a strangely intense stare. "What? Are you serious? How can you dance to 'Sister Christian'? I mean, really. Can it be done?" "Yes, it can be done. Let's do it." Rick stood up and offered Kessi his hand. Kessi caught Madison's wink and thumbs up signal from the bar. Lobo already had his arms around her. Madison was beaming shamelessly. Kessi sighed and took Rick's hand. The den was packed with drunk couples singing along with Night Ranger as they danced, more or less, to the song. "Motorin'!" Rick screamed, raising his fist in the air. Kessi finished out the song and then walked away. She hurried toward the front door, wanting nothing more than fresh air and quiet. Then she heard him panting behind her. Kessi spun around, prepared to tell Rick that she was going home to rest because the STD medication made her drowsy. "Can I walk you home?" Rick asked boyishly. "The stars are so bright tonight," he added. "Okay, I guess that's cool," Kessi said. She was thinking of "Happy Days" and "There's a Moon Out Tonight." Harmless. Perfectly harmless. Like Brian Wilson or the Beaver's big brother, Wally. They walked down the boisterous, tree-lined street looking up at the stars and the quarter moon. Kessi felt a twinge as she thought about Kyle. She shivered and wished she had drank more than one beer. "You're so quiet. You must be a really deep thinker," Rick commented. "Not really. I'm not very good company. Why did you want to walk me home?" "I like your eyes. And your mannerisms. And your ring." "This? It's a poison ring. I slip poison into the drinks of unsuspecting victims." "Oh, come on. You trying to scare me away?" "Yeah, I guess I am. Or I was. You don't seem so bad, though. You aren't a TKE, are you?" "Nope. I'm a geek. I don't believe in paying for my friends. Are you in a sorority?" "Hardly. I'm doin' good if I can afford Taco Bell once a week. Which reminds me...I've got a five dollar bill just burnin' a hole in my pocket. Whadda ya say?" "Okey dokey. I'm always up for a Frito Burrito." They sat across from each other in a booth. Kessi felt comfortable enough to pig out in front of Rick. She dug into her Nachos Bell Grande and gulped down her Dr. Pepper. Rick nibbled on a Frito Burrito and watched Kessi with an amused smile. "You aren't really majoring in aberrant animal psychology, are you?" Rick asked. "There's no such animal. Excuse the pun. No, I'm just floundering. I'll probably go with English. I like to read." "What kind of books?" "Anything by Kurt Vonnegut...Tom Robbins...Larry McMurtry. And I'm into astrology." "Can you guess my sign?" "Hmmm. My first guess would be Sagittarius." "Damn, you're good! My birthday is December 4th! How'd you guess?" "I've been studying astrology since junior high. And there are a lot of Sagittarians in my family. Sagittarians tend to be very comfortable with themselves. Lemme guess...you're a philosophy major, right?" "This is so weird. Well, I was for the first couple of semesters. Now I'm going with theatre arts." After they finished eating, they walked toward Kessi's dorm. Kessi burped. Rick raised an eyebrow. "Very impressive," Rick murmured. "Oh god, I'm sorry. That always happens after Taco Bell. But you're drunk. You won't remember all of this tomorrow." "I'm not that drunk. And you're not that easy to forget." "Oh, please! We'll see." They stood on the sidewalk in front of the dormitory. A couple was making out on the porch swing. "It was a pleasure meeting you," Rick said with a smile, taking Kessi's hand and raising it to his lips. "Thank you. Likewise. Thank you for walking me home. That was very sweet." "I have my motives," Rick said with a wink. "Well, yeah. You're a guy. Goodnight, Rick." "Goodnight, Kessi. Sweet dreams." Kessi ran up the steps and through the front door. "Oh, no," Kessi thought to herself with a laugh as she walked toward her room. "I'm floating!" |