Barbie and Tamara are depositing the remains of their lunch trays in the cafeteria garbage and recycling bins when Jose joins them.
He says, “Hey guys. Anybody up for a little walk in the woods?”
Tamara shakes her head, “I can’t afford the time today, Jose. We’ve got to prep for a big test.”
Tamara watches Jose’s face fall, noting how intently he is looking at Barbie. And Barbie is just as intently not looking at him. Uh oh. Suddenly she gets the dynamic, realizing her friends have crossed the line. Bad shit. Trying to save face for both she says, “Maybe we can get together on the weekend. Supposed to be nice.”
“I guess,” Jose is realizing that Barbie won’t look at him.
“You can probably catch Q later. He’s finished after comp. Whyn’t you guys go out for a pub crawl tonight? I’m not going to have any time for him today.”
“Maybe.” Jose mutters miserably, beating a hasty retreat.
Tamara watches him go, before turning back to her friend. “Barbie girl, what did you do to that boy?”
“The other day it was so warm out, and well, we all kinda dozed off. When I woke up it was down to just us, and Jose kissed me, and I kind of let him. I was half asleep, and I was half dreaming, you know. So. Maybe I kissed him.” She shakes her head. “Either way big mistake.”
“Too bad,” says Tamara, watching Jose. “Yum.”
“Stop it Tam.” Barbie giggles wickedly, “You’re a married woman now.” They gather up their things from the table.
“Marriage may have taken me out of circulation, but it didn’t take out my eyes. Maybe you can turn off your feelings but I can’t. Married ladies can look, just not touch.”
Barbie giggles. “You’re baaaaad!”
“So who did you go to the concert with?”
“That guy who fixed up my computer. Alan.”
“I would never have pegged him for a Peabody.”
“Me either, but he got great seats. In the A’s even.”
“So was it great?”
“Oh, Tam, I could have reached out and touched Taboo.”
“You are so lucky. But we better hurry now.”
“Don’t worry so much, Nick’s only a T.A.”
They step through the doors, Tamara pulls her sweater tighter, but Barbie doesn’t have one. “Brrr, suddenly it’s winter.”
Barbie and Tamara briskly cross the oval toward the Bio Building extension off the Medical Centre. Hurrying because of the cold.
Everyone is hurrying because it’s so cold.
§
Natasha walks fast across the oval. Huddled into her coat, she doesn’t notice Boris until he falls in step beside her.
“We have to talk, Natasha.”
“Not now Boris, I’m gonna be late.”
“Then we can both be late. Can you please just look at me? I thought at least we were friends.”
Natasha looks up at Boris and he’s surprised to see tears in her eyes. “We are friends. I’ve never had a friend as good as you Boris. I mean it. You are my best friend.”
“Then I don’t see what the problem is. Isn’t that a good way to start a relationship?”
“Sometimes it is. Just not this time.”
§
Well, almost everyone. Tamara sees two people not hurrying. Standing still. But it’s too cold. What’s going on? Looks like Boris and Natasha. But it can’t be. They’re tense, body language says they’re arguing. But they never argue. There’s a joke around the school Boris and Natasha are actually the same person.
If it is Boris and Natasha.
It’s too far away to hear, and anyway too damn cold to stop and watch.
But suddenly there’s that computer guy again, Alan, on an interception path with Barbie. Tamara thinks, “Another one.”
“Barbie.” He’s smiling big. “I was wondering if you’d have time for a coffee later?”
Barbie shakes her head. “Sorry, Al, not today. Can’t talk now, I’m late for class!”
Adam’s smile falls away as he sees she’s not going to stop. Barbie doesn’t even break stride.
Tamara spares the guy a shrug, thinking seats in the A’s don’t mean so much after all. Not after the concert is over, anyway. Poor Alan has the same look of desolation Jose had a minute ago. Tamara wonders if Barbie realizes her power.
Adam just watches his dream girl walking away. She couldn’t spare him a minute. Of course, it is cold, and she’s not wearing a coat. And he’s heard how heavy the pre-med course load is. She probably has a lot to catch up after going out with him last night. Besides she isn’t even wearing a sweater. That’s probably it, it’s just cold. Adam feels unaccountably deflated anyway. He decides to go get something to eat at the cafeteria.
§
Across the oval, Boris towers over Natasha. Trying to be calm and rational. But it’s really hard because she’s being so damned stubborn.
“You haven’t even given it a chance, Nat. Just think about it. That’s all I want. Just for you to think about it.”
Natasha clenches her fists, “I don’t have to think about it, Bo. I know it wouldn’t work. It just wouldn’t.”
“You can’t know that. Not without giving it a chance. Natasha I … I love you. I love you so much.”
“Oh Boris, don’t,” she looks so sad.
Her eyes are all puffy, her nose is redder than the hair sticking out from under her hat in endearing little spikes and tendrils. He can’t help it, he leans down and gathers her in his arms, and she’s trying to push him away but he kisses her with a passion he didn’t know he had. Except Natasha is wriggling and pounding on his chest. Then she stops fighting and lets him kiss her.
And it’s glorious.
§
Barbie is almost at the Bio door when she suddenly stops dead. Completely unprepared, Tamara plows into Barbie’s back. In spite of the cold, the two med students watch rapt as Boris gathers Natasha up in his grand passionate gesture.
“What?” asks Tamara and swivels her head to see what’s captured her friend’s attention.
§
Boris comes up for air and looks down at Natasha. Expecting to see the flushed look of love in her eyes he’s disconcerted to see … anger.
Fury. Uh oh.
“What?” Boris asks as Natasha hauls off and slugs him with every ounce of strength she can muster. He reels in shock followed by a surprising wave of pain radiating outward from the bridge of his nose.
§
Barbie and Tamara aren’t the only people in the oval to be arrested by the sight of the tiny woman … it has got to be Natasha … hauling off and pounding the big guy … not Boris! How could she hit Boris? He’s such a sweetie and but she just slugged him in the head. And Bori s… he just falls over. Holy shit!
Boris finds himself sitting on the ground. There’s a burning pain in his left eye and he claps his hand overs it. His other eye watches uncomprehendingly as Natasha whirls and stalks away, not looking back. Not even once.
Boris realizes this might not have been such a good idea.
Suddenly there are people coming up to him. A couple of cute girls actually.
Mmm the stacked blonde one is Barbie, Jose’s friend. She’s touching his forehead as she kneels beside him.
“Are you OK, Boris?” Boris looks at Barbie stupidly.
The other one says, “Maybe you wanna come into the Bio Building and we’ll get your head looked at?”
More people are arriving. Crowding around. Half the school must have seen it. Oh great. Just what he needs.
“No. No, it’s okay. Really.” He scrambles to his feet. “No, I don’t need a doctor, just some ice. I’ve been hit before.”
Experience tells Boris it’s gonna be a heck of a black eye. Maybe even a double shiner. You don’t grow up with brothers without getting pounded occasionally. Leave it to Natasha.
He looks down at the pretty pre-meds, and then realizes that there are all kinds of people heading in this direction. Already a dozen people, mostly women, making a growing crowd. What happened? Where did all these people come from? Boris realizes he’s got to do something if he wants any kind of a life here.
Smiling as rakishly as he can manage he says, “After the swelling goes down I expect I’ll be drowning my sorrows at the pub tonight. Any lovely ladies care to help soothe my soul, that’s where I’ll be.”
Barbie laughs, and reaches up to pat him on the shoulder. “You’ll be all right.”
The crowd starts to disperse– it’s too cold– and Boris takes advantage to hustle back to the residence, to be alone.
§
Adam feels unsettled. Not sick exactly. But there is a clenching in his stomach. Seeing that tiny little girl hit that really big guy was weird. Especially when the big guy just fell down.
The part that … hurt … was watching Barbie run over to the big guy and then laugh and … and … flirt with him. Some stupid jock. Barbie couldn’t spare a minute to talk to him, the one who makes her computer work like clockwork, the one who spent a fortune to take her to that concert of noise. But she can find time to bat her eyes at that … that … jock.
Adam shuts his eyes. His ears are still ringing from all the noise last night. Maybe the best thing for him today would be to go home. Everyone else cuts classes. Why shouldn’t he? He’s as good as they are.
Better.
Mental Health day, that’s what Oscar would call it. Just go home. Maybe he’d be better off staying away from girls altogether.
They just are too different. He doesn’t know how … how to be with them. Why can’t girls just be like regular people? It’s like they have different rules.
His brother got him tickets– really good tickets apparently — to the concert. Sitting right beside giant speakers is supposed to be a good thing? Not to him.
Lights flashing, strobing. Giant screens showing videos of politicians and then there were those weird dancers. Lights and special effects pounding in your eyes, people yelling and screaming all through it. And it was just noise.
You couldn’t call it music, not really. Music is Sergei Prokofiev or Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Not noise so loud your ears ring for hours afterward.
He knows Barbie enjoyed it. She jumped up and down, a lot, and even sang along with the noise when he couldn’t even tell what the words were. She smelled good. Especially after all the jumping around. He guesses it was supposed to be dancing. Was watching her jiggle like that worth it? He’ll be paying it off for weeks, but it was worth it. Wasn’t it?
Barbie got so sweaty so he could kind of see through her shirt. He really wanted to touch her. He looks around quickly, feeling guilty for the thought. Even though it’s cold he’s getting sweaty himself, just thinking about Barbie. He wanted to touch her so much last night after the concert but he didn’t. Couldn’t.
She smelled so good in the car. Her car is so much nicer than his, he’s glad he let her drive. For the very first time he understands why guys spend so much money on cars. He would have been embarrassed for her to ride in his car.
Walking down the path toward the parking lot now, the more he thinks about it the better the idea of a mental health day sounds. His head is still pounding from last night. He just wanted to touch her. Maybe it wasn’t worth it, really.
She didn’t even kiss him goodnight.
