hand to the side of his neck where it met his shoulder. He knew he should have left his hair down. His mom had noticed too and given him a hard stare that morning before he took the boys to school. “No, not Viper, I met someone.”
“As usual, you work fast. Have you forgotten geeks aren't supposed to get laid? It's like a natural law or something. We're supposed to languish undiscovered in our labs while our jock buddies get all the goodies.”
Daniel spoke up. “Our boy Tristan here is a jock and a geek. Slap a skateboard under any one of us, gentleman, and you'd have—”
“Broken bones,” interrupted Tristan, choosing a cream bun for breakfast and a pork bun for lunch. “I've got to study more, or I'm hosed. How are you doing? I'm working on a paper comparing and contrasting Heisenberg and Schrödinger, and I've got three midterms, including one in German, which I will fail unless I give it adequate time.”
“That hardly leaves any time for us to live vicariously through your mad ninja love skills. When are you going to see her again?” asked Jonathon as they walked to Daniel's car. “We can get together for poker afterward and dish.”
“Seriously, dude,” said Tristan. “Did you just say dish?” He got into the back seat with his pastries.
“I've got too many sisters, but you know what I mean; it's the only way I'll even get close to getting laid this year.” Jonathan looked disgusted. “Michelle's at NYU, and I won't see her until her winter break. Poker is good though, right? How about Friday?”
“I'm going out on Friday after I take my sister Lily to a party and make sure it's kosher,” said Tristan. “She's gotten invited to some big Halloween thing by a girl from work, but the kids are college age, and the only way my mom will let her go is if I take her and check it out for a while to make sure it's not going to turn into one big orgy. Afterward, I'm meeting someone at another party.” Michael . “Saturday's good, though.”
“How does your mom let you out of the house if she has standards?” asked Daniel, nodding toward Tristan's neck.
“I guess she has substantially lowered expectations where I'm concerned. I think she's just relieved I survived the whole high school skateboard thing. She trusts my judgment,” he said, privately thinking, Not for long . He would be seeing Michael after the party, meeting him at a dinner hosted by some of Michael's friends, and he worried, not for the first time, whether he'd fit in. No way . He sighed. “I don't know about that party after Lily's, though…” He imagined a room full of cops glaring at him.
“Aren't you looking forward to it?” asked Jonathon.
“Hm, what, poker?” Tristan asked. “Sure.”
“Not that. Friday. Your date.”
“Oh, yeah, but it's midterms,” he lied. “I can't help but think if I don't get back to school and start studying, I'll go down in flames…”
“You'll do fine. You always do,” said Daniel around a cream bun. “Let's go.” He started up his Honda Element, and they drove the short distance back to school. He had philosophy at nine, and he couldn't be late. He walked alone to his class, a lecture hall filled with students, only a small percentage of whom were interested in the philosophy class for more than just the fact that it fulfilled a requirement.
Tristan liked philosophy as much as he liked physics and was considering pursuing either a double major or making philosophy his minor. His brain liked to run as much as his body did, the two entities pulling him in two different directions constantly, creating an agitation that was rarely subdued for any length of time. He recognized that it was in the nature of both to be in constant motion. Thinking of Michael, of their evening together, engaged both his mind and his body to such an extent it threatened to shut all other functions down at once. He had a minute or two before
“As usual, you work fast. Have you forgotten geeks aren't supposed to get laid? It's like a natural law or something. We're supposed to languish undiscovered in our labs while our jock buddies get all the goodies.”
Daniel spoke up. “Our boy Tristan here is a jock and a geek. Slap a skateboard under any one of us, gentleman, and you'd have—”
“Broken bones,” interrupted Tristan, choosing a cream bun for breakfast and a pork bun for lunch. “I've got to study more, or I'm hosed. How are you doing? I'm working on a paper comparing and contrasting Heisenberg and Schrödinger, and I've got three midterms, including one in German, which I will fail unless I give it adequate time.”
“That hardly leaves any time for us to live vicariously through your mad ninja love skills. When are you going to see her again?” asked Jonathon as they walked to Daniel's car. “We can get together for poker afterward and dish.”
“Seriously, dude,” said Tristan. “Did you just say dish?” He got into the back seat with his pastries.
“I've got too many sisters, but you know what I mean; it's the only way I'll even get close to getting laid this year.” Jonathan looked disgusted. “Michelle's at NYU, and I won't see her until her winter break. Poker is good though, right? How about Friday?”
“I'm going out on Friday after I take my sister Lily to a party and make sure it's kosher,” said Tristan. “She's gotten invited to some big Halloween thing by a girl from work, but the kids are college age, and the only way my mom will let her go is if I take her and check it out for a while to make sure it's not going to turn into one big orgy. Afterward, I'm meeting someone at another party.” Michael . “Saturday's good, though.”
“How does your mom let you out of the house if she has standards?” asked Daniel, nodding toward Tristan's neck.
“I guess she has substantially lowered expectations where I'm concerned. I think she's just relieved I survived the whole high school skateboard thing. She trusts my judgment,” he said, privately thinking, Not for long . He would be seeing Michael after the party, meeting him at a dinner hosted by some of Michael's friends, and he worried, not for the first time, whether he'd fit in. No way . He sighed. “I don't know about that party after Lily's, though…” He imagined a room full of cops glaring at him.
“Aren't you looking forward to it?” asked Jonathon.
“Hm, what, poker?” Tristan asked. “Sure.”
“Not that. Friday. Your date.”
“Oh, yeah, but it's midterms,” he lied. “I can't help but think if I don't get back to school and start studying, I'll go down in flames…”
“You'll do fine. You always do,” said Daniel around a cream bun. “Let's go.” He started up his Honda Element, and they drove the short distance back to school. He had philosophy at nine, and he couldn't be late. He walked alone to his class, a lecture hall filled with students, only a small percentage of whom were interested in the philosophy class for more than just the fact that it fulfilled a requirement.
Tristan liked philosophy as much as he liked physics and was considering pursuing either a double major or making philosophy his minor. His brain liked to run as much as his body did, the two entities pulling him in two different directions constantly, creating an agitation that was rarely subdued for any length of time. He recognized that it was in the nature of both to be in constant motion. Thinking of Michael, of their evening together, engaged both his mind and his body to such an extent it threatened to shut all other functions down at once. He had a minute or two before
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