| General Fiction posted August 7, 2024 | Chapters: |
...22 23 -24- 25... 
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Brian visits Julia at Juilliard
A chapter in the book DUEL with the DEVIL
DUEL with the DEVIL - Chapter 24
by Jim Wile
| Background A brilliant young chemist creates a new opioid with unknown benefits and pitfalls. |
Recap of Chapter 23: Brian arrives at NC State and meets his roommate, Daniel Molebatsi, from Botswana. They become fast friends. They do many things together, including eating meals in the cafeteria, studying, and working out in the gym. Both are gym rats. Brian teaches Daniel many new American expressions and idioms.
Brian and Julia begin their nightly Skype sessions, and he introduces her to Daniel one evening. Like Brian, she is amused by his formal way of speaking with perfect, well-enunciated English. When Daniel leaves for Bible study later that night, Brian and Julia try out having Skype-sex.
Chapter 24
One weekend during that first semester, I was able to take some time off and visit Julia. My last Friday class was over by 11:00 AM, and I hopped in my car and took off for Juilliard, making it there by 7:30 that evening. I would head back late Sunday afternoon.
I got there just in time to hear Julia play in a string quartet at 8:00. Knowing it would be close, she texted me directions right to the auditorium where she would be performing. She caught my eye in the audience as she was playing a few tuning notes with the others before they began to play. We smiled at each other across the auditorium.
The piece was the fourth movement of the Schubert String Quartet No. 14. The program called it “Death and the Maiden.” What a performance! The frenzied pace of the tarantella was quite phenomenal, as the number of notes that poured out of their instruments with such subtle movements of their bows, was almost beyond belief. Their string fingers really flew.
I’m no expert, but it sounded flawless to me. The audience received it very enthusiastically when it was over. Smiling broadly, Julia looked right at me, applauding away and smiling back. She was in her element up there.
In the text with the directions, she had said she didn’t have to hang around afterwards, and I met her outside on the front steps of the auditorium. We embraced and kissed enthusiastically, since this was the first time we’d seen each other in person in 10 weeks.
“What a fine bit a fiddlin’ y’all did up there, darlin’. Plum sent shivers up m’ spine. They must be teachin’ y’all real good at this here music collitch,” I said, affecting a backwoods North Carolina hillbilly accent.
“Well, thank ya kindly, darlin'. So glad y’all cottoned to it,” she quipped back.
We laughed as we separated from the embrace and headed down the stairs, hand-in-hand, back to her dorm.
“Seriously, that was really good. Sounded professional to me, though I know I don’t have a trained ear.”
“I have to admit, it was pretty good. I was a little nervous about it and meditated for half an hour before heading over here. I’ve come to think perhaps a few nerves are fine; they keep you on your toes, and everybody gets them.”
“That’s really great to hear.”
“You’ve told me your pain has been somewhat better following the operation. Is it still improving, and how did the car ride up affect it?”
“It’s gradually improving, but not quite as quickly as I’d hoped. It’s certainly better than before the operation. I don’t know if that will be the ultimate remedy. I’ll just have to wait and see. It’s bearable at any rate. As far as the car ride, I could have done without some of the traffic around D.C. and in the New York metropolitan area. Together, that added more than an hour to the trip, but I guess it wasn’t too bad.”
“So, do you think it will be worth making such a long trip?”
“I don’t know. I’ll tell you when it’s over.”
She laughed. “I’ll try to make it worthwhile. By the way, my roommate is performing at 9:00 and is going out afterward, so she won’t be back ‘til late. You see where I’m going with this?”
“I think I do. This trip is getting better all the time!”
The frenzy of our initial coupling matched that of the tarantella I’d just heard. Following some cuddling, we took the next movement more andante, and it was equally sensual as we got to know each other again in the carnal sense.
Afterwards, we fell asleep in each other’s arms and didn’t even hear her roommate’s return. Julia had hung a sheet to divide the room, so we were able to get dressed at ease when we awoke in the morning, and we quietly headed out to get some breakfast, leaving her roommate fast asleep.
“So, is it going any better with your roommate?”
“Not a lot. She still keeps to herself quite a bit. I try to be friendly, but she doesn’t seem interested in becoming friends. She isn’t mean; she just prefers to keep to herself and doesn’t share anything. How is it going with you and Daniel?”
“Great. He’s become a good buddy. I’ve taught him a lot about living and talking in the US—some of the idioms and expressions we use. It’s a riot hearing him try them out, sometimes inappropriately, but he’s added a few to his speech. I love hearing him talk. I think he misuses some of the idioms on purpose just to get a rise out of me.”
“That’s funny. He does seem delightful. What do you guys do together?”
“Mainly eat, and study, and work out in the gym. I’ve been teaching him to talk a little smack while we’re there too, and that is really funny to hear.”
“Sounds like you’re corrupting him.”
“Only in a fun and amusing way. That’s just how guys are. We love insulting each other. Don’t girls do that very much? I know Fran and I always have.”
“I’ve never done it, but I’m sure they do. I’ve heard a little of it.”
“Daniel says he’d really like to meet you. Any chance you might pay us a visit some weekend?”
“I think my school gets out a few days before yours does at Christmas break. Maybe I could come then. They keep us so busy here, and I just have to practice so much that it’s hard to take a weekend off, especially if I have to spend close to 20 hours on the road getting to and from.”
“Are you going to have to practice this weekend?”
“Not much. Only for a couple of hours. You can come with me to the practice room if you want. Did you bring some homework or a book to read while I’m practicing?”
“I didn’t figure I would need anything. I plan to just listen to you practice if that won’t make you nervous. I love to hear you play.”
“You’re sweet. You won’t make me nervous. Maybe afterwards, I’ll show you around the campus. This is a beautiful place. And, if you’d like, we could walk over to Central Park. It’s not far.”
“That sounds like a good plan,” I said in Daniel-speak.
The weekend passed quickly, and before I knew it, it was time to say goodbye.
She said to me, “So, what’s your assessment now? Was it worth the long drive?”
“You better believe it was. Best time I’ve had all semester. Skype sex hardly compares to the real thing! But it was much more than that. I love being around you, Jules. I hope by the end of college we still feel the same about each other because I’d like to make the relationship more permanent. You see where I’m going with this?”
“I think I do, and, as Daniel might say, “That sounds most agreeable to me.”
“I love you, Julia Entwistle.”
“And I love you too, Brian Kendrick. You drive safely now, and we’ll talk about my trip to visit you some more.”
We gave each other one last hug and kiss. I could see tears in her eyes as I got in my car and left.
For those of you who may be thinking, "God, I hope he doesn't keep up all this feel-good stuff for the rest of the story," try to think of this and the next few chapters as the calm before the storm. This ebb and flow has been, and will continue to be, the pattern of Brian's life for a while.
This clip is about a minute of the fast part of Schubert's "Death and the Maiden." It loops.
CHARACTERS
Brian Kendrick: The narrator of the story. At the beginning of the story, he is 12 years old and in 6th grade in Kernersville, North Carolina.
Francine (Fran) Kendrick: Brian's older sister. She is 18 at the beginning of the story and goes to junior college, where she studies law enforcement.
Chloe: Brian and Fran's cat.
Sandi MacReady: She is a pretty blond and Brian's crush in high school.
Derek Shafer: Brian's best friend and lawn mowing partner.
Josh Bennett: Sandi's boyfriend. He's the center on the high school basketball team.
Don Robbins: A high school acquaintance of Brian's. He is a rich kid who throws a summer rave party when his parents are away.
Rafael Ortiz (Raffi): Youth therapy group leader at the rehab facility.
Julia Entwistle: One of the six members of the youth therapy group at rehab. She is 16 when we first meet her, plays the violin, and is addicted to barbiturates.
Alphonse: One of the boys in the youth therapy group. He is a cutup.
Henry: Another boy in the youth therapy group. He is also a cutup.
Alex: One of the girls in the youth therapy group.
Robert Entwistle: Julia's father.
Dr. Marie Schmidt: Julia's mother.
Helen Landry: A friend of Julia's mother. Julia stays with her during her audition at Juilliard in NY.
Mike Pekarsky: Fran's boyfriend who she met on her Caribbean cruise.
Daniel Molebatsi: Brian's undergrad college roommate. He is from Botswana and is a business major.
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. This clip is about a minute of the fast part of Schubert's "Death and the Maiden." It loops.
CHARACTERS
Brian Kendrick: The narrator of the story. At the beginning of the story, he is 12 years old and in 6th grade in Kernersville, North Carolina.
Francine (Fran) Kendrick: Brian's older sister. She is 18 at the beginning of the story and goes to junior college, where she studies law enforcement.
Chloe: Brian and Fran's cat.
Sandi MacReady: She is a pretty blond and Brian's crush in high school.
Derek Shafer: Brian's best friend and lawn mowing partner.
Josh Bennett: Sandi's boyfriend. He's the center on the high school basketball team.
Don Robbins: A high school acquaintance of Brian's. He is a rich kid who throws a summer rave party when his parents are away.
Rafael Ortiz (Raffi): Youth therapy group leader at the rehab facility.
Julia Entwistle: One of the six members of the youth therapy group at rehab. She is 16 when we first meet her, plays the violin, and is addicted to barbiturates.
Alphonse: One of the boys in the youth therapy group. He is a cutup.
Henry: Another boy in the youth therapy group. He is also a cutup.
Alex: One of the girls in the youth therapy group.
Robert Entwistle: Julia's father.
Dr. Marie Schmidt: Julia's mother.
Helen Landry: A friend of Julia's mother. Julia stays with her during her audition at Juilliard in NY.
Mike Pekarsky: Fran's boyfriend who she met on her Caribbean cruise.
Daniel Molebatsi: Brian's undergrad college roommate. He is from Botswana and is a business major.
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