FanStory.com - DUEL with the DEVIL - Chapter 23by Jim Wile

Recap of Chapter 22: Fran returns from her two-week vacation rested and relieved that she no longer has to parent Brian. Brian undergoes surgery to repair one of the herniated discs he suffered in his auto accident two years prior. It’s a success, but recovery means he can’t mow lawns to make money during the summer. Instead, he tutors. Julia also begins teaching beginner violinists.

Brian and Julia see a lot of each other over the summer and continue to have sex. At the end of summer, Brian leaves for college a week before Julia starts at Juilliard after a rather heavy discussion of his potential major at college—biochemistry. They have a tearful goodbye but promise to stay in touch via Skype.

Chapter 23

Fall, 2009

Although technically an adult at age 18, I had nowhere near the level of maturity required of a responsible adult. My years at college were a good first step, though, if you can put aside the disastrous end to my freshman year that you'll hear about. Perhaps that was the impetus I needed to set me on the true path to maturity. It took some amazing support from those closest to me to help me overcome the impediments I largely put in my own way. But that will be seen a few chapters from now.

I pulled up in front of Alexander Hall, my home for the next year. It was not a very modern dormitory. It was built in 1940 and was a long, rectangular building with three stories. All the rooms were traditional 2-person rooms rather than the more modern suite-style rooms.

Luggage carts were available, and I loaded all my stuff onto one, parked my car, and took the elevator to the third floor, where my room was. I didn’t have that much stuff and made it in one trip. My roommate had already moved in. When I walked in, pulling my cart, I found him at his desk. He immediately stood and said, “Hello, I am Daniel Molebatsi,” and he offered me his hand.

“I’m Brian Kendrick,” I said, shaking hands with him. “When did you get in?”

“I am happy to meet you, Brian. I have been here since yesterday, when I flew into the Raleigh-Durham Airport. I am from Botswana. I hope you don’t mind my taking the left side of the room. If you have a preference for it, we can switch.”

He was about my height and was a well-built black kid with a handsome face. He was one of many international students housed in Alexander Hall. He spoke perfect English with a formal manner of speech, enunciating his words very clearly.

“No, you’re fine. I’ll take this side,” I said, and I started unloading the cart. “I’m from Kernersville, which is a smallish town about 90 minutes west of here. So, Botswana, huh? Where is that exactly?”

“It is in the south of the African continent, just above South Africa. I am from the city of Francistown.”

As I continued unloading the cart and unpacking my stuff, I asked him, “Is this your first time in the US, Daniel?”

“Yes, it is my first time outside of my country, except for an occasional trip to Bulawayo in Zimbabwe.”

“How did you happen to choose NC State in the US to go to school?”

“I wish to study business management, and the Poole College of Management is highly ranked in the US. What are you planning to study, Brian?”

“I was undeclared on my application, but I’m leaning towards biochemistry, although I’m not really sure yet. I’ve got a while before I have to declare a major. So, do you know anybody here?”

“I do not. I am hoping to meet many people, especially girls,” he said with a grin. “This is a co-educational dormitory, and there are girls down the hall from here! I have seen them.”

I chuckled at his seeming naivete. “Yeah, many dorms in the US are coed these days.” As I finished my unpacking, it was just after noon, and I was starting to get hungry again. “So, is the food any good at this place?”

“I have eaten three times in the cafeteria, and the food is nutritious and delicious. I have not eaten lunch. Are you wishing to go now to eat?”

“Sure. How about if I bring this cart back down and we can go have lunch?”

“That sounds like a good plan.”

The cafeteria food was indeed ‘nutritious and delicious’ as Daniel put it, with a large salad bar and many different food stations. Because there were so many international students in this dorm, a number of these featured a variety of international foods. I tried some sushi and a few dim sum dumplings that looked good. It wasn’t the best sushi I’d ever had, but the dim sum was outstanding.

They say that freshmen often gain 15 pounds their first year away from home. I could see that I would probably have to exert some willpower not to put on too much weight.

I noticed that Daniel was quite muscular, and I asked him if he liked working out in a gym.

“I do, very much. There are several health clubs in my city, and I had a membership at one of them. I have inquired, and there is a facility called the Carmichael Fitness Center that is just a short walk from this dormitory. I was planning to go there this afternoon to see it for myself. Do you like to work out too, Brian?”

“I’ve never had a gym membership, but I do like to work out. I do it every morning with my older sister. We like to lift weights.”

“Yes, I also lift weights. We will have to work out together.”

“That would be great. Maybe after lunch you can show me where this Carmichael Center is.”

“That sounds like a good plan.”

I think he liked that expression.

Daniel and I became fast friends, and we would often work out together. Our academic schedules were quite dissimilar, for he was to be a business major and I most likely would major in one of the sciences, but some of our humanities requirements were the same.

I had been able to fairly easily breeze through high school, but college proved to be way more rigorous. I found I had to study much harder than I did in high school, which was practically nil. Daniel also studied hard. He spent more time on it, perhaps because English was not his first language, although he was quite fluent in it.

I spoke to Julia via Skype every night, as we had planned. Our calls took place religiously at 6:30 PM. I didn’t want to disturb Daniel’s studying, so I usually took my laptop down to a sparsely-used lounge area on my floor, and we talked there.

One night, when Julia called at 6:30, I hadn’t left for the lounge yet, and I introduced Daniel to her.

“Hello, Julia. Daniel Molebatsi here,” he said in his musical voice, appearing in the screen beside me.

“Hi, Daniel. It’s nice to meet you. Brian has told me a lot about you.”

“And he has described you to me as well, but he understated how very pretty you are.”

“That’s so kind of you, Daniel,” she said with a smile.

“My pleasure, Julia. So, you are a violinist. Brian tells me you play exquisitely and that Juilliard is an elite school. I must hear you play sometime.”

“I hope to come visit one day, and I’ll bring my violin.”

“That would be most wonderful. Brian is a very good roommate, and we enjoy each other’s company. He laughs at many of the things I say, so he must think I am a funny fellow, but I am not often making a joke.”

“It’s probably because he enjoys the way you speak, Daniel. It’s refreshing to hear someone speak so clearly. I enjoy it too.”

“You are very kind too, Julia. Well, I will say goodbye to you now, and it was nice talking to you. Brian is a lucky fellow.”

“It was nice meeting and talking to you too, Daniel. Goodbye.”

Holding my laptop, I left the room with a two-finger salute to Daniel and headed down to the lounge, where we could resume our conversation.

“Is not Daniel a delightful fellow, Julia?” I said, imitating his intonation and manner of speech.

She laughed. “He’s really nice. You’re lucky to have a good roommate who you enjoy doing things with. Mine seems very aloof and not much fun to be around. You know I’m not a real big talker, but she’s even quieter than me. She’s a pianist, and she’s hardly ever here but is in the studio most of the day and evenings. We hardly talk at all.”

“That’s a shame. Have you made any friends since you’ve been there?”

“Yep. I’ve become friendly with the two girls next door in my dorm, and we hang around often and eat together in the cafeteria for most meals. All of us spend a fair amount of time practicing our instruments, so there isn’t a lot of spare time, but what there is, we spend together.”

“So, your roommate is out most evenings, huh? On Tuesday and Thursday nights, Daniel attends an evening Bible study from 7:00 to 8:30, which takes him out of the room during that time. You see where I’m going with this?”

“I think I do! So, maybe we can spend those evenings together alone in the privacy of our rooms?”

“Yes, Julia. That would be most agreeable to me,” I said in Daniel-speak.

She laughed again. “Well, tonight is Thursday. Will he be leaving soon for Bible study?”

“I just saw him pass in the hall, and we waved to each other. I’m heading back to my room now. You game?”

“I’m game. I’m in my room already. Let me flip the deadbolt.”