Chapter 2: Peer Pressure Is Not Always A Bad Thing
Sitting on the blue bench in quiet contemplation, I forget there’s a world around me. Where am I? I don’t know. Who am I? That’s irrelevant! But her… Who she is, that’s the important thing, that’s the part I want to read. The book with her name on it, that’s the one I’m interested in – every word, every sentence, every grammatical clause, all the verbs: present, past, every tense. I’ll read all the words, memorize the descriptions, incarnate the dialogues. I want someone to let me in on the secret of who she is.
“Hello? Are you still alive?”
It’s Tristan, tapping on my shoulder, bringing me back to a world that didn’t stop spinning, while I was lost somewhere in the pages of a book that’s never been written.
“We thought you were having a stroke or something!” adds Jenny.
“I’m fine,” I answer, my voice catching in my throat, sounding three times lower, like there’s a handful of small invisible rocks hidden somewhere, rolling and clicking together.
“Are you getting up?” Jenny asks.
“What for?” I say, glancing at the beautiful girl behind the counter.
“I thought you wanted coffee or something?”
“Right… Coffee…”
I get up, my eyes focusing on the cash register so I don’t stare at her. It’s a guy behind the register and I breathe a little better knowing I won’t have to talk to her.
“Bonjour-Hi!” he says, a big smile on his face.
I’ve always loved this way cashiers greet us in Montréal, this bilingual hello that gives the customer the choice of what language they’ll place their order in.
“Hi, I’ll have a…”
I look up at the menu, not sure what I actually want to order. A weird whistle followed by the sound of liquid splashing pulls me out of my decision-making process.
“Andrew! The machine is acting up again!”
My eyes follow the voice – a voice that sounds so soft, sweet, thick – like honey. My gaze falls on her, her lips moving, the words escaping her mouth.
“I’ll take care of it!” Andrew the cashier says, and they switch places.
In less than a second, before my brain can understand what’s happening, she’s standing in front of me, smiling at me, her eyes looking into mine.
“Hello, what can I get you?” she asks, the sweet sugary sound of her voice bewitching me like a powerful spell.
I breathe in, very aware of the excessive noise my heart is making by beating so fast. In a fraction of a second, my eyes travel to her face, exploring and discovering all that I can in the short lapse of time that is a breath. From the little curve in her right eyebrow to the small scar on the side of her chin to those big green eyes staring at me. Her smile is soft and sincere, her eyes are sparkling and her long curly caramel hair is tied in a high ponytail. I exhale.
“Just a coffee,” I answer.
At least my voice didn’t betray me this time. She punches in the order on the computer and grabs a cup.
“What’s your name?”
“Sorry?”
“Can I have your name?” She asks again with that same soft smile. “I’ll write it on the cup.”
“Elliot.”
“Elliot,” she repeats, holding my gaze for a moment.
My name pronounced by her lips sounds like a powerful secret. I feel myself blushing, but fortunately, she turns around to give the cup to Andrew and doesn’t see the colour on my face. I move over to let someone else order. Not a minute later, Andrew hands me my coffee and I walk back to my friends.
***
Autumn came in the course of one night. On Wednesday, September 27th, I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, cursing the world because it was 29 degrees but, with the humidity, it felt like 36! Then, that evening, rain poured down out of the sky like someone was dropping buckets of water on our heads. I felt like the deck of a boat during a storm, washed over by waves and waves of water; but the rain was a blessing because it brought the cold. When I woke up on Thursday morning, the wind was cold, the air was crispy – like it’s supposed to be during fall and the temperature of my room was 11 degrees, as I had let my window wide open! Such a drastic change, like someone had moved me during my sleep from a warm tropical climate to Iceland! The weather had changed so fast, it felt like we were on a movie set and the director screamed “Cue fall!” then BAM! Change of decor! Most people on the street didn’t get the memo though, on my way to school I saw so many people in shorts and tank tops, it made me laugh! I felt like going up to every single one of them and saying, “Dude, it’s sweater weather! Put on a scarf!” The next few days were colder too; the sun was still warm but the wind cooled everything down. It finally felt like fall! The only thing missing was the colours. Usually, the trees start burning up around Thanksgiving (the Canadian one), but our Thanksgiving this year will be rainy, cloudy and green.
“I despise the cold,” mumbles Tristan when I meet him at the exit doors of McGill Station.
“Why? I think it’s awesome!”
He looks at me like I’m completely insane and I burst out laughing. We make our way up University Street. He keeps on whining about the cold all the way to the Trottier building and doesn’t stop until he sits down behind one of the long tables of our classroom.
“What’s his deal?” asks Ryan.
“He’s mad about the weather,” I tell him, laughing.
“I despise it! Oh, woe be unto me! The plagues of winter have befallen us once more! Forsaken we are, forsaken I tell you!”
“Calm down, Shakespeare,” Jenny says. “It’s not even snowing yet!”
He drops his head on the desk in desperation and we all laugh at his overdramatic act.
“Oh, by the way,” says Jenny, as the teacher walks in. “We’re all going out tonight!”
“We are?” asks Tristan.
“Yes! There’s this bar I’ve been wanting to go to for a while.”
“And we are ALL going?” asks Tristan again, looking at me suspiciously.
The three of them turn their heads to me, looking at me with questioning eyes, waiting for my answer. I sigh.
“I was planning on spending the night in, watching Netflix in peace before going home tomorrow for Thanksgiving, but I guess I’m not anymore!”
They all smile, mischievously. Oh, peer pressure, you just made me relinquish my night in!
“Where is this bar exactly?” I ask, a little annoyed that I got tricked so easily into going out when I don’t enjoy bars that much.
“The village,” says Jenny.
“Of course!” I add, laughing. Because when you have four friends in a group and two of them are gay, one is bi and the other one is panromantic, the village is always a choice destination!
They all look at me for a second, their blinking eyes the only thing moving on their expressionless faces. Then, the corner of Tristan’s mouth starts quivering, shortly followed by an explosion of laughter coming from deep inside of him. The others follow suit and we all roar with laughter until the teacher calls us out, asking us to quiet down so she can start her class. I turn to my grammar book, unable to stop giggling. What a sight the four of us are!
Image obtained from:
https://78.media.tumblr.com/44379068ef4341ba4c4fcc855fe23f11/tumblr_olwff7003e1qffv4co1_500.jpg
https://allsizewallpapers.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/autumn-leaves-alley-1280×800.jpg