Chapter 23
Isaac dropped me off at my dorm the next morning (ok, afternoon.) We made plans to meet the next day for lunch, because he said he'd be busy doing homework for the rest of the day and night. I made something up about having a paper to write. For all I knew, I did have a paper to write. I considered checking my class syllabi when I got up to my room, but I knew I probably wouldn't. As much as I had assured Lucy and Isaac that I would be attending all of my classes again, starting tomorrow, I suspected that it wouldn't happen. I had a lot of work to do, whether I decided to go to class or not. If I was going to go to class, I needed to get at least a portion of the homework done, at least as well as I possibly could. Even if I couldn't do any of the homework, I needed to email the rest of my professors and let them know that I was still alive and come up with some sort of excuse that would explain my absence. Maybe mono, that way if I didn't end up going I could just say I was still too weak. Mono makes you weak, doesn't it?
And if I decided not to go to class, I needed to figure out how I was going to skip them without Isaac or Lucy finding out. I figured I could fool Isaac easily enough, since our class schedules were different and I didn't live with him. We had completely different majors, too, so I thought I could count on him not knowing many people in any of my classes. Maybe I could even walk around different academic buildings during the time I was supposed to be in class. That way, I might run into Lucy or Isaac and they would think I was doing what I was supposed to be doing.
Lucy could be a problem. As I'd learned from the past week, fooling someone you live with was difficult. I couldn't just stay in bed, or even in the room, when I was supposed to be at class. I thought I could probably tell her at least one or two of my classes were cancelled, but I couldn't use that excuse too often. I could pretend I was sick, but that seemed like an awful lot of trouble. I hadn't played hooky since high school, and even then I would just tell my mother I had a fever, she'd nod and call the school, and I'd sit in my room all day, watching TV. Lucy, when I've been sick in the past, always wanted to take care of me. She brought me chicken noodle soup and made me take medicine. I didn't think taking cold medication when I wasn't sick was the greatest idea, so playing sick was definitely out.
Other than that, I just needed to find somewhere to go during the times I was supposed to be in class. I didn't think it should be that big of a problem. I just needed somewhere secluded, where I wouldn't run into anyone I knew. In a tiny college town.
Right. No problem. I supposed I could go home, but it was hours away and it would make my mother suspicious if I just showed up in the middle of the day. I didn't think she was usually home during the day, but I had no idea what her schedule was. Although she didn't work, she had a number of societies and charities that she was in charge of, and I knew her work with those things kept her busy, but she could come home at any time. Also, I couldn't take the chance that Lupe would mention to my parents that I had been home. If it had just been my father at home, I wouldn't have worried. I doubted he'd notice me, as long as I didn't make too much noise. When I lived at home, sometimes he would mistake me for my mother or Lupe, tell me something and then walk away, never knowing that he'd been talking to the wrong person. That used to bother me, but the older I got the more I didn't mind. If he thought I was someone else, he couldn't berate me for some minor transgression or yell at me for something he assumed was my fault.
If all else failed, I could always go back to the reservoir. That thought filled me with apprehension at first, but then a sort of calm came over me. I had been frightened the last time I was there, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to go back and face whatever it was that had frightened me.
So, that was decided, I supposed. I wouldn't be going to class, but I would be making some sort of progress. And I doubted anyone would see me at the reservoir. No one had been there last time. I'd just make sure I wore a coat and gloves this time, in case I ended up huddled under the picnic table again.
I hoped I would find something there. However frightening it might be, it was nowhere near as frightening as thinking everything was just in my mind.
And if I decided not to go to class, I needed to figure out how I was going to skip them without Isaac or Lucy finding out. I figured I could fool Isaac easily enough, since our class schedules were different and I didn't live with him. We had completely different majors, too, so I thought I could count on him not knowing many people in any of my classes. Maybe I could even walk around different academic buildings during the time I was supposed to be in class. That way, I might run into Lucy or Isaac and they would think I was doing what I was supposed to be doing.
Lucy could be a problem. As I'd learned from the past week, fooling someone you live with was difficult. I couldn't just stay in bed, or even in the room, when I was supposed to be at class. I thought I could probably tell her at least one or two of my classes were cancelled, but I couldn't use that excuse too often. I could pretend I was sick, but that seemed like an awful lot of trouble. I hadn't played hooky since high school, and even then I would just tell my mother I had a fever, she'd nod and call the school, and I'd sit in my room all day, watching TV. Lucy, when I've been sick in the past, always wanted to take care of me. She brought me chicken noodle soup and made me take medicine. I didn't think taking cold medication when I wasn't sick was the greatest idea, so playing sick was definitely out.
Other than that, I just needed to find somewhere to go during the times I was supposed to be in class. I didn't think it should be that big of a problem. I just needed somewhere secluded, where I wouldn't run into anyone I knew. In a tiny college town.
Right. No problem. I supposed I could go home, but it was hours away and it would make my mother suspicious if I just showed up in the middle of the day. I didn't think she was usually home during the day, but I had no idea what her schedule was. Although she didn't work, she had a number of societies and charities that she was in charge of, and I knew her work with those things kept her busy, but she could come home at any time. Also, I couldn't take the chance that Lupe would mention to my parents that I had been home. If it had just been my father at home, I wouldn't have worried. I doubted he'd notice me, as long as I didn't make too much noise. When I lived at home, sometimes he would mistake me for my mother or Lupe, tell me something and then walk away, never knowing that he'd been talking to the wrong person. That used to bother me, but the older I got the more I didn't mind. If he thought I was someone else, he couldn't berate me for some minor transgression or yell at me for something he assumed was my fault.
If all else failed, I could always go back to the reservoir. That thought filled me with apprehension at first, but then a sort of calm came over me. I had been frightened the last time I was there, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to go back and face whatever it was that had frightened me.
So, that was decided, I supposed. I wouldn't be going to class, but I would be making some sort of progress. And I doubted anyone would see me at the reservoir. No one had been there last time. I'd just make sure I wore a coat and gloves this time, in case I ended up huddled under the picnic table again.
I hoped I would find something there. However frightening it might be, it was nowhere near as frightening as thinking everything was just in my mind.
posted by Jennie at 12:01 AM
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