Quote Prompt for April 2024

         

7

         
          Walter Meier was at an awkward age. Being twelve, almost thirteen, he didn't quite fit in with his friends anymore. Too young to be a teenager, too old to be considered a pre-teen. His mother was busy with her charities and volunteer work, and his father was too busy with everything else.
         
         From his family's point of view, Walter was odd, a hiccup within the family.

         As he was growing up, he learned the hard way that out of three children, he came fourth. Communication was nonexistent between his parents and himself. If there was news to be shared with Walter from his parents, more often than not, Walter learned it from a grandparent or, worse, the nanny. Once, Walter even discovered he was grounded for misbehavior by the Dean of Students instead of his parents. Another more drastic example is when Walter arrived home from school for the Spring holiday to find his parents and sisters had gone on a two-week holiday without him and advised him, via the nanny, to return to the dormitory, stay there, and enjoy his holiday break while they were away.

          "Well then, Herr Meier, now that we know you will be with us during the holiday break, the dining room and library hours will remain the same; however, the pool, football field, and archery will have longer hours during the week. Please address each posted sign individually for their hours. Any questions?"

          "No, Headmaster. Thank you for the information."

          "Oh, and one other piece of information. Because of the holiday break, all the regular rooms will receive a fresh paint coat. That means all students will be staying in Carmmel Hall. All students will be sharing a room with one other pupil. Do be a sport and introduce yourself accordingly. That will be all." Turning away, the Headmaster walked toward a group of children of mixed ages to give the same speech.

          He has to share a room. He has never had to share before. Couldn't they triple another room or put whoever was his roommate in a closet? No, then they would put all the mops and brooms in his room, and his allergies would flare up, which would be a nightmare.

          Walking glumly to his room, he finally looked at the paper with the section and room number. He immediately stopped and dropped the key and paper simultaneously.

          Section 13, Room 13.

          Walter had many weaknesses. Asking him, he would state that his superstition was his most significant. He never uses pepper for fear of spilling it, never cuts his fingernails after dark, never forgets to compliment a baby, and constantly knocks on wood, to name a few.

          Anything with the number thirteen made Walter uncomfortable. As this was a double thirteen, he was more than a little uneasy. He rationalized that it was room twenty-six, and they forgot to add the numbers when creating the room assignments. While he knew the truth, pretending helped with the anxiety a small amount.

          He was glad he was the first to arrive at his room. This meant he could decide which bed and closet was his. As he started unpacking his belongings, the door opened with a bang, and he walked in, who Walter surmised was his roommate.

          Disheveled and lanky, the young male student dropped his baggage, pulled out some money, paid someone outside of view, grabbed the rest of his luggage, and sat them down in the middle of the room.

          "My name is Rufus Barnabas. People call me Dog. What's your name, Slim?"

          "It certainly is not Slim. My name is Walter Meier. I expect you to call me Walt. ."

          "Hey, I knew a Wally. Funny guy. Do you know any jokes, Wally? I bet you know many jokes."

          "My name is not Wally. It is Walter. I do not know any jokes."

          "Sure you do, Walt. Everyone knows a joke or two. It's in their blood. You think about it, and I bet you come up with one or two of your own."

          "So, which bunk is yours? I'll take the one farthest from the door if you don't mind. I like to sleep soundly without a door opening and shutting constantly. I see you took the left closet. That's the one I usually pick. As you were here first, you can have it unless you want to give it up."

          "I most certainly do not want to give up this closet. And as for the bed, I already have my belongings on that bed, and you can have the other bed. What year are you? I am a third year."

          "Well, isn't that a shame? I am a fifth-year graduate. I get the bed. You can keep the closet. Now, excuse me, I have some socializing to do." Mr. Barnabas threw the rest of his suitcases on his bed and left the room, leaving Walter speechless and shaken.

          To Walter's relief, he saw little of his roommate in the following weeks. Whenever Walter was around, Mr. Barnabas would either be away or sleeping. If there was any interaction, it was friendly, as if that first day never occurred. On one of those occasions, Mr. Barnabas invited Walter to a party he would attend.

          "It's a small party. About fifteen to twenty people will be there. The music won't be that loud, and this is a school-sponsored event so some faculty will be there, so you know it won't get wild. It will be a fun time. What do you say?"

          "I've never been to a party here. I won't know anyone."
          "You know me, and I will introduce you to the people. You're not a bad guy. They'll like you. Just don't talk about your family or your phobias."

          "I don't know. I don't do well in crowds."

          "Think of this as a class project where you meet all the students to discuss what you got on your test or assignments. The difference is that these people want to relax and have fun. That is something you need to learn how to do."

          After thinking about the party, Walter announces, "Fine, I'll go. You have to promise you won't dump me and leave me there alone. You also have to introduce me to people with whom I might have something in common so I can talk with someone."

          "Of course. Now change. Also, don't wear plaid or button the top button of your shirt. Yes, the light blue shirt looks good. No tie. Not those shoes. Those are Grandpa's shoes. Where are your gym shoes? Wear them. Don't worry about getting them dirty. They'll wipe clean, I promise--no Velcro watch band. If you don't have a non-Velcro watch band, don't wear a watch--one more thing. Comb your hair so the part is on the left side. Trust me, comb it over. Perfect. Look in the mirror."

          "is that me? I look so different. I look like someone else. I like it. Thank you, Rufus. I appreciate what you did for me. Are we ready to go now?"

          "Yes, we are. Remember, relax. If you get nervous, pretend you are someone else. Forget you are Walt and be whoever you want to be. Don't be cocky, don't pretend you know everything, and whatever you do, don't tell any jokes. Now let's go."

          Much to Walter's surprise, he enjoyed himself immensely. He met and talked with several different people that night; to his amazement and joy, some were girls. They commented how they had never seen him around campus or at the library. One of the girls stated she thought she had a class with him, but he looked different now than he did during the class. He asked if it was an improvement.

          "Oh, most definitely. You don't look so stuffy and nervous like you did. Definite improvement."

          "Thank you. I appreciate your candor. I will need to dress like this more often in class. I'm sorry I didn't ask you your name."

          "Helen. Helen Gerber."

          "Very nice to meet you, Helen." Turning to speak to the other girls in the small group, "It's very nice to meet all of you tonight. I am going to get a refill of my drink. May I offer one to any of you?"

          As the night wore on, Walter's confidence grew as he talked to more people. The one constant person he was with was Helen. They stayed together the entire night, mingling with the others mostly, while occasionally spending some alone time together.

          Rufus found Walter and Helen on the deck, quietly talking when the party ended. "There you are, Walt. It's time to go. Curfew is in thirty minutes, and we don't want to be late for our first night."

          "You go ahead, Rufus. I am going to walk Helen home. I'll be fine. She lives in the adjacent dorm."

          "That's fine by me. Don't be late. If you're caught after curfew, you receive a demerit on your permanent record, your guardians are notified, and you are on probation for the rest of the term. Be careful."

          Despite the warning, Walter lost track of time and did not return to the room until three o'clock in the morning, five hours after curfew. As he quietly crept into the room, he noticed the desk lamp was still on, giving him enough light to change into his nightclothes and climb into bed. As he turned, he noticed Rufus was sleeping in his bed. Not wanting to wake him, Walter prepared to get into bed.

          "I told you not to be late because of curfew."

          "Oh, you're awake. Sorry, I woke you up. I know you did. We got talking, and time slipped away. I have never met someone like Helen before. I like her. She is so fascinating, funny, engaging, and much more. I can't wait until later today to see her again."

          "Aren't you even curious why I am in your bed?"

          "I just thought you were giving me the bed I wanted."

          "Hardly. They did a bed check to see who was there and who wasn't. I got into your bed so they wouldn't count you as gone."

          "You did not. That would mean you received the demerit on your permanent record instead of me. Why? I was ready to accept it. I am here because my parents don't want me around, not because I want to be.

          "Listen, Walter, you need to grow up, take responsibility for your life, and stop blaming your family for how you turned out. From what I gather from listening to you, your family stinks and has treated you poorly. Now that you can start shaping your own life, let that part of your life go and go forward. Learn from it. Unless you do that, you will be like them, or worse, what they think you are."

          "Who are you to say this to me? You have no right to say these things."

          "' A good friend will always stab you in the front.'"

          "What does that mean, and why did you say it?"

          "This is a quote from Oscar Wilde. I said that because a true friendship is built on mutual respect and trust to confront challenges. Friends have honest conversations, regardless of the discomfort it may bring, and value the integrity of the friendship's connection. Understand?

          "I think I do. If I want to have a real friendship with you, we must trust and respect each other and have honest conversations despite any discomfort it causes. Like talking about me and how I feel about my family and past life."

          "That's a perfect start. Now that we have that clear, tell me about Helen.

Quote Prompt for April 2024
"A good friend will always stab you in the front."
                    -Oscar Wilde
Word Count:
1975