by Aisha Urooj
"My promise?"
"Yes, your promise. We will be waiting for you by heaven's gates when you do."
"I will keep my promise, I promise!"
After saying this he passed out again but thankfully, the paramedics arrived at this point. We go to the hospital and wait to hear from the emergency doctor. The doctor tells us that the kid had alcohol poisoning but he was going to be ok and that a family member had been informed. A short time later, we see a ginger-haired man come rushing in and talk with the same doctor. The doctor points him to our direction.
"Are you the two girls who brought Samuel here? I am so sorry for the trouble he caused..but thank you for bringing him here!"
"Are you Alex?"
"Yes I am. How did you know?"
"Samuel mentioned your name before he passed out..he said that he wasn't suppose to touch your stuff."
"Yeah, I am his older brother. I kept some beer in my fridge but we had warned him not to touch it. Guess the warning wasn't enough. God...he scared us when he went missing. I am not going to keep any more drinks in the house."
"Please take good care of your brother", says Ellie. "He worries about letting down his mom. He seems like a sweet, loving kid."
"Thanks I will. Thanks again for bringing him here."
Alex exchanges contact information with us and we would periodically call him to check on Samuel.
A few weeks later, we receive a thank you card in the mail. It was from Alex thanking us for helping his little brother. He mentions that Samuel has changed since that day in the emergency room and no longer gets in any trouble. Alex says that his little brother doesn't want to break his promise to mom, saying that he had "two pretty angels waiting at Heaven's gates... who will let him in only when he keeps his promise."
Chapter Sixteen: Action Star
Ellie has her first megahit movie, at the tender age of twenty, portraying a super cool action star.
For the role she does her own stunts and so she underwent an intensive and gruelling training in everything from knife-throwing lessons, boxing, archery and even riding a motorbike. Among the exercises, there was a “kidnap and rescue” portion. Ellie said that the trainers used live ammunition while “rescuing” Ellie from a staged kidnapping. Ellie said that live ammo was used to make it realistic to a hostile situation. She was also taught some outdoor survival skills, in case she finds herself in a life-or-death scenario in the wilderness.
Ha! I tell her that she has more to worry about city pigeons than the likelihood of that happening. Ellie said that the experience was all so exciting and wonderful...I really think she meant “physically and psychologically terrifying.” Based on all that Ellie told me, the training seemed designed to frighten the life out of anyone, especially me.
Ellie wants me to go on a ride on the motorbike with her and I agree to but very reluctantly. I have second thoughts when Ellie arrives, looking intimidating and edgy in an all leather wardrobe, and when I look at the bike, which looks like it was built for speed. The expensive, sleek new bike must be a present from her parents. Ellie's parents are successful lawyers that work long hours and frequently have very busy schedules but they try to make up for their absences by buying anything that Ellie asks of them. Seeing my pale face, Ellie reassures me that it was perfectly safe to be on the bike. After much reassurance, I get on the bike with Ellie.
"Ellie, will you slow down! I don't want us to crash!"
"Cassie, I am already going below the speed limit, any slower and we would have to take a ride back home in the back of a police car."
I think about the possibility and am tempted by the thought of being in the nice and safe police car but since I don't want to get a criminal record, I pipe down my complains. I breathe out a big sigh of relief when we stop by a cafe to get some tea, mostly in order to soothe my frayed nerves. As Ellie parks her motorbike, we are approached by a tall, dark and handsome stranger.
"Excuse me, aren't you Eleanor James?"
"Yes I am."
"I am a big fan of your films! If you don't mind, can I get your autograph?"
"Sure, it will be my pleasure!"
As Ellie sign the autograph, her good looking fan looks towards me and asks,"Hi! Can I get your autograph too?"
"But I..I.. am not a movie star...", I stammer back to him, surprised at his request.
"What? No way!....I swear I saw you in a movie. I won't be surprised if you do, you are so beautiful." I blush.
Was he flirting? He gives me a wink and a stunning smile. I blush some more at his open flirting. He reaches for his pocket and brings out a card and hands it to me saying,"If you don't mind giving me a call sometime, here is my card with my phone number." He flashes a another killer smile and I stand there looking dumbfounded. At moments like these I wish I had something to save myself, like Penelope had her cloak to put off her suitors in the Odyssey. Thankfully, the handsome fan also has good manners to match his good looks and doesn't linger for long.
After he leaves, Ellie says,"Wow he was so charming! You should totally give him a call Cassie!"
"Ummm...I don't know..."
"Why? Why ever not Cassie? He was gorgeous!"
"...he was a little too.. perfect"
"Too perfect?!", says Ellie and laughs. "Most girls would die to go out with him!"
"But I am not most girls?"
Ellie shakes her head. "Oh Cassie, what am I going to do about you?"
"...you could get me a scone to go with my tea?", I ask hopefully.
"Well...as your unofficial official diet and sugar-intake monitor, I would have to stop you," says Ellie, but after seeing my face drop she adds,"but since you were just traumatized by my bike and by being asked out by a handsome, well-mannered stranger (you really are strange Cassie), as your best friend I will ask.....if you just want one scone or two to go with your tea?"
I am delighted with her offer and go with the more generous offer of two scones. I ended up eating one of Ellie's scones too but when she wasn't looking.
Riding back to the apartment, I am less nervous than I was before on the bike and feel exhilarated by the open air and breeze blowing in my hair. I can see why Ellie likes being on the bike so much and wanted to take me too, I had never felt so energized and free! I come back home happier about the world and feeling that anything was possible.
Life was an grand adventure and I was a part of it.
Chapter Seventeen: Wanderlust
Ellie received an around the world ticket from her parents for her twenty-first birthday and gets ready to pack her bags to go travelling. Her present is an all-expenses paid tour across much of the seven continents.
Ellie wants to go hiking in Austria, island hopping in Croatia, and talks about many many other locations on her bucket list. I, on the other hand, am more preoccupied thinking about her staying comfortable on the long plane journeys and tell her about the magical button found on most planes that would extend her sitting space.
"Ellie, do you know where this magical button is?"
"No where?"
"It is on the underside of the outer most armrest of the aisle seat, to find it, you slide your hand under the armrest, close to the hinge and feel for the button."
"What will happen when I press it?"
"Press it and you are now free to move that armrest up so it’s flush with the back of your seat, giving you the freedom you deserve! A simple move and no more armrest digging into your side and a little swing room for your legs."
"Wow that is great to know!"
As I am busy chatting away about my little trick, Ellie looks at me fondly and says that she will miss me dearly on her trip. I know that she was only fascinated with anything that I talked about nowadays because I wouldn't see her for the next while. Also, because I was moving out and getting my own apartment while Ellie goes on her world tour.
We both know that we will miss each other dearly but I was excited that she was going on such a wonderful trip. Ellie was excit
ed too that I was getting my own apartment. She said that she looked forward to seeing how I decorated my place after she comes back from her trip. She will see how I stay true to the minimalist lifestyle.
As Ellie is going on her trip, I think about the decision I had to make regarding myself. I had completed my high school diploma by taking online courses but I had been putting off making a decision about going to university I finally make my decision and break the news to Ellie.
"Ellie I am going to University..."
"University? How dare you! You betray me.."
"I am sorry Ellie! We made a promise to our parents to go for university if when weren't successful. You are travelling all year and I feel bored sitting at home. I can't keep working at the accounting firm, I will lose my mind there! I need to think about the future too."
"Ha! Cassie, you thought I was serious? I was just kidding! Of course you should go to University!"
"I should?"
"Yes...you need to put your big brain and creative energy to good use! You have deprived it for too long! I need you to explore beyond the apartment and your workplace, it is a big world out there Cassie, more wonderful and weird than you can imagine."
"I won't go to an expensive one, don't want my first year to be a financial killer or drain my savings."
"Where would you go?"
"There is one nearby offering a big scholarship package, along with access to a great first-year financial aid, meaning I wouldn’t have to take time off to work, while still avoiding debt. I can also graduate earlier, which will also mean less cost."
"I am proud of you Cassie, you have learned a lot about finance from your job and you seem to have a well-thought out plan for handling University."
"I am glad you think so Ellie. Just don't ask me what my major is going to be. I don't know yet."
"We are taking baby steps here Cassie, not performing a miracle. I would have freaked out if you had already decided on the major too."
"You would have freaked out?"
"Yes, I might have even cancelled my trip to figure out what was wrong with you, conduct some tests to make sure you weren't an alien ..."
"Hmmm...sounds about right! I would have gone to the doctor too to make sure."
We both laugh. Both of us are happy and excited for the journey ahead of us.
Chapter Eighteen: University
I decide to go for my university degree at an age when most of the university students would have been graduating, a fact that I felt acutely.
Sitting in my first university class, I feel both mature and very immature, a feat on its own, being able to feel both conflicting sentiments at the same time.
I look around at the classroom, there are around twenty or so students, happily chatting to each other, already formed as a close knit group. I sigh. It seems that only the professor standing in the front and myself hold the honor of being the most senior in the noisy young crowd. My attention is diverted to the front when the professor starts to write his name on the dry erase board.
He looks to be in his late-forties with sandy coloured hair and a sandy colored goatee to match, the goatee, however, is not the most prominent feature of his face. That honor would be given to his thick, black eyebrows.
I have never come across anyone with such distinguishing eyebrows! They seem to take a life of their own...thunderous and dark when the speaker was angry, and jovial and merry when the speaker was as such. I am still struck by the animation of expression in his eyebrows when the professor begins his lecture.
"As you can tell by my intelligent eyebrows that I am your professor for this class. You may address me as Professor Katzmarick or Professor K, if you are in a hurry. I am sure that you all think that I am here to teach you but you are wrong in that assumption."
There is a pause in the classroom as the students try to decipher what Professor Katzmarick had just said. Didn't he just say that he was the Professor in this class? What does he mean that he isn't going to teach us? The class look to each other with puzzled expressions.
"I can see that my comment has caused some confusion...excellent! it means you were listening....let me enlighten you as to what I meant. I am not here to teach you as much as you are here to learn. My 'teachings', as you may call it, would be useless if it falls to an unwilling ear and disinclined mind. If you are here to learn then perhaps my words may be of some use to you. Let me start by getting to know some of the reasons why you took this course...you can speak out loud, no need to raise your hand but do try to do it without talking over each other."
The students begin to cite their reasons for taking the class. Some liked the books in the syllabus, some took it because it was a prerequisite course for getting into the program that they wanted and some had heard that this course was creative and challenging but had a smaller course load than the other courses listed.
Professor Katzmarick listen to the reasons with interest with only his eyebrows giving away his train of thoughts. His eyes look across the students in the classroom and comes to rest at me. I barely have time to look away when he adresses me.
"Excuse me, you aren't a long lost daughter of mine by any chance or maybe one of the Katzmarick clan? I can see that your eyebrows could rival mine, perhaps not in command but at least in expression! Do you mind sharing you name? What is the reason for you taking this course?"
"Me? I..I..am Cassandra Grace. I took this course but... I am not sure why I did. I thought that if I took this class, I will figure out what I wanted."
"Ahhh...the paradox of choice! Fear not, yours is a valid reason.....having a plethora of choices can be overwhelming. Well Ms. Grace, thank you for gracing our presence!" The class groans at his joke but Professor Katzmarick continues, "My dear class, I have just started...you will have to anguish over my sense of humor for the rest of the semester. Coincidentally, when speaking of anguish and suffering, our first book up for discussion is Hamlet by Shakespeare."
Paradox of choice? Was that my problem...was Professor Katzmarick right? He had said that I had nothing to fear and that my indecision was still a valid reason to take a course. I hadn't thought that when I took this course that I would find any clarity in the fogginess that seemed my future path but sitting here in this class, I feel a strange connection to Professor Katzmarick disjointed, and some would say eccentric, manner of teaching. He continues to talk about Shakespeare.
"What is it about Shakespeare that still makes him relevant four hundred or so years later? Think about it...most contemporary works become outdated and forgotten over a short period of time but not his works. Why is that?"
A few students raise their hands to his question but Professor K continues on,
"Could it be that he touched the one area that would stay as important to us as it did to him? I am talking about human emotions...anguish, fear, love, hatred, revenge...you take your pick. Why have I chosen Hamlet for you? I feel that his angst might speak to your own young conflicted souls. You might relish the complex agony in his soliloquys and think that Hamlet's internal dialogue could mimic the harshness of the internal critics in your own minds."
"Who am I to know?...perhaps you are at peace with your shortcomings in life and have no outer enemies to target for revenge? I would say this much, however, as long as you can feel the complexity of human emotions, it is still a relevant read for you. For your first assignment, I would like you to explore your own personal favorite emotion and write a page about it. I would expect this assignment due the next time I see you."
With these words, the class is dismissed, but I feel that it was too short of an introduction. Professor Katzmarick had raised so many questions, mostly about our own selves.
I think about the assignment that he gave us, what was my personal favorite emotion? What was something that I could write a page on? Would friendship be considered an emotion...did it fall under the umbrella of love? With these thoughts, I head for my next class feeling emotionally and mentally engaged and at l
east a little content being present at the place that people went to for higher learning.
Chapter Nineteen: Deciding on a Major
I sat thinking about the three witches from Macbeth (another Shakespearean pick by Professor Katzmarick), the one who are said to represent the three fates. Ellie catches me thinking.
“What are you thinking about Cassie?”
“How do you know that I was thinking about something?”
“You have your thinking face on.”
“I have a thinking face?”
“Yes…and a sleepy face and a hungry face. So, what were you contemplating?”
“I was thinking about the three Fates. Have you ever thought about them?”
“No, I can honestly say I haven’t and the only mythical creatures that I will be thinking about would be the Muses…you know since I am an aspiring actor wanting to be an inspiring one.”
“That makes sense. I was wondering about which of the three Fates was the strongest. Clotho is the spinner of the thread, Lachesis is the allotter and Atropos is the inevitable, the one who cuts the thread of life.”
“I would think that with a powerful moniker like the “inevitable” it would be Atropos?”
“True….but I was thinking it might be Lachesis? She is the one who decides how much time for life would be allowed for each person. If anyone can change a person’s destiny it could be her since she has the ability to extend life.”
“Interesting…what did your favorite professor say?”
“The same as you did. With a name like the inevitable and one who hands out death, Atropos is the clear winner.”
“Ha! He agreed with me? I guess I could be a professor too. Come to think of it, Professor Ellie has a nice ring to it.”
I laugh. “You will have a hard time being a professor Ellie.”
