by Mott, Teisha
“That’s my roommate, Shauna Brown,” Fern said, introducing the girl. “Shauna, Andie Persaud. She’s in my class, and she’s been hanging out with Nathan.”
Andie blushed. “Fern, why would you say that?”
“Because it’s true, duh!” Fern looked at Andie as though she was insane. “You have to understand two things, Andie – number one: nothing that happens on this hall is a secret. I am sure the three hundred and odd Prestonites who live here already know that you were hanging out with Nathan this evening. Nathan is very popular, and very eligible.”
Andie could not imagine how the three hundred and odd Prestonites could have known that. She could count on one hand the number of them that actually came into the study room while they were there.
“What’s the second thing, Fern?”
“Never, ever deny hanging out with a fine, fine specimen like Nathan Hansen! You are a very lucky girl, Andie Persaud!”
Andie blushed. She realised how often she was doing that of late.
“What was Nathan helping you with, Andie?” Shauna asked.
“Politics,” Andie said. “I have a paper due, and he is apparently the great guru of GT11A. What’s your major?”
“English,” Shauna replied. “I’m going to be the next Sidney Sheldon.”
“Ah!” Andie said, nodding. “That’s a good ambition. I like his novels.” She turned to Fern. “Can you help me call my parents?”
“Yeah man!” Fern said. “Siddown. Let me get the phone. What’s your number?”
As Fern dialled the number, Andie wondered what she would tell her parents. It was almost eight o’clock. She had never been out that late without their permission, or knowledge. She was still wondering whether to tell them she was with Nathan when Fern handed her the phone.
“It’s ringing.”
“Hello?” It was Christopher.
“Christopher could you please put Mommy or Daddy on the phone?”
“Where are you, Miss Lady?” Christopher asked indignantly. “You know how long ago you should have been home?”
“Christopher, please…”
“Hold on. Mommy! Your prodigal daughter is on the phone!” Christopher screamed.
Andie shook her head. Every day, more and more, she was convinced that Christopher hung around with too many adults. He was like a forty-year-old man trapped in an eight-year-old’s body.
Mrs Persaud came to the phone, scolding. “Andie it’s almost eight. Where are you? Your father and I were getting ready to come looking for you!”
“I’m at school, Mommy,” Andie explained. I told Samantha to tell you I was getting some help with Uncle Marcus’ paper.”
“Samantha told us, all right. And she told us you are having that boy drop you home,” Mrs Persaud said. “The one your father is convinced likes you.”
“Nathan, Mommy,” Andie confirmed. “We’re finished for the evening. He’ll take me home shortly. I just wanted you to know I was okay.”
“Did he treat you okay? Did you at least have something to eat? We were so worried, and Theresa is keeping your dinner warm for you.” She made one of your favourites, fish in plum sauce.”
“I’m going to grab a bite now,” Andie told her mother. “I’m fine, and I got a lot done. You didn’t have to be worried.”
“Daddy and I are waiting up for you,” Mrs Persaud told her. “Hurry home. And tell that young man to drive safely!”
“I will, Ma. See you in a bit.”
Andie hung up, and looked at Fern and Shauna. “Where are you guys from?”
“I’m from St. Ann, and Shauna’s from Hanover,” Fern told her.
Andie shook her head. “Isn’t it weird that you two get to live miles from home for three years straight, and I spend one evening away, and my parents go berserk?”
Before either Fern or Shauna could answer, Nathan appeared at the door. “You called your parents?” He asked Andie.
She nodded.
“Good. I hope they not upset that you not home yet!” He marched over to Shauna and pulled her novel from her hands. “You don’t have anything to study?”
“Nathan don’t lose my page!” Shauna screeched as Nathan flung ‘Windmills of the Gods’ on to the desk.
“If you must read, don’t read crap!” Nathan advised. “And by the way, the fat woman is the murderer, and the Chief of Staff is the Controller. Come, Andie!”
He ducked expertly, as Shauna threw a pillow at him. Andie wished she lived on hall. She liked Fern and Shauna and Nathan, the camaraderie they shared and the freedom they had living on their own and doing what they wanted. She thought the twins, Klao and Bianca were free, living with Grandma and Grandpa Persaud, but that was nothing compared to living on hall. She followed Nathan next door to his house. It was alive with noise. There seemed to be some sort of arm wrestling competition going on between Jeremy and another guy who Andie had never met, but who appeared to spend as much time in the gym as Jeremy, and Micah and Omar were the officials. Another guy leaned against the fridge, casually drinking Lucozade straight from the bottle and loudly observing the goings on.
“Good evening,” Andie mumbled. She decided that she really was no good around boys.
No one answered her. They were too involved in the arm wrestling competition.
“Come have your sandwich in my room,” Nathan told her.
“Okay!” Andie took one last look at the two sweaty, muscle-bound men, and the other three who were cheering them on, and decided that Nathan was the only one of the group that seemed to have any sense. She walked behind him, as he balanced a tray of sandwiches and two glasses of chocolate milk.
“Have a seat and allow me to apologise for those idiots,” Nathan said, setting the tray on the desk. “They’re competing for who gets the TV remote.”
“They’re loud,” Andie commented.
“That’s why I don’t study down here,” Nathan replied. “One of the drawbacks of living on hall. The noise. Sometimes it feels like I’m living in a ghetto!”
Andie wordlessly took a bite of the peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich that Nathan had made her. It was delicious, she thought, or maybe she was really, hungry. He seemed to have made it with some kind of sweet bread with fruits and nuts in it.
“This is a really good sandwich!” Andie said passionately. “Seriously!”
“Thank you.” Nathan took a sip of his milk. “My grandmother made the bread.”
“Really?” Andie finished her sandwich and reached for another. “Only thing my grandmother can make is reservations!”
They laughed like old pals. Nathan looked at Andie, as she ate. He was so comfortable with her. He looked at her in her rumpled baby tee shirt and jeans. Her face was shiny, and her hair was all over the place. A smidgen of peanut butter had missed her mouth and settled on the top right corner of her lip. He wished he could take a picture of her, sitting cross-legged on his bed, eating peanut butter and jelly, and drinking chocolate milk.
Andie caught him staring. “What?”
“You have a little something right…” he leaned over and used his finger to remove the smidgen from her face. “Here.”
Andie shivered although she was not cold. “Thank you,” she managed to whisper.
“You’re pretty!” Nathan commented.
“And you must be really tired!” Andie said tartly. “I’m nothing near pretty. I think you should take me home now, before you get too worn out to drive.”
“I’m not tired,” Nathan said. “And you are pretty, Andie.” She blushed, and looked away. Nathan sighed. “When you finish your milk I’ll take you home.”
Andie downed the chocolate milk in one gulp. It was not that she was in a hurry to go home, but when Nathan Hansen started touching her face and telling her she was pretty, it was obvious to her that she had to get ou
t of his presence, and more specifically, out of his room.
“Ready!” She said.
Nathan grabbed his keys and shoved his wallet into the pocket of his jeans. He picked up the empty plates and glasses, and Andie slung her backpack over her shoulder. She caught a glimpse of herself in Nathan’s mirror. Her hair was coming loose from its ponytail, her face was greasy and her shirt rumpled and dirty. Pretty? Nathan must be insane. She was not pretty. Samantha was pretty; Bianca and Klao were pretty; even Fern, with her mouth full of green-bracketed braces was pretty. Andie Persaud certainly was not pretty.
“Let’s go, Andie!” Nathan ushered her out of his bedroom, locking the door behind him.
The arm wrestling match was over. Apparently, Jeremy had won, for he was watching football on TV. The other four boys had disappeared.
“I’m taking Andie home,” Nathan told him.
“Can I come?” Jeremy asked.
“What are you? Four?” Nathan snapped. “No, you can’t come. I’ll be back soon.”
“You had fun tonight, Andie?” Jeremy asked, a sleazy smirk on his face.
“Yes, thank you,” Andie whispered. “Goodnight.” She escaped before Jeremy could say anything further.
“I don’t think I like Jeremy,” she commented as she walked with Nathan to the parking lot.
“Why not?” Nathan asked.
“Dunno,” Andie shrugged. “He looks at me funny – like he knows something about me.”
“Hmm? I don’t know what you mean,” Nathan said unconvincingly. He knew why Jeremy looked at her ‘funny’. He disarmed his silver Honda Civic sedan, and opened the passenger door for her.
They drove in silence for a while. Andie looked at Nathan. He was not wearing cornrows anymore. His hair was as it was the first night she saw him in the library, except it looked even curlier. She figured that was a result of it not being combed out properly after he pulled the cornrows out. He was looking straight ahead, with both hands on the steering wheel. She wondered what he was thinking. She hoped he was not thinking that he had wasted his entire evening helping her. She recalled him saying to Samantha that he was working on a paper for Sports, Government, and Society that was apparently due around the same time as her paper. She hoped helping her would not take away the time he needed to work on his paper.
“Hey, thanks for the help tonight, Nathan,” she said. “I really appreciate it.”
“It’s not a big deal, Andie,” he said. “I had fun helping you.” He smiled. “By the way, we aren’t finished. What you doing tomorrow?”
“You want to help me again tomorrow?” Andie was in shock.
“We’re getting you an A on that paper, Andie,” Nathan sounded serious. “Three hours isn’t enough.” They had gotten to the intersection of Constant Spring Road and Manning’s Hill Road. “Where do I go?”
“Right, and continue straight, like you’re going to Manor Park,” Andie told him. “I didn’t think we’d be doing more work together. What about your paper?”
“What paper?”
“The one for Sports, Government, and Society that you told Samantha you were working on.”
“That’s finished,” he said. “I’m a very dedicated student, Andie. I have a scholarship to maintain, and I’m looking forward to another one for Graduate School, so I have to keep on top of all my work. I don’t wait till the last minute to complete assignments.” He smiled at her in the dark. “I guess that’s why I don’t have much of a social life. I don’t even know where Norbrook is!”
“You’ll find it just fine,” Andie assured him.
She was right. Ten minutes later, Nathan pulled up outside the Persauds’ palatial home. It was nestled in the elbow of a cul-de-sac, and was almost concealed from the road by a tall brick wall. Andie opened the wrought iron gates with her battery operated gate opener, and Nathan cruised down the lit driveway. He whistled mentally. The three-story house was set on level, manicured lawns, and painted in a pale jade, set off by white widows. Nathan did not know that houses like those existed in Jamaica. He wondered what inside looked like.
“Pull over here,” Andie advised him, when they got to the top of the front driveway.
Nathan obeyed. Andie reached for her keys, as she got out of the car. “Thanks again, Nathan,” she said. “My sister and my parents will be happy to see that you’re a careful driver.”
Nathan got out behind her.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m walking you to the door,” Nathan told her. “Suppose your father is looking out the window? I don’t want him to think I was raised by wolves!”
Andie could not help smiling. Nathan walked with her to the front door.
“So next time, we will wrap up the paper, and work on presentation techniques, right?” He said.
“I guess so,” Andie agreed. “You really are my hero!”
Nathan smiled. “I can’t think of another person whose hero I’d rather be,” He saluted gallantly. “Goodnight, Ms Persaud.”
“Goodnight, Mr Hansen!” Andie tried to sound demure. “Call me when you get home so I can know that you got there in one piece.”
She slipped into the house and went to find her parents. They were curled up together in the den watching an old movie on DVD.
“I’m home,” she announced.
“So you are,” Dr Persaud commented. “Did you get a lot done?”
“I certainly did,” Andie confirmed.
“And Nathan was a gentleman?” He asked again.
“Yes, Daddy, he was!” Andie smiled. “He even gave me dinner of sorts, and he walked me to the door.”
“I like that boy!” Dr Persaud declared.
“Don’t like him too much yet,” Mrs Persaud said. “Andie, go ask Theresa to get your dinner, if you still want it.”
“I’m actually full, Mommy,” Andie confessed. “Nathan made me sandwiches. I’ll have my dinner for breakfast tomorrow.”
She kissed her mother’s cheek, then her father’s. “I’m going to my room. I’m gonna go put some more meat on my paper. Goodnight!”
“I wouldn’t mind if you tried your hand at one of your Econ tutorial sheets!” Her father said. “Or do you need help with those from Nathan, too?”
“Daddy, don’t start!” Andie warned, leaving the den.
She hopped up the stairs two at a time. As she passed Samantha’s room, she noticed a light under the door. She knocked, and, at her sister’s command, entered.
“I’m here, and I’m still alive!” Andie said.
“I can see that.” Samantha turned from her computer and looked at her sister. “Did you get the help you needed?”
“I sure did. Nathan is very bright.”
Samantha nodded. “That I know.”
“Well, alright then, ’night Sammy,” Andie turned to leave her sister’s room.
“’Night, Andie,” Samantha replied. As she turned back to her books, she thought of something. “Hey, Andie?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m glad you’ve made friends,” Samantha said. “And Nathan is a decent guy. But if ever that changes, you let me know, okay?”
“Okay. ’Night!”
Andie walked down the hall to her room. She did not see Nathan changing from Prince Charming into a frog anytime in this lifetime. He was a sweetie pie. She smiled to herself as she prepared to take a shower. For the first time in her life, she felt really, truly happy, and her happiness had everything to do with Nathan Hansen.
After her shower, she climbed into bed, taking her Politics notebook with her. She looked at the clock by her bed. It was more than half hour since she had gotten home. Nathan must have gotten back to Preston by then. She wondered why he did not call. As on cue, the phone rang. She grabbed the extension by her bed.
“Hello?”
“
Andie? Hi, it’s me!”
Her face lit up at the sound of Nathan’s voice. “Hey! I take it you’re home in one piece.”
“Yeah,” Nathan said. “I got home quite a while ago, but one of the guys was using the phone.”
Andie did not know what comment to make.
“Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” Nathan said.
“I guess you will,” Andie replied.
“Sleep well, Anne Dru Persaud!”
“And you too, Nathan Hansen!” Andie sighed as she hung up the phone. She closed her eyes, and brought to memory Nathan’s dark hair, sparkling eyes and adorable dimples. She could not wait for tomorrow to come.
***
“Stop hovering over me! You’re not the Holy Spirit!” Nathan snapped, looking up at Jeremy. “And I don’t recall inviting you into my room.”
“You’re clever,” Jeremy commented. “Very clever. I like how you deal – first you help her with her paper, then you feed her, take her home, then you sweet talk her. But guess what, you’re still going to lose!”
“Mm-hmm, gwaan run your mouth! We’ll see about that. Now get out of my room, please.”
Jeremy snickered. “That little virgin going to be harder to get into than Bank of Jamaica through the back door!” He said. “She looks like she’s afraid of men. I touch after her, and she quail up.”
Nathan repressed the urge to punch Jeremy’s smirk down his throat. “She’s not afraid of ‘men’, Jeremy,” he said pointedly. “She’s afraid of you. And for the record, I have Andie Persaud right where I want her, so just shut the hell up and leave alright!”
“Only time will tell, my yout’,” Jeremy said, leaving Nathan’s room. “Only time will tell.”
Nathan slammed the door behind Jeremy, and flopped into bed. Against all odds, and putting his morals and scruples on the back burner, he had to beat Jeremy. He had to shut him up for good. He closed his eyes and planned his strategy with Andie for the next few weeks. He would continue to help her with her Politics paper. Once the paper was safely in, he would invite her to hang out with him. She is a swimmer, he recalled. Perhaps he would take her to the pool, or to the beach. Not for the first time he was grateful that his mother had insisted on getting him a car. It would make toting her around Kingston so much easier, and with ample opportunities to be alone with her, and away from that bastard, Jeremy Malcolm. In no time, she would trust him completely, her defences will be down, and then he can turn on the charm that made so many girls fall madly in love with him. Although he didn’t speak of it as often as Jeremy did, Nathan had played that game before, and on numerous occasions. Unfortunately for him, he never had a time frame in which to operate, and he never had to use a nice little girl like Andie Persaud.
