The Bet (Persaud Girl)

by Mott, Teisha

  The ringing phone took him out of his reverie. Nathan placed his dirty plate in the sink and went to pick it up.

  “Hey Nathan!”

  He smiled at the sound of Andie’s voice. “Hey pretty girl! How’s the studying going?”

  “I almost pitched Fern through the window,” Andie said. “She has the attention span of a fruit fly, and that’s why she isn’t getting the concepts. Calculus requires concentration.”

  Nathan laughed. “Where is she now?”

  “I told her she could take a break. She’s probably downstairs perplexing Rosie.” Andie sighed. “I wanted to talk to you about something anyhow.”

  Nathan frowned. He took the phone back to his room with him. The tone of Andie’s voice intimated that the matter was serious. He wondered whether Samantha had said anything to her. “What’s up?”

  “Sammy saw a hickey on me,” Andie told him. “Actually, she saw quite a number of them!”

  “Oh,” Nathan said. “I’m sorry.”

  “Yeah,” Andie said wryly. “So am I. She freaked out – a lot. Started yelling at me, asking if we were sleeping together…”

  Nathan closed his eyes. “Andie…”

  “I told her we weren’t,” Andie said. “I am just telling you because we have to be more careful, Nathan.”

  “I know,” Nathan said with a nod. “I just got carried away. Andie I love…I love being with you.”

  “I love being with you, too, Nathan,” Andie said. She sighed. “Anyway, I’d better go. If I don’t rescue Rosie from Fern, tomorrow’s headline may read ‘UWI Co-Ed stabbed to death by Lecturer’s housekeeper’.”

  Nathan laughed. “Go, then, pretty girl,” he said. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Happy study.”

  “Bye Nathan!”

  Nathan replaced the telephone in the common area and went back to his room. He lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He had almost told Andie that he loved her. Stupid! Stupid! He thought. He could not tell her that. He did not even know whether it was true. His grandfather always told him that twenty-year-old boys do not, or should not fall in love. It was fortunate that he was able to catch himself in time. Did he love Andie? He wondered whether it would be a bad thing if he did. What was not to love about Andie? She was so beautiful and smart and sweet… She was just the kind of girl he always knew he would fall for when he decided it was time to fall in love. He never thought it would happen before he was forty, but now…. Nathan turned his face to the wall and closed his eyes. He was not sleepy, but there was nothing else to do except go to sleep. He had no more mid-terms until Dr Persaud’s second in-course test in a week’s time, no papers to hand in, and he was in no mood to study without a cause. He opened his eyes and glanced at his watch. It was nine-fifteen. It was times like those he wished he had been able to persuade his mother to get him a television set for his room. Dr Hansen was convinced that television killed brain cells. She much preferred her children to read a good book. Nathan considered going across the cluster and borrowing a book from the stash Shauna had. He sighed. He wished he could fall asleep. Perhaps one of his panic pills would do the trick. Before he could change his mind, he got out of bed and got the bottle from his closet. He took out two of the tiny tan tablets, and swallowed them without water. They certainly packed a punch, because in less than five minutes, he fell into a dreamless sleep.

  ***

  Wednesday afternoon. The eve of week 7

  Nathan was not having a good day. He felt totally out of sorts and cross, and, in his opinion, that damn tablet that he had taken the night before was to blame. So far, he had argued with all his housemates, including Jeremy, and had a fall out with Dr Krystal Miller in Sports, Government and Society class. He was trying to explain to her that the West Indies Cricket team won every series in the entire decade that constituted the 1980s except the first one which was in March of 1980. Dr Miller insisted on describing some fictitious defeats that had been meted out to the West Indies during that time. There was nothing Nathan hated more than being told he was wrong when he knew he was right, especially when he was not feeling well.

  In Intermediate Microeconomics class, he saw Samantha Persaud looking at him. He tried not to look at her, and hoped she would not say anything to him about Andie and the hickeys. If she said anything to him, the mood he was in, he would probably be mean to her, and he did not want to do that.

  It was almost one, and Nathan slowly worked his way over to the Assembly Hall. Andie would have been finishing up her Calculus I midterm, and he wanted to find out how it went. He did not doubt she would do well – Andie was a whiz at Mathematics. He just wanted to be with her.

  When Nathan got to the Assembly Hall, Andie was waiting outside, leaning against the wall. She was wearing a short denim skirt and a red turtleneck sweater-top that could not possibly be comfortable. She wore her hair out, and Nathan suspected that she was still hiding the hickeys. He wondered if anyone had told her that a warm towel would get them right off. It once again came to Nathan that Andie was extremely inexperienced, and he felt a tiny pang of guilt that she was gaining all her ‘experience’ because of a stupid bet.

  “How was it?” He greeted her.

  “It was fine,” She assured him. “I know I did well. I’m worried about Fern, though. I don’t know what she is working on so long.”

  “Fern will be fine,” Nathan told her.

  Andie looked at him. He did not look like himself. He looked pale and drawn, and there were circles under his eyes.

  “You okay?” She asked.

  “Yeah, why?”

  “You look tired,” Andie said.

  “Well, I’m fine!” Nathan answered shortly.

  Andie did not say anything. She hoped he was not cross because she told him Samantha had gotten angry last night. They waited in silence until the exam was officially over, and Fern bounded out, all smiles and braces.

  “I answered three questions, and I do believe they are correct enough to earn me a pass!” She exclaimed, doing a little jig around Nathan and Andie. “Now I just have to get through the final and all will be okay!”

  “See!” Andie said. “You were worried for nothing!”

  Fern stopped jigging, and looked at Nathan. “You alright now?”

  “What are you talking about?” Nathan asked.

  “I heard you this morning raining down on your housemates like a thunderstorm over the hilly interior of the island! What got into you?”

  “Nothing,” Nathan said. “Those guys just irritate the crap out of me.”

  “You know they are irritating,” Fern said. “You need to chillax, man!”

  “And maybe you need to just mind your own damn business!” Nathan snapped, being much harsher than was intended or even called for.

  “Yo, my yout’!” Fern said. “I don’t know who pissed in your cornflakes this morning, but you don’t bring it to me!” She gave him a nasty look. “Check yourself, Nathan Hansen, you see me, and change your attitude, cause right now, it stinks! Later, Andie!”

  Fern bounded off, leaving Andie alone with a very annoyed Nathan.

  “You sure you’re okay, Nathan?” Andie asked. “Are you feeling ill or something?”

  “I said I’m fine, Andie!” Nathan snapped. “Jesus! Who are you, my mother?”

  Andie did a double take. She looked at Nathan, her eyes hurt and confused. She did not know what had come over him, and she really was not interested in sticking around him, the mood he was in. “Sorry,” she whispered. “I’m going to the library for a while. See you later.” She turned and walked away.

  “Oh hell!” Nathan groaned. “Andie, I’m sorry!” He caught up with her, holding on to her arm. “I’m so sorry. I’m really tired. I didn’t sleep well last night, and now I am cranky as hell, and just not having a good day. I’m sorry I snapped at you. He pulled her into a huge bear
hug, and kissed her forehead. “I’m a prick. Forgive me, please?”

  Andie sighed, as he held her close. Finally, she pulled away and looked up at him. “Go to Preston and get some sleep,” she suggested. “I’m going to the library. I’ll call you later.”

  She walked away and Nathan watched her as she went. Crap! Was he going to alienate everyone in his life in one day? Who was he going to piss off next – his mother? His sister? Andie was right. He should go to Preston and get some sleep. He should also drink a gallon of water to flush the drugs out of his system. He adjusted his backpack on his shoulder, and slowly head towards Preston Hall.

  ***

  Andie spotted her cousin, Darrin as soon as she got to the main reading room of the library. He was pouring over some huge, formidable–looking medical science text books. She went over to him.

  “Hey Darrin!” She said, putting her books on the table. “How comes you are in here?”

  “The AC in the Med Library is down,” Darrin told her. “It is bad enough I have to study, but I cannot study in the heat.”

  “Fair enough,” Andie said, sitting. “Where’s Dylan?”

  Darrin shrugged. “Don’t know.” He looked at his cousin. “Nice top!”

  Andie blushed.

  “Is there any particular reason you’re wearing a turtleneck when it’s a million degrees outside?”

  “It’s not a million degrees outside, and I had an exam in the Assembly Hall,” Andie countered. “You know in there is like an ice box!”

  “Hmm,” Darrin commented. He turned back to his books, and Andie started working on her Accounts homework.

  “Did Dylan ever tell you that we were at Cornwall with Nathan?” Darrin asked, interrupting Andie.

  “Were you?” Andie asked.

  “Yes,” Darrin continued. “He was a couple of years below us. Had quite a reputation.”

  “What you mean?” Andie asked again.

  “He was sort of a ladies’ man,” Darrin said, his eyes still in his text books. “And quite a heart breaker too. A one night stand guy.”

  Andie snapped her Accounts text closed. “Are you trying to tell me something Darrin?”

  “I just told you, Andie!”

  “Which do you want to be today? The kettle or the pot?” Andie snapped.

  “Excuse me?”

  “You didn’t have a very good reputation when you were at Cornwall either!” She reminded him. “There were many girls that could say the same things about you that you are saying about Nathan. You are the one who changed girlfriends every week. You are the twin that caused girls to go to Auntie Kim crying, ‘Oh Dr DeLisser, Darrin broke my heart’, or you conveniently forgot?”

  “No one could ever say about me what they say about Nathan!” Her cousin said. “I never went around with my hormones raging, screwing everything in sight, and not calling them after.”

  “And Nathan does that?” Andie retorted.

  “Yes he does, according to what I’ve heard!” Darrin confirmed.

  “And your sources are so infallible!” Andie rolled her eyes. “What, you have contacts at Kingfish?”

  Darrin was getting annoyed with her. “You know something, Andie,” he said. “I’m not quarrelling with you, or encouraging your feistiness. All I am telling you is that you need to be careful. You have never had a boyfriend before and I don’t want you to get carried away.”

  “Thanks for the advice!” Andie said sarcastically. “It’s really appreciated.”

  “Let me give you a further word,” Darrin said tartly. “A stupid turtleneck when outside feels like one of the portals to hell is not a very good way to hide a hickey. Didn’t your boyfriend tell you to use a warm comb and comb it out, or put a warm rag on it?”

  Andie opened her mouth to comment, but nothing came out.

  “Watch yourself, you hear me, little girl!” Darrin warned. “I don’t trust Nathan Hansen as far as I can throw him, and I am far too busy to mop you up off the floor after he uses you and disses you like he does to all the stupid girls who have fallen for him.”

  “Nathan would never do that to me,” Andie whispered.

  “Let’s hope you’re right.”

  Darin turned the page, indicating to Andie that the conversation was over. Andie turned back to her Accounts problems, but she could not concentrate. She was sitting at that same table the evening when Nathan had come over seven weeks before. Her life had changed so drastically since then. She moved from being ‘the ugly Persaud’, doubtlessly on her way to failure, to Nathan’s ‘pretty girl’ who got A for her GT11A presentation. He made her feel so good about herself, and she really, really liked him. In fact, there was a good chance that she loved him. Nathan would never use her and diss her like Darrin said. He loved being with her. He told her that. But did he really mean it? She wondered how many other girls he had told the same thing. What had caused him to ‘diss’ them? Andie remembered how angry he had been earlier for no apparent reason. He had snapped at her, and pretty much taken off Fern’s head. Was this the beginning of their downhill run? Was he about to diss her? Why did Darrin have to say anything? She was cross at him for bringing up this nonsense about Nathan being a player.

  Darrin looked up at his cousin. Her nose was buried in her accounts book. She was chewing on the end of her hair. He felt bad for her. It was obvious how much she liked Nathan. For the past number of weeks, his name came up in every conversation Andie had with him and her other cousins.

  “Andie…”

  Andie looked up at him darkly. “What?”

  “I didn’t mean to make you upset.”

  “Whatever, Darrin!” Andie looked back at her book.

  “I only want you to be happy, Andie,” Darrin explained. “You are my little cousin. I have your back no matter what.”

  Andie did not comment. Darrin started putting his books together. He had half hour to get from the main library to the hospital.

  “How are you going home?” He asked Andie.

  “Samantha finishes at two,” Andie mumbled.

  “I have to go,” he said, taking up his books. “Take care of yourself. I’ll see you.” He rubbed her hand. “And if Nathan ever does anything to hurt you, I will expose his insides to daylight for you, safe?”

  “Safe,” Andie said, offering a small smile.

  “Later, Andie-Cap!”

  Andie watched her cousin as he left the library. He had her back, as did Dylan and her sister. She decided, as she turned back to her books. If Nathan hurt her, she would not need Darrin or Dylan or Samantha. She would kill him all on her own.

  209

  The Bet

  chapter nine

  Thursday afternoon Week 7

  “That’s a wrap for today!” Dr Krystal Miller said, as she dismissed the Sports, Government and Society lecture on Thursday afternoon. “Nathan Hansen, come to tomorrow’s tutorial prepared to lead the discussion of cricket's ‘cultural imperatives’, and to answer the question of whether cricket has served the needs of the colonial empire England by re-inscribing its Victorian ethos on the newly-freed black West Indians, and if so, to what extent.”

  Nathan sighed as he put his books together. He had wanted to spend the evening going over International Economics, not doing research for Sports, Government and Society. He wondered why he ever chose that course in the first place. Dr Miller, he thought, was one disgusting witch. He wondered whether Dr Miller was being especially hard on him because he was dating Andie. Dr Miller had a vendetta against the Morenos and the Persauds, and everyone who had anything to do with them was fair game. It was clear to Nathan that he was no exception.

  Nathan glanced at his wristwatch. It was five minutes before noon, and Andie would be wrapping up her Politics tutorial with Professor Brown in Seminar room 5. Andie. He had not spoken to her the night before. She
had said she would call him, but she didn’t. He was too embarrassed about his behaviour earlier in the day to call her. He did not know why he had behaved the way he did. Those panic pills must have played a role in his behaviour. He always felt really cranky after taking them. The thought of discussing his nightmares and the pills with his mother crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed it. His mother thought that he was fine – that he had long outgrown being bothered by his father’s suicide. In her mind, he was a normal, well-adjusted twenty-year-old man, and he had to ensure that her thoughts remained as such. He did not want to give her cause to worry.

  He worked his way over to Seminar room 5 to wait for Andie. As soon as he got there, he saw her and Fern emerge. He smiled.

  “Hey!” He said, giving her a hug.

  “Hey yourself!” Andie returned. “How are you feeling?”

  “Much better,” he said honestly. “I only needed to get some rest, and I certainly got that last night.” He looked at her. “I’m really sorry for yesterday, and that goes for you too Fern. I am so sorry I yelled at you.”

  “Don’t worry about it!” Fern assured him. “I still love you!” Fern could never bear a grudge, and Nathan was grateful for that. She looked at her watch. “I’m late. I have to run.”

  “Orthodontist?” Andie asked.

  “Yeah,” Fern said. “Three more months of this crap, and I never have to see Dr Goldson again. “Bye, Andie. See you tomorrow!” She looked at Nathan, “And I’ll see you later, PMS boy. Come over for dinner. Shauna is making fried rice!” She ran away before Nathan could comment.

  Andie looked up at Nathan. He said he felt better, and he certainly did not sound as cross as he did the day before, but he still looked pale and drawn. She wondered whether he was going to have the flu or something. But he wasn’t coughing, and he did not sound congested. Andie was positive that there was something else wrong with him.

  “Are you going to swim club today?” She asked, as they walked to the Student’s parking lot to meet Samantha.