Infinite Testament

by Greg Ness

  “Study hard for finals next week. Class dismissed.”

  The students leapt out of the chairs and gathered their belongings. Stephen watched as they packed their bags like the room was on fire. And there was Jay Campbell, still taking notes.

  “Campbell,” Stephen yelled over the ruffling, “I’d like to talk to you.”

  Minutes later, the students were gone. All that remained were Stephen, Campbell, and dozens of empty desks.

  “You’re a freshman, right?”

  “Yes, sir,” Campbell responded. He was stiff and gangly, uneasy about talking to his teacher.

  “How are you enjoying school so far?”

  Campbell dashed his eyes around, unable to maintain eye contact with Stephen for longer than a second or two. “It’s okay. I like it just fine.”

  Stephen contemplated, trying to gauge the reliability of his statement. There were shades of Vince in Campbell: the old, awkward, antisocial Vince. Stephen always felt for people who didn’t fit in and it seemed like Campbell was one of those people. But if Campbell liked school, there was no problem. He wanted to help, but didn’t know what he could do.

  “Okay Campbell. Make sure you’re ready for the final next week, alright?”

  Campbell nodded and took off, leaving Stephen alone with the empty desks.

  “That’s it! It’s right there!” Stephen, Bruce, Vince, and Natalie were in Stephen’s car, pulling up to Lisa’s apartment building for the big party.

  Stephen parallel-parked and everyone filed out of the car. Stephen could hear the pumping of the music already. Natalie huddled near Vince. Stephen asked her, “Do you really think that’s a good idea?”

  “What?” She didn’t understand. He nodded downwards at her blue and gold Michigan sweater. She shrugged it off. “Whatever.”

  They entered the building and proceeded upstairs where they were greeted by Kristen. “Hey!” She opened the door and let them in. There were dozens of people crammed in the apartment. It was a full-fledged party. Almost instantly, the group split up. Bruce eloped with Kristen, and Vince and Natalie wandered away, leaving Stephen to fend for himself.

  Vince and Natalie strolled to the kitchen, which was littered with cups-empty, full, and everything in between. A tall, lanky fellow worked a keg, handing out cups of beer to anyone who waited in the line that was only a couple people deep. On the kitchen table, a game of beer pong was in progress. Ping-pong balls soared through the air, hoping to land in cups of beer.

  Bruce appeared over Natalie’s shoulder, “Beer pong! Now this is a party!” Bruce, with his arm around Kristen, joined a group of people watching. “Anyone got next?” He wasted no time getting competitive with the Michigan State locals.

  Vince was uninterested. Next to the kitchen table he spotted another table: a raggedy fold-up table with a chessboard on top. This is a party, he surmised. He led Natalie to the table.

  “Checkmate,” proclaimed the winner, Matt, Lisa’s boyfriend. He laughed and noticed Vince and Natalie towering over him. “Hey baby,” he said to Natalie, “I don’t like the sweater, but I like everything else.” He smiled, exposing his perfect teeth. He was a slim, powerfully muscular guy. He held out his hand, “I’m Matt, Michigan State QB. Future NFL star.” Natalie shook his hand only out of courtesy. She pegged him as a creep even before his ridiculous introduction.

  Vince sat in the chair across from Matt and held out his hand. “I’m Vince, Biological Engineer major. 4.0 GPA. When I’m 40 years old, I will have full use of my body. I will be able to run, jump and even pick something up when I drop it. You?” Matt growled at Vince. Naturally, neither liked each other; they just became fierce adversaries.

  Stephen scoured the partygoers for Lisa. College students roamed around him, offering passing smiles and polite hellos. He looked in the family room. Nope. Just a bunch of people drinking and hanging out. Where was she?

  Lisa was in the bathroom tidying herself up and applying some final touches on her makeup. She left the bathroom and entered her connecting bedroom. The walls of the room were painted a pleasant yellow and the bed was neatly made. As she passed by her dresser, she noticed a picture of her and Matt that sat atop it. They were both dressed up and held each other. Lisa smiled as she observed this moment captured in time. Matt was a good guy, no doubt. She might have loved him-she couldn’t be sure. But something always felt off about him. Either way, she wouldn’t hurt him. She cared too much to do that to him. Lisa left her room and joined the party.

  Vince moved his bishop. Matt had so far proven himself to be a worthy adversary. Vince tried to get in his head. What was Matt’s strategy? His opening had been pretty solid. Vince fought off his setups, striving to obtain the upper hand. As of yet, they were evenly matched.

  Natalie stood over them. How boring, she thought. She didn’t come to the party to watch Vince play chess. “I’m going to see what else is going on,” she said. “Sounds good,” Vince responded without taking his eyes off the board. His mind was racing, anticipating the next couple moves.

  “Whoa, hold on there, baby,” Matt said, as his attention veered away from the board and shifted to Natalie. Vince’s calculating mind raced to a halt. What did he just say?

  Natalie snapped, “Don’t talk to me like that.” And with that, she left the chess game for a new endeavor.

  “She’s a feisty one, huh?”

  Vince stared at the board, not bothering with Matt. “I’m focusing.”

  Finally, Stephen spotted Lisa. Passing faces prevented him from getting a complete view, but there she was, in the middle of the hallway. Her eyes shot around, presumably looking for him. She wore eye shadow that accentuated her green eyes. What a sight. He squeezed his way past the crowd.

  Lisa looked toward the kitchen: Bruce and Kristen were there playing beer pong. That meant Stephen was somewhere in the apartment. She turned toward the family room and found him in the hallway, inching his way toward her.

  Stephen waved his hand in the air. Lisa waved back. After making his way through a cluster of people, Stephen approached her. Lisa’s lips extended and her teeth were revealed as she gave him the smile. Stephen managed to maintain his composure. “Hey,” he said quietly.

  “Hey, Slave Stephen,” she responded.

  Stephen looked at her feet. “No crutches?”

  “Thought I’d give walking a shot a little early.”

  As Stephen started to lose himself in her presence, he asked, “You want to grab a drink?”

  She nodded. Up close, Lisa sparkled. There was not a more dazzling sight than the one standing in front of him. Stephen leaned into her ear and whispered, “You look beautiful.”

  Lisa was touched. She gazed longingly at Stephen as he backed away from her ear. If there was any question how Stephen made her feel, she only had to look within at this moment. That same longing and thirst she felt at the ice cream parlor was again overpowering her. She forced a smile. Almost forgetting their plan, she mumbled, “Why don’t we… Why don’t we get something to drink?”

  Natalie approached the family room full of green and white wearing jocks courting the girls. Football players, she assumed. She strolled in the room. One by one, everyone in the room stopped their conversations and glared at her.

  “Hi,” she said.

  Everyone looked at her like she had just slapped their mothers. Natalie realized their problem: they were sickened by her Michigan sweater. “Oh this?” she said as she pointed at her sweater, “Yeah, we kicked your ass this year, don’t worry about it.”

  In the kitchen, the tall, lanky fellow working the keg handed Stephen and Lisa cups of beer. Stephen raised his flimsy, plastic cup. “To you.”

  Lisa raised hers. “To you.”

  “How generous.” Stephen said, “In that case, to us.”

  As they clanged their cups together, the cheap plastic created almost no audible sound.

  “Hey Lisa! Can you grab me a beer, please, babe?” Matt yelled as he faced off with V
ince in chess. Lisa took a quiet breath of frustration. “Sure, Matt,” she uttered. Lisa once again utilized the services of the lanky fellow filling cups. As the cup was being filled, Stephen whispered, “You okay?” She nodded. Her internal pain was unfortunately obvious to Stephen.

  Stephen seized the cup from Lisa’s clutch. He walked over to the chess table and plopped it in front of Matt. “Here ya go, Mike,” he said, spouting the wrong name on purpose. Matt looked up at him, puzzled.

  Stephen held out his hand, “I’m Stephen.”

  “My name’s not Mike,” he said as he took Stephen’s hand. “It’s Matt. Lisa’s told me all about you.”

  Vince interrupted, “Wait. He doesn’t get the ‘Future NFL star’ spiel?”

  Stephen and Matt ignored him. “I’ve heard about you too,” Stephen said, “It’s a pleasure to meet the football legend.”

  Matt instantly liked him. “Appreciate it, dude. If you’ll excuse me, I have to beat bookworm here at his own game.”

  Stephen was done patronizing him. Matt was a tool. The arrogance seethed out of his pores and infected the air around him. But he would wisely keep his opinions to himself.

  Stephen turned to face Lisa. She was gone. Huh? He looked around the kitchen: all he could see was Bruce and Kristen quickly getting drunk playing beer pong. The kitchen was devoid of Lisa’s presence. Stephen spotted her standing in the hallway again. He stepped around everyone and joined her. “Where’d you go?”

  She smiled half-heartedly. “Wanna take a walk with me?”

  Outside, they strolled on the sidewalk. Although the area around her apartment was dark, the streets lit up as they walked further away.

  “You guys got ripped off with the streetlights.”

  Lisa laughed, “I know, right? It’s like we’re the embarrassment of the neighborhood and no one wants to see us.”

  “So where are we headed?” Stephen asked, getting straight to the point.

  “I don’t know. I guess we could go to the lake and head back. I just need to get some fresh air.”

  It was pleasantly warm outside. Summer was right around the corner and spring was giving them a nice preview for the evening. The grass was almost back in full force and the leaves in the trees showed signs of regrouping.

  “It’s weird,” Lisa said, “I just met you… but I trust you. You seem genuine.”

  “Thanks.”

  Lisa hobbled along, slightly limping with each step. “Did you mean what you said the other night? About not knowing what you want to do with your life?”

  “Absolutely. I have no clue.”

  “I don’t know why I’m asking… I just… My parents and Matt… they put a lot of pressure on me to figure it out. Matt’s probably going to play in the NFL next year. And I just… sometimes I don’t know if that’s the kind of life I want to live. I don’t know what I want to do.”

  Stephen and Lisa approached the lake. It was peacefully quiet. The full moon reflected off the surface of the rippling water. They stared out at the lake, embracing the peaceful quiet around them. Stephen said, “You know what they say… Life is about the journey, not the destination.

  “People want you to figure out your destination. But you can’t. No one can. It would’ve been like asking Columbus where he was going. Would he have responded ‘America’? No. Because he had to go on the journey to find out.”

  The lake was surrounded with rocks; everything from big boulders to little pebbles. Stephen picked up a pile of rocks and amassed a mini-arsenal in his hand. He tossed one into the lake, watching the splash flutter up.

  Stephen continued, “My dad once told me, ‘All paths lead nowhere. Follow the path with heart’.”

  “Your dad sounds like a smart guy.”

  “He’s not,” Stephen retorted, “He left me and my mom when I was little. Haven’t heard from him since.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.”

  Stephen reassuringly smiled at her. He wasn’t upset about it in the least. “Rock?” He extended his hand and offered her a rock to throw in the lake.

  “Sure.” She grabbed one from his hand. She wound back and flipped her arm sideways. The rock flew from her hand and skidded across the water.

  “Wow!” Stephen proclaimed, “That was great!”

  Lisa laughed. “Thanks.”

  There was silence between them. They looked out at the rippling water, listening to nothing but their thoughts.

  “I have to be honest with you,” Stephen said as he dropped his arsenal, “I don’t know you all that well… but you’re one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met.”

  Lisa turned to him and smiled. Never in her life had anyone made her feel the way he did. Her hands crept forward and softly rested in his.

  Stephen peered into her green eyes. Full of light, they longed for him. He searched his whole life to find someone like Lisa. And the woman in front of him was beyond anything his imagination could have thought up. They both had the strongest feeling they had known each other for longer than just a week.

  Lisa’s fingertips caressed his hands. He gently rubbed hers in return.

  Lisa’s thirst grew too strong. She leaned forward and brought her lips toward his. As they kissed, Lisa’s moist lips felt angelic on his. It was at this moment Lisa fell in love with him. Sure, it happened quickly, but real love won’t be denied.

  Lisa pulled her lips back from Stephen and gazed into his blue eyes. Though surrounded by darkness, they illuminated the area. She smiled. Everything felt right.

  She whispered, “I find you… endearing.”

  Stephen smiled. He leaned forward and kissed her lips one more time. He couldn’t resist.

  Their lips separated. They gazed into each other’s eyes as they continued to hold hands. “Well, this complicates things,” Lisa cracked.

  Stephen and Lisa headed back to the apartment. The walk back felt much different from the walk out. They walked to the lake as friends. Now, they were more.

  Inside the apartment, the party was over. Everyone was gone. The kitchen was a disaster; cups were everywhere and chairs were overturned. There were even a couple holes in the walls.

  Vince stood with Natalie, who nursed his fresh wounds with an icepack. Stephen and Lisa, shocked at the sight, saw Bruce leaned against the counter and Kristen at the table, looking exasperated. Kristen uttered, “I’m sorry Lisa. I kicked them all out.”

  “Why? What happened?”

  “Bruce and Vince fought the football players.”

  Stephen looked at Bruce. He was unscratched. Typical. Even more typical that he got in a fight. “Again?”

  “Shut up, Stephen. You weren’t even here.”

  Lisa asked, “Where’s Matt?”

  “He left. He wants you to meet him at his place.”

  Stephen and Lisa simultaneously looked at each other for answers. Should she go? Almost subconsciously, Lisa grabbed Stephen’s hand and squeezed it.

  She wasn’t going anywhere.

  Kristen looked at their locked hands. Her neck straightened. “Shut. Up.”

  Bruce’s face lit up, proud of Stephen. “Told you! Like it wasn’t obvious this whole time.”

  Lisa smiled, aware that she had just revealed her true feelings. And didn’t care. Stephen looked into her green eyes.

  Lisa was everything Stephen ever wanted.

  “Can you handle it?” Vince asked.

  “Yeah I got it.”

  Stephen and Vince were in a laboratory at the University of Michigan. They wore full-body radiation suits; every inch of their body was covered. Stephen felt it was an unnecessary precaution but Vince insisted so he went along with it. The lighting in the room was terribly fluorescent. Truth be told, the lab was not a visually pleasing place, but it was effective. Computers were abound, monitors were blazing, and there were cages of subdued rats in the waiting.

  Stephen approached a plexiglass box. Behind the box rested a mirror that occupied the entire wall. Stephen waved
to it and gave it a thumbs-up. “You ready for this?”

  A female voice filled the room, “Good luck you two.”

  The front of the clear box had a door that swung open. Stephen cautiously opened it and cold steam waterfalled out. The box was essentially a super-powered refrigerator keeping whatever they put inside at any desired temperature. As the box cleared of the steam, Stephen could see what he needed to retrieve: a small microchip, roughly the size of a thumbtack. A metal arm held it up, high in the depths of the box.

  It was because of this microchip, this revolutionary technology, that everyone in the room needed to wear full-body suits. One wrong move and the results could be disastrous.

  “Hey Vince, there’s this kid in my class…” Stephen said as he grabbed a thick pair of tweezers off the counter. “He reminds me of you back in the day.”

  Vince cracked, “He must be a great kid.”

  Stephen gripped the tweezers through his gloves. He needed to grab the microchip with the tweezers and relocate it. It was like a difficult game of Operation. One unsteady move by Stephen and they’d have to start all over. This being their 2nd try, Stephen didn’t want to screw it up.

  “Here we go.” Stephen moved the tweezers to the microchip. It was directly between the tweezers’ grasp. He squeezed. The tweezers clicked around it. Carefully, he pulled them out. “Placement ready?”

  “Ready.”

  Next to the plexiglass box sat an unconscious rat. More importantly, its brain was exposed. Vince held a knife that kept a miniscule flap of the brain open. Delicately, Stephen moved the microchip toward the brain of the rat. This was it; the attempt they’d been waiting for. Last time, Vince slipped and the microchip landed just anterior of the brain. That created a mess of problems. If Stephen could just get it inside the flap, that would all be forgotten.

  Stephen could feel the pressure. He focused all his energy on keeping his hand steady. It was normally an easy thing to do but when countless hours of work were riding on it, it became excruciating. Sweat poured out of Stephen’s forehead. Uh-oh. It snaked its way down. Focus. Just focus. Stephen shook off the distraction and managed to hold the microchip just above the brain. He slowly moved it into the flap and placed it on the target. Almost instantly, the microchip disappeared from sight and dissolved into the brain of the rat.