Breaking the Rules: Ridgemont University Short Read

by Meredith Taylor

The small King Air plane was darting through the sky, the sound of the engine a mixture between a muffled scream and a dinosaur’s roar. Luke Brennan sat inside, his palms sweaty but his breathing surprisingly steady. His ice-blue eyes were scanning the clouds through the goggles he wore, and he repeated his mantra in his head: The thrill lets you know that you’re alive. His eyebrows were stuck in a frown on his forehead, and his vision was slightly blurry in the rush of adrenaline. He felt like he was drowning in all of the safety gear and equipment, but he forced himself to focus on the mantra: The thrill lets you know that you’re alive.

  “Don’t look so scared, Luke! We’ve done a lot worse than this before!” the strained voice of his friend Blair was barely audible over the rumble of the engine. Blair’s long hair was tied back into a ponytail and her expression was one of complete calm. Somehow, Blair’s total immunity against fear was always calming for Luke, and he was glad that he had his friend along for his first time skydiving.

  Luke turned to face Blair again, and let out a loud, wolf-like howl which she dutifully joined in on. They laughed raucously and looked over at the skydiving instructor who would be joining them on the dive. He gave them a thumbs up with the broadest smile Luke had ever seen. Luke wasn’t sure who the man was trying to convince. Despite the regular flutter in his stomach that Luke encountered when he went on these crazy adventures, he was never really scared anymore. He hadn’t been scared of anything in over a year… since then, he had gone white-water rafting, parasailing, rock climbing and deep-sea diving. His friends often admired his wild, thrill-seeking nature. The only person who could keep up with him was Blair, and that’s why she was sitting next to him on his biggest adventure yet: skydiving over the Ridgemont Valley.

  Luke took a deep breath, and as he exhaled he felt the entire plane take a dip through the sky. His heart stopped and his stomach felt like it was being yanked out through his throat. Blair grabbed his shoulder as the plane dipped forward and immediately pulled up, throwing them both off balance. Luke wanted to let out a frightened holler, but he tried to hold it together in front of Blair. As the plane steadied again, Luke saw that Blair was completely enjoying the moment, her large, expressive mouth breaking into a guttural laugh. Blair’s sharp features, prominent cheekbones and honey complexion made her very popular with men, and her infectious laughter and spirit for adventure were sure to get her attention wherever she went. Luke enjoyed being around attractive, confident people, especially those who seemed like they didn’t give a damn about what people thought of them. He admired Blair’s features for a moment and joined in her laughter. “That was a close one,” he shouted above the sound of the engine. He turned his pale blue eyes towards the skydiving instructor whose smile had only grown. Was there something he wasn’t telling them? Luke shook away the thoughts of doom and gloom and enjoyed the moment. The thrill lets you know that you’re alive.

  The curly-haired instructor walked over to them, still smiling his oafish smile, and patted Luke heavily on his shoulder. “Okay, time to fasten the parachutes. Make sure that you remember where the emergency cord is. I will be right there with you so you don’t need to worry about anything.”

  Luke sharpened his gaze at the door, his plump, ample lips filling with blood from the cold of the wind rushing into their cabin. His lips had always been his most prominent feature, something that guys commented on when they were flirting with him. The full lips gave his face a feminine, earthy quality that contrasted with the cold blue eyes that might have been enough to scare people away. His sharp jawline and jet-black Caesar cut hair always got him noticed when he walked into Percy’s Pub on campus, or one of the other gay nightclubs in Cape Town. But the lips betrayed something more vulnerable, often flaring bright red in contrast to his pale skin. As he stood up from the seat in the small plane and walked towards the jump doors, his lips were redder than ever.

  Blair fastened her skydiving goggles over her face and made sure that her parachute was secure. The instructor stood behind them as they moved closer to the doors. Luke could feel the chill draining all feeling form his cheeks, and the wind blowing through his hair in all directions. His jumpsuit was loose and heavy on his frame, and even though it was freezing cold, he could feel a light sweat on his chest. He saw the clouds and blue sky turn into the horizon as he walked towards the opening. Blair was in her zone, Luke noticed, her stare vacant as she walked beside him. She turned to him suddenly and said, “I heard a story about someone’s parachute that wouldn’t open on one of these dives. Splat!” She gave a mischievous smile and winked at Luke through her goggles, and he laughed half-heartedly in response.

  “Here we go! We’re right above the landing zone! Are you ready?” the instructor hollered. Luke could finally bring himself to look down and appreciate the scene in front of him. There was a stunning landscape of green and gold as he looked down at the farmlands of the Ridgemont Valley. The area was famous for its wine farms, and the neat rows of vines below them offered a spectacular view. In the distance Luke could see the tall towers of Ridgemont University, where he was a final-year undergraduate student majoring in Psychology. He tried to take a mental picture of all of the beauty in front of him, and just as he was deep in thought savoring the magnificent sight, the instructor yelled out, “Jump!”

  For a moment Luke felt complete weightlessness, like the world around him had shifted into the realm of nonreality. His head was completely clear; he didn’t even feel the cold anymore. Then, like being jerked down by a giant fist at his collar, he was falling through the sky. His mind raced uncontrollably, an exhilarating rush overcoming him. It felt as if his blood was pumping through his veins at ten times the normal rate. He felt that same feeling of being alive that he felt every time he went on one of his wild adventures. The same feeling he sometimes felt when he met a new guy at a bar. For a few minutes at least, he was invincible.

  Luke tried to concentrate on the scene around him, seeing the ground approaching and feeling the push of air against his body as he fell. He could see Blair in the distance, her mouth wide open as though she were screaming euphorically, but he couldn’t hear her at all. The buildings looked like children’s toys on the horizon, and the roads around the Ridgemont Valley looked like the tiny trails of an anthill. Below him were the dazzling colors of the Ridgemont farms at autumn time. He wanted to take it all in and make the moment last.

  But he couldn’t keep his mind on the moment. He had flashes of all of the things he was trying to forget. He remembered how he felt when he got the message from his sister Stephanie that morning, asking him to meet her. He remembered the anger he felt as he threw his phone across the room. He thought of how much pain he endured one year before, and how hard he was fighting to forget his past. Why did it creep up on him even in these moments of pure abandon? Luke closed his eyes tightly and felt lightheaded. He knew that it was almost time to pull the cord so that his parachute would open. He reached up and held his hand over the cord, regretting that the moment would soon be over. In the distance he could see the instructor moving towards him. Blair had already released her parachute and seemed to be shooting up into the sky as her parachute countered the force of her fall. Luke pulled the cord, and… nothing happened.

  The parachute didn’t release. He suddenly felt his throat become dry and his eyes were filled with tears. His blood, just seconds before rushing wildly through his body, seemed to run cold. He tried pulling the cord again, but nothing happened. He fumbled around, reaching for the emergency cord, but for a second his thoughts were frozen and he felt calm descend over him. He hesitated. His grip on the emergency cord loosened and he focused his attention on the ground that was approaching rapidly. The thrill lets you know that you’re alive. For a brief moment, he remembered a loving image of his sister Stephanie.

  Before Luke even knew what had happened, the instructor was behind him and had fastened himself to Luke’s safety harness. The instructor pulled his own cord and both of them were suddenly f
rozen in the sky as the parachute opened. Luke heard the instructor’s voice in his ear: “Struggling with your cord, eh? Don’t worry, I’ve got you.” Luke didn’t know what to make of his feelings. He smiled nonchalantly and whispered a “Thank you” which the instructor probably couldn’t hear. He looked around for Blair, who was well above him. He felt himself descend back into reality, seeing the ground approaching at what still felt like a rapid pace. The instructor’s body was pressed tightly against his back, making him feel smothered. Finally, they reached the ground and Luke and the instructor synchronized their movements to catch the force of the landing with their feet and roll on the ground. Luke took a moment to gather his thoughts and felt the instructor unfastening the harness which had kept them locked together. “It happens sometimes,” the instructor said. “People just freeze up there. You must’ve forgotten about the emergency cord. Luckily you have me to catch you.” The instructor gave a hearty smile and patted Luke on the shoulder.

  “My cord was caught or something, and I was just about to pull the emergency cord. But thanks anyway,” Luke said, half-heartedly. He saw Blair land a few meters away and ran over to her, leaving the instructor to gather the parachute.

  Blair shouted out to Luke once she found her feet: “I didn’t know my story on the plane would be a premonition! Didn’t you listen during our training, Luke?” Her voice was hoarse from the dive. She laughed her raucous laugh, her sharp features seeming almost unpleasant in the moment.

  “I think our instructor was just being overcautious. I could handle myself,” Luke said, running his hands through his messy hair. His lips were bright red and he could feel heat returning to his body.

  “Wasn’t that amazing, Luke?” Blair exclaimed, hugging him enthusiastically. “What a rush! We should definitely do it again. Only this time, get your ’chute double-checked beforehand.”

  Luke was shaken from the whole experience. Why had he thought of his sister, the person who had betrayed him so callously, when he was hurtling through the sky? And why had he felt so calm when his parachute wouldn’t open? He decided that he didn’t want to think about any of it. Clearly, skydiving wasn’t for him, but there were other ways to get excitement and have fun in life.

  “Why don’t we head out to Percy’s tonight to commemorate our first skydive? I can give Busi a call later to join us,” Luke said, forcing a smile.

  “Sounds great! I’m in. You know I’m always up for a party. Maybe I’ll even ask our instructor to join. He’s kind of cute, don’t you think?” Blair winked. Luke felt his mind finally come back into his body. He walked towards the hangar where their bags were, noticing a car in the distance already heading out to get them, and tried to focus on the fun they would have at Percy’s Pub that night. He would flirt with the hottest guy there, and make sure that he didn’t have to think about Stephanie or any of the thoughts that flooded his mind during his dive. He looked over at the towers of Ridgemont University, determined to have fun.

  Chapter 2