Bears of Burden: WYATT

by Candace Ayers

  Emma's own appearance was drab compared to Zoey's. She had dark hair and glasses which pinched her nose. Her body wasn't bad, but it wasn't a cheerleader's body either. She had always been "the smart one" of her friends growing up. Smart, quiet, and boring. But that was how she'd gotten into Stanford on a full academic scholarship. Her parents never could have afforded it otherwise. She had to keep her grades up or she'd lose everything. After Stanford, she had hopes of getting into the master's program at MIT.

  She grabbed her pillow and held it over her face, wondering if maybe her parents were right. They had warned her that life in a dorm room was not going to be fun. They'd practically begged her to reconsider and stay at home with them, but she was nineteen and ready to fly the nest a little. Or so she'd thought. They'd told her she could move back home any time she wanted, but she was afraid if she did that she might never leave again.

  Emma groaned as Zoey and Mason jumped onto Zoey's bed. It was much louder than her own, and Emma didn't think she could handle the noises that she started to hear coming from that direction. She jumped off her bed, keeping her eyes shut, and walked blindly towards the door, her blanket and pillow under her arm.

  "Hey, shut the door!" Zoey called as Emma stepped into the hallway. "Jeez! Some people." Then the bed started squeaking again. Emma hurried away from the room and made her way to the common area. Only a handful of people lingered around, and Zoey was able to find a chair big enough to curl her legs onto. She tried to fall back asleep, but it wasn't exactly a restful night. She woke again and again as people wandered in and out.

  Around five in the morning, just after she had finally fallen asleep, there was a peal of laughter as several drunken coeds stormed through the area throwing beer bottles across the floor. One of them splattered beer across Emma's face. She jumped awake and fell out of her chair. Everyone laughed. She laid on the floor a minute before finally standing up.

  She decided to give up. She was obviously not going to get anymore sleep tonight. Besides, the sun would be coming up soon anyway. She stumbled across the floor, back to her room. Surely Mason had left by now. She opened the door and heard Zoey snoring. Thank God. She plopped onto her bed, thinking maybe she could at least rest if not sleep, and immediately jumped back up.

  "Aaahh!" she shouted, flicking on the lights and turning towards her bed. Mason climbed off her mattress. He was naked and stood facing her, smiling like it was the most normal thing in the world for him to be naked in her bed. It had been him she'd heard snoring, not Zoey.

  "Mason!" she shouted.

  "Sorry," he said. "Zoey kept dragging the covers off me." He yawned and stretched his arms. His muscles flexed and Emma couldn't stop her eyes from catching the way his golden skin shimmered in the early morning rays as they seeped in through her windows. At twenty, Mason was already considered the best football player the school had ever seen.

  "It's okay," she mumbled, turning towards Zoey's bed to yell and realizing Zoey wasn't even there. "No... no problem." She felt her cheeks burn and wondered why Mason just kept standing there. Didn't he know he was naked?

  "How was your night?" he asked. "Did you do anything fun?"

  Emma's heart hammered in her chest. Was he brain damaged? Maybe all football players had the misfortune of not being able to tell an awkward situation from a normal one. "Not really," she said. "Um, I was just going to take a shower."

  "Yeah, me too," he said, crossing the room. "So what classes do you have this morning? I had to switch some of mine around. They interfered with football practice."

  Emma nodded, trying to keep her eyes averted from the thick mass of skin and muscle that hung between Mason's legs. "I-I don't know," she said. Mason looked at her with a strange expression. She couldn't think. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. If he wasn't going to leave, she had to. "Excuse me," she said, grabbing her shower caddy and running out the door before he could ask another stupid question.

  Out in the hall her breath finally caught up to her and she felt the blood return to her face. A peal of laughter echoed off the walls and she turned to see Zoey and her friends doubled over.

  "Guess you ran into Mason," Zoey said, her eyes bright and sarcastic.

  "Yeah, thanks for that," Emma retorted.

  "Oh whatever," she said. "You're lucky you even got to peek at someone as hot as he is."

  Zoey's friends echoed their agreement. One of them, another blonde who's name Emma always forgot, said, "I wish I could get a chance with him some time." She looked at Zoey with pleading eyes.

  Zoey flipped her hair behind her head. "Maybe when I'm done with him," she said, then resumed whatever discussion they'd been having prior to Emma's entrance. She heard them discussing rush week and what sororities they would all be pledging. For a brief second, Emma considered her parents' offer. She could just commute to school five days a week. Then she pushed it away and headed for the showers. It was way too soon to decide something like that. She just had to give things more time.

  Chapter 2

  Emma stepped into class exhausted from last night. She couldn't let the lack of sleep get to her though. She had to focus. Her first lab was the most crucial one. It could set the tone for how the rest of her classes went the next two years. If it went well, she'd know that all of her other classes would go well too. It might have sounded a little like superstition, but she firmly believed it.

  She took a seat at a lab table and opened her new blank notebook. A pencil sat beside it, another one tucked behind her ear. Professor Douglas walked into the room and the class fell silent. She felt the discomfort she'd been facing since her arrival at this school ease ever so slightly. These were her people now. Science majors like herself. Professor Douglas was supposed to be brilliant, and she looked forward to his first lecture.

  "Good morning," Professor Douglas said, opening his briefcase and setting some papers on his desk. "Glad you all could make it. Welcome to Biology 101A. This class contains a lab. If you are in the wrong class, you have the opportunity at this time to gracefully remove yourself from this room without any harm coming to you." He smiled and a few people chuckled.

  "Alright," he said after a moment. "So I shall assume you all belong here. Let us begin. Biology is possibly the most important class you will have during your time at this school. It will give you the foundation for—"

  It was just then that the door opened and Mason walked in. He looked around the room, and instead of heading quietly to his seat, rose one hand and pointed at a group of football players sitting in the back of the room. "Hey! You guys are stuck in this class too! I thought I was gonna be forced to get through this all alone."

  He walked to the back of the class and raised his hand, palm open. The players took turns slapping it. Emma watched the scene, horrified at the egotism and disrespect Mason and his friends displayed. She'd somehow managed to ignore the other football players in the room. They'd been quiet enough until Mason arrived, now they joined him in his coarse social meanderings. Professor Douglas stood at the front of the room, his head in his hands. "Mr. Haley, please take a seat. Class has already begun and you are late."

  Mason's smile faltered a second before resuming the idiotic grin Emma was starting to think was permanently etched on his face. He searched the room and his eyes fell on Emma. His smile widened. She quickly looked away. It wasn't until he was pulling out the chair beside hers that Emma realized her table had the only open seat left in class.

  Great, she thought. What did I do to deserve this? Any of the other football players would have been better. Mason seemed to her the king of the Cretans.

  Professor Douglas continued his speech. "The person you are sitting next to will be your lab partner for the rest of the semester. So exchange phone numbers, emails, and whatever else you kids are using these days. The point is you will need to work together or neither of you will succeed in this class."

  Emma's stomach churned. She watched Mason out of the corner of her eye as he click
ed his pen, tapped his foot, and doodled all over his notebook instead of writing down anything of value. She saw a few heads turn and look at him, so she knew it wasn't just her that he was distracting.

  "Mr. Haley," Professor Douglas called. Mason looked up from a drawing he was doing of a big breasted woman holding a banana. "Why don't you tell the class the answer to my question."

  "Sure. What was the question?" Mason grinned at their professor, who looked like he was getting closer to a coronary the longer class went on.

  "The question was: what is the definition of biology?"

  Mason hesitated a moment then said, in all seriousness, "It's like, when you cut people and pets open to see what they look like inside."

  There were several chuckles from around the room. The light in Mason's eyes dimmed ever so slightly but his smile stayed plastered where it was.

  "Biology," Professor Douglas said, "in the simplest terms, is the study of living organisms. Perhaps later in the semester we'll be able to study you, Mr. Haley. I'd be interested to see how just how much damage playing football has done to your brain. There's obviously been a great deal." Mason's face turned a shade pinker but Emma didn't care. It had been such an easy question a squirrel could have answered it. She didn't think Mason was even trying.

  When the professor finally told everyone to turn to their lab partners and begin the first assignment, Emma groaned. She opened her lab book to the first page and when she looked back up Mason was staring at the door.

  "We should get started," she told him.

  "Sure," he said, still staring at the door.

  "Why don't we read through the assignment together, then I'll do the first section?"

  "Whatever you want," he said, finally turning to her and grinning. "I've got practice today."

  She stared at him, her mouth dropping open, wondering what the hell his having practice had to do with their assignment. She saw the vacant look in his eyes and realized this was never going to work. She slammed her book shut and walked to the front of the room, where Professor Douglas was seated.

  "Professor," she said, lowering her voice, though not bothering to lower it enough so that everyone in class couldn't hear if they tried. "I think I need a new partner."

  Professor Douglas peered over her shoulder at Mason, who was watching them with wide, hurt eyes. Emma was sure it was all an act; she doubted that Mason cared enough about her or this class to be hurt.

  "I understand, Ms. Davis, but I'm afraid that there is no one else left to partner with at this time. Just do your best and let me know if you have any problems."

  Emma turned away, expelling a breath a frustration. Luckily for her, class ended and she was able to put Mason off until tomorrow. She'd have to figure out a way to deal with him if she was going to be stuck with him. She couldn't trust him to understand the material, let alone do any work. She'd just have to do it all herself and hope for the best. Maybe she could join a study group.

  "Hey, Emma," Mason was calling from behind her in the hallway. She turned to him, afraid to hear what idiotic thing might come out of his mouth next.

  "Yes?" she asked, her voice cold. She resented being forced to have him as her partner.

  "Look, I just wanted to say... to tell you not to worry. I'll pull my weight on our assignments."

  Emma laughed. She couldn't help it. It wasn't like her to be sarcastic, but she was still mad at him for keeping her awake last night. "Gee, thanks Mason. You've given me so many wonderful insights into biology already, I can't wait to see what you come up with next." Then she turned, a twinge of guilt flickering across her face as she saw Mason's hurt expression. She pushed it away and hurried to her next class.

  Chapter 3

  Emma sat on her bed, books piled at her feet. She pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes as she scribbled her answer to her chemistry professor's questions. Her glasses slid down her nose and she pushed them back up. The door opened and Zoey and Mason stumbled in, their faces pressed together in a hard lockdown that made Emma groan. Zoey shot her a look but said nothing.

  "Hey Emma," Mason said, before Zoey pulled him to her bed.

  Emma ignored them. At least at first. But the sucking noises they were making just kept getting louder and louder until Emma thought her ears might start bleeding.

  "Can't you guys give it a rest for one night?" she finally shouted, snapping her head towards them.

  Zoey propped herself up on her arms and peered across the room at Emma. "This is my room too Mouse. I can do what I want in it."

  "Zoey," Mason said, "maybe we should just—"

  "No," Zoey snapped. "Mouse is just jealous." She craned her neck up and kissed Mason. Emma saw him watching her out of the corner of his eyes. He actually looked embarrassed. "I'll be right back," Zoey told him. She stomped over to Emma's bed. "I'm going to use the bathroom, or do you think you own that too?" Then she turned, her blonde hair swinging out behind her. It was so long it actually smacked Emma's face before she stamped off.

  Emma resumed trying to concentrate on her chemistry homework, but she was much too aware of Mason sitting across from her on Zoey's bed. She could feel his eyes on her. "What?" she finally demanded, turning to him.

  "I didn't say anything."

  "Why are you staring at me? Don't you have something better to do, like..." Emma's mind raced, trying to think of an insult. "...Like count sheep or something?"

  Mason raised an eyebrow. "Count sheep?" He grinned at her and Emma felt her cheeks go red. She'd never been very good at quick and witty comebacks.

  "Never mind," she said, burying her nose in her book.

  "Why does Zoey keep calling you Mouse?" he asked.

  Emma looked back at him, not sure whether he was serious. "Why don't you ask Zoey?"

  He shrugged. "I'd rather ask you."

  Emma felt the red in her cheeks deepen. "Because," she said. "I'm quiet like a mouse and like to hide in my room a lot. That's what most of the girls here call me."

  "Doesn't seem very nice," he said.

  Emma stared at him, uncertain what was happening. Mason was displaying real human emotions. He was actually interacting with her in a way that didn't make her want to smack him. Is it possible I've been too hard on him? Zoey came back in just then and went straight to Mason, tousling his hair with her manicured fingers before dragging him back on top of her.

  "Miss me?" Zoey asked.

  "Always babe," Mason said. He dug his face into her Double D chest and Emma rolled her eyes. She didn't know what she'd been thinking. Mason was exactly like she'd always thought—loud and crass and dumb.

  Emma scrunched her brow and turned back to her books. The bed started squeaking and Emma froze. She peeked over her shoulder. She didn't want to be in the room if they were actually having sex. She thought she might vomit if that happened. But they were still just making out. She breathed a sigh of relief and wished that she had some head phones she could just plug in. Classical music was supposed to help make your brain retain information. She wondered why she hadn't thought of that before and made a mental note to pick up some ear buds when she had a chance.

  Zoey let out a loud moan and Emma threw her book down. "That's it," she said, jumping off her bed. Zoey and Mason paused in their face sucking to throw Emma a look that she interpreted to mean they both pitied her and wished she'd leave.

  "Sorry," Zoey smirked, "are we being too loud?"

  Emma sighed as she threw her books into her bag along with her notebooks, pens, and anything else she might possibly need for the next few hours.

  "Where are you going?" Mason asked.

  "The library," Emma replied. She turned with her bag strapped over her shoulder. The weight of it forced her shoulders into an uneven posture and Emma shifted her weight uncomfortably. Mason was staring at her.

  "Where did you say?"

  Emma couldn't believe he was really this dumb. "The library! It's the place with all the books where people go to study and get away from
distractions."

  Zoey laughed and nuzzled her head against Mason's neck. "Finally," she said. "We can be alone. She started to nibble on Mason's ear as Zoey grabbed her jacket.

  "Why don't you come with us to the party at Phi Kappa Psi?" Mason asked suddenly. Zoe pulled away from him, her eyes bulging out of her head. Emma paused with her hand on the door. Is he talking to me?

  "I'm sorry," Emma said. "Did you just ask me to go to a frat party with you?"

  "Sure," Mason said, smiling. "Why not?"

  Emma didn't even know how to respond to something like that. Frat parties were the furthest thing from her mind. Mason obviously didn't get it. Still... it was nice that he had asked.

  "Are you crazy?" Zoey screeched at him.

  Mason turned to her and said, "She's got as much right to go as anyone."

  Emma stifled a laugh as Zoey tried to stop her head from exploding.

  "Thanks," Emma said, "but I really do need to study. Frat parties aren't really my thing." She gave Mason a tentative smile before stepping into the hallway. As soon as the door was closed Zoey started screaming at him.

  Emma felt bad for Mason. He was too stupid to realize that being nice to her would only make things harder for him with Zoey. Maybe Emma didn't have to be quite so hard on him. It probably wasn't his fault his was dumb. He was probably born that way. She headed to the library, wondering what went on at frat parties anyways, and wishing for the first time in her life that she wasn't quite so mouse-like.

  Chapter 4

  Emma had never realized what a blessing sorority rush night was. The dorm was silent. For the first time since she'd arrived, Emma actually thought she could hear herself breathe. She smiled as she sat back on her bed, her books spread open around her.