Hot Off the Press (Ridgemont University Book 1)

by Meredith Taylor

Knowing that he had already told Liv to take an Uber - he would make it up to her later - he knew he could ignore her texts and phone calls and direct his attention towards helping his friend, who was clearly in distress. Simon pulled up at Eikeman Men’s Residence, dashes out of his car, and came crashing into the front doors, the surprised student assistant manning the front doors as a guard staring up at him.

  “Can I help you?”

  “I’m here to see Zuko Mavuso. Don’t worry, I know what his room number is.” Simon turned towards the staircase, desperate to reach Zuko’s room.

  “Hey, you, wait! You know protocol, man. I have to announce your presence first and mention who you are here to see.” The student admin assistant frowned in annoyance at Simon, and Simon could feel his blood boil.

  “You don’t understand. He’s in trouble! Something happened, he gave me a call, and I tried returning his call on the way over here, but his phone died. Something is not on and I have to figure out what it is!” Simon’s voice teetered on the edge of desperation, and with each passing word, his firm grip on the reception desk seemed to tighten, until his knuckles were white with exertion. Simon now realized that he had been stifling his worries about Zuko all along, that he had been trying to protect himself and not cause trouble instead of looking after his friend, and his feelings were all bubbling to the surface.

  “Wouldn’t be the first time ole Ladyboy landed himself in hot water. Just take a seat, dude.” The student admin assistant smirked and pointed to the waiting area.

  At first, Simon was shocked at the casual, throwaway gay slur so callously hurled at his best friend. As soon as he regained his composure, he faced the student admin assistant.

  “You either let me go up there right now, or these delicate ladyboy fists right here will punch your teeth out, you homophobic little twit!” Simon’s voice was trembling with anger, and finding a justifiable way to express it was strangely exhilarating.

  The student assistant did a bit of a double take, raised his eyebrows in alarm - fear? - and motioned to Simon to go up the stairs. Simon resisted the urge to make good on his threat, and instead whirled around, sped up the staircase, and reached Zuko’s door. As he rapped his knuckles against the hard steel door, the corridor’s odors of faint urine, sweat, and unwashed socks couldn’t escape his senses. Simon’s revulsion at living in a men’s residence further fueled his urgency to get Zuko out of there. Without even bothering to knock, he burst inside, and the scene that he was met with instantly puzzled him.

  Zuko’s roommate, a tool Simon vaguely remembered being introduced to a few weeks before, stared at Simon with the faintest hint of a smirk - but to Simon’s overwrought mind, it was clear that he was not imagining things. Simon’s eyes hurriedly scanned the room, and his confusion was compounded: Zuko’s colorful African print bedsheets had been removed, posters of his favorite actors had been removed, and his desk was empty. Simon shook his head in disbelief, and accusingly he stared down Zuko’s arrogant roommate, whose former poor attempt at masking his self-satisfied, smug smile was all but abandoned now. He seemed to dare Simon to ask him what was going on.

  “Where the hell is my friend?” Simon thundered, the sheer anger in his voice almost startling himself.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, who would you be referring to? Kindly pardon my ignorance.” The little ass was clearly going to make this difficult for Simon. Simon felt his entire body tense with fury. With a deep breath, he summoned up the courage that he had commanded a few minutes ago with the equally bullish student assistant.

  “Listen here, you stupid little snotface, you better tell me right this minute where my friend is, or I’ll…”

  “Or you’ll what, pretty boy? Pull my hair? Cry and ruin your pretty mascara? What exactly do you plan on doing?” The sarcasm was dripping from the boy’s mouth, and Simon could tell how he enjoyed every second of tormenting him. Simon recalled how this was the boy who must have pretended that he was sleeping while Zee was being beaten up.

  Without further ado, Simon stormed over to the grinning little gnat, picked him up by his preppy collar, and gave him a firm shake.

  “If you don’t tell me right this second what happened to Zuko Mavuso, this ladyboy right here will mess you up so bad, you’ll wish you helped Zuko every time he needed you. Now ‘fess up, you loser, or you’ll be flying through that window.” Simon’s nostrils were flaring with anger, his jaw set in a determined line, and his eyes were bulging with alarm.

  “Okay, okay bro, I get it. Listen, I really don’t know. Zuko was being hassled by the other guys for a few weeks now, and I decided to stay out of it. It doesn’t have anything to do with me, right? And I got here about 30 minutes ago to cram for a test tomorrow, and when I got here, it seemed like he had gone home for the week or something.” The boy was now flustered and clearly caught off guard by Simon’s anger.

  “What reason would he have for taking all of his bedding with him?”

  Simon walked over to Zuko’s closet, flipped it open, and there wasn’t a trace of any of his clothing.

  “And if he’s going home for only a couple of days, why would he take all of his clothes?” Simon opened up the top cupboard.

  “And instead of taking a gym bag or something, he took his luggage with him? Dude, come on, what’s going on here?” Now that Simon was finally able to get the boy to be honest with him, he had to appeal to his humanity.

  “Bro, I seriously don’t know, man. Look, he was flamboyant, you know? Kind of challenging? Maybe he felt out of place?”

  “Or maybe he couldn’t stand being beaten up by jerks like you, being constantly harassed, need I go on? You’ve been swell, mate, thank you for your invaluable help. You have been an exemplary roommate, once again.” Simon, dejected, but still smarting with anger, turned on his heel, and slammed the door behind him. Either the roommate was genuinely confused and not in the know, or they were covering something up. And Simon was scared of what that cover-up might entail.

  Simon went back to his car, opened up the door, and climbed into the driver’s seat. He paused for a moment, considering his next move. He hurriedly whipped out his phone, searched his inbox, and chanced upon the number of Zuko’s mother. Zuko would periodically text him from his mother’s phone when he ran out of airtime. Grateful for finally landing a lead, he dialed Zuko’s mother from his phone.

  “Helen Mavuso speaking. Who is this?” Simon nearly burst out in tears of relief.

  “Mrs. Mavuso! I’m so glad you answered your phone! This is me, Simon Northbrook! Mrs. Mavuso, have you heard from your son recently?” Simon could barely get his words out fast enough.

  “Simon my child, how are you?” Simon noted that Mrs. Mavuso paused just a little bit longer than necessary, and he was puzzled at her strange reaction.

  “I’m fine, Mrs. Mavuso. But I’m worried about your son. Do you know where he is?”

  “Simon, Zuko is very well. He has decided to transfer from Ridgemont University to a training college right here in Hillville. He’ll be closer to home and be less… troubled.” Mrs. Mavuso was not being forthcoming with details, and Simon again felt the pangs of suspicion.

  “That sounds very strange to me. He didn’t let me know that he wants to leave Ridgemont Uni. Could I speak to him, please?”

  “No, I am afraid you cannot. He is busy unpacking now, and we will have some family time for now. I am sure he will get back to you tomorrow. Now if you will excuse me, Simon, I have to go and look after my son.”

  To Simon’s dismay, he heard the sound of the phone being hung up. If before he suspected that something was up, now he was sure.

 

  Chapter 9