Paying for College - The Novel

by Kenneth Szulczyk

  Chapter 10

  Brothers, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you. I wouldn’t believe it myself until I witnessed in all its insane glory. Have you had one of those days where everything started out dull but then escalated into complete craziness?

  I’m just studying at the library. The current tuition bill is paid. Had several meals off campus, so my stomach was still residing in food heaven. And sometimes my girl meets me at night. What more could I ask for, so here I am with my books spread out in front of me while sitting at a large table on the second floor of the university library.

  David walked by. He noticed me. He stopped, turned around, and returned the table. “Hello, Jax.”

  “Hey, David. So what’s new? I haven’t seen you for a while.”

  “Not much.” Then he picked up one of my books on lock picking, opened it, and leafed through the pages. “Oh, recreational reading?”

  “I’m a college student. When do I get time for recreational reading? But I thought I could earn some extra money and work as an apprentice for the locksmith in town.”

  He closed the book and placed it on the table again. “It sounds like you stay busy.”

  “I’m always busy. I’ve got something always going on.”

  “I heard you still help out at the homeless center on Saturdays.”

  “Of course, it’s my duty to help the unfortunate. Only fifty dollars separates me from the free room and board on the streets.”

  David said, “That’s great. I mean about helping the unfortunate.” He paused and then asked, Do…” Then he looked down.

  I folded my hands on the desk and looked up at him.

  He looked at me again. Then he looked around to see if anyone was eavesdropping.

  I said, “Well, it appears you have something on your mind. So what’s going on?”

  “I’ve been thinking. But I can’t tell you here.”

  “That sounds interesting.”

  “It is. Could we go somewhere for more privacy?”

  “I guess.” I closed my notebook, collected my textbooks and slipped them into the backpack. I stacked the lock picking books on top of each other and left them on the table. I’ll return in no time. Then I rose, slung the backpack over my shoulder. “Let’s go.”

  We didn’t talk until we had walked out through the glass doors of the library. We walked to the side of the library where few students trekked.

  We sat down on a bench.

  David looked here; then he looked there. Then he looked at me again. “I’m just making sure no one’s around.”

  “Wow. Why all the secrecy?”

  David smiled, and then he looked away again. He mumbled, “I take it you don’t like the dean.”

  “I’ll freely admit, the Dean and I have had our troubles.”

  “Are you still upset the admin changed your newspaper article?”

  I gasped, “That’s an understatement.”

  David looked me into my eyes and whispered, “What if something happened to the dean?”

  I turned away for a minute. Then I turned to stare at David’s face again and said, “Come again.”

  “You know. Maybe something bad could happen to him.”

  “Are you saying what I think you’re saying? Come on, you can’t be serious.”

  “The Dean is the spawn of Satan.”

  “I agree with you there. He’s an evil -”

  David punched his opened hand with a fist, “Then we should do something about it?”

  “Like what?”

  “We’ll take care of him here. Then Jesus can meet him at the gate’s of heaven.”

  “Look, I admire your enthusiasm, but what could we possibly do to the dean?”

  David picked up his gym bag and opened it. He pulled a towel halfway out of the bag and opened the towel a little to reveal a small handgun tucked inside. Then he folded the towel shut again and slipped it into his gym bag.

  “So you’re going to walk up to the Dean and pull the trigger.”

  David shook his head no. He whispered, “We’re hoping you would.”

  “You can’t be serious. No way in hell can I do that.”

  “We’ve got it all planned out. Sometimes the Dean leaves his office late. You just hide in the bushes on the far side of the parking lot behind the business building. When he comes out…” David used his right hand to form a handgun. He pressed his thumb down, “Bang, bang.”

  I studied David. On the outside, he appeared to be a well-dressed, polite young man whom a family would let him babysit their kids, but, in the inside, he was maniacal, Christian zealot who’s plotting the murder of an innocent person. “I don’t mean to be the guy who sneezes on your lunch, but that’s murder!”

  “It’s not murder. It’s final judgment.”

  “Call it as you like, but the state considers that murder. Besides, I never killed anyone before.”

  “So you’re not going to do it?”

  “Why don’t you do it?”

  “I’ve got a bad history with the dean. We go way -”

  “But let me guess. I’m the new chicken in the coop. I’m the one the police wouldn’t suspect.“

  “You’ve got it.”

  “So I just take that gun, hide in some bushes, and shoot the dean when he leaves the office late one night.”

  David nodded his head up and down, “That’s it.”

  “Well, that’s pretty straightforward.”

  David smiled. “So do you agree?”

  “Can you give me some time to think about it?”

  “Think about what? Just do it.”

  “I came here to study. If I wanted to shoot people, I’ve would have joined the army.”

  “Trust me. It’s simple.”

  “Have you ever murdered someone before?”

  David looked away.

  Brothers, I didn’t know what to think. I can’t kill someone, even if I hated him. I could relieve my bladder on the ground of the Dean’s final resting place. However, I wanted to calm the situation, “If I agree, I choose the time and place. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “Then it would be best to wait until Christmas break. That way, few students are around. We can’t afford to have any witnesses around.”

  “Agreed.”

  I don’t know why I said those words. Although I may have wished some people would die at various points of my life, I didn’t want to be the guy who chose the time and place. But I had to say it. I had to pacify David and give me some time to think about it. I said, “Then give me the gun.”

  David placed the gym bag on his lap and unzipped it again. He pulled the towel out and handed it to me.

  I slipped the towel into my backpack. “By the way, where did ya get the gun?”

  “I prayed one day in church for a gun. And God, the Almighty, provided?”

  “Wow. I had no idea. The Lord really does work in mysterious ways. So you went to church one day and prayed, and low and behold, the next minute, you found a gun in the offering tray.”

  “Yes. That’s exactly how I found it.”

  “Well then, how could I go against God’s wishes? I guess the Lord stands on our side and wants to meet the Dean in person. Then let’s arrange the meeting.”

  “Yes siree. God wants to meet him, personally.” Then David looked directly into my eyes, “We knew we could count on you.”

  “Of course you can count me. But remember, I set the date and time. Wait until Christmas break. Okay?”

  “Okay. Thank you brother.” Then David got up and walked away.

  Brothers, you know when you forget something; an invisible finger scratches the back of your mind, urging you to remember.

  Eureka! I totally spaced it out. I opened my backpack and searched for my financial calculator.

  “Damn.” I slung the backpack over my shoulder and jogged to the study table I had occupied thirty minutes ago.

  No calculator. I moved the books around. Still no calcul
ator. Just to be complete, I checked the seat on the chairs. No calculator.

  Boy brothers, this town’s full of thieves. What could I do? Go to the university public safety office and file a theft complaint on a thirty-dollar calculator. So, I returned to the dorm room and lied down for a while. At one point, I thought I hallucinated my conversation with David, so I slipped off the bed and grabbed my backpack. I unzipped it and pulled out the white towel. I unfolded it and sure enough, a gun was tucked inside. I folded the towel again and slipped the towel into the side pocket of my suitcase.

  My phone started chirping. I grabbed it and saw a text message from Phaedra – I’m on my way over.

  Ten minutes later, Phaedra knocked on my door.

  I let her in, and we laid on the bed together. We started kissing each other as we fondled and touched each other’s body.

  Then keys fumbled in the lock. Phaedra slid off me and fixed her clothes as Drew walked in. “Hey, guys.”

  “Hey, Drew,” I said.

  “So what are you guys up to?”

  I winked at Drew several times, “Ah, we’re just talking.”

  “Good.” Then Drew removed his sneakers and jumped onto his bed.

  I looked at Drew, “Isn’t there anything going on tonight?”

  “Nope. I thought I would crash early. I’m dead tired. So what were you guys talking about?”

  “The mating habits of butterflies.”

  “Oh, that sounds interesting. Which class do you study that?”

  I had to restrain myself from jumping off the bed and thump Drew in the head several times. Instead, I hit my head against the cinder block wall several times.

  Phaedra winked at me and smiled.

  I lied still for a while as Phaedra lied on my side. Then I turned on my side and looked at Drew, “I heard the Deltas are throwing a killer keg party tonight?”

  “I’m all tapped out.”

  “Tapped out. No way. I’ll tell you what, I’ll give you twenty bones. You go grab you some fast food and then go check out the party.”

  Drew glanced at his watch, then at us, “What’ll you guys be doing?”

  “We’ll talk for a while. Then we’ll meet you at the party later.”

  “I guess.”

  I reached into my jeans and pulled out a wrinkled twenty-dollar bill. I crumpled it into a ball and threw it towards him.

  It bounced off his arm and landed on the floor. He jumped off the bed and picked it up. “Thanks, dude.” Drew looked over at us, “Do you think you can introduce me to one of your friends, Phaedra?”

  I looked at Phaedra and winked.

  Phaedra said, “Of course. I have the perfect friend for you. I’ll bring her to the party, so you can meet her.”

  “Great. I’ll see you guys there.” Drew’s smiled as if he were going to a party with plenty of single Playboy bunnies looking for a hot date with a poor college student. Then he left.

  “Damn, I thought he’d never leave,” as I looked Phaedra into her eyes.

  “But won’t he be angry. I don’t think I can bring someone on short notice.”

  “Don’t worry about Drew. Once he starts drinking, he won’t remember anything, anyway.”

  “I didn’t know you hung around with such unsavory characters.”

  “Well, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you. You should meet some of my Christian brothers. I could probably write a new frightening book on abnormal psychology. ”

  Phaedra and I looked into each other’s eyes, and then we started kissing.

  I removed her top and began kissing her stomach. Her arms. Then I removed her bra and kissed her breasts. Then I suckled on each breast.

  I slowly removed her jeans and kissed up and down her legs. Then I removed my clothes and mounted her.

  After we had made love, I laid on my back with Phaedra’s head lying on my shoulder.

  I started the conversation, “You know a couple weeks ago, your dad gave a speech to the students about the tuition hike, I mean enhancement.”

  “I know. He told me about it.”

  “Did he also tell you many students are angry at him?”

  “He said something about it. I guess some students are furious, but he said the speech was a success.”

  “Well, I was there. I thought the crowds would turn ugly.”

  Phaedra looked up at me, “Really? But students always whine about something.”

  “That may be true, but I think it’s different this time.”

  “I know students are angry with father, but I also know students are furious about that article you wrote for the school newspaper.”

  “Oh yeah, that article. How could I forget? Well, don’t believe everything you read in the newspaper.”

  “What was that word you used – happy? Or was it frantic? Excited?”

  “You know I’m not happy with that article either. It’s definitely not my best piece.”

  “Then why’d you write it?”

  “I wanted to make a statement, a change.”

  “But you sided with the university.”

  “Yeah, I did, but somehow I garbled my words.”

  “But you still wrote the article?”

  “Well yes, but I thought I wrote one piece, but I was mistaken and wrote something entirely different.”

  “It sounds like you’re going crazy too.”

  “You can drop the ‘like’ because I am crazy.”

  We lay in bed for a while.

  I started the conversation again, “When I was at the meeting, I felt the tension in the air. The students’ fury was building like an electrical charge. You know like during a thunderstorm.”

  “What do you think will happen?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Do you think my dad’s in danger?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I know many people in this town are angry at him at one time or another.”

  “Do you think it’s good to have many people angry with him?”

  “No, but he says that’s the curse of success.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He talks about taking over the university as president. Then he’ll move up to a state capital job – the Secretary of Education.”

  I closed my eyes shut. Oh god. Secretary of Education. Then what? Governor of the state. I guess if I must make an enemy, I might as well choose the most formidable opponent. One that could really screw your life up.

  I said, “Then just do this one thing for me. Just tell your dad to be careful.”

  I looked down at Phaedra. Her chest rose and fell rhythmical while her eyes were shut.

  I whispered, “Phaedra.”

  Her chest continued to rise and fall.

  I looked over at the closet with the closet door slightly ajar. I could see the corner of the suitcase and the bulging side pocket crammed with a gun wrapped in a white towel.

  Oh brothers, I just wanted to drop that gun unto a police detectives’ desk and tell them the story how David conspired to kill the Dean. Then I could move on. But brothers, would the police believe me? Would they start asking questions? Would they piece it together that I’m the burglar who’s terrorizing this tiny town? Oh brothers, there’s got to be another way.

  I whispered, “Phaedra, do you want to go to the party?”

  She began snoring.

  I studied her face as her chest rose and fell. Brothers, I don’t know why I felt this strange sensation that I would see Phaedra for the last time. Hasta Damn onsra this.