Resolved

Anne

I entered my room and sat down on my bed, holding onto my abdomen as pain shot through me. I was a bit glad my two roommates Jane and Pamela weren't around to bombard me with questions.  They are sweet and caring alright, but they can also be quite annoying. I love them but right now, I wasn't ready to answer questions. I was exhausted from everything that happened. My body needed rest from all the assault.

After I ran into Andrew or should I say the door he hit in my face, he took me to a restaurant and true to his words, it was an open space with lots of people. There, he poured out his heart and the pain he has been going through since he was little. He apologized severally for his action and I actually felt deep pity for him. I was touched by the way he expressed himself. it was like he had been holding it all in waiting to explode.

He told me how his dad has been treating him, making him feel inferior because he failed most times in school and had to repeat two classes, how his dad berated him when he told him he wanted to go into music.

I was cautious not to fall into any trap he might have been setting but looking into his eyes, I saw real pain. It wasn’t pretense.

During our conversation, I confronted him concerning his brother trying to buy my silence but he found it amusing that I thought his brother could do such and kept on snickering which was annoying. Well, it made me rethink the situation and maybe, just maybe, his brother was giving me money to tend the wounds he thought I had with nothing attached.

Andrew's a free-spirited guy. Despite the cause of our meeting, I enjoyed his company. After settling our differences, we got along well.

He was also a talker. My ears almost bled with all the stories he couldn’t stop telling me. Not that I didn’t enjoy them, but I had to pay close attention so as not to get lost, plus, I kept wondering how so many experiences could fit into 24 years, that’s if you assume he started his adventures when he was still a baby.

*******

I opened my eyes and it was already dark. I must have slept off. Jane and Pamela were back and were discussing in a hushed tone.

'Hey.' I said. Then it suddenly hit me, I had completely forgotten Pamela and the situation we had back in the lecture hall. Pamela and Jane rushed towards me the same time I flung off the bed, forgetting i was still in pain. I had to slump back on the bed. They'd both fought to get to me first, but when they saw my wincing face, they screeched to a stop. I gave them a stink eye for their lousiness and earned myself snorts from them both. Jane fell on the floor, while Pamela toppled over. I, on the other hand, held on to my belly and roared with laughter. But I had to stop because my ribs still hurt.

I slowly sat on the floor and scooted close to Pamela, taking her hands into mine.

“How are you, sweetheart?” I asked worriedly.

“I should be asking you the same thing, you fainted!” she said sadly, “and it’s because of me Anny,” she cried.

“No! No! It’s alright, okay? You would have done the same for me,” I consoled.

“The nurse had told us to let you rest, but before we could come back, you’d already left. We had brought a change of cloth and some food,” Jane said sitting down with Pamela and me on the floor.

“We thought you had made it back to the hostel, but on arriving here, we didn’t see you, we began panicking!” Pamela added.

“You scared the s**t out of us Anny,” Jane said, “We thought you might have collapsed somewhere!”

“We even went as far as thinking you’ve been kidnapped,” Pamela added immediately.

“By the Lecturer!” Jane completed.

“No! By aliens!!” Pamela corrected, and we all threw our heads back laughing.

“I’m glad you’re alright, Anny. I don’t know what I would have done if you’d gotten seriously hurt,” Pamela said and then hugged me. I hugged her back. Jane joined in the hug and we began laughing again.

“When we saw you here sleeping, I had wanted to jump on top of you, but this smartass,” Jane said pointing at Pamela, “…said we should let you rest,” she finished.

“I’m glad you did, I was so exhausted,” I said.

“Now let’s get down to the gist,” Jane said, clearing her throat. “We saw that sexy doctor that drove you back, girl! That man is finnnne!' Jane stressed and guffawed. Pamela nodded vigorously in agreement.

“Shut up you guys. This is no time for jokes,” I said flushed, my mind going back to that moment in the hospital. The things I felt when his hand touched my skin.

“He didn’t look approachable though. He had this ‘I’m a doctor, get out of my way’ vibe,” Jane said raising her shoulders and elbows and began swinging her arm back and forth, imitating what most people would describe as a proud person. “If not that, we would have found a way to at least get his number," she added dreamily, interrupting my train of thoughts.

I don't dare tell them he was the g doctor that attended to me, because they would pummel me with questions, and then bash me in for not getting his contact. Yea, they would do that, Forgetting they didn’t succeed in getting his contact themselves.

We chatted through the night on different topics, from who dated who, the guys that toasted us to what we'll eat tomorrow.

Pamela has had her eyes on our lecturer Mr. Ken since our first year. He is one of the youngest single lecturers.  Pam had been trying to get the man to notice her. From making herself in charge of reminding him of our scheduled classes to taking assignments to him, including other things. But every time she would come home defeated and would tell us how he thanks her politely and sends her on her way. Sometimes she would come back in tears and would lament hw many other girls were throwing themselves at him.

Pamela is a beautiful, light-skinned girl with a petite stature. She would be described as nerdy, you know, with her cute glasses and all, then the huge fact that she took her studies extremely seriously. She was the one that initiated me into the night class thingy, which had grown to become a big part of me. A walking, talking, breathing encyclopedia, is what she is known for. Anything we desired to know, we would go to her. She might not have the answers then, but within minutes, she would come back with what you sook and more.

Jane, on the other hand, is a bit taller than Pam and me, She is dark-skinned, and fleshier with big boobs and thick hips. You would have thought she would be the flirty type with guys at her beck and call, but no. Guys were flocking around her alright, but she had been dating a particular guy, Jacob since high school. He had traveled overseas to further his studies but they still kept in touch. They would call and skype all the time, and once in a while, she would involve Pamela and me in her chats with Jacob. Unlike Pamela, Jane is not that into books.

We three met in the university. Pam and I are med lab students, while Jane’s a microbiology student. We met during registration, helped each other out, then we worked it out and landed in the same room. Since then, we’ve been going strong.

We got tired around two in the morning and my roomies went to sleep. I wasn't tired because I had slept earlier and decided to read. As for going to study outside the hostel, I took a break from it.

******

Andrew

I was so happy with the way things turned out between me and Anne. She gave me listening ears and judged me less.

From our encounter, I realized she wasn't the shy type, but can get real quiet when she wants to. She gave me her undivided attention when she should have been running for the hills, I respect her for that.

I inserted the spare key to my brother's apartment and entered. Of course, Vin was still awake, going through his medical journal.

“What’s up, dude?”

He looked up and smiled.

Yea, a lot of people had had a lot to say concerning my brother. Some would say he is stuck up, some that he is so rigid and tough, others would say he is emotionless. None of that is true about my brother. He might look all hard, tough and unsmiling on the outside, but when you get to look closer, you will definitely see that warm, soft and fluffy side that he keeps trying to hide.

“Someone is in a good mood.” He said with a smirk.

“Yeah bro, I had a long and nice talk with Anne,” I said going to sit on the couch.

“Anne?” he said with a frown.

'Yea, Anne. I saw her today Vin. She’s so beautiful….and friendly when she’s not mad at you of course,”

“Finally. I'm glad you have the balls,” Vincent teased scratching the back of his head. He always did that whenever he’s distracted. “But hey!” he commanded, “Get your act together and stop messing around.”

'Yea, yea, I got it the thousandth time, Dad,” I said nonchalantly. I always love getting on my brother’s nerves. “But you know me, I’m the rebel. Viva la evil!' I exclaimed and ran off as he flung the couch pillow at me.

After taking my bath and brushing my teeth, I laid on my bed, facing the ceiling, with my hands behind my head and a knowing smile playing on my lips. Something pleasant was bubbling inside me.

I found myself reminiscing the time Anne and I spent together earlier. She was definitely different.

Gradually, I slipped into nothingness with just the thought of her voice ringing in my ears.