Half Past Octavia

I was at the edge of the bed when the bold thuds on the door echoed through the room causing me to lose my balance and fall off the bed and onto the floor with a loud crash. My face was stinging as I picked myself off of the laminate flooring and looked around in panic as a perplexed Octavia looked at me. “Oh shi-” I began before being interrupted by yet another bang and the repeated words.

“Open up, I said!” bellowed the voice from the other side of the door.

I quickly pulled up my pants, buttoned them messily and with strength I didn’t even know I had I pretty much picked up my guest off of the bed to which she reacted with a shocked gasp, her purple eyes widening. “What are you-” she had begun to shout only to have my hand placed firmly over her mouth with a look that said, ‘Bitch, shut up before I back hand you!’ and the message seemed to transfer because she did just that.

I ran over to my closet with her in my arms and tossed her inside, mind you not hard enough to hurt her but just enough to quickly get rid of her. She was flung into the closet and landed on a pile of clothes that she had knocked down recently in her snooping with a small swish and then looked up at me furiously. She obviously didn’t like being treated like dirty clothes, being tossed into a closet like nothing but I didn’t feel like getting in trouble over her so I could care less. I closed her in the closet and hissed through the door. “Do not come out no matter what! If they find you here I’m screwed!” I clenched my teeth as I pushed off the closet door and sprinted over to the front door only to trip over my own feet and crash to the floor.

My tumble may have been funny if someone had seen it as I hit the cold floor and slid about two feet all the way to my intended destination and finally my head bumped the door painfully. As I began to lift myself with an aching groan I heard something irritably familiar from outside…a sort of snickering. I knew that snicker anywhere; I could never forget it as it had been burned into my brain. “For fucks sake!” I cried angrily as I swung my door open to find a man wearing a Jansford uniform basically sprawled on the floor laughing away. “Adrian you dick!” I shouted angrily, my face turning visibly red with anger as I glared at my friend. It was the infamous Adrian, though I hated my life as a pre-med and what not I did have a life as well as friends, Adrian being one of them. He’s pretty chill most of the time but he does like the occasional prank, no matter how stupid it is as long as he’s entertained.

He stayed on the floor practically choking from laughter, straining to get in air as his belly clenched over and over. He looked up at me with his hazel eyes while his shoulder length jet black hair mopped the floor and tears streamed down his cackling face, a large smile plastered between his cheeks. I watched him as he continued, I was not amused and he could tell which made his giggle fit continue on with renewed vigor. Once he finally recovered somewhat he staggered to his feet and cried out while using the wall for support. “Oh my god, that was so fucking pro! I heard you bust your ass in there like five times, bro! Oh my god! Dorm inspections? bah ha ha ha!” He scoffed in his light Jersey accent, hugging the wall in a fit of giggles.

“You scared the living fuck out of me, dude! ‘The hell!” I shouted at him angrily, cocking my fist back in a threatening manner aimed at his arm.

“Calm your nipples, just a bit of fun.” Adrian retorted bluntly after he finished laughing and then added. “On another note, I actually wanted to see what you were doing?”

I lowered my arm and eyed him suspiciously. “Why?” I inquired, squinting at him with distrust. I figured he might have heard what was going on in my dorm and just wanted to cock block me on purpose like a jerk.

Adrian put on a serious face and then imitated the voice of a generic salesman for some reason that I didn’t really care to know about “Why? I’ll tell you why good sir! For a limited time only I have enough money to get us both into a rave about twenty-miles from here on 95th street and you, my dear Felix, have a car!” He ended with a series of nods. This was true, I was one of the few people that actually had a car in case I wanted to go somewhere in the parking garage across the street from campus. As I thought about it I instantly became hesitant once I remembered Octavia was still in my closet! I had begun to back up into my dorm as I put on a falsely remorseful face.

“Oh, dude, I really can’t…I got to um…study for finals…” I stated meekly, this wasn’t a total lie as I did have finals soon but I already studied for them a few days ago and committed a lot of it to memory. Though he didn’t seem to pick up on it because he just looked at me disappointed as his smile turned into a frown.

“Aw man, what a buzz kill. Fine, go study…I guess I’ll just-” he began with a drawn out sigh but then cut off as I saw him lean to the side and peer around me. “Hooooooly shiiiiiiit, you gotta be kidding me!” he gasped as his eyes widened at what was behind me. At first I was really lost and began to follow his gaze, only to see what he was talking about. Half of a face was peeking around the corner of the wall that hid half my room from the door way, its long soot gray-black hair falling in a vain attempt to touch the floor. Octavia had a hard ass head apparently and didn’t know the meaning of stay put as she watched Adrian curiously. I shut my eyes tight, bit my bottom lip and cursed my luck.

‘So close! Damn it, why didn’t she stay put?!’ I thought irritably to myself as I turned back around to Adrian. “Umm….I can explain…” I began though honestly I couldn’t and I knew it. I mean who can explain finding a chick in the middle of campus unconscious and then taking her into one’s home against their will?! Then his eyes snapped back to me, his frown from earlier mutating into a sly smile that slowly made itself known and his eyes began to glint with the fire of mischief.

“I see what’s going on here!” He stated boldly with his smile in full effect, eyebrows rising and falling in a suggestive manner.

“Oh, no, no, no, no, no, it really isn’t what it looks like!” I pleaded, waving my hand in front of me as if trying to disperse his thought. I knew that he knew what it was but I was trying to make him think otherwise!

He took a step forward and then put an arm around my neck, closing the door slowly behind us and began to lead me away. “I know what I know, Felix. You were in there tryin’ to get some play, I’m not dumb.” He spoke slowly as he looked at me with an intense gaze which made me remain silent. “And you know Jansford policy about visitors inside the dorms, sooooooooo,” Adrian paused, most likely for dramatic effect like he always does as his gaze shifted from me to the main office and then back to me. “How about instead of me walking my jolly ass to the office and filing a complaint like the good friend I am; you, me and your lady friend in there hit that rave.” He ended with a malevolent grin.
I hated when Adrian did this, I really did. He’s a blackmailer and a damned good one at that, he’s a good friend, he really is even though this doesn’t make him seem like it. I sighed deeply at his demand and then put a hand to my face, pinching between my eyes in frustration. “O-okay, fine, fine! You win…” I finally announced as I threw my hands up in a defeated fashion.

“Atta boy, we’ll leave in about two hours. Night’s when all the shit goes down,” he mused as he patted me on the chest and began to walk down the stairs that we were near and then called up them before disappearing to the first floor. “You’ll thank me!”
I turned to my dorm and shuffled back gloomily, ‘Looks like me and Octavia are going on a surprise trip…so much has happened in one day it feels surreal.’ I thought to myself as I treaded through my door way, pressing the door shut behind me. As I turned I was met with the stunningly beautiful Octavia’s face close to mine, her eyes nearly drenched in curiosity.

“Who was that?” she asked as she stared, me feeling her lavender eyes burn into mine. Her voice had a hint of instigation in it behind the curiosity, this made me cock and eyebrow but I said nothing about it right away.

“A friend of mines named Adrian…he invited us both somewhere, want to come?” I asked, though it was more of me insisting than me asking.

“What is it? It is like an orchestra?” She asked, tilting her head almost innocently in wonderment.
I shrugged at this, figuring it was the best option to get her to say yes…if she really was anything like the real Octavia she would never agree to go where Adrian had really invited us.

“Umm…sort of…” I retorted with a bad poker face, I’ve always been a terrible liar.

“I suppose,” she began as she put a finger to her chin thoughtfully but then looked out the window to see the sun that had began to be sucked up by the horizon leaving the sky in shreds of orange. “But it will have to wait until tomorrow; the sun seems to be going down.” She ended with a blank stare out the window.

“Nope, night is the best time to go.” I said flatly.

“But-”

“Nope, no buts, you’re going.”

She opened her mouth again as if about to protest until I shot her another ‘shut the fuck up’ look to which she crossed her arms and began to pout. This was going to be a long night.

To be continued…