The second weekend

The days go.

The crows caw on this breezy afternoon full of sunshine. The clouds are ceaselessly drifting. In intervals, you could hear the cicadas crying. The thought of a nap seems just the perfect thing to do. But here I am with a cup of coffee and a notepad in front of me. Bruce Springsteen on the speakers, mingled with the crows and the cicadas. I trust you are well.

I'm a senior working on my humanities major.

Thud

Excuse me for that, my textbook just fell on the floor. You know, I'm at the phase where I can't seem to tell whether school started or not. It started, but I'm just not in the zone.. yet. With all the Jewish holidays in between, you know what I mean. Here I am in my fourth year and I still can't even locate my mailbox.

Of course I have homework, but of course it's not the first thing you want to think about. Honestly, it depresses me just entering the library devoid of any sound but occasional printers. Every time I enter the library I feel that it's an obligation for my studies, but at the same time I ask myself what am I doing here. Also,

It's hot.

It's really hot. When hundreds of computers are on, you know it's real. And not just in the library but outside as well. The sun can't beat us; it beats us good.

Regardless, I ran around the university track field today and did a mini burnout drill in the end.

Sometimes I feel too old to live in the dorms. Sometimes I get a gut feeling that I should be living off-campus at an apartment. I realized this when I crashed at my roommate's girlfriend's place after a party at a bar a few days ago.

I drank with the gang I had lived with last year, and, in the end, they all somehow left me and my drunk roommate. He was gone, I tell you. I guided him to the bus stop, only to see the bus filled with other students. Needless to say, the bus zoomed passed us as if we were clumps of dust that bespoke no visible impression. That was the last bus of the night.

So the only thing to do was to walk back. It would take us a good forty-five minutes to an hour. The streets were dark, with very limited lights. It was reaching two in the morning, yet somehow nothing scared me. I put my arm around my drunk roommate and guided him. All the while he was babbling some nonsense ranging from wanting another beer to maintaining the taekwondo club. For reasons unknown, he took out twenty dollars from his pocket and gave it to me. There we were, the two of us, walking in the pitch black streets. One pretty sober, one completely gone. Cars passed us, casually. I tried hailing a cab but it hit me that we weren't in NYC. Meanwhile my roommate would continue to whine about craving another beer. I told him no, but drunk people didn't listen. I was getting annoyed. But it gave me a good laugh.

I called my roommate's girlfriend, as she lived pretty close, and she finally came. While my roommate slept in her room, I slept on her living room couch. I was wearing jeans and a striped tee. Uncomfortable, but it couldn't be helped. Once I lay down, sleep immediately consumed me like a huge cloud covering the sun.

Come morning, I got up and took a swig of water from the mug that she must've placed on the coffee table when I was sleeping. Birds were chirping from out the window. I walked to their bathroom and took a long piss. There were large, dark circles under my eyes. I checked my wristwatch that I accidentally wore overnight and it was nine in the morning. I yawned a couples times, stretched, and sighed. The rest were still sleeping. In the meantime I looked around the place. It was pretty decent. They had a spacious living room, kitchen, and a small terrace outside. A few steps up led to four rooms, all of which were locked. I'd live here, I thought.

I decided to go back myself. I slipped on my shoes and headed out the door. For a second I thought of being in a one-night stand, only that I didn't have a girl to bring back. Parked by the garage was their car. I took one last look at their home and walked to the bus stop. The morning mist slapped my face while the birds continued to chirp. While taking the bus, I thought about the drastic difference dorm life was. I'd want a spacious living room, a terrace, a single room. But what's done was done.