Beginning, Section II, Next Section
"Hello."
"Hello, Mrs. Knightley?"
"Emma! How are you?"
"I'm pretty good. Finally settled down after the first week of classes."
"Well, that's good, that good. Taking very good care of yourself then, and calling your father very often?"
"Of course! Don't I always?"
Mrs. Knightley's good-natured laugh was heard on the other end of the phone as she said, "Yes, you do. Would you like to talk to George?"
"Yes, please, and have a good evening Mrs. Knightley." Emma sat back in her chair and waited for George to pick up the phone.
There was some fumbling at the other end and the sound of George clearing his throat. He then called for his mother to hang up the phone, and after hearing the click, finally said hello.
"Hey, Knightley. What were you doing?"
"Just washing the dishes. How's are things?"
Emma propped her legs up on her desk and said, "Classes are fine, but it's a big change from high school."
George laughed at the other end, "Yeah, they don't spoon feed you the material anymore."
"Hey, I never needed spoon feeding. I'm a very motivated person."
"I know you are a very motivated person, too motivated sometimes. I was just making an observation."
She heard him sit down in his father's chair in the library. "You just sat down in your dad's chair in the library, right?"
"Very good."
"What is a grown man of 26 years doing still living in his parents' place?" Emma teased.
George hummed disapprovingly. "You know Emma, you really have to learn not to be so rude. I will take this kind of treatment from you because I'm like a brother to you, but other people won't."
"I know, I'm sorry Knightley. I shouldn't have said that to you. I was just teasing."
"I know you were teasing. Besides, I am thinking of getting out of my parents' house."
Emma sat up. "Really? Where and when?"
"I'm not telling you. When it does happen, I'll let you know."
There was a knock on her open door. Emma turned and saw Jane, Lizzy, Elinor, and Marianne standing at her door.
"Come in, come in." Emma said still holding the phone.
"No, no. You're talking on the phone. Sorry to interrupt." Elinor said herding the rest of the girls out the door.
"Oh, no. I'm almost done here." Emma protested.
"We'll wait outside of you then." Elinor said. She turned to Harriet, "Coming?"
Harriet nodded and left to wait with the others, shutting the door behind her.
"What was that?" asked George. "Are you going somewhere?"
"Yeah, just a brother floor event that our floor senior planned."
"Brother floor?"
Emma struggled into her shoes. "We're an all girls floor so our floor senior matched us up with an all boys floor. You know, just to get to know each other."
There was a brief pause on Knightley's end. "Well, then I'll let you go. Just be careful."
Emma laughed, "It's just a pizza thing with the guys in our rec room. Don't worry. We'll be well chaperoned by the floor seniors and the dons."
"I know. Have fun then." Knightley said still sounding doubtful.
"Bye," said Emma and hung up the phone. She shook her head, perplexed by George's sudden protectiveness. "What is wrong with him?" she wondered aloud now that Harriet wasn't in the room. "And how come he wouldn't tell me anything about him moving away? He always tells me everything." She furrowed her brows. "That creep probably has a girlfriend now to tell all his secrets to. I bet she's the kind of girl Lizzy was talking about Monday at dinner. Blonde bimbos who'll flatter..." A knock on her door interrupted her fuming.
"Are you still coming Emma?" called Harriet.
Emma flung open the door, surprising Harriet who had her ear pressed against the door ready to hear her answer. "Of course I'm going." Emma locked the door, and turned back to face the girls. "And I am determined to enjoy myself tonight."
The guys were not there when the girls arrived. The recreation room was littered with other girls lounging on the couches watching Entertainment Tonight and gossiping about the divorces of the latest Hollywood hunks. The two Annes had set up the veggies and dip table earlier that evening, along with a variety of juices and sodas. Grabbing a handful of carrot sticks and celery, the girls headed over to the couches to join the rest of the floor.
There was the sound of high heels clicking the stairs leading down into the recreation room and Lizzy said, without turning to see who it was, "Enter Miss Caroline Bingley."
Marianne looked and sure enough it was Caroline dressed in a clingy black top and a pair of tight fitting orange slacks. Turning back to Lizzy, she shook her by the hand. "Very good, you've got this down to an art."
Lizzy laughed, "I'm willing to offer anyone lessons if they'd care to learn." Her face suddenly fell grave and lowering her voice she said, "I think there is something wrong with this. Look, she is coming this way. Caroline never hangs around with any of us and never comes to any of the floor's activities. Why is she here?"
"Maybe she's tired of having Jane as her only friend on this floor." Emma reasoned. "But then of course, Jane really shouldn't count because she's friends with everyone on the floor."
Jane shushed them. "She's coming. Now would you all please try to be nice to her? Especially you Lizzy!"
"Hello Gals!" drawled Caroline in her fake Brooklyn accent. She struck a pose with one hand on her hips and the other on the back of the sofa.
Lizzy looked up at Caroline and smiled angelically. "Hello, Caroline. What brings you here today?" She felt Jane's foot on her own, but continued smiling up at Caroline.
Caroline positioned her mouth to say something nasty in return but quickly changed her mind and said, "There is a brother floor event here tonight, right? I mean, isn't that why you are all here? Planning on picking up some guys, eh?" She nudged Emma conspiratorially, but Emma only gave her a nervous smile and moved further away from Caroline.
"Actually, I'm just here to have some dinner." Lizzy casually replied. "There's going to be pizza tonight, and I like pizza."
Caroline's phony smile dropped. "Yes, well, I guess some of us have better things to think about other than food." She saw Lizzy smirk and hurried on before Lizzy could embarrass her even further. "I found out that my brother and his roommate are on our brother floor! They told me yesterday, and asked me if I was going to be here. My brother's roommate Will said he wouldn't come unless I was here. So, I guess I'm here to make sure that he'll feel comfortable. He's an old family friend."
"Oh well, that is very thoughtful of you." Jane said, overpowering the giggles she could feel coming from Lizzy and Marianne. Even Emma was beginning to lose her composure.
Caroline flopped down between Elinor and Jane, "Oh yeah, Will and I go way back. He is my brother's best friend even though he's a year older than Chuck. They both went to Upper Canada College, but Will went in a year before Chuck. Our fathers were business partners until Will's dad died two years ago. My dad's looking after the company right now, but I've heard that it is supposed to go to Will someday. Will's great grandfather started it you know. It started off as a family business and then really took off during our grandfathers' generation."
"How awful it must be to lose his father at seventeen." Jane empathized.
Caroline smiled in superiority, "Oh no. Mr. Darcy died during Will's last year of high school when he was nineteen. He got into Queen's last year, but deferred his acceptance for a year."
"That must have been a really hard year for them." Elinor commented. She felt like she was prying but calmed her morals by convincing herself that she was making Caroline feel better by letting her talk about this Will.
"Yes, it was." Caroline answered pulling a long face. "Will was doing his finals when his father finally died. Mr. Darcy had been suffering from an ulcer for a long time, but didn't tell anyone about it until it was too late. The doctors said it was like slowly bleeding to death." By this time, Caroline's narrative had the whole of McNeill 4 enraptured. Pleased with the attention, Caroline continued. "After Mr. Darcy died, Georgiana, his sister, cried for nights and nights. So, he decided not to come to Queen's that year and stayed until Georgie was a little more settled. He didn't have any problems with the registrar because the Darcys have been coming to Queen's since Will's great grandfather's generation. Anyway, after Will's dad died, my parents invited Will and Georgie to come and live with us, but Will said it wasn't necessary and that he and his sister will try to work things out for themselves. Their mother died years ago when Will was only sixteen so it was only those two in that big house. Georgie was supposed to come and live with my parents when Will went away this year, but instead he put her up as a boarder at Bishop Strachan School. I don't know why Will did that because now their house is empty except for their butler and housekeeper. What a waste."
There was a collective sigh at the end of Caroline's speech as they all felt their heart strings tug that the tragic history of Will Darcy. A rumble of deep voices and heavy steps roused everyone from their revelries and the girls all rose from their seats in anticipation.
"We come baring food as an offering of peace, ladies!" announced a friendly looking guy carrying a stack of steaming pizza boxes, leading a pack of boys behind him also carrying pizzas.
Ann helped the leader with some of his boxes saying as she laid them out on the tables, "A very smart move on your part. Hungry women are never to be meddled with." She turned to her girls who were scanning the crowd expectantly. "Everyone," she said firmly and loudly, "This is Tim Weston, the floor senior of Leonard 3 East. He's an engineer too, but I'm afraid he's a civil engineer and not part of the superior brand of chemical engineers like me."
Tim took the other pizzas from the boys and said, "Oh, get off it. You chemical engineers think you're all that and more. We civil engineers are more useful." He looked around the room for any engineers to agree with him, but upon seeing none, he shrugged and proceeded to open the pizza boxes. "I don't know about everyone but I'm starving."
"Yes," agreed Ann. "Come and grab a plate everyone. Don't be shy."
The girls dragged their feet slowly towards the pizzas as if caught by treacle.
"Where's the infamous Will that Caroline has been bragging about?" Lizzy whispered to Jane. "I hope she didn't fabricate all that stuff just so she could be in the spotlight. For all we know, Will actually told her that if she showed up, he wouldn't be coming."
"Oh, Lizzy, don't say that." Jane whispered back. "I know Caroline wouldn't make up stuff like that. We've seen her with friends all this week, so I'm sure she is perfectly capable of being nice to people."
Emma, who had not heard the whispering between the two sisters, leaned forward and whispered, "I'm assuming that since Caroline hasn't created a scene yet, Will Darcy is not here?"
Marianne who happened to overhear leaned closer to Emma and said, "He's probably part of her entourage of imaginary friends."
"Marianne..." Elinor said in her big sister voice that she seldom used unless she felt Marianne was in need of some restraint. She was beginning to think that Marianne was becoming too much like Lizzy in her comments and too much like Emma in her haughtiness.
"Oh, Elinor, learn to have some fun." Marianne said grabbing a paper plate and passing one to her sister. "Caroline isn't even listening to us. Look at her." She gestured toward Caroline who was frowning at the door, the only person not lining up for the pizza. "She's too busy pining and preening after that Will to care what it is we're talking about right now."
Elinor helped herself to a piece of ham and pineapple pizza, "I just don't think that you should be saying bad things about Caroline when she hasn't done anything to you."
Lizzy piped up from behind Marianne, "I think I'm included in the comment huh?" She picked up a piece of all dressed pizza "I think you're right Elinor. I think it's about time we stopped picking on Caroline. It's getting kind of old. Besides, she's too easy of a target."
Marianne began to shake and then when she couldn't keep it in any longer, burst out laughing. "I thought my sister was going to be effective in reforming you. You had me going there for a second."
"Oh really, you two," scolded Jane from the end of the line. "This is not something to be proud of. I think it's time you both leave poor Caroline alone."
"Okay, okay. We won't do it again, and we mean it this time." Lizzy said in an exasperated tone, stepping out of the line with her soda and pizza. She could never understand why some people refused to take the ridiculous lightly.
Marianne followed suit with a glum expression. "Yeah, we won't make fun of Caroline anymore." Then under her breath as she brushed past Elinor, she said, "Poor Caroline indeed."
Elinor, who obviously heard the comment, called after them, "And no more of those snide comments!"
Lizzy and Marianne both turned with innocent expressions on their faces, shrugged and sat down on an empty couch with their dinners.
Emma began to laugh but stopped abruptly when she met the stern looks of Elinor and Jane. "Come on, you really have to admit, those two are hilarious!" she defended.
"Emma, not you too." Elinor said picking out a juice box.
Emma looked down and took a slice of pepperoni pizza to avert the looks of the two older sisters. "It just that I don't see why you two keep insisting that we be nice to Caroline when she clearly displays her dislike of us. Anyone could see that her motives behind sitting down and talking to us was to show off her acquaintance with this Will Darcy that still hasn't shown up. Besides, I think it was really rude of her to go around telling everyone on our floor stuff about Will without his permission."
It was now Elinor's turn to turn away. Her morals had warned her earlier that she shouldn't have encouraged Caroline to say more by making that comment.
Emma lifted up her head when her remarks were met without rebuke. Rather bewildered by her good fortune, she quickly scurried away with her pizza to join Lizzy and Marianne before the two older sisters changed their minds.
Elinor now turned to Harriet who was looking around the empty boxes for the vegetarian pizza. "What say you about this, Harriet?"
Harriet looked up from her foraging in shock at being asked to state her views on something. "I... I don't know." She didn't want to admit that she hadn't been following the developments of this apparently heated issue of teasing. The whole of her simple mind had been occupied by the attentions of a "brother" named Robert Martin standing behind her in line who had boldly introduced himself to her earlier.
"Oh, never mind then." Elinor said walking away. "It's actually better you're not involved in this."
Harriet turned to Robert and said, "They're usually a lot nicer and get along really well. I don't know what happened today."
The tension in the group didn't seemed to have bothered Robert much, for he said, "I'm sure things you're right. Anyway, you were telling me about this magazine you were reading?"
Harriet was about to make her answer when the sight of two guys entering the room caught her eye. She then saw a streak of orange whiz by her towards the two newcomers.
"Will!" exclaimed the orange streak. "Welcome to McNeill."
At the sound of Caroline's piercing greeting, everyone turned to stare at the newcomers. The first thing everyone noticed was how contrasting the two looked. One was dark and menacingly tall, while the other was blonde and of a comfortable standard height. Both were strikingly handsome, although the taller one carried himself with austerity while the other was more congenial.
Lizzy found the idea that the two could be best friends rather comical. "Besides from the height, those two could not be more different from each other," she thought to herself. At the same, the old saying of not judging a book by the cover was nagging in the back of her mind. However, she dismissed it as just an idle thought and was not deterred from her judgment of the two newcomers.
The girls all held their breath in anticipation to see which one of the two would be the infamous Will Darcy. They all hoped that it would be the friendlier looking one, but much to their dismay Caroline took the arm of the darker taller guy and dragged him into the room.
Tim then stood up to welcome them to the party, "Will! Chuck! You guys finally made it."
Will, who was busy trying to detach Caroline from him, was unable to answer so Chuck said for the both of them, "Sorry, we're late. We had a few things we had to do before we came down. I hope the pizza hasn't gotten cold."
Ann then approached the two and ushered them toward the table, "We just got started so it should still be fairly hot. There are also drinks, and some veggies. Help yourselves."
"Drinks?" Chuck's blue eyes twinkled with the beginnings of a joke. "Alcoholic?"
Ann shook her head. "No, of course not," she said with a humouring smile. "Get some pizza, then come and sit with us when you're ready." She then turned and gave her girls a stern look to leave the two guys alone. Earlier, she too had been caught up in Caroline's narrative of Will's life, and was now regretting having not put a stop to it earlier.
Slowly, the room regained its momentum as the girls reluctantly returned to their dinners. Occasionally, one of them would sneak a peek at Will and immediately turn away when they caught his eye.
"I know those two from somewhere. I just can't for the life of me remember." Marianne said to Lizzy.
Lizzy shrugged in return. "Oh, well. It really doesn't matter does it? I don't see what the hype is about those two. If Caroline didn't tell us that story about Will, we wouldn't be reacting this way now. I really feel sorry for them. How would you feel if you walked into a strange room and was accosted with fifty pairs of eyes?"
Marianne stuck her nose up in the air and said, "It happens to me all the time, and it feels great."
Lizzy shook her head. "You crack me up."
Before Marianne could respond, Emma leaned over and said, "I think I know where you've seen them. It was in psyc class, remember? I saw them too, and you said at dinner that night they looked rather cute and Lizzy said they would only like blondes..."
"SHHHH!" exclaimed the rest of the girls, but it was too late. Will and Chuck had turned to look at Emma.
Emma slid down in her seat. "Oh... this is so humiliating..." she groaned, her blush burning in her cheeks. The rest of the girls could only snicker at Emma's embarrassment.
"What a classic!" Lizzy chortled. "I swear someone should be writing these things down!"
As if on cue, Tina and Jackie popped up from behind the opposite couch where they had been sitting quietly and said, "Oh, but someone is..."
Emma sat up, forgetting all about her mortification. "What are you guys talking about?"
Tina waved a blue notebook in the air, "See?"
Jackie immediately reached up and pulled Tina's hand back down. "Get back down, you idiot!" she said furiously. Tina obliging complied and tucked the blue notebook behind her back.
Emma looked as if she was going to start forward and strangle Tina, but Elinor pulled her back saying, "There really isn't much point, you know. We all saw that, and if we wanted to, we could spread the word. Stopping Tina from writing it down isn't going to do much."
"Thanks Elinor!" called Tina from behind the couch.
Emma grumbled as she bit into the crust her pizza, "I hope they aren't trying to play Harriet the Spy."
"They're harmless." Elinor dismissed with a wave of her hand as she set her empty plate aside.
Marianne, who had also finished her pizza, wiped her hands and headed over to the piano. Gently running her fingers along the keys, she played out a simple arpeggio and cringed, "Ugh, I've never heard a piano this flat before. What have they been doing to you?"
Lizzy brushed her hands of the last few crumbs and joined Marianne at the rec room's battered upright. "Snap out of it, Marianne. This is a residence piano, a sad hand-me-down from the music department. When you guys finish with them, they come here."
"This is so sad," Marianne lamented. "Every instrument to me has a soul and when it cannot sing properly, it will never be happy." She saw Lizzy roll her eyes. "Science students, not a strain of poetry in them."
Jane, who had also finished her dinner, came to Lizzy's defense. "That's where you're wrong, Marianne. Lizzy plays. She just doesn't do it very often anymore. She used to win awards at festivals all the time until she quit."
Lizzy stuck her tongue out at Marianne. "Ha. So there! But Jane exaggerates. I'm not that great. Lucked out most of the time at festivals."
Marianne stepped aside. "Play something."
"No," Lizzy said shaking her head. "There are people around and I'm not that great playing in front of people. You play, Miss Music Student."
"No one is listening, Lizzy." Marianne said. It was true. Everybody was occupied with their own activities. Most notably, Will and Chuck were playing pool while Caroline sat on the pool table, getting in their way. At this point, Caroline sounded her piercing laugh and everyone turned to stare. "See? They're paying more attention to Caroline than you."
"But I don't know what to play!" Lizzy said reluctantly taking a seat in front of the piano.
"Play one of your concert pieces."
Lizzy sat and thought for a while. Finally, she positioned her fingers over the keys and said, "The only ones I remember are Chopin's Nocturnes and a few Mozart pieces. I don't even think I'll be able to play the whole thing. It's been a really long time since I've played, so you'll have to excuse the blunders."
"Go on. Play!" Marianne urged.
As soon as Lizzy began to play, Marianne immediately proclaimed, "Chopin, No. 15 in D Flat Major."
Lizzy nodded, "Now shut up, or I won't be able to remember what comes next." The song she was playing suited Lizzy very well; it was dominated by powerful chords, and gradual changes in dynamics and tone that showed off her prowess as a pianist. She was close to the ending when she suddenly stopped. She felt the unwavering stare of a person on the back of her head.
"What's wrong?" Marianne asked. "You were almost done."
Lizzy swallowed and looked behind her to see the source of her distraction being generated from Will Darcy's intense dark eyes. She caught his gaze, but instead of shying away like the rest of the girls, she fixed him with the reciprocal look of her own. He was the first to turn away.
"I really don't remember anything after that." Lizzy said slowly, returning to herself. "I didn't play it faithfully anyway. I'm sure you'll do a much better job of it." She stood up, "Come on, it's your turn now. I'm going to get some more apple juice. Play another Chopin and show them how it's supposed to be done." She turned and saw that the group had gather around to watch her play. "I see, you've got quite and audience waiting for you to play."
"They came when you were playing, Miss Modesty." Marianne said. "I guess they'll get an encore courtesy of the great prodigy."
Elinor turned to Jane, "Those two need to be knocked down a few pegs, don't you think?" Jane could only smile and shake her head in return.
Lizzy clasped her hands together, saying melodramatically, "Oh, great prodigy! Please grace us with your magnanimity and spread your musical largess."
Marianne gave Lizzy a playful shove and sat down at the bench. "Get out of here!"
Lizzy left the group as Marianne began picking out a simple tune, which she gradually billowed into a full sweeping harmonizing melody. "Show off, composing her own song." Lizzy stood at the drinks table and listened as Marianne stopped her own spontaneous song and began playing a waltz Lizzy immediately recognized to be Strauss. She allowed herself to be carried away to the Danube by the waltz and was rudely brought by the sound of voices.
"C'mon!" said one voice. "You never want to have fun. I'm not asking you to ask them out, just talk to them."
Lizzy looked out the corner of her eye and saw that it was Chuck talking to Will. Surprisingly, Caroline was not with them.
"No," Will answered curtly, "It'll be too weird. You don't know them and we haven't been properly introduced."
Chuck sighed, "What is wrong with you? You never seem to want to do things when we go out. How are you going to meet people if you don't even say hello to them in the first place?"
"I said hello to the guys on the floor."
"That doesn't count. I'm talking about people outside our floor. Girls, for instance."
"I'd rather not. Knowing your sister, she's already spread the news about me. You saw how they reacted when we walked in."
"Oh please, who cares about that. They aren't doing it anymore, are they? Look, if you are afraid of a group of girls, then why don't you start with that one. The one standing by the drinks. She's pretty, and looks friendly. If you can get her to talk to you, then maybe we'll be able to be properly introduced to those girls by the piano."
"Which do you mean?"
Lizzy turned her face away from them to cover up the look of amusement on her face. She knew Will would not come, but stuck around to hear his reply.
Sure enough, Will did not come and gave his answer in the same terseness as before, "She's okay, but I wouldn't go as far as to call her pretty. Look, I'm not in the mood to go around cruising for chicks."
Lizzy almost burst out laughing when she heard Will's pathetic excuse. "This is great!" she thought to herself. "I've got to tell Marianne this!" Tossing the rest of her juice in the trash, she hurried back to her group, hearing Chuck say before she was out of earshot, "Fine. Suit yourself. I'm going without you."
When Lizzy got back, she found Marianne occupied with a fair haired, stylish guy from the brother floor. She was about to look disappointed when Marianne waved and said, "Lizzy! Come here, I want you to meet somebody."
"This is John Willoughby. John, this is Elizabeth Bennet." Marianne introduced.
John stuck out his hand, "Nice to meet you, Elizabeth. We heard you play earlier and you were great."
Lizzy shook the offered hand, "Please call me Lizzy. Thank you for the compliment, but I'm sure Marianne was much more of a dazzler."
"Yes," agreed John, looking at Marianne most reverently with his dreamy gray eyes. "I was compelled to come and listen when she started to play. Her music enchanted me like the Sirens' voices in Homer's Odyssey; then in the shallow waters of her music was I trapped."
Lizzy looked shocked yet amused at the same time. "Gee, Marianne," she mused to herself. "Where did you dig up this bard?" Marianne, however, looked pleased with his admiration of her music. Lizzy looked from one blank face to another and said, "I see you two have hit it off. I think I'll go and talk to Emma now." Lizzy wasn't expecting an answer; she knew Marianne hadn't been listening.
Walking over to where Jane, Elinor, and Emma were sitting, she told them of the conversation she had overheard between Will and Chuck.
Emma immediately found the humour in it and laughed heartily. "This is so ridiculous. Who does he think he is? I guess hanging around Caroline has rubbed off. If he thinks you're 'okay', then I wonder what word he would use to describe Caroline. Horrendous?"
"Horse faced?" suggested Lizzy.
Emma whooped, "Orangina!"
They both keeled over with laughter.
"Emma, not you too." Elinor said, "And I thought Lizzy and Marianne was bad."
"It was really mean of him to say that though." Jane said.
"Oh yes, capital offense." Lizzy replied dryly. She looked up and smiled. "Look, Chuck is coming over."
In a very self-assured and well practiced way, Chuck introduced himself to everyone in the group. They then took turns introducing themselves too. Lizzy added at then end of her introduction. "You don't look like Caroline."
Chuck laughed, "I don't know if she told you this but we're actually non-identical twins. Don't know what the professional term is for it."
"Dizygotic" Emma chimed in.
"I'm sure your right." Chuck said looking at Emma. Recognizing her from earlier, he gave her a teasing look. Emma immediately turned a fierce shade of pink and shrank away. "Don't worry about it, Emma. You fed our egos and you know how guys like to have our egos pumped up."
At this comment, Lizzy accepted him into her list of friends. She was thankful that he was able to laugh at himself, unlike his immodest friend, who was now playing pool by himself with Caroline in the peanut gallery, commenting on every shot he made.
The conversation carried on easily after that. Lizzy's vivacity brought in new topics when the old ones started wavering; Elinor's sense brought some logic to their chatter; Emma's well-informed mind kept the discussions informative and insightful; and Jane's tender character consistently defended the bullied.
It was over this characteristic of Jane's that Chuck began to observe her in a different light. She was the prettiest girl in the room, and he had wanted to talk to her ever since he noticed her winsome smile through Emma's embarrassing comment. He was afraid that she might be too shy to talk to him since she didn't say much when she was in a big group. Now, he understood that her quiescence in a big group served to maintain her neutrality, while she could be talkative in smaller, more intimate gatherings. He began to solicit Jane's opinions more often, wanting to hear her lovely voice, and offered many times to get her a drink. By the end of the evening, anyone who had eyes could see that he preferred Jane's company to any of the other girls; even Jane had to admit that.
Emma sat on her bed, toweling her hair. She looked over at Harriet who had her Physics text opened on her desk but was staring out the window towards the general vicinity of Leonard Hall.
"The brother floor event went very well tonight, don't you think?" Emma asked.
Harriet's eyes lit up at the mention of the brother floor. "Oh, yeah. It was tons of fun. I met a lot of new people."
"I saw you hanging around one guy a lot though."
Harriet blushed, her permanently rosy cheeks turning even pinker. "His name is Robert. I was talking to him about this article I read in the magazine about head sizes and intelligence. It said that people with bigger heads are usually smarter, but then he said what about people with big heads that are dumb. And then I asked him to name me one instance where people with big head are dumb, and he said..."
"Your point, Harriet!"
Harriet looked crestfallen. "Well, we just hit it off after that. He told me about his family in Ottawa and even invited me to spend Thanksgiving with them this year. He offered because I told him that I wouldn't be able to go home for Thanksgiving. That was awfully nice of him, don't you think?"
Emma hummed for a bit, and then said, "Yes, it was. But don't you think it was really too quick for him to ask you to his parents' place?"
Harriet's blush rose again. "Oh, no! We're not... you know... I mean, I only met him today and he just invited me over because he knew I would be here by myself. You don't think that he was... ohmigosh!"
"Harriet, I don't think his motives were going to be that bad. I was actually going to ask you to come and spend Thanksgiving with my dad and I. Knightley will be there too. You remember Knightley, right? It doesn't matter anyway, since you're going to Robert's for Thanksgiving." She looked away waiting for Harriet to cave.
She heard Harriet fidget in her chair, and finally heard her say, "Well, I mean, I don't really know him very well because I only met him tonight, so I guess I really shouldn't go right?"
Emma smiled and turned around to face Harriet. "Don't decide right now. Wait until Thanksgiving rolls around. You are most welcome to spend Thanksgiving with me in Toronto. Phil will be there! It'll be so much fun."
Harriet tried very hard not to frown. There was something about Phil she didn't like. "Oh, Phil's going to be there. Well, then maybe it really isn't a good idea to have me up. I'll get in the way of you and Phil."
"Nonsense!" Emma said. She made a mental note not to mention Phil in front of Harriet again. "Just leave it for now. You can decide what you want to do later. In the meantime, we have a Physics lab to write up."
Late night jazz on CBC Radio 2 was playing in the background as Lizzy flipped through her algebra text, combing for equations that would help her with her assignment. Every now and then, she would let out an "Eureka! I've solved it!" and begin punching numbers into her calculator, only to emerge from her false alarm with a frustrated scream minutes later.
"A ninety dollar text book and it's as useless as a dead leaf!" she griped, snapping the ill-fated book shut. She was about to hurl the book at the door when a knock came upon it. Jerking the book back and dropping it on her bed with a resounding 'boom', she composed herself and invited the person in. It was Jane.
"The assignment isn't going well?" she asked shutting the door behind her.
Lizzy blew a straying forelock away from her face. "Yeah. I think I'm learning a lesson in procrastination. I shouldn't have gone down to the brother floor event tonight. It was a waste of time," she paused and with a sly grin said, "Although for SOME people, it wasn't a waste of time. Hint, hint, ahem, YOU!"
Jane blushed, "If you are talking about Chuck, I'm sure he was just being friendly."
Lizzy scoffed at her modesty. "Friendly? I wasn't born yesterday, Jane. He obviously preferred talking to you compared to the rest of us. You even admitted that yourself a few hours ago! You above all should be aware of the look in his eyes whenever he looks at you."
"What look?"
"Oh Jane, you are so dense sometimes. I really wonder how you still manage to be sensitive of everyone's feelings. But anyway, I'm just glad that he doesn't look like Caroline. It's awful enough having to spend nine months in the same womb as her and nineteen years in the same house!"
Jane couldn't help but to giggle. "Stop it, Lizzy."
"Clearly, he got first dibs on the good genes, and Caroline got the leftovers. What's with that girl and orange? She always looks like she can't wait for Halloween."
Jane doubled over, still laughing. "Stop. Please. I really shouldn't be encouraging you in this by laughing."
"Fine, I'll change the subject. You still haven't told me what you think about Chuck Bingley."
"But I told you before. I think he's nice."
"Good looking?"
"Yes."
"Great sense of humour?"
"In his own way, yes."
"Ready to meet his parents and accept Caroline as your sister-in-law?"
"Oh, now really, Lizzy. He probably only sees me as a friend. I'm really flattered that you would think that he could have any other feelings for me other than that."
Lizzy groaned and buried her head in her hands. "There is no way you are going to admit your feeling for him to me is there? Fine, have it your way, but I'll be willing to bet anything that tomorrow he'll come and sit with you during meals."
"Oh Lizzy. . ."
Lizzy pointed towards the door. "Shh! Sorry to have to do this, but you are going to have to leave. This assignment is due on Wednesday and I still have the physics lab to write up."
With one more reprimanding look, Jane quietly tiptoed out the door carefully shutting the door behind her.
Elinor sat at her desk, twirling her pen as she flipped through the pages of "Shakespeare's Plays". She stopped at Hamlet and in a moment of musing, said aloud,
"To study or not to study: that is the question:
Whether 'tis wiser in the mind to suffer
The anguish and woes of outrageous essays,
Or take a nap against a deadline
And by sleeping forget them. To read, to sleep --" She was shushed by Marianne.
Marianne had been talking on the phone with John Willoughby ever since the brother floor event disbanded at ten o'clock and he was forced to go home with his group.
Elinor had heard her say earlier that she had a music history quiz tomorrow, but by the looks of Marianne's productiveness this evening, there was trouble ahead in that quiz. She pointed to the radio alarm clock on Marianne's desk. It read: 12:45. She had been talking on the phone for over two hours already! Marianne nodded hastily, but showed no signs of hanging up. Elinor then pointed to the music history textbook on her desk, and still Marianne only nodded. There really wasn't anything Elinor could do to get Marianne off the phone, so she left to brush her teeth.
When she came back, Marianne was already pouring over her music history text. She gave Elinor a searing glare when Elinor walked in. She seemed to have forgotten that it was her fault, and not Elinor's, that she was behind in her studying.
Elinor sat down on her bed to read over Othello in preparation for the lecture tomorrow in her Shakespeare class. She barely got into the first scene when Marianne turned to face Elinor with the same angry glare.
"I can't believe you did that!"
"What? What did I do this time, Marianne?"
"You know very well what you did. I was talking on the phone with John and you had to keep interrupting me and reminding me of my quiz tomorrow. Now I'm all stressed out thanks to you!"
After a moment's silence, Elinor apologized even though she didn't feel she was in the wrong. Through years of experience, Elinor knew that disputes between Marianne could only be resolved with an apology to Marianne. Satisfied with the apology Marianne now turned the subject onto pleasanter matters; her music history quiz once again regaining its station at the back of her mind.
"What did you think about John?"
"John?"
"You know, that guy I was with this evening."
"Oh, him. He seems pretty nice. Why'd you ask?"
"Well, I just thought that he and I would get along very well, don't you think? He's not a music student but he's got tons of poetry in him. He told me that he is an engineering student because the person who set up this trust fund for him said that he would only get the money if he studied something useful. He would have loved to study music but because of that person, he couldn't. Don't you think that person was being really unfair? I mean, who is that person to say what John can or cannot study?"
Elinor sighed and set her textbook aside. "Marianne, I don't think 'unfair' is a really good word to describe John's patron. After all, this person is giving John money for school. Imagine, another person other than your parents giving you money for school! Dad wouldn't even give mom a cent for our education. I think John is very fortunate."
"I knew you wouldn't understand. You could always pretend to give yourself a logical answer. I, on the other hand, think that it is awful how things are for him. Anyway, he's miserable in engineering and I'm going to help him out by giving him lessons in my spare time."
"Be careful, Marianne." Elinor warned. "You only met him tonight and you don't know if he is a person to be trusted. Besides, he's been taking time away from you work ever since the brother floor event disbanded."
"Don't worry. I'm a perfectly good judge of character, and I'm not going to let him affect my studies. Why can't you trust people, Elinor? Just because I only met him today doesn't mean that he is out to get me. Some people can be friends for a long time and they can still betray you."
"Yes, Marianne. I'm sure there are people like that out there." Elinor closed her book and shoved it under her bed. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go to bed."
"Goodnight, Elinor." Marianne said, turning back to her desk.
"Goodnight, Marianne."
Later on that night, Elinor was roused awake by Marianne clambering up to her bunk. Before she drifted off to sleep again, her mind suddenly reared with what Marianne said. Why can't you trust people, Elinor? Elinor whimpered and drifted back to fitful sleep.
The briskness of the morning air gave hints of the ensuing autumn. The leaves of the maple trees at Queen's University burned on the branches in multitudes of reds, yellows, and oranges.
Anne walked along Queen's Crescent on her way to her early morning class, taking in the beauty around her. She stopped and watched the fog that had cloaked the campus while they slept last night, creep away towards Lake Ontario. It never seemed to surprise her that fog could clear out of a place so quickly. If only her thoughts could do the same thing, she wished.
In the past few weeks, she had been occupied with the floor's events, don meetings, her part-time job at the school daycare, and school work. Yet, despite her hectic schedule, her mind still had time to wander and settle on thoughts of Frederick. It had been weeks since she first realized Frederick was at Queen's. She had not seen him since Frosh Week in Mac-Corry. Sometimes, she would convince herself that he really wasn't at Queen's and the person she saw was not Frederick at all. However, more often than not, she would wonder into Mac-Corry and check the Geography Graduate Student display just so she could prove to herself that he was still here. Every time she walked into Mac-Corry, her heart would beat faster in anticipation of a chance meeting with Frederick, but she would leave feeling disappointed and foolish. Disappointed because she did not see Frederick there, and foolish because her heart still had the tenacity to feel disappointed. For all she knew, he did not care for her now; he might even hate her for what she did. She could have at least explained to him why she allowed Ms. Russell to write that letter. There were just too many things she wanted to redo if she could be given the chance.
"Hello. You're Anne, right?"
Anne turned around, rather offended that someone interrupted her solitary revelries. "Yes, that's right," she answered. "I'm really sorry, but I don't think I know who you are."
"My name is Eliot Williams. I am the don of Leonard 3 East. I thought I recognized you from last night. You know, the brother floor event."
Anne nodded, "Oh, yes. I'm so sorry but I didn't get to learn your name. There were just too many being tossed around yesterday. I'm surprised you even remembered mine."
"Actually, I was talking to your floor senior yesterday and she told me that you are from Nova Scotia too. That's why I made an effort to learn your name." Eliot answered. He swung his bag over another shoulder. "Do you have an 8:30 class too?"
"Yes," Anne replied. "But I like being out early at this time of the year. There are not going to be too many of these kinds of days left after Thanksgiving."
"I totally agree. Once snow arrives, early morning classes won't be enjoyable at all."
"Actually, I don't mind snow. It looks really nice at first but once the school starts to clear it off the roads, it looks dirty. That's what bugs me about snow."
Eliot continued in a similar fashion, talking of the weather and other neutral topics as new acquaintances usually do. Anne, however, desperately wanted to continue her ritualistic solitary stroll to her first class of the week. Many times she tried to end the conversation by telling him she was heading in the opposite direction, but then he would insist on walking her to her class. He never seemed to catch her hints that she wanted to be by herself.
Finally, they reached her class and after a hurried comment on how nice it was to meet him, she ducked inside the building to wait for Eliot to leave. She had never met anyone in her life that determined to meet her. He seemed to know what to say to her and every time the conversation faltered, he would pick another new topic that he knew she had an opinion on. He was very smooth, too smooth in fact.
Anne checked her watch. It was only 8:00. She still had enough time to walk down to the lake and enjoy the rest of her morning. Looking out the window to make sure Eliot had gone away, she swung open the doors and ran straight into a person coming into the building.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" she immediately apologized, too embarrassed to look up.
"That's okay," replied a voice that was all too familiar to her.
She looked up and a blush burned even deeper into her cheeks. He was looking down at her with the same mixed expression he had on his face at their initial meeting. Without a warning, he ripped his gaze away from her and stepped aside to let her through.
Anne, however, stood as still as a statue, thoughts of all the things she wanted to say to him running like a waterfall through her thoughts. What should she say first? Should she apologize first? Or maybe start with how happy she is he is here? And most importantly, does he still care?
"Frederick, wait!" While she stood transfixed by her thoughts, he had started to walk away.
"What?"
"I- I just wanted to say how nice it is to see you here." Anne stammered.
Frederick nodded and said nonchalantly, "Yeah, it's nice to see you too." He didn't seem too interested in talking to her and turned to walk away again.
"How have you been?" Anne called to his back.
"Fine." He called over his shoulder without stopping his retreat.
"How are you, Anne? I'm miserable, Frederick. I'm so sorry for all the things that I did to you. Will you forgive me?" Anne enacted to herself. She felt like she was going to cry.
He really didn't care. She, Anne, was now history. But there was something in his voice that didn't sound like he didn't care. He sounded angry. If he really didn't care about her and the past anymore, he shouldn't be angry at all. Anne felt a glimmer of hope rise in her heart. Perhaps he really did care. How she wished that was true.
The cafeteria buzzed with the noise of students. October was soon approaching and this meant the beginning of midterm papers and examinations. Those who had partied the first month of independence away were beginning to realize that things weren't going to be the same as high school. Many sat in groups with a textbook amongst them in an act of desperation. It was indubitable that several of the people, if not all of them, were regretting how trashed they got last night.
One table in the cafeteria, however, was not pouring over their books, and that was the table of our girls at McNeill 4. The ambition in each of the girls had driven them to nightly vigils at their desks. As Lizzy so aptly put it, "They were bonding with their books". While other girls on the floor went out to "Looney Tuesday" at Alfie's Pub, or took the Cocoamobile out to the Cocoamo on Thursdays, our girls sat faithfully at their desks. Mealtime for them was a time for relaxation and each of them looked forward to their meals for different reasons.
For Jane, it was an opportunity to see Chuck again. Although she was still denying it, she did notice Chuck's partiality, and often times welcomed and even encouraged them. He rarely failed to join them for his meals, and would even apologize the next day if he missed one. She found that adorable.
Marianne looked forward to her meals for reasons similar to Jane's. John, through the weeks, had become a regular diner with them. She would even give him a call before she came down for her meals to make sure he would be there too. One night, she had forgotten to call him for dinner, and he had been very upset the next day because he gone without dinner that night waiting for her to call.
Although Lizzy enjoyed Chuck's presence at their table, there one drawback. Will was often with him, and where there's a Will, there's a Caroline. She liked it better when it was just the girls and Caroline would avoid them like they were lepers. However, she quickly found the silver lining in the situation for she loved to see Caroline squirm and frown at Lizzy's popularity within her group of friends. After that mental adjustment, Lizzy found her meals to be rather enjoyable again.
Emma looked forward to her meals because it was an occasion to leave her desk. Her ambition to be a doctor has thus far never wavered. She was doing well, but not as well as she had initially aspired. Back in high school, she was easily at the top of her class, but here things were dramatically different. She studied twice as hard as she did in high school, yet her grades were still lower than her high school marks. The day she got her first lab mark back, she called up Knightley and cried into the phone for over two hours. Knightley had listened apathetically. He understood her feelings perfectly and at end of their talk, she was ready to face the world again. He always had that kind of effect on her.
Harriet perhaps, had a tougher time than the rest of the girls, because on top of worrying about her midterms, she had to decide where to go for Thanksgiving. Back home where she didn't have many friends, she would have been overjoyed to be invited to two places all at one time for Thanksgiving. Now, she was feeling the first drawbacks of popularity. Should she disappoint Robert or risk losing a potential best friend? She had never had one before, and was hoping Emma would be willing to accept the position.
Elinor still dined with her sister and the rest of her friends, but as often as it was possible, she preferred to sit beside Anne. Being in her second year of university, she was beginning to find the froshie's over-dramatic displays of stress to be rather trying. She found associations with other veterans such as the two Annes to be better company.
It took Jane's gentle coaxing, Lizzy's persistent urging, Emma's determination, Elinor's logical reasoning, and Marianne's melodramatic insistence for Anne to join their table for her meals. She had passed the previous three years of university life quietly, never offending anyone, yet never really attached to anyone. However, she felt this year more than most, she would need the comforting solace of close friends.
The group had just finished the last of their pudding when Chuck suggested they go out for a walk. As expected, everyone let out cries of protestation: it was too cold outside, there is a math assignment due tomorrow, biology seminar presentations to prepare for, laundry to do, hair to wash. But Chuck was not to be deterred and soon they were all outside in the nipping cold of the autumn winds.
Needless to say, Chuck monopolized Jane's company and the two walked slower and slower until the rest of the group out stripped them. Emma walked with Phil and Harriet, although Lizzy thought it was more like Emma walking with Phil. Thankfully, Robert, who had to pick up his jacket, caught up with them and relieved Harriet from the tedious company of Phil. Marianne was busy being enthralled at the latest philosophical musings of John and so could not keep Lizzy company. Even Elinor was busy chatting with Anne, and so poor Lizzy was left to stroll along the edges of Lake Ontario by herself. She was not to be left long without entertainment for the voices of Caroline and Will were carried by the wind to her ears.
"So, what do you think about Queen's so far?" asked Caroline.
"It's fine." Will answered, he voice seemed rather curt when Lizzy received it.
"I bet you can't wait for Thanksgiving, huh?" Will made no answer, so Caroline continued herself, "My parents are going to a conference during Thanksgiving, but you and Georgiana are still welcome to spend Thanksgiving with us. I don't see why my parents had to leave at that time, but you know how things are with the company. Just think, after three more years in this place, the company will be yours. Isn't that what your dad's will said?"
Will was forced to make an answer this time, "Yes, something along those lines. But I think I might want to spend a little more time in school before I take my father's place."
"Why?" Caroline's voice bordered on disdain and disbelief. She could not understand how anyone would want to stay in school longer than necessary if they had all that power to inherit.
"I at least want to get an MBA. I just don't see how a kid fresh out of university can have the knowledge and experience to run a company. In my opinion, it's not right. Besides, your father is doing really well with it right now, and I think he would want Chuck and I to get a little more experience before we start running the company."
Lizzy was impressed. She didn't think that the "snobby rich brat" would be capable of such sense. Caroline, however, was not in the least impressed.
"But what about starting your own family? Don't you want to have a steady job when you start one? You aren't going to spend the rest of your life in school, are you? It'll be a waste of your talent!"
Will cleared his throat, trying to think of a response to give Caroline that would not result in more of her stilted comments on his character. He felt the prickling sensation of a person's eye's watching him from behind and turned to see that it was the pretty younger sister of Jane. The one he had deemed "...okay, but wouldn't go as far as to call her pretty." Now, after sitting and eating with her in a group over the span of several weeks, he was beginning to find her rather attractive. She did not possess the delicate beauty of Jane, but an alluring magnetism about her that he was finding difficult to resist. He was especially drawn to her eyes. The dark brown expressive eyes that he felt could express her every emotion without her saying a word, and at the same time, read into the minds of others. He turned away, unable to say a word to her.
Caroline, who had noticed that Will's attention was no longer with her, broached on a topic that she knew Will always responded to. "How's Georgiana?"
"Georgie's fine. I just got a letter from her yesterday..."
"Letter? What happened to the quicker e-mail?" Caroline interrupted.
"Georgie prefers to do things either by post or by phone. She doesn't really trust computers yet. It pretty funny actually. Once, I tried..."
"I really must talk to that dear child and bring her in the twentieth century. Snail mail is definitely a thing of the past. Don't you think so?"
"Yes." Will answered dryly. His thoughts wandered back to the Lizzy and what she must think of him after that awful first impression. He wanted to explain to her that he didn't mean for that comment to sound rude, but it just came out that way. He wanted to tell her that he was often too shy for his own good; which was also part of the reason he wanted to stay in school a little longer. He didn't think he would be ready to talk to strangers even after four years of university.
"What's wrong with you lately?" Caroline demanded annoyed.
"Nothing."
"I bet you're in love!"
"And how would you know?"
"I just do. And I bet that it's for Jane's sister, Elizabeth."
Will gave no reply.
"But I must warn you that she might be a little wild for your taste. She insults me behind my back and back stabs all her friends. I've even heard her own sister say that she's too smart, and I'm sure it's only because they're sisters that Jane refrained from saying she's too smart for her own good."
Will pretended to nod just so he could hide his smirk. He was beginning to like Lizzy better and better. An idea dawned on him and he turned around to find Lizzy again. She hadn't moved from her place behind them.
"Would you like to join us?" he offered, hearing Caroline stifle a gasp behind him.
Lizzy, who had been listening the whole time gave him an unwavering smile and answered, "No, no. I'm just fine by myself. Three people to a group would be rather awkward to carry a conversation. If you wouldn't mind, I'll just squeeze by you two and catch up with Elinor and Anne." With that, she was gone and took Will's fancy with her.
Will's behaviour yesterday came as a surprise to Lizzy. He didn't seem quite as rude, bordering on agreeable even! Perhaps it was Caroline's influence on him that made him act like that, Lizzy reasoned to herself. How she hoped that was true. If it was, she wouldn't mind getting to know Will a little better. After all, he wasn't bad to look at. He was tall, and she liked tall guys. He was a good dresser, not too flashy like some of the other guys she knew. What was she thinking? Like he would really notice a nobody like her? Caroline was probably more his type. Girls that will titter and flatter whenever they're near him just so he could feel like a big man. Lizzy glared at the frost on the ground. Yes, she was sure that was the kind of guy he was. He proved it to her the very first time she met him. He was just like other good looking guys. No, wait! She gave him too much credit; he isn't that good looking either. Actually, she HAD to admit that he had great hair, and a good build, but that was about it. Right?
"Elizabeth!"
Lizzy froze in her steps. It sounded like Will. Was it Will? She turned and her heart skipped a beat when she saw the handsome form of Will Darcy picking up his steps so he could catch up with her.
"Where are you off to?" asked Will when he pulled up to a stop next to her.
Lizzy drew in a deep breath to compose herself. "Going to a psych experiment."
"Me too. Are you going to the one called Nature?"
Lizzy nodded.
"Mind if I walk with you?" he asked bending down a little hoping to catch a glimpse of Lizzy's eyes.
Lizzy nodded again, unable to look into his eyes for fear her own would reveal too much. He took a step back and gestured for her to go before him. Lizzy melted right then and there. "What a gentleman!" she thought suddenly smiling. But just as quickly, her expression changed as she recalled her resolve to keep aloof and not fall for the charms of Will Darcy.
"So, how are you?" Will asked, after walking a few steps with her in silence.
"Fine." Lizzy answered. It was now her turn to be rude after his infamous comment about her at the brother floor event.
"It's getting really cold now, isn't it?"
"Yup."
Will sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. She still hadn't forgiven him for that comment he made about her.
Lizzy saw Will's frustration out of the corner of her eyes and her heart relented. "How is it in commerce?" she asked, much to the relief of Will, who was beginning to regret his decision to walk with her.
"It's keeping me busy. I thought I would have it easier in commerce because I grew up with common business terms like mergers, acquisitions, and poison pills. But I never really understood what they meant until now."
"Poison pills?"
Will laughed, unveiling for the first time to Lizzy two faint dimples in his cheeks. "It's not what you think. Poison pills are things that intentionally ruin a deal. It's kind of like traps."
"Ah," Lizzy said. She didn't want to inquire further lest she gave away her ignorance on matters of business. Instead, she changed the subject. "Are you going home for Thanksgiving?"
"Yeah, my sister's still in Toronto. But I'm sure you've heard all about that already." Will said with a frown.
"I'm sorry" was all Lizzy could think of to say.
"Don't be, it's not your fault." They walked along in silence a little longer before Will spoke again. "What about you? Are you going home for Thanksgiving?"
"No, I can't. I live in B.C. It costs too much time and money to go back only for a weekend. But I heard from Jane that she was invited by Chuck yesterday to join him and Caroline for Thanksgiving."
Will made no response to her information. Curious, Lizzy looked up and saw the shock on Will's face. Perhaps he didn't approve of Chuck's invitation, Lizzy wondered. Well, who was he to decide what his friend could or could not do? Lizzy felt her hatred for Will rising once again. She could not believe she fell for the superficial charms of Will Darcy. Picking up her steps, she hurried to quit him from her sight.
Confused by Lizzy's Hyde-ish behaviour, Will decided to let Lizzy rush ahead of him. Shaking his head, he walked the rest of the way to Humphrey Hall by himself.
Anne walked down the empty corridors of the Mac-Corry in the early hours of the morning listening to her echoing steps. After weeks of struggle and a whole night of tweaking, she finally handed in her sociology paper on childhood deviance. It was actually due yesterday but the prof had said that he would give them one evening of grace time which Anne had spent re-wording, re-reading, and triple checking her paper. Now, after being awake for a full 30 hours, Anne was in a desperate need of a nap. She checked her watch and found that she had enough time to squeeze in three hours before her first class.
Walking back to her building like an automaton, Anne was jolted back to full consciousness when she ran into two early morning joggers.
"Oh my gosh! Anne, is that you?" exclaimed a rather pudgy guy in a jogging suit.
Anne looked and found the face rather familiar. "I think I know you from somewhere."
"Of course you do, Anne! Remember Camp Wilderness?"
Anne gasped, "Harville! Patrick Harville!" She reached over and grabbed Harville's hand. It was like being reunited with her long lost family.
"So, it really is Anne! Of all places to meet you again, I never would have thought it would be here! How've you been?" Harville said enthusiastically pumping her hand.
All of Anne's weariness fell away as her face cleared into a wide smile. "I've been pretty good. I'm in my fourth year here. What about you? What brings you into the small town of Kingston?"
"Oh, I'm here doing my Masters in Chemistry. What a shocker, huh? I never thought I would make it this far in Chemistry. Hey, did you know that Frederick is here too? Doing his Masters in Geography. I heard they might give him his PhD here too. Gosh, that guy is brilliant! Are you two still together? I haven't heard Frederick say anything about you yet. Does he know you're here?"
Anne's joy died down with the mention of Frederick. She felt relieved that Frederick did not tell their mutual acquaintances the reason for their separation, yet disheartened at how Frederick had not mention her at all. Quietly, she informed Harville that she had seen Frederick around, but it had been so long since they met that things are little different between them.
"That's too bad" was Harville's only response. He suddenly recollected the existence of the slim girl who had been standing next to him watching their reunion quietly. Letting go of her hand, he put his arms around the girl and said, "Oh, I almost forgot. Anne, this is my fiancée, Emily."
Anne smiled and shook Emily's offered hand. "Nice to meet you, Emily. You are a very brave girl to take our Harville on."
"Hey, what did you mean by that? A person can change a lot over the span of several years!" Harville said in his defense.
"Only joking, Harville." Anne said with a wink at Emily, who swallowed a giggle behind Harville. "I think I'm taking time away from your morning jog. I guess I'll see you around then, Harville?"
"Oh no, you aren't getting away this quickly. I need your number." Harville said taking her hand again. He motioned to Emily for a pen and paper to give to Anne. "We've got to get together for Thanksgiving. Benwick will be so glad to see you."
"Benwick is here too?" Anne asked incredulous.
"Didn't I mention that? Oh well, you know me. I'd forget my head if it wasn't attached. I think Emily would vouch for that herself! Yeah, he's here doing Geography like Frederick, but in a different field. So, how about it? We'll get together for Thanksgiving?"
Anne nodded eagerly. "I would love to. Here's my number, give me a call."
Harville grabbed the paper from Anne's hand and read the number over to confirm. "Writing is still as neat as ever I see."
"Well, some things never change."
"FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!!" exalted the froshies who had just emerged from their last midterm.
Back in her room, Harriet ceremoniously dropped her physics text into her garbage can only to retrieve it several seconds later when she remembered that they still had a semester and a half of physics to go. Besides, she paid 75 dollars for that used physics book. Maybe it'll come in handy as a door stop or a foot rest later on. Behind her sat Emma, flipping through her notes looking for mistakes.
"Harriet, do you remember what you wrote down for question 4 part f?"
Harriet shrugged. "I don't know. I think I said something about the difference being caused by friction and gravity. I actually didn't get that much of a difference so maybe it was a trick question."
Emma groaned, "Oh no! What if it was a trick question? Then I'm dead. Why am I so stupid! It should have occurred to me that it might be a trick question. I wonder if it's not too late to talk to Professor Byman about it."
"Don't worry Emma," comforted Harriet. "I'm sure you did fine. You knew the stuff better than me. Besides, it's done and you can't do anything about it anymore. Concentrate on going home. Isn't George coming to pick us up in a few more hours?"
Emma felt like she was going to cry. "I suppose so. But now my Thanksgiving weekend is ruined! I'm going to spend it thinking about this midterm."
"You'll have me around. I'll make sure you don't think about the midterm at all." Harriet said cheerfully.
Emma's face fell. That's right, she had invited Harriet to spend Thanksgiving with her in Toronto, and just last week she decided to go. Now Emma was regretting her generosity; she should have let Harriet go with Robert Martin to Ottawa. She had so much to talk to Knightley about, but it was all ruined now because Harriet would be there.
Harriet, although she may be simple minded, was observant enough to notice the change in Emma's face. Rather hesitantly she said "If you would rather not have me go to Toronto with you I totally understand."
"NO." Emma said rather too firmly. "No, you are still invited. What gave you that idea?" She was too proud to take back her invitation now. She would stick to her word no matter how much she hated it.
"I just thought that since you are so disappointed about your midterm, you might now want anybody around."
"I'm not disappointed!" snapped Emma. "I just wanted to calculate my marks that's all."
Harriet remained quiet, packing her bags. She wanted to work up the courage to tell Emma that she would rather not go to Toronto with her now that she was upset, but how was she to put it so Emma wouldn't get angry? "Oh well," she thought to herself, "I might as well go with her and keep my mouth shut for the entire weekend. With any luck, George will be able to talk her out of it. He's always able to talk her out of her foul tempers." Harriet was beginning to doubt Emma's qualifications for being her best friend.
After a few moments of packing in uncomfortable silence a knock came upon the door but both girls refused to move, standing over their suitcases pretending to be too busy.
"Emma? Are you in there?" called a man's voice.
Emma immediately lit up. She rushed to the door and flung it open. "Knightley!!!" Emma flew into his outstretched arms. "Oh I've missed you!"
George Knightley grinned from ear to ear. "I can tell."
"You're early." Emma said, refusing to let go of her Knightley. "I thought you had to work until three today."
"I had some business to do in Kingston and it ended early so I decided to drop in and see if you would be ready." Knightley explained. "If you would rather have me leave for a while and come for you at the appointed time, I will."
"No, no!" Emma protested holding onto Knightley's waist even tighter. "We'll be ready really quickly. I'm almost done my packing anyway."
"Then you better let go and hurry up."
Emma emerged from her embrace blushing to the roots of her blonde hair. She looked over at Harriet who had watched their reunion with an expression bordering on envy. Suddenly, Emma didn't mind having Harriet over for the weekend anymore.
Lizzy stood in the parking lot waving energetically. "Have a good weekend Jane!"
Jane leaned out the window and called, "Are you sure you don't want to come along?"
Lizzy shook her head, "No thanks. Don't worry about me, I'll be just fine here. Besides, Elinor and Marianne are sticking around for the long weekend too. We're planning on cooking a Thanksgiving dinner ourselves."
Inside the car, Caroline leaned over to Will and whispered, "How quaint."
Jane pretended she didn't hear the comment. "That sounds like fun." She wanted to say more to Lizzy, but Caroline was beginning to sigh and fidget impatiently. Slowly, the car began to make its way out of the parking lot. At the last minute, Jane shouted out to Lizzy, "Goodbye Lizzy! Have fun!"
Lizzy nodded, "I'll try not to burn the building down!" And the Lexus, driven by the Bingley chauffeur, disappeared up Queen's Crescent.
Shrugging off the briskness of Jane's departure, Lizzy returned to McNeill and pressed the button for the elevator. She didn't feel like walking the four flights of stairs up to McNeill 4 after her regiment of midterms. As she waited her thoughts wandered to the occupants of the Lexus that was speeding back to Toronto. More specifically, she thought about Will.
They had not spoken since Lizzy stalked off offended while walking with him. Several times after that incident they had passed each other on the streets while walking to their next classes, but he always walked with his head down or surrounded by friends so that he never saw her. Lizzy was sure he was doing it deliberately, because he didn't want to associate with somebody like her. Just now, when she was standing there to see Jane off, Will didn't even wish her a Happy Thanksgiving. He just handed his bag to the chauffeur and climbed into the car without saying one little goodbye to her. At least Chuck said goodbye; he even invited her again to go with Jane for the weekend. Will could really learn a few things from Chuck.
The elevator arrived and Lizzy stepped in, but her thoughts remained in with the people in the Lexus.
Several times it occurred to her that she might have overreacted to Will's expression when she first mentioned Jane's plans for Thanksgiving. Maybe it really wasn't an expression of disdainful shock, but she just perceived it that way because that's what she was expecting. But then, she would remember Caroline's description of Will and his own behaviour that night at the brother floor event, and all her doubts would be angered away. Besides, he never spoke to her at mealtimes anyway and that was proof enough that he was too arrogant to condescend to speak to her. "Condescending indeed!" Lizzy scoffed aloud in the elevator. "Who does he think he is anyway?"
The door open and Lizzy stepped out. Directly in front of the elevator was Emma's room. The door was open and Lizzy was about to walk in when she spotted another person in the room. She stood transfixed for a second at the doorway unable to recollect who this person could be.
"Hey Lizzy!" Emma called inviting her in with a wave of her hand. "I want you to meet my good friend George Knightley. Knightley this is my good friend Lizzy."
Lizzy boldly stuck out her hand. "Nice to meet you George." She craned her neck to get a better look at him.
Emma had mentioned George several times to her and he came across as a brother-like figure, although Lizzy often suspected that it was more than that between them. After a quick glance at the physical appearance of Knightley in person, Lizzy was even more convinced than before that there had to be more to their relationship than simple friendship. He was a very good looking person regardless of how Emma often complained he wasn't very trendy. He was impeccably dressed in a white starched shirt, dark pin striped slacks, and freshly polished leather shoes. His blazer hung on the back of Emma's chair with a tie hastily shoved in its pocket. Lizzy thought he looked like he had just gotten out of an interview and dissembled the event by taking off the tie and jacket. After shaking hands with her, Knightley stepped back to stand beside Emma. He was terribly tall when compared to Lizzy, but a perfect height for the naturally tall Emma. Coincidentally, Emma had chosen to wear a white dress that day, and with Knightley in the remains of a dark suit next to her, they seemed to be foretelling their own future.
She smiled, "They are perfect for each other! I just wonder if they know."
"What's so amusing?" demanded Emma.
"On nothing." Lizzy dismissed nonchalantly. She quickly changed the subject to prevent further inquiries. "So, are you planning on heading out soon?"
Emma nodded, "I'm almost done and Harriet's been done for ages." She turned to notice Harriet with an apologetic expression on her face. "It's my fault really. I spent most of my packing time moaning about my physics exam."
"Emma, you really shouldn't worry. I'm sure you did fine. Besides, you can't do anything about it now."
Emma rolled her eyes, "Spare me the lecture Lizzy. I've already gotten it from Harriet and then when Knightley came, he lectured me some more."
Lizzy nodded, "Don't worry, I know that feeling. But how did you find the physics exam? There were some questions in there that totally came out of nowhere and to top it off, Professor Byman couldn't teach worth a hoot."
"Yeah, tell me about it. I swear they should send the guy back to grade school to relearn penmanship. I spent most of his classes turning to Harriet and asking her what every third word was!"
Lizzy laughed, "The only thing I could read properly were his graphs, but then he would whip them off the overhead after setting them on for a millisecond."
"Ahem!" coughed Knightley, who was beginning to feel rather out of place.
Emma stuck her tongue out at him. "Oh be quiet you working drone!"
Knightley feigned a look of shock. "Working drone! You misjudge me Miss Emma. I am NOT going to be a drone just yet. I'm working my way up to middle management!"
Emma laughed heartily at Knightley's joke. "Oh Knightley, you're so comical you should perform in the town's square."
"I'm glad you appreciate my humour," said Knightley in return. "Well, I don't mean to be too much of a grown-up, but we had better get going. Your dad is going to be worried if we aren't home before dark."
Emma zipped up her suitcase. "Well, I'm ready." She turned to Lizzy for a brief hug. "I'll see you Sunday."
"Have a good weekend Emma." She turned to Harriet. "Have fun in Toronto Harriet!"
Harriet, who had been feeling rather ignored ever since Knightley's entrance, smiled in appreciation of Lizzy's simple gesture. "Goodbye Lizzy. Tell me how your turkey turns out."
And so, Emma left with Knightley for her well-earned long weekend. Lizzy sighed, it seemed like everyone had a place to go except her.