Book 3, Chapter
39
Timothy covered his mouth and yawned. Chance was driving rapidly up the
highway that would put them back in Green Valley, Indiana, within the hour. He
recalled the many events at The Lands, their experiences in the jungle, the Atts,
and hoped that the rest of the semester would go by fast. I want to get to the
Palaqua! I want to get to that dig, those ruins and find out what’s inside.
He thought about the story he would write and was glad that they would get
bac
approached Timothy.
“Strange,” Timothy responded.
Phillip and Richard stood close to Timothy. “What?” Phillip asked.
“It's a telephone note. I had a phone call yesterday. Mr. and Mrs. Morgan
are back in town. They would like to see me.”
“Who?” Phillip asked.
“Ferris Morgan's parents. A friend of Timothy,” Richard said as Timothy
thought about the note.
“Was that the guy that was killed in that bad auto accident?”
“Yeah,” Richard said.
“Burned to death?” Phillip asked.
“Yes, Phil,” Richard said, “that one!”
“What do they want, Dex?” Phillip asked Timothy.
“I don't know.”
“When do they want to meet you?” Richard said.
“Tomorrow...for lunch!” Timothy said walking toward the doorway. “I
can't go.”
“Why?” Richard asked.
“I have to wait tables,” he answered. He turned and started walking across
the living room.
“Dex,” Richard shouted.
Timothy turned and listened.
“Dex, tomorrow is Sunday.”
“Right,” Timothy said, “I forgot.”
“And, Dex,” Richard said approaching Timothy as he leaned against the
rear door that led into the back stairwell, “you don't ever, ever, ever have to wait
tables again.”
Timothy relaxed and slumped against the door. “You're right, Dick. God,
I think I'll sleep in tomorrow.”
“Good idea,” Phillip said following Timothy up the back stairs. “Why don't
you telephone these people, the Morgans and tell them you'll meet them, but Dex,
and I really mean this. I think that Richard and I should go with you.”
“Timothy stopped climbing the stairs, turned around and frowned as he
looked at Richard and Phillip. “You want to hear something funny? Not funny Ha!
Ha!, but funny strange or weird?”
“What?” Phillip asked. “What do you mean?” Richard said.
“I'm scared. And I don't really know why?”
“Don't be scared, Dex,” Phillip said. “You have no reason to be afraid of
anything!”
“And how's that?” Timothy asked stopping on the second floor landing.
“You have two of the bravest, strongest, warriors of the Chiqua from the land of
the Palaqua ready to battle for you...to protect you ass.”
Timothy guffawed and held his stomach laughing. “Gads, Phil,” he said I
needed that. I'm still scared. Something is wrong.
Timothy shuffled through the swinging door and walked straight ahead into
his study room. Cameron's desk lamp was lighted but he was not in the room.
Saturday night. Date night.
Phillip watched Timothy walk across the short North Hall, enter his study
room and close the door. Phillip turned right, and proceeded slowly down the long
East-West Hall, turned into the second study hall on the left, walked into his study
room, noted that the room was empty, and closed the door. Richard followed
Phillip down the hall, saw Phillip enter his room, and close the door. He walked
past Phillip's study room, straight ahead in the East-West Hall and entered a three
man study room, saw that it was empty, felt a sadness in his heart, and closed the
door.
The second floor of Delta Rho Fraternity was quiet again. Timothy walked
over to a window and looked out. The parking place next to the curb was empty.
No car. No cadillac. No Chance. God. I don't even know his last name. Timothy
looked out across the Delta Rho front lawn, that extended almost a block to Maple
Street, but he saw the structure of the enormous building, The Lands. And you
thought you liked this house. Wow, he thought. The Lands!
Timothy heard the thunder roll, looked into darkening sky and watched
streaks of white and yellow lightning pierce distant clouds. He saw small drops hit
the window panes and he touched the inside of the pane where they landed. He
blew his breath on the pane and was surprised to see the pane cloud over with the
white mist. He blew an uneven blot and pressed his finger to the pane. He looked
at his fingerprint. He laughed at himself.
Timothy jumped back from the window as he heard a loud scream on the
second floor. He knew it was Dave, David Parlee, Grand Rapids, Michigan, red,
straight, ruddy, blue, 185, 5 feet 10 inches, but he had never heard Dave shout this
loud. He ran into the North Hall and turned left and looked down the long East-
West Hall.
David Parlee stood in the doorway to Richard's room, at the other end of
the long hall, and said, “My God, Richard, you scared the hell out of me.” He
turned and looked up the hall at Timothy and continued, “and there's another one.
My God I came in to steal a pair of shorts for tonight and saw you sitting there
with a tan that I would kill for. You know how much I hate winter?” He leaned
against the doorjamb to Richard's study room and said, “OK, this is a conspiracy,
right?. Where did you get those...this is a loss for words 104.00, right?” He
breathed deeply. “Where did you buy those perfect tans?” He stood waiting for an
answer, stared first at Richard sitting at his desk in his room, then Timothy
walking toward him in the hall, and said, I have never seen anything this
complete.” He looked back up the hall, past Timothy, as Phillip came out of his
room. “How the fuck many of you are there? Why was I left out?”
“Calm down, brother,” Timothy said. He stood in front of David and took
his shirt off. “It's a special process; from a bean plant. If we needed the money,
we would go into the business.” He turned around and let David admire his chest,
stomach and back. “Feel the skin,” Timothy said.
“Amazing,” David said touching Timothy's back. “What's the secret?”
Phillip opened his shirt. “Stop it. I'm a believer!” Timothy unbuttoned his jeans
and shoved them down to his knees. “I don't believe it!” He undid his shorts and
lowered them. “All three of you? All over?” David asked. They nodded. “Where
is that fucking bean?” David asked.
“We'll get to that later,”Richard said walking up to the three pledge
brothers. Timothy dressed himself and Phillip buttoned his shirt. “Where is
everybody? Where are our pledge brothers?”
“I think most of them are playing basketball at the gym. It's almost four.
They should be getting back. I don't know about the actives. We decided not to
have dinner tonight, because of the dance, so who knows where the actives are?”
He took Richard's hand, inspected them, rubbed the back of his hand hard, and
asked, “You guys got dates for the fraternity dance tonight?”
Richard, Timothy, and Phillip shook their heads. “What dance?”
“Some of they guys went away for this week, while some stayed here and
fucked off. Some of us decided that we would have a dance tonight, you know,
downstairs, in the bum room.
“We don't have dates,”Timothy said.
“No fear, mes amis_my friends,” he said laughing. He walked down South
Hall. “I'll call Marilyn Moore, Cameron's pin, and she'll bring three little
sweethearts of Theta Rho for you three thugs.” He stopped at his doorway.
“OK?”
They nodded.
“Gotcha! Then you have to get me some of that tanning bean?” He walked
into his room and stuck his head back out. “OK!”
“OK” Richard answered. “Have you guys noticed anything different about
your clothes?”
Timothy and Phillip shook their heads. “What?” Timothy asked.
“There's more of them,” Richard said. He walked back to his large opened
suitcase and lifted a one-piece suit that appeared to be very light weight and was
a brilliant white, imitation of a white tuxedo. Timothy and Phillip walked toward
and stood next to Richard. It has tiny buttons up the front you can't even hardly
see and their's a jacket.”
“We all have a tuxedo suit like that?” Phillip asked feeling the thinness of
the material.
Richard nodded and looked through the suitcase. “A lot of stuff in there.”
“Then we wear white tonight. All three of us?”
They agreed. “Can you imagine how these tuxedos will look with our
chocolate tans?” Richard asked.
“Tan tans,” Phillip said. “I think we're fading,” he said turning his hands
over.
“You got a lot of the bean?” Timothy asked.
“Enough,” Richard said.
David shouted from his room, “They'll be here about eight. You don't need
to pick them up. They'll be in the bum room waiting for you. OK?”
“I'll be here at seven-fifty-five,” Timothy said walking backward down the
hall.
“Me too!” Phillip added walking back toward his room. Cant' wait to see
what all is in my suitcase. Those Att. Yes, indeed, he heard.
Timothy heard Phillip's door close, walked up to his, opened it and walked
into the study room. He slammed the door shut behind him and lifted the large
suitcase onto his study desk. He opened it and was amazed at what he saw. He had
duplicates of his own clothes. Another pair of jeans that look like mine, they're
much lighter in weight. A brilliant white tuxedo. A note. Wear the attached
underwear brief with the white evening attire suit. Who's the note from? Must be
Graves. It is Graves. Thanks Graves. More socks that absorb more perspiration
than either wool or cotton. How did I know that? He looked at the shirts,
additional underwear, three new jackets, four pair of dress trousers, and two pair
of new shoes. Unbelievable! Believable, he heard.
He hung up his white tuxedo, held the material up to the light, placed his
hand underneath it and proved to himself that this was not another Att see-through
material. “How light though. How light.” he said. Yes, he heard. Remember! You,
Richard and Phillip must meet with Daniel Harmon and Chief Pomeroy tonight.
This very night. I agree, he said to himself. Get it out of the way.”Right!” he said
as he hung his tuxedo up and continued to unpack.
Timothy blinked his eyes. They feel tired. Placed the last of his socks in the
bottom drawer of his dresser and stood up straight. He stretched his arms toward
the ceiling, rubbed his arms, then his biceps, his chest, the small of his back, his
penis, and decided to take a nap. Got to remember to tell Derrick Jones that I
won't be waiting tables anymore. He walked slowly up the stairs. Derrick's a good
head waiter. I know he needs the money. Glad I don't anymore. Pure luck, for me.
He opened the door the frosh dormitory, glanced about and observed no brothers
in the room. He walked to his lower bunk, kicked his loafers off, pulled back the
blanket and crawled underneath it pulling it up around his neck. Don't need to take
my clothes off. Not going to be here that long. He closed his eyes.
Ivy Walls, Book 3, Chapter 39
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Cast of Characters
Chapter 51
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