Asylum (4 page)

            Now,
trying hard not to stare at Seth’s back, she worked at summoning back that
initial bravery.  Sam had very graciously told her over and over again how much
she hated Chloe for looking so hot.  But in the middle of The Eat, with its
decaying teal upholstery, she felt ridiculous.

             Minutes
dragged by.  May returned bearing a tray of foaming pints and distributed them
around the table without a word.  Sam gave May an especially evil smile and a
twenty dollar bill.

            “Now
follow me,” she whispered in Chloe’s ear.

            “Bathroom!”
Sam announced to the table, giving the girl next to her a shove.  Several of
them had to scoot out for Sam and Chloe to get free.  Chloe immediately saw
what Sam was planning.  To get to the bathroom, they would have to walk by
Seth’s table. 

            She
slid out and followed Sam, wondering what she should do with her hands, wishing
she had brought a purse to clutch.  She ended up clasping her hands behind her
back and staring determinedly at Sam’s heels as they closed the gap to Seth’s
table.  Sam put a very slight sway in her hips when she walked.  It was
masterfully done.  It was so barely there, it made you want to watch her walk
just to be sure.  Chloe made a mental note to figure out how it was done.

            They
walked past his table and into the ladies room.

            Sam
calmly set her purse on the counter and rooted around for her lip gloss.

            “Now,”
she began her lecture, “he’s seen us.  When we walk out he’ll be facing us. 
You can let him know you see him when we come out, but just smile at him, don’t
say anything.  Let him say hello first. It gives him the opportunity to say
something before you do.  Men like to believe they’re the ones doing the
pursuing.”

            “What
if he doesn’t say anything?”

            “He
will.” Sam pursed her lips and reapplied the glossy liquid.

            “What
if he doesn’t though?”

            “Then
keep walking.  You never want to seem too eager.” Sam advised. 

            Chloe
took a deep breath and tried to emulate Sam’s self assurance.  She felt like a
clod.  She didn’t really need Sam to tell her not to say anything.  If she
tried to speak she might choke on her tongue.  In fact, had Sam not forced a
march to the bathroom, she would still be cowering in the booth, hoping that
Seth would turn and notice her, hoping he might say hello.

            Sam
clicked her lip gloss shut and replaced it in her purse.  Watching her
reflection, she puckered her lips and turned first to one side and then the
other.  She took a step back from the sink and clasping her hands in front of
her, stared off into space.  Her lips moved, as though she were counting.  It
gave Chloe the same uncomfortable feeling as standing next to a stranger in an
elevator.

            “Okay,
ready?” Sam asked, after whatever she had appointed as the right amount of time
had passed.

            Chloe
nodded.

            “You
go first,” she ordered, and before Chloe had a chance to argue or even think,
Sam had pushed her out the door.

            “Hey!”
Seth called immediately, “Chloe, Sam, over here.”

            “See?”
Sam said through her teeth, while flashing a smile at the table of boys.

            “Guys,
this is Chloe and Sam, they’re from my hall.  Chloe, Sam, this is Jeff, Mark,
Lane, and Mike.”  As Seth called out their names, each of the guys either
nodded or raised a bottle at them. 

            “Have
a seat ladies, have a seat,” the one named Mike said, pulling a chair from
another table up next to his own.  Sam sat down next to him as Seth grabbed a
chair for Chloe and set it next to his.

            “Freshmen,”
remarked one of the guys.  Chloe couldn’t remember if he was Mark or Jeff. 

            “So
how do you guys all know each other?” Sam asked smoothly.

            “Hockey,”
they all said at once.

            “I
cannot
wait
for the game against Tech!” Sam trilled, “Please tell me
you’re going to kill them this year, I won’t even be able to hold my head up
back home if you guys play like you did last year!”

            This,
at once, brought such a chorus of oaths, curses, and game predictions against
their hated rivals, that Chloe found she was able to get by with just an
enthusiastic nod or two.  Seth was also quiet, frowning thoughtfully at his
beer bottle as the debate over how good Tech’s team was that year raged around
them.  It stopped only when May came back with her tray, and surprisingly, a
smile on her dour face.

            “Alright
boys, who’s ready for another…Seth?” she asked sociably.  Chloe and Sam
exchanged surprised looks.

            “Nah,
we’re not staying May, just came by for one.  Can I pay my tab?”  Seth answered
her.

            “On
the house this time guys.”  She clapped Seth on the back before going back to
the bar.  Sam rolled her eyes at Chloe and mouthed the word,
tab?

            Seth
dug into his pocket, grabbed his wallet and threw a couple of dollars onto the
table.

            “Gotta
love May,” he grinned.

            “Maybe
at gunpoint,” Sam agreed.

            “So…you’re
not staying?” Chloe cut in.

            “A
bunch of guys we know are having a house party over on Main,” the boy who was
either Jeff or Mark said. “You guys should come, and bring some of your
friends.”  He jerked his head in the direction of their booth.

            “We’ve
got class in the morning,” Chloe said quickly.  She, almost as quickly, jumped
in her seat as Sam’s foot connected with her shin under the table.

            “But
we’d love to go anyways,” Sam added.  “It wouldn’t happen to be the freshmen
mixer they’ve been passing out flyers for, would it?”

            Of
course it was.  Chloe tried to catch Sam’s eye, but Sam was too busy giggling
at Mike’s assurances of how ’wild’ the mixer usually got. 

            “What
class have you got, Clo?” asked Seth.

            “Intro
to psychology at nine.  Sam has it too.”

            Several
of the guys groaned or laughed, including Seth.

            “Not
Willard!” laughed Mike.

            “Poor
little freshmen,” said Lane.

            “Guy’s
a nut job,” commented Jeff/Mark.

            “He’s
a character, that’s for sure,” agreed Seth, “Just let me do you a favor here
ladies.  Just a minute, let me uhhhh…let me…where did it go?”  Seth groped
around in the empty air next to him, grabbed something invisible and then set
it on his head.  “Let me just put my R.A. hat back on…okay, there.  Let me
advise
you ladies, do not, under any circumstances let him talk you into being a
teacher’s assistant for his class.  He’ll make it sound great, he always gets a
couple every semester, but the truth is Dr. Willard thinks T.A. is the modern
term for “slave labor”.  Your every waking moment will be at his disposal, you
will have no life to speak of.”

            “And
then there’s his book,” continued Lane, “the book he’s been working on for
like, ten years.  If you’re lucky you’ve only got to take the one psych class,
but I used to date a girl that was a psych major and she had to hear about it
all year every year until she changed her major to engineering and transferred
to Tech.”

            “I’m
a psych major,” admitted Chloe.

            This
brought a fresh round of groans and assurances of sympathy from the table. 
Seth patted her back, tipped back the rest of his beer and then stood to leave,
grabbing his coat off the back of his seat.

            “Alright,
I’m headed back to the dorm, anyone need a ride?” he offered.

            “Come
on Grandpa Seth, it’s the end of freshman welcome week, you can give up your
precious eight hours of sleep one night of the year,” pushed Mike.

            “And
that is why I lead the team in goals ladies, I’m the only one sober enough to
skate,” explained Seth.

            “We’ll
come,” Chloe piped up, “We rode over with our friends, and I don’t think
they’re ready to go.”

            “She
means
she
will go with you.  I’ll go talk to my friends, and see if
they’re ready to go, we’ll just follow you guys,” Sam clarified.  “You sure you
want to call it a night, Clo?  It sounds like you’re going to miss one hell of
a party.”

            Chloe
thought about it.  She envisioned herself following Sam to the door of a large,
wild, frat house.  A boy in his underwear, wearing a bear mask, answered their
knock.  And then he yelled “FREAK” and slammed the door in their faces.  She
winced.

            “Ummmm…”
she answered.

            “Shall
we, Chloe?”  Seth offered his arm.

            Chloe
stood, but hesitated.  She walked a few steps with Seth, and stopped, still
undecided.

            Sam
waved her off with general unconcern.

            “Chloe?”
Seth lowered his voice so that only she could hear, “I know they told you in
the freshman welcome literature that you should carry mace and assume that
every guy is trying to slip you rufies, but Sam will be fine.  There’s a whole
booth of girls for her to be bathroom buddies with, and these guys are actually
halfway decent.”

            “I‘m
not worried about Sam.  I just don’t know if…” she trailed off, and glanced up
at him.  The look on his face told her that he misunderstood completely.

            “Good
point,” Seth agreed, “but I have to say that now that we’re standing in the
middle of the Eat and every person, including May, now realizes that we’re
leaving together, I’d probably become the logical suspect if you don’t make it
to class tomorrow, right? This is a pretty small school, Clo.”

            Chloe’s
face burned.  How many times was she going to mess up in one day?  Seth was
watching her, smiling a little bit.  She needed to say something.

            “I
didn’t mean…I don’t think that you would…I mean…” she fumbled.

            “I’m
just teasing you, kiddo,” he grabbed his coat off the back of his chair. 
“Don’t even worry about it, no offense taken.”

            And
then louder, so that everyone at the table could hear, “Alright guys, don’t
party too hard.  Morning practice with the freshmen, remember?”

            Several
of the guys groaned.  Mike laughed.  With a friendly pat on the shoulder to
Chloe, Seth walked away, headed for the door.  After glancing at Sam, who was
still focused completely on Mike, she followed him.

             
The parking lot was full, and lit only by the greenish flood light on the Eat’s
roof.  It was already cold enough outside that their breath made fog in the
air.  Chloe shivered in Sam’s short dress, as she followed Seth to a newer Ford
pick-up truck.  She could only tell that it was a dark color, unidentifiable in
the alien light.  Seth hit the unlock on his key fob, and tossed her the coat
he had been carrying.

            “Remember,
this is the U.P. kiddo, it’s not all that strange for it to snow in September,”
he said.

            Chloe
wrapped his coat around herself.  It was lined in flannel and smelled kind of
woodsy, obviously chosen for its warmth and not style.  It reminded her of
being zipped into a sleeping bag when she was a little kid on a camping trip.

            As
they drove back to the dorm, Chloe stole a few sidelong glances at Seth.  He
didn’t seem to mind the silence in the car the way she did.  He probably never
wasted any time wondering if he should say something or worrying if she thought
he was socially retarded.  Chloe fidgeted as she tried to think of something to
say.

            “So
what’s your major?” she blurted out.

            Seth
chuckled and shook his head.

            “You
know that that is, hands down, the number one used pick-up line at bars for
college students?” he asked.

            “Oh
my God, no…I, it, I-” Chloe stuttered horrified.

            “Relax,”
Seth assured her, “I’m flattered.”

            “No,
really, I just meant-”

            “I’m
teasing you Clo, really, but just so you know, in case you get any ideas…I am
carrying mace.”

            Seth
gave her a quick suspicious look, which caused her to choke on a tiny nervous
giggle.

            “I’m
majoring in Forestry,” he offered.  “It’s a program BHC is pretty well known
for.  I mean, look at this place.”  Chloe glanced out the window. An army of
red pines stood in military rank on either side of the road.  “So psychology
though… why BHC?” he asked.

            “I
don’t know.  I just wanted to get as far away from home as I could, but I can’t
afford out-of-state tuition.” she said.