Life Ain't A Fairy Tale (8 page)

The next morning, I am awake before anyone
else. I am not telling Sara or Gina anything that happened to see
how much they remember. They drank more than they should have. My
best-case scenario for Sara is that she remembers until we started
dancing together. As far as Gina is concerned, I know she does not
remember that Sara and I placed her on her bed.

Sara, holding her head, wakes up lying on the
couch. She becomes aware of the bed sheet covering her. I did not
clothe her after making love because I did not want to wake her up.
Being so drunk, she could have asked me to make love again. I am
not a love machine. I didn't think I could physically have another
orgasm soon. She looks at herself wondering why she is just wearing
a bra and panty on. She yawns and rubs her eyes. She shakes off the
hangover.

"Hi, Jimmy. What happened last night?"

"Not much happened last night. I drove you
and your sister to this apartment because you were too drunk."

"Aw, how sweet of you. I know you hate
driving. You used your GPS, right?" Sara holds her head in
pain.

"Yes. GPS is the best invention ever."

"My head hurts. I think I drank too much. I
don't remember how we got here. Why am I in bra and panty? Did we
do it last night?"

"No, we didn't. You were so drunk you fell
asleep on the couch."

"Oh, really? Why is my dress not on me
now?"

"You said the apartment was too hot. You took
all your clothes off. Later, you dosed off. I covered you with a
bed sheet I found in Gina's bedroom."

"Are you sure you are telling me the truth,
Jimmy?"

"Yes, I am telling the truth." I lie.
"Hopefully, this headache you have now will stop you from binge
drinking again."

"I am not an alcoholic. I only like to have
fun every once in a while like everybody else." Sara defends
herself.

After Sara and Gina spend the entire Sunday
recovering from the hangover, Sara and I say goodbye to Gina. The
sisters hug and kiss each other goodbye. Gina hugs and kisses me
too. Sara drives us back to New Jersey to begin our new stage of
our relationship.

Chapter 5

This Monday morning is like every other
morning with one exception; I am living together with Sara. There
is no time for any meaningful romantic interactions. We are getting
ready for our jobs. When I wake up, the first thing on the schedule
is taking a bath and getting dressed. After that, I heat some milk
on a pan for my cereals. Sara bathes and only drinks a cup of
coffee. Since I don't have a car, we leave earlier from her house.
This allows her time to drive me to the college I tutor in and
arrive on time for Biopharm. I am not required to arrive early
because tutoring services start a few hours later, but Sara does
have to arrive early for her job.

At the college, I help many students of
different ethnicities and genders effectively study and understand
Biology. The easiest way to memorize complex subjects is to use
mnemonic devices. It is useful in helping name the steps of the
cell cycle and signaling pathways of cellular responses in our
bodies. It is a difficult task at first, but eventually the
material becomes easier.

Let's just say I prefer tutoring female
students than male students. I like to have a beautiful view. Women
inspire and energize me. As far as guys are concerned, they are
ugly. I do not know if it is the fact that I am a heterosexual, but
guys are very ugly and unattractive. Some guys are better looking
than others, but as a whole they are hideous. On the other hand, a
woman is always a lovely sight to see. Even the "ugly" ones are
pretty. That pretty much says it all.

Today, a beautiful Indian college woman that
I tutor reminds me of my dream woman. I always have been attracted
physically to Asian women, especially Indian. I love their long
black hair. I know Hispanic women also have long black hair, but
Indian women have the brown skin that gives my eye pleasure. I also
love the Saris and Ghagra Colis that Indian women wear. They look
adorable in those clothes.

Throughout the first 18 years of my life, I
did not meet many girls from India. When I was a little kid at
elementary school, the first girl I had a crush on was a Honduran
girl of Native American Indian descent. Native American Indian is
different from people of India culturally. Many of my high school
crushes were either white girls or black girls. There was no Indian
girl nearby. It wasn't until I went to college that I truly
discovered my physical attraction to Indian women.

Many Biology and Chemistry courses I took in
college had many Indian women. There were a few Indian women I got
along with as classmates. It always made sense to partner with
Indian women because their demeanor is calm and relaxed like mine.
People do not get excessively drunk at Indian parties like they do
at Hispanic parties. Being cool and hip is not important to Indian
people. Indians value stability. I fit well in their society
because I am a person who likes to do the same things every day.
Not like in Jersey, where my personality is taken as boring and no
fun.

Unfortunately, I did not know a small detail
about their culture that is true of every culture that exists
worldwide. I learned that Indian people tend to marry with people
of their same ethnic background and religion. This is true in every
culture. In Hispanic culture there is the freedom of dating and
choosing the person you like. In Indian culture, marriages are
arranged. An Indian person choosing and dating a person who is not
the family's choice is frowned upon more strictly. As much as I
enjoyed being with them, many are already married, too. It is a
lost cause for me.

The young Indian lady, Krishna, asks for my
help to understand signaling pathways involved in microscopic
metabolic processes. Krishna has gorgeously long black hair. I
adore her Indian accent. Her eyes bewitch me; they are full of
expression. She has a sexy long neck like Sara. She wears a white
t-shirt and blue jeans. She asks of the signaling pathways involved
in tumor growth. Lucky for me, it is a pathway I am familiar with.
The long list of proteins in this pathway is intimidating. They
become less scary if you think of them as different people's names
involved in an assembly line that produces more cell growth.

In general, signaling pathways are highly
similar. They are best understood as stories than as a long series
of proteins interacting with other molecules to carry out a
molecular process. From a storyline perspective, whether it is cell
division, cell growth, cell death, and wound healing to name a few,
a protein binds to another protein called a receptor at the cell's
boundary, the plasma membrane. After the protein binds to the
receptor, molecular processes inside the cell will occur. This
interaction will either increase or decrease a particular molecular
process.

The difference between signaling pathways are
the molecules and their interactions with each other in a
particular molecular process. When a molecular process needs to
increase, the molecular interactions' end result is the secretion
of another protein out of the cell. The secreted protein binds
again to the receptor. This will encourage more of the same
molecular process. When a molecular process needs to decrease, the
end result is that translation from RNA to a protein does not occur
in the cell's nucleus. This negates the protein's secretion out of
the cell. This causes a decrease of any molecular process.

Tumor growth leading to cancer is a magically
harmful process. Cells need oxygen to survive. What do cancerous
cells do? These cells secrete angiogenic proteins. They cause
vascular endothelial cells found on nearby blood vessels' surfaces
to grow and become another small blood vessel.

This newly formed blood vessel branches out
towards the cancerous cells. This allows the feeding of cancerous
cells with oxygenated blood to grow more. It also allows cancerous
cells secrete angiogenic proteins. These proteins can travel into
the body's circulatory system to promote cancer growth in other
body parts. As I studied this topic in college, it felt like I was
reading science fiction.

In Krishna's case, she is trying to
understand the Ras/Raf/Mek/Erk Pathway. This pathway is often
studied in cancer models.

"James, this is what I understand so far. I
understand that proteins are translated to take part in the cell
cycle's regulation. I am having problems with what happens before
the proteins are translated in the nucleus. Make sure if I am
saying this right. The Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF), a protein,
binds to the receptor at the plasma membrane."

"Yes. This receptor is also a protein. Its
name is a receptor tyrosine kinase."

"What exactly happens at the receptor?"

"This receptor adds phosphate groups to the
tyrosine (amino acid) portions of its own structure. The phosphates
attached to the tyrosine portions act as docking stations to
attract two other proteins, GRB and SOS, from the cytoplasm."

"Okay, before moving on, let me get this
straight. An EGF binds to a receptor tyrosine kinase. This causes
that receptor to trans-phosphorylate itself. The phosphate groups
act as docking stations to attract GRB and SOS. Gotcha. Now, what's
next?"

"Yes, Krishna, that is right. When GRB and
SOS are together, SOS becomes a nucleotide exchange factor. What
this means is that SOS can do something to Ras, which is a protein
that is an intracellular transducer."

"Wait, hold on. Ras is an intracellular
transducer. What does SOS do to Ras, and what is an intracellular
transducer?"

"Okay. Intracellular transducer is just a
term that describes Ras. Remember that SOS is a nucleotide exchange
factor. This is an important point. Ras is not active all the time.
When Ras has a GDP molecule attached to it, it is off. When Ras has
a GTP molecule attached to it, it is on. What SOS does is change
the GDP molecule into a GTP molecule on Ras."

"So SOS turns Ras on, right?"

"Yes. You are correct, Krishna." Krishna
cheers for being correct. "Now, this is what happens next, Krishna.
When Ras is on, it moves to where Raf is, deeper in the cell's
cytoplasm, to activate Raf. In other words, Ras turns on Raf,
another protein kinase."

"Okay. What happens when Raf is active?"

"Yes. This next step is simpler if you think
of Raf, Mek, and Erk, as protein kinases that behave similarly.
This means they all add phosphates to another molecule. When Raf is
on, Raf will put a phosphate on Mek. This causes Mek to turn
on."

"Okay, hold on. So if Mek and Erk are similar
to each other, an active Mek should put a phosphate on Erk. What
molecule does Erk put a phosphate to?"

"Right. You are a smart learner. I haven't
gotten to that part yet. Erk puts a phosphate on c-myc, a protein
that acts as a transcription factor. Now, c-myc will also turn on
like the other protein kinases, but it will do something else.
C-myc will migrate from the cytoplasm to the cell's nucleus. C-myc
transcribes DNA into RNA. This RNA becomes translated into other
cell cycle proteins and another EGF. The translated proteins will
be secreted out of the cell. These proteins promote cell division
and growth in the cell cycle. EGF will secrete out of the cell to
bind back to the receptor at the plasma membrane. The binding of
EGF to receptor begins the Raf/Mek/Erk Pathway again."

After she understands better the pathway
during a very long tutoring session, I feel proud of myself. As
someone who never had a chance to be important in any social
circle, being a tutor makes me feel good. Sometimes, I shock myself
at how I can memorize complex concepts. I am not smart by any
stretch of the imagination. Everything I know and understand
concerning Biology is the result of studying for many hours. Often,
the first time I look at a textbook chapter, I am as confused as
Krishna. I feel great that Krishna will not spend the first few
hours of studying frustrated. When I was a student, I did not
understand anything at the beginning. Tutoring did not work for me
when I was a student because I memorize better when I am alone in
my room than when there are other people around me.

During the entire morning, other students
from Krishna's class also came for tutoring when she left. It seems
the class Krishna is in will have an exam coming up tomorrow. They
all asked about the same signaling pathway and other related
pathways. The same explanation I gave to Krishna was the one I used
for these students. It was easier to explain the pathway again
because Krishna's tutoring lesson was still fresh in my mind.

During my lunch break, I call my parents to
see how they are doing. I am not normally someone who actively
seeks to talk, but my parents are worth too much to cut complete
contact with them. My parents are always complaining about
ungrateful people who only talk to them when they are in need. I
can't be ungrateful to my parents. They are the only people in the
world who accept me as I truly am for the last 27 years. Even if I
moved in with Sara, my parents will always be in my life.

"Hi, mama."

"Hi. My love, my life, how are you
doing?"

"I am fine. I am on my break."

"How are you doing? Everything is going well
with Sara?"

"Yes, mama. Everything is going well.
Everything is fine."

"Is she taking very good care of you, my
love?"

"Yes, she is a good woman. She drove me to my
job."

"Oh, that's great. She is so nice. So is the
bed comfortable at Sara's house?"

"Yes, the bed is comfortable. I slept as well
there as I did at my house."

"Who prepared breakfast? What did you eat for
breakfast?"

"Well, I eat cereal and milk like I always
do. Sara prepared breakfast." I lie to my mother. I don't want my
parents hating my girlfriend so quickly.