tennis slash - Smart People (20)
Title: Smart People (20)
Author: Kris S.
Fandom: Tennis RPS
Players: Rafael Nadal, Richard Gasquet, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Ernests Gulbis, Marin Cilic, Evgeny Korolev
Rating: PG13
Disclaimer: This did not happen.
Summary: College AU. Richard and Rafael are geniuses who are roommates in a suite, though they’re different as could be. Inspired by the movie Real Genius. This chapter: Ernie gets everyone involved in Marin’s bet with Dinara but annoys Novak in the process.
Chapter 20 - Sign of the Apocalypse
“I cannot believe you’re calling a suite meeting over this,” Novak complains as he struggles to keep up with Ernie as they burst into Rafael and Richard’s room. Rafael and Andy are sitting on one bed, bickering over a soccer match while deciding on what movie to watch, as Richard is at his desk, tuning them out with headphones and a textbook.
Ernie insists, “We have to help Marin win this bet. It’s important.” He leads Novak to the empty bed, then grabs hold of one of the earpieces to shout at Richard, “Cut the music and join the meeting.” Richard resets the headphones but otherwise doesn’t make a move, keeping his back to the others.
Rafael asks, “Important to him or to you?”
“To him,” Ernie affirms. “He’s being infuriating about it too. As if his future is riding on this or something. But he’s a coward and has turned down every suggestion I’ve given.”
“Did you throw out the idea of him wearing a dress?” Novak asks. “Two bets with one… throw.”
“Of course I did!” Ernie says irritably. “I maintain the best idea is for him to write a love letter and recite it in the union.”
Novak narrows his stare on Ernie. “Excuse me. When we were relaying embarrassing high school experiences that day, that didn’t give you license to be inspired by my embarrassing story.”
Andy reaches over Rafael for the bag of fresh popcorn, then murmurs, “This is a much better show than any movie.”
Novak continues, “You are ignoring the obvious. Marin cannot speak in front of a crowd. Do you remember karaoke night at all? What the hell makes you think he’d pour his heart out… or even be able to say two words without freaking out? How can you be so insensitive?”
Rafael bites his lip to keep from laughing. Andy buries his face in Rafael’s shoulder because it’s already too late for him.
Ernie says, “I thought you were okay with that poem being read over the loudspeaker.”
“Well, I wasn’t. It’s not funny,” then glares at Andy, who is now hiding behind Rafael but they can hear the laughing. “Andy, I’m banning you from the room tonight. I will not accept a roommate who doesn’t understand my pain!”
Ernie doesn’t get what’s going on but Rafael is now laughing as well, being more accustomed to Novak’s dramatic pleas. Ernie yells out in frustration, “Focus! Ignore the twins.”
Novak stays silent as he processes the absurdity of Ernie’s statement, then begins, “I don’t think that’s a fair nickname anymore now that they’re…” Ernie’s blank reaction to that has Novak shaking his head. He calms down and returns to the task at hand. “The problem is that you are so much wilder than him. You don’t find anything embarrassing so you think an elaborate show is necessary whereas the mere thought freaks Marin out.”
“But Dinara is the judge,” Ernie whines. “If someone relays his act and she disapproves, then there’s not enough time for a Plan B. He only has a week and this actually is important. I don’t know why he made the bet in the first place because if he knew Dinara…”
Andy holds his hand up, trying to get Ernie to stop talking. When Ernie finally spots it, Andy asks, “Did you say someone? As in, it doesn’t have to be you?”
“Well, it can be me but, no, not required. The person must know Dinara, however, and it isn’t as if there’s much overlap between Dinara’s circle of friends and Marin’s tiny little circle…” Ernie smiles brightly as he heads predatorily toward Rafael and Andy, sliding into the empty spot. “Except there’s the person who is hiding from Dinara because her brother is obsessed over his voice.”
Andy jolts up, shaking his head furiously. “Not me. I get why Marin made this bet. He’s been talking about making a move. Maybe if it’s someone else…”
Ernie rolls his eyes. “It can be me, you, let me think who else was there. Mikhail witnessed the wager. What’s the difference who tells her?”
“It means you don’t have to be there when it happens. Just as long as she hears about it.”
Rafael raises an eyebrow, having absolutely no clue what Andy is talking about. “You have a plan?”
“It’s been sitting here in plain sight!” Andy exclaims. “All we have to do is get him to do a presentation… for the right person.”
Richard snaps his fingers, then drops his headphones around his neck and calls out, “I haven’t cashed in the favor yet, even though Marin believes I have.”
Andy doesn’t miss a beat as he continues, “Excellent. It’ll help his personal life and win the wager! This really should have happened long before.”
Novak is thrown by Richard’s input, having believed he wasn’t interested in the discussion, but now catching that Andy understood whatever “the favor” means is cause for concern. When it all clicks together, he exaggerates moving toward the other end of the bed with arms flattened against the wall. “I don’t think the world can handle Richie and Andy being on the same wavelength. It’s a sign of the apocalypse.”
Richard says to Andy, “You’re talking about someone taking their time before revealing their true feelings? That is a nice example of hypocrisy.”
Andy says, “I seem to remember you were going to lay off if your plan regarding the clothing actually worked. Inexplicably, it did so shut it.”
Ernie shakes his head and rolls his eyes. “You are all so lame if you think that is a plan. I’m finding cooler people.”
Rafael looks toward Novak, who seems to have returned to being annoyed with Ernie, then mutters to himself, “Seems everything is quickly back to normal.”
* * * * *
Marin knows that he needs to fulfill this bet with Dinara. It’s imperative to his future.
That said, the one thing he wished wasn’t the case was Ernie witnessing this bet. In the three days that have passed since poker night, Ernie has been bombarding him with ideas that are beyond ridiculous for so many reasons.
This would be bad enough but the rumors have been flying regarding the journals of one Professor Roger Federer. Reality is that there isn’t really much Federer could have even said about Marin Cilic, since he only attended a few sessions. It seems that what Leo read was likely the only thing actually written about him.
The problem is that there are other journals, with students that still attend the university and they have more extensive entries and more to lose. On some level he knows this, being the suitemate of one of the other former pets, but it seems weird to hear other names thrown about with stories that are way more damning. Of course, this is a game of Telephone; the rumors swirl and twist about, facts get attributed to the wrong people so who knows what is real.
He’s preparing himself to handle tutoring. Marin had been able to sneak in and out of lecture without dealing with anyone but that can’t happen forever. He’s taking the notes but nothing makes sense anymore. In a weird way, he’s counting on the tutoring session for actual tutoring.
When Marin gets to the other suite for the session, Evgeny lets him enter then says hesitantly, “Thomaz and Leo cancelled. Schwank convinced them to join movie night. Apparently Salma Hayek is a better draw.”
“Oh?” Marin says, suspecting something fishy. He walks past Evgeny to spot Richard has notes already set up on the floor. Marin figures he’s being suspicious for no reason and settles in.
Marin hasn’t figured out how to talk to Richard about any of this, even if he’s the person most likely to understand Marin’s current predicament. After all, there have been much worse stories associated with Richard’s stint with Federer, some which may even be true. But Richard has been quiet and not acknowledging Marin, as if guilty of something, so this is the time for that conversation. Marin asks, “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” but there’s an edge to Richard’s voice that makes Marin continue questioning.
“Nothing? Did you plan the breaking into Federer’s office just to prove your point about examining the pets?”
“Oh, that.” Richard seems almost relieved by the question, which strikes Marin as even more odd. “No but I wish I did. I would have organized the operation better… though Roddick did improvise pretty well given the circumstances.” Richard tries not to smile but Marin knows whatever Roddick did must have gotten those two back on at least speaking terms. “But since you bring it up, Professor Henman found the surveillance footage of that day in the lecture hall… you know, the whole blow-up,” glancing toward Evgeny to make it clear some things would not make it in the gossip column. “So what you witnessed taking place that day is also part of the story.”
“I assumed Henman scheduled the meeting to talk about my meetings with Federer and the journal.”
“You just have to say exactly what you saw. Roddick already told his side so just corroborate…” At Marin’s confused look, Richard affirms, “If you don’t tell the truth, Federer will manipulate the data at hand and question his integrity. Believe me, he’s done it in the past quite successfully.”
Evgeny asks carefully, “Are you bugged by the journals?” Marin catches Evgeny giving him a rather concerned look before the question is directed toward Richard. “Leo did say there were several journals with your name on it but Roddick halted the reading before finding any details from yours. Marin only had given Professor Federer a few weeks worth of material, which sounded pretty damning, so I can’t imagine how bad it’d be about you.”
Richard shrugs off the concern. “Most in the department have thought I was a liar because Federer was the greatest and simply could not have possibly done anything unethical. I’m certainly not thrilled about the journals’ existence but I think, more than anything, I’m relieved to no longer have my credibility questioned. Then again, I stopped working with him a few years ago because of his manipulations so it’s a little different than being right in the moment and getting blindsided by the comments,” Richard glancing in Marin’s direction as if apologizing for getting him entangled with Federer in the first place. “Depending on how this plays out, I’ll probably have my character under attack because Federer knows what buttons to push and can still succeed sometimes…but no more students will be involved in his games.”
* * * * *
Ernie wonders where he went wrong. Ever since the suite meeting, Novak has been distant. He’s not avoiding, exactly, but he is stewing and it’s rather unsettling.
It doesn’t help that it was Ernie’s idea to aid Marin with the bet and that has been hijacked by Andy, who is in Ernie’s room right now and shutting him out. He doesn’t know whether Andy is acting on Novak’s orders or just coincidental but this is irritating and it’s time to confront Novak.
He knocks and enters without waiting for a reply. Novak is on the computer doing research and gives Ernie an annoyed look before snapping, “What don’t you understand about me needing to get this assignment done?”
“What I’m understanding is that I am apparently the suite pariah and I don’t get why.”
“No, you’re not.”
“So Andy being in my room for some reason related to Marin…”
Novak cuts him off to finish the sentence. “Is in this alternate universe where Andy and Richie agree on something and the world no longer makes sense.”
“Oh. You were serious about that? I thought it was hyperbole.”
“Hyperbole?” That gets Novak to give Ernie his undivided attention. “Did you really use one of those big words?”
Ernie shrugs. “I’m trying to be a decent academic.”
“Does anything bother you?”
“I’m bothered by this feeling that I’ve screwed up and I don’t know how I managed to do that.”
Novak gets up from the chair and gestures for Ernie to join him on his bed. Novak wraps an arm around Ernie and pulls him close. “You’ve had this happy-go-lucky life. I admit that I’m happy now but sometimes… it’s easy to wonder. I guess, when I heard you mocking me for the poem, I remembered what’s happened before. The ghosts of years gone by reared their ugly head.”
Ernie rests his head on Novak’s shoulder. “I don’t know about that. I came to college thinking everything was good with my life. I admit that I was more concerned about having fun than classes. I figured I’d take some easy major where I could finagle the answers so I could squeak by, but end up learning more with hands-on experience from my father’s business ventures than the classroom. If there’s anything I’ve learned from being around a bunch of geeks, it’s that I was completely mistaken about life.”
“I kind of like the idea that you’re requiring yourself to think. I don’t think I could hook up with someone who’s only a pretty face but I don’t mind the cartoon viewing either. It’s a nice balance,” then slowly moves out of their grip so that he can kiss Ernie’s cheek, then lingers to say in a sultry tone, “Although I must say I am sick of being nice with you.”
Ernie raises his head, making sure Novak sees his reaction to that, then glances at the door. “What sort of signal do you give Andy when you want him to stay out?”
Novak points to Andy’s bed but Ernie gives him a confused look so he stands up and snatches the backpack off the bed. “I lock the door and leave this on the knob. That way, he can’t use the excuse that I’m messing up his studies, even though he usually just hangs out in Rafa’s room anyway.”
* * * * *
The tutoring session has gotten underway and Marin has settled in. The conversation about the journals dropped, thankfully, and he is able to focus on the material he’d missed in lecture.
That all changes once there is a knock at the door. Evgeny looks toward Richard, who is all of a sudden busy checking his phone, then unlocks the door. He seems almost relieved to see Andy.
Evgeny’s fear may be subsiding but Marin’s fear grows when he sees what’s in Andy’s hand: Marin’s notebook for his English assignment. Marin jolts from his seat, yelping, “What are you doing?”
Andy sits down next to Richard, who states, “We’ve devised a way for you to win this bet with Dinara, with Evgeny’s assistance. Stand here and read your English assignment. Evgeny is friends with the Russian suite crew and, more specifically, Dinara’s boyfriend, hence leading to her. I’m using the favor for this so everything is all squared away.”
“I don’t…”
“No recording devices, I promise. Andy is here purely as reinforcement. We could have included Ernie, it being easier to retrieve the notebook that way, but he thought the plan was stupid so it’s his loss and your advantage.”
Andy says seriously, “You really need to get over the stage fright. At least if you want to run a meeting someday.”
Glancing at the spiral notebook taunting him, it a reminder of what he’s facing regarding Professor Federer right now, Marin must do this. All possibilities considered, it actually is a simple way to win the bet and he’d never considered this particular resource. He’s wondering what it means if the poetry reading wasn’t the favor, that Richard merely suggested it and Evgeny asked on his own… Bad enough he has to read this without his mind wandering to that issue.
Marin turns to the first page and breathes a sigh of relief. At least he knows he can get through this particular passage… if he keeps his focus on the paper instead of the six eyes on him.
“I am just stating upfront that this is really stupid. We’re supposed to fill a page a day with whatever we see fit. The thing is that nobody will really treat this as a journal because the last thing most anyone wants from this required class is to have something you’d hold over our heads. This will bore you to read as much as it bores the class to write in it. But if that’s what is required to get an A on this project, I will do as stated. It’s to be expected if the point is simply to write, regardless of such trivial matters as a purpose. What do you know, I can write over a hundred words of essentially gibberish. Maybe the assignment won’t be too much of a drag.”
It probably had a bit too much of a monotone but otherwise survived reading it with only clutching onto the book a little too hard. Andy smiles brightly, having done essentially the same thing when he had that assignment as a freshman, and that has Marin believe that he’s out of the woods.
Richard, however, is a little less impressed. He says stoically, “That. Is. Really. Dull.” He stands up and grabs the notebook, looking to make sure that Marin really wrote that, then shakes his head. Marin can’t help but smirk at the reaction but Richard turns to a later page. “Not enough for this favor. I am sure that, after a few weeks of this nonsense, you may have let something resembling your actual personality creep through despite your best efforts.”
Marin stares down at the page. While Richard only picked at random, he is correct to assume that there were times when frustrations did spill onto the paper and this is one of those entries.
“I-I-I am tired of going along with what others want from me.” Marin shuts his eyes, remembering without reading what comes next and now his nerves are freezing him up. Andy is right, he really needs to work through this and having three people listen who won’t heckle him is better than a classroom. “I am tired of going along with what others want from me. Just being the guy who puts up with the nonsense of everyone else. The jock who believes I’m good for the kind of help to get an athletic scholarship and only have that use. The family who thinks I’ll be the doctor with the six-figure income. I’m in a place now where I have no idea what’s next. Maybe I should follow the ripples of the water but I think I’m adrift because that’s what I’ve been doing all along.”
Evgeny mutters to Richard, “Can I stop this?”
Richard covers his mouth with his hand to reply, “As long as you say enough to Dinara, yes.”
Evgeny nods, then stands up and marches up to Marin, grabbing the book from his shaking hands. Even with it gone, Marin keeps his head down as if still focused on the words. “Have I done that to you?”
Marin shakes his head, barely able to say, “No.”
“If you want a shot at being happy, sometimes you have to make a move. Otherwise, you never give yourself a chance.” Evgeny cautiously places his hand to Marin’s shoulder, his thumb at the neck feeling Marin’s pulse racing. “You’re so trapped in your own head that you don’t notice what’s right in front of you. The jock sees you as more than just a brain. These two guys aren’t trying to deride you. They want you to see that you’re not the only one who has no clue and that’s perfectly okay.”
“No clue?” Marin says softly.
Evgeny seems to have just realized what he’s done but isn’t backing down. He answers simply, “No clue whatsoever.”
There are beads of sweat on his forehead, hair likely sticking at odd angles and his nerves still recovering from the reading. Still, this is the moment. Marin raises his hand to cup Evgeny’s chin then goes in for a kiss.
Andy and Richard do a silent high five, their plan successful and a guaranteed five bucks in Marin's pocket.
Author: Kris S.
Fandom: Tennis RPS
Players: Rafael Nadal, Richard Gasquet, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Ernests Gulbis, Marin Cilic, Evgeny Korolev
Rating: PG13
Disclaimer: This did not happen.
Summary: College AU. Richard and Rafael are geniuses who are roommates in a suite, though they’re different as could be. Inspired by the movie Real Genius. This chapter: Ernie gets everyone involved in Marin’s bet with Dinara but annoys Novak in the process.
Chapter 20 - Sign of the Apocalypse
“I cannot believe you’re calling a suite meeting over this,” Novak complains as he struggles to keep up with Ernie as they burst into Rafael and Richard’s room. Rafael and Andy are sitting on one bed, bickering over a soccer match while deciding on what movie to watch, as Richard is at his desk, tuning them out with headphones and a textbook.
Ernie insists, “We have to help Marin win this bet. It’s important.” He leads Novak to the empty bed, then grabs hold of one of the earpieces to shout at Richard, “Cut the music and join the meeting.” Richard resets the headphones but otherwise doesn’t make a move, keeping his back to the others.
Rafael asks, “Important to him or to you?”
“To him,” Ernie affirms. “He’s being infuriating about it too. As if his future is riding on this or something. But he’s a coward and has turned down every suggestion I’ve given.”
“Did you throw out the idea of him wearing a dress?” Novak asks. “Two bets with one… throw.”
“Of course I did!” Ernie says irritably. “I maintain the best idea is for him to write a love letter and recite it in the union.”
Novak narrows his stare on Ernie. “Excuse me. When we were relaying embarrassing high school experiences that day, that didn’t give you license to be inspired by my embarrassing story.”
Andy reaches over Rafael for the bag of fresh popcorn, then murmurs, “This is a much better show than any movie.”
Novak continues, “You are ignoring the obvious. Marin cannot speak in front of a crowd. Do you remember karaoke night at all? What the hell makes you think he’d pour his heart out… or even be able to say two words without freaking out? How can you be so insensitive?”
Rafael bites his lip to keep from laughing. Andy buries his face in Rafael’s shoulder because it’s already too late for him.
Ernie says, “I thought you were okay with that poem being read over the loudspeaker.”
“Well, I wasn’t. It’s not funny,” then glares at Andy, who is now hiding behind Rafael but they can hear the laughing. “Andy, I’m banning you from the room tonight. I will not accept a roommate who doesn’t understand my pain!”
Ernie doesn’t get what’s going on but Rafael is now laughing as well, being more accustomed to Novak’s dramatic pleas. Ernie yells out in frustration, “Focus! Ignore the twins.”
Novak stays silent as he processes the absurdity of Ernie’s statement, then begins, “I don’t think that’s a fair nickname anymore now that they’re…” Ernie’s blank reaction to that has Novak shaking his head. He calms down and returns to the task at hand. “The problem is that you are so much wilder than him. You don’t find anything embarrassing so you think an elaborate show is necessary whereas the mere thought freaks Marin out.”
“But Dinara is the judge,” Ernie whines. “If someone relays his act and she disapproves, then there’s not enough time for a Plan B. He only has a week and this actually is important. I don’t know why he made the bet in the first place because if he knew Dinara…”
Andy holds his hand up, trying to get Ernie to stop talking. When Ernie finally spots it, Andy asks, “Did you say someone? As in, it doesn’t have to be you?”
“Well, it can be me but, no, not required. The person must know Dinara, however, and it isn’t as if there’s much overlap between Dinara’s circle of friends and Marin’s tiny little circle…” Ernie smiles brightly as he heads predatorily toward Rafael and Andy, sliding into the empty spot. “Except there’s the person who is hiding from Dinara because her brother is obsessed over his voice.”
Andy jolts up, shaking his head furiously. “Not me. I get why Marin made this bet. He’s been talking about making a move. Maybe if it’s someone else…”
Ernie rolls his eyes. “It can be me, you, let me think who else was there. Mikhail witnessed the wager. What’s the difference who tells her?”
“It means you don’t have to be there when it happens. Just as long as she hears about it.”
Rafael raises an eyebrow, having absolutely no clue what Andy is talking about. “You have a plan?”
“It’s been sitting here in plain sight!” Andy exclaims. “All we have to do is get him to do a presentation… for the right person.”
Richard snaps his fingers, then drops his headphones around his neck and calls out, “I haven’t cashed in the favor yet, even though Marin believes I have.”
Andy doesn’t miss a beat as he continues, “Excellent. It’ll help his personal life and win the wager! This really should have happened long before.”
Novak is thrown by Richard’s input, having believed he wasn’t interested in the discussion, but now catching that Andy understood whatever “the favor” means is cause for concern. When it all clicks together, he exaggerates moving toward the other end of the bed with arms flattened against the wall. “I don’t think the world can handle Richie and Andy being on the same wavelength. It’s a sign of the apocalypse.”
Richard says to Andy, “You’re talking about someone taking their time before revealing their true feelings? That is a nice example of hypocrisy.”
Andy says, “I seem to remember you were going to lay off if your plan regarding the clothing actually worked. Inexplicably, it did so shut it.”
Ernie shakes his head and rolls his eyes. “You are all so lame if you think that is a plan. I’m finding cooler people.”
Rafael looks toward Novak, who seems to have returned to being annoyed with Ernie, then mutters to himself, “Seems everything is quickly back to normal.”
* * * * *
Marin knows that he needs to fulfill this bet with Dinara. It’s imperative to his future.
That said, the one thing he wished wasn’t the case was Ernie witnessing this bet. In the three days that have passed since poker night, Ernie has been bombarding him with ideas that are beyond ridiculous for so many reasons.
This would be bad enough but the rumors have been flying regarding the journals of one Professor Roger Federer. Reality is that there isn’t really much Federer could have even said about Marin Cilic, since he only attended a few sessions. It seems that what Leo read was likely the only thing actually written about him.
The problem is that there are other journals, with students that still attend the university and they have more extensive entries and more to lose. On some level he knows this, being the suitemate of one of the other former pets, but it seems weird to hear other names thrown about with stories that are way more damning. Of course, this is a game of Telephone; the rumors swirl and twist about, facts get attributed to the wrong people so who knows what is real.
He’s preparing himself to handle tutoring. Marin had been able to sneak in and out of lecture without dealing with anyone but that can’t happen forever. He’s taking the notes but nothing makes sense anymore. In a weird way, he’s counting on the tutoring session for actual tutoring.
When Marin gets to the other suite for the session, Evgeny lets him enter then says hesitantly, “Thomaz and Leo cancelled. Schwank convinced them to join movie night. Apparently Salma Hayek is a better draw.”
“Oh?” Marin says, suspecting something fishy. He walks past Evgeny to spot Richard has notes already set up on the floor. Marin figures he’s being suspicious for no reason and settles in.
Marin hasn’t figured out how to talk to Richard about any of this, even if he’s the person most likely to understand Marin’s current predicament. After all, there have been much worse stories associated with Richard’s stint with Federer, some which may even be true. But Richard has been quiet and not acknowledging Marin, as if guilty of something, so this is the time for that conversation. Marin asks, “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” but there’s an edge to Richard’s voice that makes Marin continue questioning.
“Nothing? Did you plan the breaking into Federer’s office just to prove your point about examining the pets?”
“Oh, that.” Richard seems almost relieved by the question, which strikes Marin as even more odd. “No but I wish I did. I would have organized the operation better… though Roddick did improvise pretty well given the circumstances.” Richard tries not to smile but Marin knows whatever Roddick did must have gotten those two back on at least speaking terms. “But since you bring it up, Professor Henman found the surveillance footage of that day in the lecture hall… you know, the whole blow-up,” glancing toward Evgeny to make it clear some things would not make it in the gossip column. “So what you witnessed taking place that day is also part of the story.”
“I assumed Henman scheduled the meeting to talk about my meetings with Federer and the journal.”
“You just have to say exactly what you saw. Roddick already told his side so just corroborate…” At Marin’s confused look, Richard affirms, “If you don’t tell the truth, Federer will manipulate the data at hand and question his integrity. Believe me, he’s done it in the past quite successfully.”
Evgeny asks carefully, “Are you bugged by the journals?” Marin catches Evgeny giving him a rather concerned look before the question is directed toward Richard. “Leo did say there were several journals with your name on it but Roddick halted the reading before finding any details from yours. Marin only had given Professor Federer a few weeks worth of material, which sounded pretty damning, so I can’t imagine how bad it’d be about you.”
Richard shrugs off the concern. “Most in the department have thought I was a liar because Federer was the greatest and simply could not have possibly done anything unethical. I’m certainly not thrilled about the journals’ existence but I think, more than anything, I’m relieved to no longer have my credibility questioned. Then again, I stopped working with him a few years ago because of his manipulations so it’s a little different than being right in the moment and getting blindsided by the comments,” Richard glancing in Marin’s direction as if apologizing for getting him entangled with Federer in the first place. “Depending on how this plays out, I’ll probably have my character under attack because Federer knows what buttons to push and can still succeed sometimes…but no more students will be involved in his games.”
* * * * *
Ernie wonders where he went wrong. Ever since the suite meeting, Novak has been distant. He’s not avoiding, exactly, but he is stewing and it’s rather unsettling.
It doesn’t help that it was Ernie’s idea to aid Marin with the bet and that has been hijacked by Andy, who is in Ernie’s room right now and shutting him out. He doesn’t know whether Andy is acting on Novak’s orders or just coincidental but this is irritating and it’s time to confront Novak.
He knocks and enters without waiting for a reply. Novak is on the computer doing research and gives Ernie an annoyed look before snapping, “What don’t you understand about me needing to get this assignment done?”
“What I’m understanding is that I am apparently the suite pariah and I don’t get why.”
“No, you’re not.”
“So Andy being in my room for some reason related to Marin…”
Novak cuts him off to finish the sentence. “Is in this alternate universe where Andy and Richie agree on something and the world no longer makes sense.”
“Oh. You were serious about that? I thought it was hyperbole.”
“Hyperbole?” That gets Novak to give Ernie his undivided attention. “Did you really use one of those big words?”
Ernie shrugs. “I’m trying to be a decent academic.”
“Does anything bother you?”
“I’m bothered by this feeling that I’ve screwed up and I don’t know how I managed to do that.”
Novak gets up from the chair and gestures for Ernie to join him on his bed. Novak wraps an arm around Ernie and pulls him close. “You’ve had this happy-go-lucky life. I admit that I’m happy now but sometimes… it’s easy to wonder. I guess, when I heard you mocking me for the poem, I remembered what’s happened before. The ghosts of years gone by reared their ugly head.”
Ernie rests his head on Novak’s shoulder. “I don’t know about that. I came to college thinking everything was good with my life. I admit that I was more concerned about having fun than classes. I figured I’d take some easy major where I could finagle the answers so I could squeak by, but end up learning more with hands-on experience from my father’s business ventures than the classroom. If there’s anything I’ve learned from being around a bunch of geeks, it’s that I was completely mistaken about life.”
“I kind of like the idea that you’re requiring yourself to think. I don’t think I could hook up with someone who’s only a pretty face but I don’t mind the cartoon viewing either. It’s a nice balance,” then slowly moves out of their grip so that he can kiss Ernie’s cheek, then lingers to say in a sultry tone, “Although I must say I am sick of being nice with you.”
Ernie raises his head, making sure Novak sees his reaction to that, then glances at the door. “What sort of signal do you give Andy when you want him to stay out?”
Novak points to Andy’s bed but Ernie gives him a confused look so he stands up and snatches the backpack off the bed. “I lock the door and leave this on the knob. That way, he can’t use the excuse that I’m messing up his studies, even though he usually just hangs out in Rafa’s room anyway.”
* * * * *
The tutoring session has gotten underway and Marin has settled in. The conversation about the journals dropped, thankfully, and he is able to focus on the material he’d missed in lecture.
That all changes once there is a knock at the door. Evgeny looks toward Richard, who is all of a sudden busy checking his phone, then unlocks the door. He seems almost relieved to see Andy.
Evgeny’s fear may be subsiding but Marin’s fear grows when he sees what’s in Andy’s hand: Marin’s notebook for his English assignment. Marin jolts from his seat, yelping, “What are you doing?”
Andy sits down next to Richard, who states, “We’ve devised a way for you to win this bet with Dinara, with Evgeny’s assistance. Stand here and read your English assignment. Evgeny is friends with the Russian suite crew and, more specifically, Dinara’s boyfriend, hence leading to her. I’m using the favor for this so everything is all squared away.”
“I don’t…”
“No recording devices, I promise. Andy is here purely as reinforcement. We could have included Ernie, it being easier to retrieve the notebook that way, but he thought the plan was stupid so it’s his loss and your advantage.”
Andy says seriously, “You really need to get over the stage fright. At least if you want to run a meeting someday.”
Glancing at the spiral notebook taunting him, it a reminder of what he’s facing regarding Professor Federer right now, Marin must do this. All possibilities considered, it actually is a simple way to win the bet and he’d never considered this particular resource. He’s wondering what it means if the poetry reading wasn’t the favor, that Richard merely suggested it and Evgeny asked on his own… Bad enough he has to read this without his mind wandering to that issue.
Marin turns to the first page and breathes a sigh of relief. At least he knows he can get through this particular passage… if he keeps his focus on the paper instead of the six eyes on him.
“I am just stating upfront that this is really stupid. We’re supposed to fill a page a day with whatever we see fit. The thing is that nobody will really treat this as a journal because the last thing most anyone wants from this required class is to have something you’d hold over our heads. This will bore you to read as much as it bores the class to write in it. But if that’s what is required to get an A on this project, I will do as stated. It’s to be expected if the point is simply to write, regardless of such trivial matters as a purpose. What do you know, I can write over a hundred words of essentially gibberish. Maybe the assignment won’t be too much of a drag.”
It probably had a bit too much of a monotone but otherwise survived reading it with only clutching onto the book a little too hard. Andy smiles brightly, having done essentially the same thing when he had that assignment as a freshman, and that has Marin believe that he’s out of the woods.
Richard, however, is a little less impressed. He says stoically, “That. Is. Really. Dull.” He stands up and grabs the notebook, looking to make sure that Marin really wrote that, then shakes his head. Marin can’t help but smirk at the reaction but Richard turns to a later page. “Not enough for this favor. I am sure that, after a few weeks of this nonsense, you may have let something resembling your actual personality creep through despite your best efforts.”
Marin stares down at the page. While Richard only picked at random, he is correct to assume that there were times when frustrations did spill onto the paper and this is one of those entries.
“I-I-I am tired of going along with what others want from me.” Marin shuts his eyes, remembering without reading what comes next and now his nerves are freezing him up. Andy is right, he really needs to work through this and having three people listen who won’t heckle him is better than a classroom. “I am tired of going along with what others want from me. Just being the guy who puts up with the nonsense of everyone else. The jock who believes I’m good for the kind of help to get an athletic scholarship and only have that use. The family who thinks I’ll be the doctor with the six-figure income. I’m in a place now where I have no idea what’s next. Maybe I should follow the ripples of the water but I think I’m adrift because that’s what I’ve been doing all along.”
Evgeny mutters to Richard, “Can I stop this?”
Richard covers his mouth with his hand to reply, “As long as you say enough to Dinara, yes.”
Evgeny nods, then stands up and marches up to Marin, grabbing the book from his shaking hands. Even with it gone, Marin keeps his head down as if still focused on the words. “Have I done that to you?”
Marin shakes his head, barely able to say, “No.”
“If you want a shot at being happy, sometimes you have to make a move. Otherwise, you never give yourself a chance.” Evgeny cautiously places his hand to Marin’s shoulder, his thumb at the neck feeling Marin’s pulse racing. “You’re so trapped in your own head that you don’t notice what’s right in front of you. The jock sees you as more than just a brain. These two guys aren’t trying to deride you. They want you to see that you’re not the only one who has no clue and that’s perfectly okay.”
“No clue?” Marin says softly.
Evgeny seems to have just realized what he’s done but isn’t backing down. He answers simply, “No clue whatsoever.”
There are beads of sweat on his forehead, hair likely sticking at odd angles and his nerves still recovering from the reading. Still, this is the moment. Marin raises his hand to cup Evgeny’s chin then goes in for a kiss.
Andy and Richard do a silent high five, their plan successful and a guaranteed five bucks in Marin's pocket.