Where Is Araminta Green? (ONC 2024)

Chapter 9: Soundtrack of The Night

"Hey, Jordy!"

Jordan had just laid down on his dorm room bed—ready to spend Friday night watching video essays about the rise of podcasts on his computer—when insistent knocks and a chipper voice disrupted him. The seminar- and research-filled week had exhausted him but he still couldn't resist the allure of the call from outside. Because there was no doubt in his mind about who was on the other side of the door. So he put his laptop away and he made his way across the room.

"Derek, what are you doing here?" Jordan asked, having unlocked to find himself face to face with his newfound friend, clad in a bright red t-shirt with a print of Mickey Mouse and pants made up of a patchwork of different denim fabrics. Blending into the background definitely wasn't Derek's style. Bright, bold, and brave seemed to be his keywords.

"I listened to the episode you just put out." Derek ignored the question and instead wandered right in, sitting down on Jordan's desk chair. With interest, he glanced at the books—on topics ranging from witchcraft to depression-era living conditions—piled up on the desk, bed, and floor, which Jordan had checked out from the library. "Have you been working on it every evening this week? Like that's why you've never tagged along to any evening meet-ups with the rest of the class?"

Jordan shrugged, fiddling with the sleeves of his hoodie. "I wanted to get it out as soon as possible," he mumbled. "Since I know people are listening now. I mean, people apart from you. Not that your listening isn't important to me." Jordan flashed a nervous smile that was met by a comforting nod. "But I wanted to reveal what we had found out to other listeners."

Derek twirled on the desk chair. "I did notice you kept the conversation about my article in there. That was nice of you. You didn't have to do that."

Jordan was aware that perhaps that conversation should have been cut. A real professional podcaster wouldn't have left those lines in there. But he wanted to shine the spotlight on Derek as a thank you for all the hard work he'd put in to help Jordan with his project. Which made Jordan wonder if Derek had even worked on his own project about the endangered butterflies this week. He had certainly not seen him do any research that wasn't related to Jordan's project.

"I wanted to," Jordan just replied, braving a faint smile. "You deserved a shout-out."

"Well I would want you to come along to the party tonight," Derek countered. "It's the last night we're here so everyone is gathering. And you're done with your episode now, so you have no excuse. You deserve to have some fun."

No excuse except for his disinclination toward parties. Jordan had been to a few during his time at college, but always felt like he was floating in the periphery, not finding the enjoyment from such celebrations that others seemed to share. "I was planning to just stay here and chill," he mumbled. "I'm not really a party guy."

"Neither am I," Derek replied, blowing a stray curl from his face. "I was just thinking it could be fun to hang out together without doing research or talking about school stuff. And I already promised some other people I would show up at the party so I can't really bail."

The fact that Derek was going out of his way to include Jordan made the offer hard to decline. So were the puppy dog eyes directed at him.

"I'm not really dressed for a party." Jordan looked down at his coffee-stained sweatpants. Even though he knew he was about to give in, he didn't want to seem too keen immediately.

"I'm sure you got something you can change into." Derek nodded toward the scattered piles of clothing on the floor. Jordan hadn't had time to clean up this week since he was busy editing his podcast every night. "I can help you pick out a cool outfit and then we can head there together."