Dark Night

First quarter

I was trying to keep myself under control with this whole date, not freak out too much or build it up too much, but I was really looking forward to it. We'd talked several times during the week; he had a double major in world music and composition and wanted to do soundtracks for entertainment media. It seemed weird that so many people wanted to work in the movies or TV around here; granted entertainment was a huge industry, but there were just so many people who wanted to work there and USC also had a huge film school. How many jobs could there be, realistically? But no way was I going to rain on anybody else's parade; it might not be my idea of a secure major, but your passion is your passion. Plus there was the crazy physical attraction that I felt for him. I didn't want to look like a stereotypical freshman puppy following a hot upperclassman around.

Arthur came up to get me, which was really nice. He'd said that it was going to be a casual date, so I wore in a four-strand braid, a pretty blue camisole with a little embroidery, and a floaty darker blue cotton skirt with sandals. His crystal green eyes widened as he looked at me, so it was a good choice. He was wearing a dark Hawaiian shirt and cargo shorts that showed off his shoulders and legs, nice choice.  We chatted about our first week of class as we walked down to his car and we drove to the Santa Monica pier. It was exciting; I'd heard a lot about it but had never been.  We started off at with a couple of sandwiches, then strolled along, playing the arcade games, visiting the aquarium, just having a good time. I stopped dead when I saw the trapeze school and he was amused. I'd have gone up immediately, but I wasn't dressed for it.  I did take a leaflet, though. We walked past a gorgeous carousel; Arthur wasn't interested but I could come back and ride the beautiful sculptures. I couldn't help a flashback to San Francisco's carousel; maybe John would come with me. I enjoyed talking with Arthur, though; he was interesting and had a lot to say. And he listened to me as well, the hallmark of a good date.

We ended up in Pacific Park, which had the rides. Our final stop was at the Pacific Wheel, which is the only solar-powered Ferris wheel in the world and had close to 200 000 colored LED lights on it to create a dynamic, ever-changing display. The view of the coastline from the top was beautiful and while we were stopped at one point, the carriage swinging gently, he kissed me. I felt vertigo that had nothing to do with the Ferris wheel.

He kissed me again when we got back to the Hill and we set up a study date for the next week plus early-morning on Saturday. He said that the water was too cold for just a swimsuit anymore and I should get a wetsuit.

The week passed rather stressfully. I joined a couple of study groups for calculus and chemistry since we were working at speeds that seemed rather frighteningly fast to me and we had a calculus quiz that I only got a C on. I wasn't necessarily afraid of flunking but I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to stay in the Honors program. I was liking the seminar a whole lot. The study session with Arthur was nice, but he seemed to want more attention during it than I had to give. My major wasn't like his; you could listen to his music and make judgments based on whether you liked it or not, if the composition was good, but my classes were based on how well I could demonstrate that I understood the concepts. Memorization and application. And speed. Sometimes I felt like I was in the Indy 500 in an old Volkswagen Beetle. And this was only the second week of class.

But he was still interesting to talk too and the surfing was really fun. We got there in the dark; I'd picked up my wetsuit and board the day before because we were at the beach before the store opened and were out on the water as the sun rose. It was as beautiful as he said it was. We kissed for a bit in the rosy dawn, then paddled out farther to start catching some waves. It was definitely chillier than it had been just a little while ago, but the wetsuit I had kept me warm and I felt much more confident in my skills, such as they were. After a couple hours, I returned my gear and we went back to campus; I showered and primped and we went to brunch at one of the campus restaurants before walking around; he showed me places that I hadn't seen before, like the sculpture garden. And after we walked around, he invited me back to his room. He had a coveted two-person suite and his roommate was gone for the day. So I accepted, and my heart was thumping as we passed through the common room for the suite and he closed the door behind us.