Part 2 (1/2)

”Stuart was my boyfriend freshman year of high school. Ryan decided to bring him up now for no good reason.”

”What brings you to Brooklyn?”

”I start nursing school on Monday. Long Island University.”

”Isn't that in Long Island?”

I knew where it was.

”No, there's a Brooklyn campus. It's actually not far from the apartment.”

”With your fear of subways, that's a good thing,” Ryan said.

Wait. What?

”What's this, now?” I asked.

”Thanks, a lot, Ryan,” Nina said. Her face was turning redder by the second.

He apologized to her, and she tried to change the subject, but you could tell she was still embarra.s.sed.

I interrupted her because I needed to know. ”Are you seriously afraid of the subway or something?”

”She's afraid of everything,” Ryan said. ”Planes, elevators, heights...”

Nina looked over at me, and whether she realized it or not, the fear in her eyes was apparent.

”I just get a little nervous in crowded, contained places. That's all.” She smiled, trying to brush it off.

I nodded in understanding. ”It's like a phobia. So, places that make you feel trapped?”

”Yeah, basically.”

I got the feeling there was more to this. She might have been trying to downplay it, but her eyes betrayed her, exhibiting a dark honesty that contradicted everything else. Something about the way she looked at me reflected how I felt inside, too. I couldn't explain it, but I experienced a connection with this girl right then. It was like for a moment, she saw through my facade in the same way I could see beneath the fake smile she gave me when defending her phobias. There was a lot more to this, a lot more to her story. And she couldn't begin to know the half of mine.

”Hmn,” I said.

She cleared her throat. ”So, where do you work?”

She was trying to change the subject. I decided to have a little fun with her.

”I'm an electrical engineer for a company in the city. We design stadium lighting. And at night, I dance...at a male strip club.”

The skin on her face pinked up before my eyes. Bingo.

”Seriously?”

”Yup.” I turned to Ryan. ”You didn't tell her she was living with Magic f.u.c.kin' Mike?”

She just stood there speechless. She had this innocence about her that I wasn't used to seeing in girls her age. The effect I seemed to have on her was exhilarating, though. When her face eventually turned from pink to red, I decided to put her out of her misery.

”I'm just f.u.c.king with you again.”

”You're not a stripper?”

”I like you. You're an easy target. It's gonna be fun to have you around.”

I walked over to grab a banana and felt her watching me. I bit off the entire first half in an exaggerated way. As much as I loved them, I didn't normally eat them like an orangutan while crossing my eyeb.a.l.l.s. I was doing it to get a reaction out of her and enjoyed the suddenly amused look on her face. Her eyes, which were so fearful and sullen moments ago, now seemed to be genuinely smiling back at me.

”I forgot to mention, that's Jake's bushel of bananas over there,” Ryan said. ”We think he is part human, part monkey.”

”You like bananas, huh?” she asked.

”d.a.m.n straight, I do,” I said. ”I f.u.c.kin' love 'em. Mmm.” Stuffing my face, I inhaled the last half in one big bite.

Nina started laughing as she looked at me like I was crazy. I smiled back with my mouth chock full and started to crack up. I couldn't remember the last time I truly laughed.

When the laughter faded, her eyes lingered on mine, and I felt that strange unspoken connection again that I didn't quite understand. All I knew was that making her laugh was addicting, and I wasn't in such a rush to go back to my room anymore.

I grinned and reached for another banana, my mouth still disgustingly full. I barely got the words out, ”Want one?”

”Huh?”

”Want one?” I repeated.

”No, thanks. I'm good.”

”I told you Jake was interesting,” Ryan said.

Wait. What the f.u.c.k was he saying about me to her?

Why did I give a s.h.i.+t?

The front door opened, and Nina's attention was abruptly taken away from me when Ryan introduced her to our other roommate, Tarah. Nina and she started talking about girly s.h.i.+t, so I decided to head back to my room.

I tried to get my head back into the drawing I'd been working on, but in between strokes of the kohl pencil, my mind kept drifting back to my new roommate.

How the h.e.l.l was she going to live in New York City if she had a fear of subways?

I'd draw a little more, and then Nina would pop into my head again.

What the f.u.c.k was an origami bird anyway?

I put my sketchbook down, opened up my laptop and typed into Google: origami birds.

I chuckled when I saw what they looked like. Then, the nuttiest idea I'd probably ever had in my life popped into my head. I walked over to my desk drawer, searching for construction paper, remembering I'd bought some to make something for my nieces once. The only colors left were yellow and black. I grabbed a few pieces of black and some scissors and went back over to my laptop on the bed then typed: origami bat.