"Lying In the Library"
Friday, April 16th.
6:55 P.M.
A young man strode briskly towards the library, his figure blending with the dark leaves hanging from oak trees that lead down brick pathways to dorms, recreational buildings, and wherever else that was worthy of noting.
He had far more purpose than before in his pep-step as he bounced up the stone steps of the vintage library; he had his first student to tutor.
‘My friends wonder why I call you all the time,
What can I say?
I don't feel the need to give such secrets away.
You think maybe I need help, no, I know I'm right, alright.
I'm just better off not listening to friends' advice.
When they insist on knowing my bliss,
I tell them this.
When they want to know what the reason is,
I only smile when I lie, then I tell them why-’
“His kiss, his kiss is on my list!” Otto sang breathily to himself, smiling from ear to ear as his headphones played vibrant notes in his ears. His poor iPod- it must’ve been admitted to a psychiatric hospital by now for how many times he’s played Hall & Oates on repeat. If anybody else had done that, they’d be diagnosed as “clinically insane”.
As if his face was his formal outfit for a night at the ball, he dusted his shoulders off, tamed his lion of a smile, turned the volume down and pushed through the library doors.
Otto set his backpack down beside his chair, unsheathing his phone from his baggy pants pocket and unplugging his headphones from his ears. He had a message from Mom, two recent Instagram stories posted by a mutual college buddy, a new dog up for adoption in Facebook Groups, and finally, a missed call and three messages from Rosalie.
“Rosie…” Otto whispered under his breath, letting a sigh seep through her name on his tongue like a flavor relative to molasses.
He decided to check what Mom texted him before he would brave Rosie’s messages.
‘She’s probably ticked… that’s justified.’ Otto settled with it.
Mom’s message read, “Hi baby. You holding up alright @ school? We love you BUNCHES!”
Otto’s face was flat, but his hands were warm. His eyes relaxed on the keyboard as he typed, “Yes Mama, I’m doing good. Got my 1st student to tutor, then I’m asking Rosie to dinner. Wish me luck. Love you and Dad.”
A loud ring of the bell sounded from his phone in hand, making him jump. A few heads shifted his direction as he scrambled to turn off his notification sounds, along with the librarian notifying him from across the lobby, “Mr. Octavius, no bells or whistles in this library. Put your phone on silent or put it away, please.”
Her snarky tone was duly noted.
‘Well, that was rather mordant.’
Otto gave a silent nod in her direction, and switched his phone to vibrate.
With a sense of relief, he turned back to a now quiet phone, masterfully knitting his brows together with focus on the screen.
“Hey :)”
“I’m sorry if I made you feel weird today. You don’t have to write me poetry, but I’m sure if you did, it would be great, Geek.”
“I hope you’re not mad at me. Maybe we can get dinner, talk?”
“Otto? I called, it’s not like you to not pick up the phone. You okay? You got me worried.“
Otto’s face twisted in shame for ditching his Rosalie like that yesterday. He’s never acted like this before, so why now? Why Norman?
Just as he raised his keyboard to type, a book bag laid itself smack-dab on the middle of the table, Norman’s hand greeted him with a silenced wave. Otto waved back, pushing out the chair across from him with his foot. “Come sit, please.” He said and put his phone down.
Norman sat, not with obedience, but self-proclamation.
“So,” Otto began, “Where do you wanna start?”
Norman made a noise, seeming disgruntled as he thumbed through his notebook.
“I heard you can tutor for physics and math. Are you into biology? I have a baseline class I’m taking, but I’ve been putting it on the backburner. I’m majoring in marketing.”
Otto smiled- he knew this subject well, it was science after all.
“Of course. What class are you in? Biochemistry, organic, advanced-”
“I’m in the Undergraduate Research course. I understand the science department of it, but I can’t figure this stupid note-taking format out. It’s gonna drive me insane, man. These fuckin’ notes.”
Norman put his head in his hands- an image Otto didn’t expect to see. He seemed so collected before, and now he was losing it over… notes?
“Well, that’s pretty easy. I take quite a lot of notes, so I’m sure I can help somehow. Let’s start small. Do you remember the principles Schrader sent in that prep email? We have the same last name, so we have the same advisor.” He offered an extra pencil as he watched young Osborn fish for one hopelessly in his bag.
“Thanks.” He took the pencil, the left corner of his mouth twitching to the side as he sniffled awkwardly through the confusion. “Oh- and yeah, I… think.”
“You’re a business major in a frat house, you didn’t watch it, did you?” Otto remarked, his mouth moving faster than his “politeness filter” could. He winced, lifting a hand. “Sorry, sorry. I just meant-”
“Wow. No, you… yeah, y’caught me red-handed.” Norman admitted, seemingly astounded by Otto’s unexpected snappiness.
The larger man of the two at the table shifted with unpleasant embarrassment, clearing his throat and returning to the notebook before them at the table.
A “bzz-bzzzzt” sounded from Otto’s iPhone, but he ignored it.
Norman continued with his previous fascination, “I didn’t expect a nerd to be so bold.”
What, did Norman think he couldn’t hold his own? Oh, it was on.
“Only my friends can call me a nerd. You’re not my friend if you’re going to speak to me rudely. Now, try again.” Otto rebutted, flipping through the pages of Norman’s notebook to an empty page.
“Seriously? It was just a joke, lighten up.” Norman rejected.
“Jokes are funny. ‘Nerd’ is overused and too easy to deliver,” Otto paused and leaned in, “y’know.”
‘Nice touch.’ Otto patted himself on the back in his head.
Norman grew red in the face like an old man with anger issues arguing with his wife over what bills are due.
“Look-” He critiqued.
“Bzz-bzzzzt.”
Norman leaned in and pointed his finger downwards at the paper, pushing his index fingertip against the college-ruled line, “Octavius, I don’t care much for you. I’ll pay, you just do the work.”
“No.”
“Excu-”
“No. You want to pass? You learn. Cheating the system, cheating people gets you nowhere but disappointed in yourself. Pick up the pencil, make a bracket for your first topic and add a dash for the first main point you find on the subject you’re researching.”
Otto stared back up at Norman Osborn, something of a glare mustered up behind his doe eyes. He didn’t intend to intimidate, he intended to get his point across, and if it meant sternly, so be it. Too bad the caramel in his irises was cooling, too deep of a shade of brown to read his true emotions.
“Bzz-bzzzzt.”
Norman was at a loss for words.
“Add another set of dash marks, put ‘em in a bracket. Highlight important vocabulary and essential answers. Go nuts.” Otto concluded the conversation, scribbling a few brackets down before getting up with his bag.
The larger man didn’t satisfy Norman with a second glance as he left the library, his bag slung over his shoulder with a major weigh-down on his mood- and his shoulder.
“Prick-man, now featuring side-prick.” Otto labeled his run-ins, setting off for the dormitories.
-
8:59 P.M.
The young Octavius glowered meaninglessly at the stove, the tea kettle’s low whistle accepted by Otto- it was as much socialization as he was going to get after that stupid Norman debacle.
For being a boiling pot of water, it had a lot to say.
It let out a steamy whistle, sounding rather frustrated.
“I feel ya.” Otto agreed under his breath, picking up his favorite mug he brought with him in the moving process.
Who knew a geek could empathize with a teapot?
“Otto, can we talk?” Norman’s voice crackled like a bonfire in the doorway of the dormitory’s kitchen.
Otto’s back stayed faced to Norman. “You can talk.” He went back to his chamomile tea, watching the water blend into a warm gray.
“Alright… well, for starters, I…” Norman hesitated, distraught, his low hum filling the room’s thick atmosphere. “...I regret how I talked to you earlier. You’re not a nerd.”
Otto couldn’t help but chuckle. “Is that what this is about? Well, I don’t mind. I wasn’t offended, I was annoyed. You should value your studies, Norman. This is a good school.”
Octavius stirred his tea with a cheap plastic spoon before continuing, turning around with a warm sip of tea to soothe his annoyance.
“You know, I know how you’re feeling. At least, I understand more of what you feel about school than you’d probably think. I get it, school sucks and the easy route is tempting, but it’s not the right way.” Otto lectured.
“Well-”
“Look, I know what it’s like to hate school; to wanna quit.”
Norman frowned, feeling belittled. Was Otto trying to act smarter than him? What kind of bullshit was he feeding Norman?
“Oh please, like you’d know. You’re a nerd, y’all don’t have to think hard.” Osborn argued.
‘Stubborn bastard.’ Otto deduced with emotional influence.
“Yes I do. I don’t know what “y’all” you’re referring to, but it’s just me. I was a classroom failure up until high school- a-k-a, when I learned to care. Even if the system is fucked and educational rights are a subscription for us, it’s not something you should take for granted. I don’t care how much money you have, Norman. You don’t care enough about who’s on the inside; who’s behind that wealth,” Otto paused, turning to Norman with a cup of tea in hand.
He walked over to Norman, eerily calm as he stared at the shorter man’s brow bone. “And you’re gonna find out that the good people in your life leave when you become the bad person in theirs.”
Norman’s jaw tightened at its hinges.
Despite everything he wanted to say, despite every petty remark he could have made, he gave up on it and let his shoulders slump. He couldn’t be an indestructible statue around Otto- something about that man reduced him to sandstone; pure rubble. In spite of the damage to his ego, he still wanted to test Otto’s wits, but that could wait for another day.