Sonata
#1 of Sonata
Requiem
Chapter One
Sonata
"It is often said that love is a verb, a four letter word, a rose, a feeling. I think, perhaps, that love is more like chance, like two boats passing in the night.
However, in most of my experience, those two boats crash together and are carrying a lot of gunpowder. Pretty to watch, but only in a catastrophic sense.
But, for even one such as myself, there is always a chance, an opportunity, to make a beautiful thing happen. That would be my one wish, my one dream, my one desire. To find one to make into my eternally beloved."
I sighed as I nearly slammed my head onto my laptop keyboard.
"Too sappy !" I exclaimed as I read over what I had written. I rubbed a paw over my eyes, groaning as I held back a headache. Two days ago, my English professor had decided that we would write about love in an attempt to help break the ice in my class. How idiotic, I thought. Here I would be prattling on about what I thought about love, and in front of near strangers no less. Hopefully they would not think any less of me.
I looked at the digital clock next to my computer and groaned again. Nearly three in the morning, and this assignment was due in six hours.
"Fuck. Wait, maybe I can put that in my paper. 'Love is about fucking. Lots and lots of fucking.'"
I wonder how that would go over with the professor.
I heard a slight chirp over the music playing in my earbuds and noticed the message alert flash on the corner of my laptop.
draikash: sup ?
I smiled to myself, welcoming this abrupt interruption.
coonybard: not much. Writing a stupid paper. You?
draikash: just chillin'. Shouldnt you be out stealing or something?
coonybard: how original. Isnt there a flight of stairs you should become acquainted with?
I chuckled to myself at that one. My friend Ash likes to prey on the fact that I am a raccoon and, as such, apparently prone to thievery. I simply retaliate with the time he tripped walking up a flight of stairs. Dragons and their stairs.
draikash: lol wutever. If I had known you were going to be such a queen I wouldnt have imed you.
coonybard: whatever. You know you would miss me.
draikash: sure, whatever. You going to the party tomorrow?
coonybard: party?
draikash: oops! Thought you were invited. Sorry bro. I gtg.
With that, he signed out, I guess out of embarrassment. I am not really one for parties anyhow: too much noise, and everyone just wants to hook up. Besides, I have too many papers to write.
I stood up and decided to go outside for some air. I quietly walked through my dorm so I would not wake up my suitemates, but I did not worry. Raccoons, you see, are naturally disposed to walking sneakily, and the two cheetah brothers I share a suite with could sleep through a hurricane. I grabbed a soda and walked down the six flights of stairs to the outdoors.
As I walked under the new moon, I reflected on where I was, and how I got there. I was just your average raccoon, physically. I could hold my own in a friendly game of football or something like that, but I was not an overachieving athlete, barring my daily ninety minutes at the gym. I prided myself more on my mental ability; I had been given a full ride to university because of my supposed smarts. I was really good at painting as well, so I decided that I would focus on that. However, for now, it was the core classes necessary, and boy did they suck.
I realised that there were almost no lights on, which suited me. I liked the dark, personally, and if some were not looking closely I could almost meld into it. I guess a fringe benefit with being a raccoon. Then again, I tried my best to be a wallflower anyway: if capable in anything, appear otherwise.
I walked no real path, taking time to enjoy the sounds of the night, which included the occasional chirp from a cricket and vomit from a frat boy stumbling home from the bars downtown. Ah, the sounds of nature. I turned on my music player and allowed the sounds of downtempo to relax my mind.
As I hummed along to the music, I thought about what I was going to do with this latest assignment. I figured I could just half ass it and turn it in, if anything, for credit of completion. That would at least buy me some time to make revisions and excuses.
Yeah, I am sure that would go over well.
Back to square one. I looked up to view the few stars visible in the city sky. I smiled as I made out part of a constellation before returning my gaze to street level, just in time to see the eyes half a meter away from my snout before colliding with the rest of whoever it was. I fell backwards, as did this late night individual, my earbuds ripped from my ears as I landed firmly on my rump.
"Ouch !" I heard a voice, definitely masculine, definitely hurt, and definitely pissed.
"Sorry, should have watched where I was going," I said softly, trying to assess the other individual.
"Nah, not your fault. You came out of nowhere. I should have worn something lighter, and besides, I am not really all that good at night vision," the voice said with a chuckle. I closely examined the individual sitting in front of me to discover he was an otter.
"I did not know otters went for jogs," I said with slight mirth.
"Only when the pools are closed," he said with a chuckle. "Who do I have the pleasure of running into tonight ?"
"Oh ? So this is a frequent occurrence then ?"
"Nah, you're the first. Guess you popped my cherry." I laughed along with him as I pulled out my mobile to slightly illuminate my face.
"My name is Eoin." I said, smiling softly.
"Trystan is my name, and it is a pleasure, I suppose." Paws were shaken and as we stood in front of each other awkwardly, trying to make conversation, I saw him slightly wince.
"You okay ?" I asked as he rubbed his head.
"Yeah, I will be. Just gotta take some aspirin or something. You have a hard head, you know that ?"
"You and my mum would get along just fine," I said, chuckling softly.
"You all right ?" Trystan asked, earning a shrug from me.
"I have had worse, I suppose."
"Still, I feel kinda bad. I did run into you and all. How about I make you some lunch one day to make up for it ?"
"I am fine, promise," I said.
"How does tomorrow night sound ?"
"No need, I swear," I said somewhat insistently. Trystan stealthily grabbed my mobile from my paw, punched some keys and waited for a few moments. I heard a ring before he ended the call.
"There, I called myself. I'll give you a call around, say, seven ? I bet you like crawfish."
"You just ganked my phone." I added, somewhat lamely.
"Come hungry !" Trystan said as he handed my phone back. "See you later."
"Do I have any opinion that matters in this ?" I asked, somewhat in mirth. Who knows a college student that would turn down a free meal ?
"Nope. Later !" Trystan said as he ran past me, jogging all the while. I just shook my head, trying to process what had just happened, before putting my earbuds back in and walking back to my dorm room.
Twenty minutes, one shower, and a mallomar later, I was still confused. What exactly had happened ? Was I going out on a date ? I shook my head and sighed, still feeling the slight throbbing from where I had collided with him. However random this encounter was, it did give me an idea for my paper. I returned to it, deleting what I had written.
"Love, in mathematical terms, can be expressed as follows:
love=unknown.
Therefore, it is ignorant of me to assume that I know what love is. When I solve the equation, I will write a better paper on it."
Satisfied with my paper, and quite sure it would either be seen as brilliant or abject failure by the professor, I decided to sleep for a few hours before my class.
Four hours, a venti frappucino, and a walk through a just-arising campus later, I discovered that my professor had canceled class due to a cold.
Bullshit. I said it. Utter bullshit.
Regardless, I had to press on. As that was my only class for the day, I realised that I could get a few more hours of sleep. As I returned to my dorm, I passed by where I had had a run in a few mere hours prior.
"Fate, a cruel mistress indeed." I said, probably quoting something I had heard, as I walked on by. The day was still young: who knew what new adventures had yet to unfold.
That is what I thought, at least, until noon came around.