April - A Modern Hypatia?

Chapter Three - Adjunct Lecturer

Theme – Be Near Me by ABC

Continuity is key in writing, which leads me to several evenings later, back at the Lavender Lounge. Things with Jay hadn't been as odd as I might have expected, even after his finding out indirectly about my aforementioned, so-called, "panty preferences". Though it was honestly my inkling that he might not have been at all interested in women, outside of their fashion, that made me feel most...awkward. I support everyone in finding love with whomever they love, provided it's respectful and all of that jazz, but as I wasn't sure if Jay was just a unique guy, or if he was in fact gay. And then I hated myself for being so superficial about my thinking he was, because I wasn't being very fair to anyone just by saying that. So, I decided that unless I wanted to constantly be in the oddest "friendzone" ever, I'd have to ask. Turned out, you got to know a fair share of your classmates just by swinging around a stripper pole for a few hours, mere blocks from Hellsworth.

"April!"

Given the fact that the call came from the other side of the room, and my back was turned to it, I ended up using the pole in firepole fashion, both descending from my perch trick – a combination of a backside rodeo 540 and something out of Spiderman – and spinning around so I could get a look at whoever was calling me. Jazz's dinosaur MP3 player was blasting out beats through the in-house PA system, and he had my mix on that night. For the record, Jazz's nickname was the parental guidance version of his real nickname, the one that he'd been given by Lexia apparently, some two years prior. It was kind of cruel, but if you knew the guy the way we did, it totally summed him up. The benefit was that his being a debauchee not only subjected us to his perving, but also his protection. Yeah, he had the build and swagger of a fourth Beastie Boy, but it was better than nothing. It was actually kind of chivalrous when you watched him kick out someone who was being fresh. So, "Jazz" wasn't much of a music geek at all, as one might have guessed. Hence why I put together the mixes, mostly.

Anyway, I twisted myself fluidly around, and seemed to blow the mind of the young computer science kid who roomed next to Jay. I didn't even really know his name, but I knew he hung out with Jay, and apparently, strippers.

"What's up?" I dismounted the pole with a bounce. The room was compact enough that the main entrance, pole, and seating were all within several paces of each other, so I was already close enough to meet his shifting eyes and speak to him directly.

"Leg..." He snapped to, and then gave me a look like I was going to physically hurt him. It felt super wrong to laugh, so I just gave him a sly grin. Lexia and Terri had caught wind of his singular pronouncement, and were stuttering through bouts of giggles off to the side, even as they were giving out two rather halfhearted stripteases.

Accordingly, my gesture went misunderstood by the guy, and I cringed inwardly, thinking that I was probably leading the poor boy on. Or did that make me sound like I thought that just me smiling was some sort of man bait? I didn't really know, and I felt the most uncomfortable in that moment than I had since Jay and I discussed my underwear in Soma.

"What can I help with?" I cringed again, now it sounded like I was really laying it on thick. What can I help with? What was I trying to do, get myself roped into something dirty?

Luckily, this guy wasn't too up on slang or colloquialisms. "I'm trying to get into a fraternity," He began, sweating so profusely that I had to wonder what fraternity he'd even belong to. "Part of the hazing is that I have to become a member of your fan club..."

"Fan club? I have a club? Of fans?" The incredulous was oozing out of every pore. "Really?"

"One guy even wrote a fanfiction about you called, 'Thirty Days of April'." The kid shook his head bitterly, croaking, "Try topping that."