Of Night and Day

A Small Celebration

Aleksander led me in to his room. Carefully, he opened the door with the hand that held the wine bottle. Again, he gestured for me to enter first.

I looked at him with a confused smile and walked into the room.

"What are we celebrating?" I asked after he closed the door.

"The test," Aleksander walked me to the small couch, and I sat. He skillfully opened the bottle of wine and poured two glasses of deep red liquid.

"The test?" My eyebrows came together as he spoke.

He handed me a glass of wine and walked over to his desk. He picked up a paper sitting directly on top and walked back over.

He handed it to me. Sprawled across the top in the neat script was a one hundred percent written, then an indicator of an additional ten points from the extra credit question.

"I have been the teaching assistant for Professor Kayden through most of my graduate studies, and this is the first one hundred, and then some, percent we have gotten in a while. Professor Kayden has three notoriously difficult tests: the first, the midterm, and the final.

"So, passing the first test with full marks, I would say, is a cause for celebration," Aleksander let a smile fully curl at his lips as he sat down. He raised his glass to me wordlessly. I took my glass and clinked it against his, and we sipped. The wine was the same cherry wine that he had me try. It went down sweetly, with a tart tang that made my mouth water.

I felt... awkward being here in his room like this; he had usually been so quiet with me. Well... with everyone. But over these two weeks, we seemed to cross paths more and more often, it was always in common areas.

"I have to say, I was worried about that test," I smiled uneasily.

"Seeing how you had dived into your studies, I wasn't worried for you, though... I am impressed."

"I wasn't given a scholarship for nothing," I laughed and tried to will myself to untense.

"That's right," Aleksander's eyes lit up, "a Returner's Scholarship, was it?"

I nodded.

"Those are some of the harder scholarships to get a hold of," Aleksander said as he sat back in his seat and crossed his legs. His gaze wandered up to the ceiling as he thought. His huckleberry-colored hair draped about him elegantly. He looked like a painting.

"Yes, if I wanted to attend on my own terms, it was the only way." I took another sip of my wine and nestled into the corner of the couch.

"On your 'own terms'?" His head rolled to the side to look at me.

"Yes, my family is... hierarchical, particularly if you are relying on anyone,"

"Including your parents?" His eyebrows were arched. His golden glasses reflected the light.

"Mhmm," I hummed, "I have an agreement with my parents; they will help me minimally until I decide on my major."

"Help you minimally?"

I briefly explained to Aleksander how my family works: If you expect family help and support, you must follow their rules. In my case, my parents will help me with a small lump sum to get me through the term until I decide if I will go into architecture or performance.

"You would consider knowingly becoming a pariah?" Aleksander shifted to face me; his eyes squinted with concern as he looked over my face.

"I... haven't decided yet," I said, taking a heavy sip of the wine and avoiding his gaze. This conversation felt like one I had had a thousand times with my family.