Chapter 16

“You’re kidding?”

“No, I’m sorry. That’s how the assignments worked out,” answered Oliver. He had said that phrase a dozen times to a dozen other students. He expected to give the same answer a dozen more times before the day was over.

“This is ridiculous,” declared Oscar frustrated beyond belief. They had just returned from the visit with his parents and had learned of their room assignments.

“You can’t have Debbie as a roommate. She is rooming with another Chemistry major,” explained Oliver. He hadn’t expected to have this conversation with Oscar believing that he would have understood the reasons behind assigning roommates based on major.

“I’m the only one majoring in Religious Studies, so how did I end up with Sandy?” asked Oscar.

“She’s a philosophy major,” answered Oliver.

It made sense to put a philosophy major with him. Not exactly happy with the resolution of his problem, Oscar said, “I’ll explain it to Debbie.”

Stepping out of the office, Oscar considered the situation. It was the beginning of the second year and he was rooming with a woman he didn’t know well. Debbie was rooming with another man. The fact that they had opposite gender roommates didn’t bother him since jealousy didn’t have a place on campus, much less in his life. It was just that he wanted to have Debbie for a roommate. Oscar shook his head wondering if he’d ever get a chance to live with the women he loved. He consoled himself that at least he had weekends with Debbie and Georgia.

The chance to relax on the weekends would be welcomed. His course load for the quarter was grueling and he doubted it would be better over the rest of the year. Three of his five classes were on Judaism. They were all with the same professor and he was the only student in the class. One of his classes was the mandatory introduction to law. His last class of the day was philosophy. There was not much of a chance that he could show up unprepared for any of them and get away with it.

When Oscar stepped into the hallway, Debbie took one look at his face and knew what Oliver had said. There was nothing they could do about it; she was rooming with Robert and Oscar was rooming with Sandy. Putting her hand on his arm, she said, “I’m disappointed too. I was looking forward to waking up with you every morning.”

“Same here, but I understand why they do it,” said Oscar. It gave another resource to a student to use while achieving mastery of their area of study. He sighed and said, “I understand that we’ll change roommates in a year. Maybe then we’ll be able to room together.”

“Do you really think so?” Debbie asked. She didn’t think there was a chance of that until the final year.

“Not really,” said Oscar. Putting an arm around her, he said, “Let’s go to the dining room and get a cup of coffee. We’ve got a little time before we meet with our study groups.”

“Do you have study groups for all of your classes?”

“Nope, I only have two of them. One for law and one for philosophy,” answered Oscar.

“That’s rough. You’ve got to manage three classes without support from your fellow students,” Debbie said feeling sorry for him. The study groups provided far more than just clarification of material - they helped develop the ability to discuss and argue fine points about the material.

Passing fellow classmates in the hall, Oscar made his way to the second year dining hall. Like other second year students, he was dressed, but while they wore blue robes he was wearing his red robe. It felt strange to be around his classmates while wearing his robe as it set him apart. Likewise, it was strange encountering his classmates while they were wearing robes. One of the more surprising consequences of everyone wearing robes was that it introduced a minor delay in recognizing them. It was as if everyone was suddenly wearing a veil that hid the distinguishing characteristics by which he recognized them. Other students had made the same observation.

On reaching the dining hall, Oscar stopped to consider his surroundings. The second year dining hall was laid out in a very different fashion from the first year dining hall. All of the tables seated four, they were close together, and the room was more open. It was as if the room itself told people they had to talk soft so as to prevent imposing on others around them.

Standing next to Oscar, Debbie looked around the room and said, “It’s like they are splitting up our groups.”

“Last year we learned to respect and rely upon each other. Maybe this year we are being forced to be a little more self-reliant,” said Oscar recognizing what would happen as a result of the layout of the room. Gone were the morning meals with nine or ten people working together to make the lives of their roommates easier.

The couple sat down at a table and looked at the menu. It was the same menu as in the first year dining room. Smiling, Debbie said, “At least they didn’t take away our favorite foods.”

“That’s next year,” said Oscar winking at her.

Debbie laughed at the obvious joke. She asked, “What happens the year after that, sex change operations?”

The couple laughed as they exchanged yearly programs of increasing torture. Gabby entered the dining room and immediately headed towards them. She didn’t look happy, but at least she wasn’t angry. Sitting down at their table, she asked, “What are you laughing about?”

“Just discussing what next year will be like,” answered Debbie.

“I’m not too happy about the sleeping arrangements. Cole and I aren’t sharing a room. What about you guys?”

Oscar understood and shared her frustration about the room arrangements. He said, “We’re sharing our rooms, just not with each other.”

“They sure are making it tough to be a couple,” said Gabby.

“I heard one of the Druids tell a student that the college wasn’t a dating service, but a center of learning,” commented Debbie. She examined her hands for a second and then added, “I think there is more truth in that statement than most students realize.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. Cole wasn’t surprised by the room arrangements. He mentioned that Druids love more people and the people they love are loved more deeply. I’m pretty sure that the sleeping arrangements are intended to teach us how to value the time we spend with those we love and to love those with whom we spend time,” said Gabby.

“But you’re not happy about that,” said Oscar.

“I’m not selfish about our love. I’m just upset I don’t get to spend more time with him,” said Gabby. She was still looking for a woman to join them to form a triad. Looking at Oscar, she added, “So is Cole.”

The waitress came over to the table and introduced herself, “Hello. I’m Yolanda.”

Oscar, pointing out the people as he named them, said, “The gorgeous red head is Debbie and that’s Gabby. I’m Oscar.”

Yolanda said, “Nice to meet you all.”

“Thanks,” said Oscar as Gabby elbowed him.

Turning to the two women, Yolanda could see that they were both a little upset. It was to be expected. She said, “Now, don’t be so glum. You’ll settle into the new routine in no time.”

“We’re just upset that we’re not rooming with our boyfriends,” said Gabby.

“Oh, that. Don’t worry. Your relationships with your boyfriends will deepen and you’ll find that your relationships with your other friends will deepen as well,” said Yolanda with a smile. Every year since she had started working in the second year dining room, she had watched the same dramas unfold. Having seen it often enough, she knew how the various dramas usually ended.

“We were just talking about that,” said Debbie.

Glancing at Oscar, Yolanda said, “Well, you were smart to find a Druid to talk with.”

Oscar laughed at her comment and said, “I’m a student here, too.”

“I doubt that changes the fact that you’re a Druid,” said Yolanda with a wry grin. After learning that all they wanted were coffees, she fetched three cups and a decanter of fresh brewed coffee.

Oscar acted as host as Debbie and Gabby discussed their expectations for the coming school year. When Gabby spotted Cole, she said her farewells and left to be with him. Oscar looked at Debbie and said, “We need to talk about our roommates.”

“You’re right.”

After a long discussion with Debbie over several cups of coffee, Oscar made his way towards his new room while stopping at one of the bathrooms on the way. He smiled when he looked around the bathroom. The first thing he noticed there was a lot more privacy with the stalls actually having walls. He used the urinal and then washed his hands. He passed a fellow student entering the bathroom as he headed out the door. Oscar stepped aside and allowed the one with the more urgent need to pass.

Entering his new dorm room, Oscar found Sandy seated at her desk looking over a small stack of papers. He took note of her long hair in which the top half was a solid black and the bottom half was blond. It was a consequence of not having hair dye and was actually a pretty common sight on campus. She wasn’t the only woman with a two-tone coiffure running around the place. In a friendly voice, he said, “Hello, Sandy.”

“Hi, Oscar,” said Sandy as she spun around in her chair to look at her new roommate. She was looking forward to living with Oscar. It didn’t bother her that he’d rather have Debbie as a roommate. She knew and accepted the relationship. Reaching back, she put down the papers and looked at him. “I hope you don’t mind that I took the left side of the room.”

“I don’t mind,” said Oscar. The two sides of the room were identical and there was no reason to prefer one to the other. When he had dropped his stuff off earlier, he’d set them beside the door in the hope that it was a transitory situation.

“I bet you’re upset that you’re not rooming with Debbie. Maybe we can occasionally swap roommates,” said Sandy.

“Thanks. Should you have a need, I’ll be glad to return the favor,” said Oscar appreciating her thoughtfulness.

Sandy laughed and, making reference to the fact that he stayed off campus on weekends, said, “Don’t worry about me. I’ll have the weekends to entertain visitors.”

“True,” said Oscar as he looked around the room. Looking at all of his robes and his books on the floor, he knew that he was here to stay and would have to unpack them. He knelt down and picked up his stack of robes.

Sandy was quiet for a minute before she asked, “Do you mind if I ask you an awkward question?”

“Ask away,” answered Oscar as he put his robes in a small cabinet that was there for that purpose.

“What kind of roommate relationship do you want?” she asked. A year ago, asking a question like that on first meeting her roommate would have been totally beyond her.

“It’s not so much what I want, it is what would allow us to be comfortable,” said Oscar turning to face Sandy. Trying to gauge her reaction to his words, he said, “I’m willing to make what ever kind of accommodation you would like.”

Smiling at his answer, Sandy said, “I like a little sex before going to bed at night. I find that it helps me sleep better.”

“Sounds reasonable to me,” said Oscar. He actually preferred evening sex to morning sex since there wasn’t morning breath and a full bladder to get in the way.

“Will that upset Debbie?”

Smiling in appreciation at her consideration for Debbie, Oscar answered, “We talked about it over coffee. Last year we had sex with our roommates and handled it. We figured that it was basically a given that we’d have sex with our roommates this year. It is not a problem.”

“I’m glad,” answered Sandy. Now it was time to ask the question she had been dying to ask since she learned that Oscar would be her room mate. Biting her lower lip, she said, “I know that you have two girlfriends, Debbie and Georgia. Is Debbie bi?”

“Not at all,” answered Oscar. He knew that Debbie wouldn’t mind him answering the question. In this particular circumstance, it was no more personal than asking if she was a redhead.

Her face fell as a fantasy of sleeping with Debbie and Oscar collapsed. Puzzled at his answer, she asked, “How can that be?”

“She isn’t interested in having sex with a woman,” answered Oscar.