Chapter 5

"The duodenum, into which the stomach opens, is C-shaped and begins at the pyloric sphincter. It is almost entirely retroperitoneal and..." PLINK "... is the most fixed part of the small intestine. The duodenum terminates..." PLINK-CLUNK "... at the duodenojejunal flexure with the jejunum. The ligament of Treitz is a musculo..." PLINK.

Huh? I groaned. Another one of those dreams. Mr. Piccolo's damned biology lectures. I wondered if anything in those dreams was factually correct - I doubted it. How my brain could come up with new drivel every night... Wasn't it bad enough to have to sit through the actual lectures without having to dream them up as well?

PLINK

Huh?

PLINK-CLUNK

My eyes popped open just in time to see something bounce off my window.

PLONK

What the...

With another groan, I pulled myself out of bed and shuffled over to the window. Looking out, into the brightening morning, I saw nothing unusual until my gaze dropped to the lawn below. There, reaching down to find another pebble at the edge of the grass, was Allison. Fearful that someone else would be awakened by her actions, or that she'd chip the glass, I quickly pulled up the sash.

"Hey, some of us were trying to sleep in." I didn't entirely try to hide the ire from my voice. Homecoming was the only Saturday of the fall semester without morning classes, and thus was the only Saturday where I didn't need to be up by 7:30. I didn't know what time it was, but I was pretty sure it wasn't noon yet, and I'd had no plans to be up before then unless I just happened to wake.

Still, it was Allison. I couldn't exactly stay mad at her when she gave me that look.

"It's a gorgeous morning and I thought I could buy you breakfast," she said coyly.

"OK, OK. Give me a second and I'll let you in."

I went to the restroom and peed, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and combed my hair. Back in my room, I pulled on a t-shirt, but I didn't change out of my pajamas yet. Barefooted, I made my way down to the dorm door and let her in. She smelled of crisp, clean, fall air. Her welcoming kiss was quick but loving.

"Mmm. Minty," she said. I stuck my tongue out at her, then led her to the TV room. It was just off the main common room, and was one of the places where I was allowed to take a girl. She certainly wasn't allowed upstairs!

"It's a good thing I was in the middle of a dream about a biology lecture, or I'd be really pissed at having been woken up. What time is it anyway?" I'd forgotten to check the clock.

"Hey, it's after eight," she said in a kind of mock self-defense. "Sorry, I know it's early, but the day is so nice that I woke up early and wanted to see you. I hope you won't be grumpy all day without your beauty sleep..."

"Well, maybe I'll forgive you," I said. She came closer and kissed me. And then again, longer, and with some tongue. But I suddenly realized that kissing in the TV room was probably not a good idea, in case someone came in and found us. Especially with me still barefoot and in my PJs.

Reluctantly, I pulled away from her. "Um, we shouldn't be doing that here." She pouted, but I changed the subject.

"What are our plans for the day? I wasn't really expecting to hear from you before lunch. The game doesn't start until 1:00..."

"Well," she said, with that delightful glint in her eye, "I thought I could take you to Carmen's Diner for breakfast, and then we could drive over to Highway 101 and you could help me rent a gown for tonight. Do you need to pick up your tux? We could do that too, which would save you a separate trip. Then we could come back here and get lunch, then go over to the game."

Renting a gown? Sleeping in was sounding better and better. But Allison was smiling up at me hopefully, so I gave in gracefully.

"OK," I said, not sounding too grudging. "Let me go upstairs and dress. I'll be down in about ten minutes. You can stay here and watch TV, I guess..." I looked around, not entirely sure of the rules. I also wasn't sure what the reaction would be if some of the other guys came down and found a girl in the TV room, unaccompanied.

"Actually, I think I'll wait for you outside in the sun." I led her to the door, gave her a quick kiss, and scooted upstairs for a super-quick shower and change.

Washed and dressed, I grabbed my key and my wallet, checked my hair in the mirror, and went out to meet her. She was sitting outside on a rock, her face turned up to the sun like a flower. She looked really pretty with the deep blue New England fall sky behind her, with her brown hair swept back, with her thick, tubeneck sweater stretched across her chest, and with her tight jeans. Wow. Was I a lucky guy or what?

"Ready to go?" she asked when she spotted me.

I suddenly realized I had to check out before leaving campus with her. I was allowed to go anywhere I liked if I walked or biked. But we were taking her car, so I had to sign out. I explained this to Allison, who just shook her head.

"They treat you like children!" she exclaimed.

"Well, most of the other students are under eighteen..." She was right, though. Especially for me, already nineteen, the rules did seem overbearing.

In any case, we walked hand-in-hand to the Bergman's door. Mr. Bergman was the football coach, and he was the faculty resident in our dorm. He made a lousy advisor since he didn't know anything about the classes, really. And he gave pretty hokey advice about other things. But I liked his wife, June, who made brownies for the dorm gatherings. I was pretty sure Mr. Bergman would be over at the stadium already, getting ready for the game. I was hoping June would be around, though, since she could sign me out for him. Otherwise this was going to be a big hassle, finding someone else.

Luckily, Mrs. Bergman opened the door right after I knocked.

"Oh hi, David."

"Hi, June. This is my friend, Allison. Allison, this is June Bergman, our "Dorm Mom".

After the pleasantries, I explained to June how Allison wanted to take me out shopping in her car, and I needed to sign out.

"Certainly - come in, and I'll get the book."

As I was filling out the paperwork, June and Allison were talking about prom dresses.

"... so I'm hoping I can rent one at that dress shop in the Highway Mall. I certainly can't afford to buy one. It seems so stupid to buy a dress you're going to wear only once or twice."

"Well, you know where else you might look is the Ladies Exchange on Water Street, just about a block from the mall. I know it's just a thrift store, but last time I was there I saw several prom dresses, and they're only like fifteen or twenty dollars - hardly more than a rental, and you don't have to stress over whether you'll spill on it or something."

I finished with signing myself out, then pondered what Ladies might Exchange. "Well, Herman here is getting kind of shabby. I thought I'd exchange him for someone newer."

The women finished their chatter and Allison grabbed my hand to lead us on our way. June was watching us with a motherly eye.

"David - you're a PG, right?" I nodded. "Nineteen?" I nodded again.

"What about you, Allison?"

"I'm nineteen, too. I graduated from the High School last year," she replied.

"Well, I was going to give you the standard lecture about Public Affection, but for heaven's sake, you're both adults. So instead, I'll just give you this advice. Make sure you're squeaky-clean on campus. When you're going off-campus together, you might just want to look a little less Academy, David, and then nobody will be the wiser. Another trick, Allison, is to park about a block away when you bring him back, dear. Then you can have your goodbyes away from the stuffed shirts of Academy."