Final Fantasies

Tuesday night. After spending the last two days moving everything out of my apartment, disassembling and reassembling my bed, driving in and out of the city, and sleeping less than I should, the preparations for departure finally started taking a physical toll on me. Dark lines are under my eyes and stubble is dotting my face. As Emily so tactfully said the other day, I’m starting to look old.

So when Scott texted me to say “We’re effing drinking tonight, damnit,” I was thinking about my 8 a.m. departure time the next morning.

“I’ll meet you for a couple of drinks at Owl Bar, but I can’t get trashed,” I said. I still had to unpack my suitcase, and repack it with everything I’d be taking with me. Also, I had some CDs out from the library and a bunch of stuff to organize at my parents place. I drove downtown, intending to get my desk and chair out of the old apartment and finish cleaning up, then have a beer or two.

Also, I was surreptitiously hiding pennies all over the apartment to drive Dan crazy. I couldn’t help but tease him one last time after all that has happened. It’s a dick move, but I did a good job cleaning everything else up and he sort of deserves it. He made a special point just to remind me to do the last dishes I had left in the sink. Nevermind the fact that he never cleans the bathroom or kitchen or vacuums the apartment and rarely takes out the trash. He’s not a terrible guy, don’t get me wrong, but it made me feel better to mess with him a little bit. I wonder how long it will be before he finds the pennies frozen in the ice cube tray (Rebekah’s suggestion).

After all that was over, I went out to try to get some cash at 7-11 and pay Dan back the $10 I owe him for internet. That didn’t work out and Scott arrived at Owl Bar, so I shrugged my shoulders and went to meet him. When I got there I was shocked. There were a whole bunch of people at the table: Scott, Rebekah, Erick, Bridget and Jim, Tom, and Katie. Seth and Bobby came later, too! I had a beer and a shot of rum with Scott, Rebekah, Tom, and Katie, and then they convinced me to drink more. Seth was going to drive my parents car home for me and Scott would pick him up.

We ended up doing five rounds of shots and I had two beers to boot; this ended up racking up a $250 bill. I felt bad about it and people started arguing over how much to pay. If I had had any cash on me, I would have slipped some in there. Seth drove me drove (Rebekah and I wanted to ride together, but there was no way to make it work) and we talked about Otakon, then I said goodbye, hugged everyone, and went inside and started frantically packing. I was sort of regretting never having the chance to makeout with Rebekah. She definitely sort of liked me, but I could never tell if she wanted to do anything about it.

I packed and was feeling sad, when Rebekah texted me.

“Scott wants to know if you want us to come over and bring you subway :)”

followed by

“Scott says you won’t sleep. So you should just hang out with us.”

I decided they were probably right, so as I jammed clothing, photographs, electronics, and even my meager sex toy collection into the suitcases I’d be carrying – the one’s responsible for basically transferring my whole life over to Hawaii – I waited for a text from Rebekah to say they were getting close. Hastily, I sorted the DS games I could find (no Chrono Trigger), threw a few Physics text books in my bag (Thermo and Stat Mech, Modern, Haliday and Resnik), and tried to think about what I might be forgetting.

Around 1:20 they texted me to say they were passing the Hollywood. We met, hugged again, and drove to UMBC to hang out in the rock garden and eat. Rebekah, Scott, and I each wrote something in the yellow book beneath the bench there while I made up stories about the rocks.

“They’re grave markers for the elder gods,” I said, chewing on my chicken sandwich.

“Really? What’s that supposed to mean Kabob House?” Kabob house is her nickname for me.

“Damn Lunch Box, you’ve never read H.P. Lovecraft?” Evidently not.

After we finished in the park, we drove around, stopped by the playground near my parents house and hung out for a while there too. Rebekah had to pee, so we went to my parents so she could use the bathroom. She tried to convince Scott to go too, maybe so we could have alone time, and I joined in.

“What, you want to be alone with Rebekah?”

“Oh Scott, you have to make things so awkward.”

At that point, I really did want to make out with her, or at least kiss her goodbye, but I was getting exhausted and paranoid. I had no idea what to think. We drove around and passed all the places we used to live, the old apartment in Catonsville and some stuff around campus. It was sort of like being driven around by your parents and shown all their old apartments. Finally, they dropped me off at 3:30, we hugged goodbye one last time, and I went int to try to get an hours sleep. I feel asleep right away, but woke at four thinking “I can’t believe this is happening. I’m leaving everyone. Then, somehow, I fell asleep again, but with a sad feeling.

In the morning, my composure came back, I used the bathroom, jammed a couple of last minute additions in my suitcase (my razor), and we hit the road. Saying goodbye at the airport, I hugged my parents and told them I loved them. When I finally hopped in the security line I glanced over my shoulder and they were already gone. I almost cried. We had all grown so much. They were used to the idea of me leaving now, and I had been through it before, but that didn’t make it any easier. I bet mom cried in the car. It still makes me sad thinking about it.

Now, I’m in the airport in Seattle waiting for me second flight. The first one was OK, but midway through I noticed that one of my teeth got chipped (the back of it, behind a filling, fell off). What a pain, and what bad timing!

Ah well. It doesn’t hurt; it just irritates my tongue. So here I am, listening to Japanese music, writing, and trying to record some of what’s happened over these past few crazy days. I’m tired, nervous, excited, horny, hungry, and bored all at the same time. It’s exhausting. More to come soon.

-R.D. 28