Volume 1: Chapter 2; Confronting the Snapping Turtle
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Volume 1: Chapter 2; Confronting the Snapping Turtle

 

The entire class of first years in their formal attire cluttered Nathan’s Hall. Murmurs danced like butterflies amidst the towering marble ceiling of the hall. Slightly smiling and leaning forward, I whisper:

 

(Victor) “Good morning.” 

 

Intentionally I release as much remnant alcohol breath as I can muster in the direction of yesterday’s nemesis.

 

Yelping loudly and attracting unnecessary attention, Harvey flails his skinny arms while feigning a face of anxiety.

 

(Harvey) “My lord Victor, do you have any concept of respect, and cordiality? What makes you think you can arrive late and scare the living shit out of me while your at it? For a moment there, I thought I saw a ghost!”

 

Harvey’s beady blue eyes combined with his short physique and blond hair earned him his high-school nickname ‘The Snapping Turtle’. While the name stuck because it accurately described his physique and personality, in reality, the name was created for an entirely different reason. 

 

While it might not appear so, Harvey is actually quite the tolerant easy-going guy. Though if you do manage to anger him, he will snap insults at you with a ferocity of a thousand bolts of lighting.

 

At this point our little charade was beginning to attract more attention than I expected on such gloomy morning. Diffusing the situation, I curled my arm around Harvey’s shoulders.

 

(Victor) “Next time you spike my drink and betroth it to me with such gusto I am going to tell your sister about your professor fetish.” 

 

Letting the message sink in, I casually sit down next to him, observing the growing fear ebbing from his wrinkled face.

 

(Harvey) “Have some leniency with me Victor! As young men of the fine Cascade University, and as Student level Experts of the Know, we have every right to embrace our subject paths to understand the power of expression! Do not forget your roots Victor. Our alma mater's principle was ‘Only by meditating with the Sage and frolicking with the Prostitute can one understand one’s path’.”

 

(Victor) “How idiotic are you? The principle was ‘Only by frolicking with the Sage and meditating with the Prostitute can one understand one’s path’. How can you forget that the whole point of the saying was to search for new inspiration in unlikely places?”

 

Harvey shrugs, turns, and pretends to ignore me.  

 

(Harvey) “Besides, you were never in any danger to begin with.”

 

(Victor) “My rudimentary understanding of ‘Poison’ heavenly knowledge is not an excuse to spike my drink. What if my understanding was not profound enough? Would you pay for my medical expenses?”

 

As I await Harvey’s obviously concocted response, a young chubby gentleman emerges from the teacher section and approaches the speaker’s podium in front. The now thick crowd of students begins to quiet down as the man clears his voice and prepares to speak.

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