Chapter 7
As the end of November approached, Sydney thought more and more seriously about what to do for Michael’s birthday. More than anything she wished she could throw him a birthday party or, at the very least, take him out to a nice birthday dinner, and not at The In-Between’s fast food restaurant either. Sadly, they could do none of that, but she managed to come up with a replacement celebration that she thought to be almost as good.
Since they’d only been officially dating for a little more than two months, Sydney didn’t feel an extravagant gift was appropriate. Instead, she bought him a DVD and made him a birthday cake. Transporting the cake from her house to the library was somewhat complex, but she managed to accomplish it in a large Tupperware container carefully hidden in a duffle bag.
At the library, she dragged Michael up to the third floor, bag in hand, where there was a table. There they had a small impromptu party, despite the dusty stacks surrounding them. Michael loved his cake and appreciated her gesture greatly.
December brought the first snowfalls for both East and West Lasonvia. Along with them came a problem for Michael. Walking far distances in the warm sun on a perfect day, was one thing, but walking in the bitter cold and snow was quite another. As much as he wanted to see Sydney frequently, his treks to the library became more and more impractical. They’d make plans to meet, but a sudden snow storm would spoil them and they’d be forced to cancel. At one point, around Christmas, they were forced to go two weeks without any in-person contact and only one phone call late on Christmas Day to wish each other a happy holiday.
A few days after the New Year, Sydney and Michael finally made concrete plans to see each other. Rain or snow, they were going to get together; it had been too long already. As Sydney was leaving the house that evening shortly after dinner, she was armed with a bag full of blankets and a few other things to keep them both entertained in the lonely library. Before she could slip out the front door, though, she was intercepted with her mother. Standing directly in front of the front door with her arms folded over her chest, scowl across her face, her mother was obviously displeased. “And where, exactly, are you going this evening?”
“Um…library,” Sydney answered automatically. Ever since she and Michael had started dating (a term she used very loosely since they didn’t exactly go out on ‘dates’), she would always tell her mother she was going to the library if going to see him, even if she knew they were going to the ice cream shop; it was just easier that way.
“Really?” her mother asked, her tone sounding more annoyed than anything else. “You don’t find it odd that you’re going to the library when you don’t currently have any classes since you’re between terms at school?”
“Um…,” Sydney began. Her heart began to pound and she knew she was blushing furiously. Truthfully, she hadn’t thought of that at all.
“I’m not completely ignorant as you may think, Sydney,” her mother continued. “I know you’ve been sneaking off to see some boy and-”
“No, Mom, I really am going to the library!” Sydney insisted.
“Sydney that you would continue this lie is just insulting and-”
“But I am!” Sydney said. Technically, that part was not a lie; she really was going to the library. “I am going to the library… I just… meet a guy there,” she added quieter.
“So all this time I thought you were studying you were sneaking off with a boy? How many months has this been going on Sydney?” her mother demanded.
“No, no, no I do study… most of the time… Michael and I study together!” Sydney told her.
“Michael?” she asked.
“Yes, Michael, my boyfriend,” Sydney told her in a sheepish way, directing her eyes to the floor.
“I see and why is it that you and Michael meet at the library? It may be a while since I’ve dated, but that does not exactly seem conventional to me,” her mother said, her tone indicating that she knew her daughter was still keeping something from her.
“It’s complicated,” Sydney mumbled. “We’ll talk about it later, okay? I really have to go now,” she sighed. Then, she slipped past her mother and headed out to her car. After the twenty-five minute drive, she met Michael a few hundred yards away from the Western boarder like usual. “Hey,” she greeted him with a sigh and a very lackluster kiss.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, concerned.
“It’s just… well, my mom intercepted me as I was leaving and since I don’t technically have classes right now the whole ‘I’m going to the library’ excuse didn’t work…”
“Uh oh,” Michael cringed.
“Yeah, so now she’s on my case about what I’m doing and stuff,” Sydney sighed.
“Yeah, mine is too. Then again, she’s hated every girlfriend I’ve ever had so… that’s not really surprising,” he laughed softly.
“She’s hated all your girlfriends?” Sydney asked. Michael nodded. “Oh and…um, how many was that exactly?” she asked cautiously. Thought they’d talked about many things, the subject of prior romances had never come up. Sydney had thought about asking a few times, but was too shy to.
“Oh not too many. I was always really shy around girls and too afraid to go up to them. I had a few girlfriends though, only because they asked me out… what about you?” he asked, thinking that it was a fair question while they were on the subject.
“Well you know how I went to that all girls school for like all my life,” she laughed somewhat awkwardly.
“I take it dates weren’t too abundant there,” Michael said, also laughing.
“Obviously not. I’ve had a few boyfriends in college though – two. Two boyfriends… but neither were all that serious,” she explained.
Michael nodded with a small smile. “So what exactly are we going to do this evening?”
“Oh well I brought along a Christmas gift from my father we might find useful. It’s one of those personal DVD players. The screen’s only like three inches square, but it works,” she smiled at him. “OH and I brought a blanket we can… cuddle under if you wanna…”
“Sounds great,” he smiled back at her.
dont forget to check OI if you're interested in Fear of Flying (well in a few mins anyway...)
