The Smartest Girl in the Room (2 page)

"
DS-Nine
rocks- Sisko is awesome, and
Worf and Odo and Dax- but
The Next Generation
is just ‘eh’.
I’ve got all of them pretty much memorized because I’ve seen them
so many times, but unless the ship is in danger or Picard is saving
the Federation or meeting Spock’s dad, I can’t make myself
care."

"Yeah,
DS-Nine's
much better," Emily
nodded. "I think I love Garak."

"Argh!" Zainab put her hands on her ears.
"Guys, I’m going to turn into a Tribble or whatever if you don’t
stop!"

Emily lifted her arms. "I win the Geek-Off!"
She threw her head back in triumph, but as she did she saw the
clock. "Oh no!" She stood up and started gathering her stuff. "I’ve
got to run to the train or I’m going to be stranded. Sorry to meet
and leave, but-"

Mitch looked up. "Where do you live?"

"Newton."

"That’s on my way," Mitch said, standing up.
"I’m in Natick. I could give you a ride."

"I’d love that! And, um, Brookline’s on the
way too," she added quickly.

Mitch looked confused. "Brookline?"

"Yeah, that’s where Zainab lives." Emily
turned to Zainab. "I mean, I’d feel like a jerk getting a ride from
Zainab’s friend if she had to take the T."

Zainab made a face. "Em, I’m fine."

"I know you don’t have as far to go as I do,
but if you don’t catch the T soon, you might have to walk down
Huntington, and it’s getting cold."

"Walk down Huntington? Not on my watch."
Mitch put his hand on Zainab’s shoulder. "I would never forgive
myself if anything happened."

"Nothing is going to happen, I’ve done it a
bunch of times." But Zainab started getting up anyway.

"There’s a first time for everything," Mitch
said earnestly. "Did I mention I was mugged twice? One time some
guy shoved me over and took my wallet, the next time another took
my backpack and slammed me into a building so hard I had to be
taken to the hospital. Joke was on him though. All he got were my
Sociology notes."

Zainab's eyes widened. "You never mentioned
that. Where?"

"First time was right at the bottom of South
Huntington and Huntington. The second time was near, of all places,
the Christian Science Center."

"In that tiny little tunnel?" Emily
asked.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"I used to live around here, and I walked by
the Reflecting Pool and through that tunnel all the time. I never
had a problem, but I used to see all sorts of stuff in there."

Zainab blinked. "Stuff?"

"You know, sometimes you’d find
paraphernalia, sometimes you’d see partners."

Zainab pulled back. "Gross!"

Emily sighed. "If that’s how you feel, avoid
the magazine stacks at the Boston Public Library. Me, I never let a
little depravity get in the way of enjoying a good public
place."

"Are you serious?" Mitch shook his head. "I
grew up in New York, but I never saw any of that."

"New York?" The three had packed up their
stuff. Zainab lingered behind to say goodbye to the others while
Mitch and Emily slowly walked toward the door. "Which part?"

"Queens, of course," Mitch answered
matter-of-factly. "If you’re from New York, you’re either from
Queens or Brooklyn. The other boroughs are just there for the
tourists."

"Right? I was born in Manhattan, but I lived
in Queens for a few years before we came to Boston. And my mom has
family in Brooklyn."

"No kidding? My dad is from Brooklyn." Mitch
smiled. "So," he said after a few seconds, "what brought you to
Boston?"

"Long story." Zainab joined them at the door.
Emily put her arm around her neck. "Zainab’s is much more
interesting."

"Let’s hear it!"

Zainab launched into the winding story of her
life: the idyllic first years in Africa, her father’s tragic death,
her mother’s whirlwind remarriage in London and her crazy combined
family’s adventures through South America and California.

By the time Zainab was finished, the three
were warming up Mitch’s car: Mitch in the driver’s seat, Zainab in
the back, and Emily in the passenger seat. Emily sat back and
sighed. It was so nice to be in a car and not the bus or train.
Better not get used to it.

Mitch was impressed. "Wow. So where’s the
family now?"

"They’re in upstate New York, where all
respectable people end up eventually."

Emily gagged. "There is nothing respectable
about the suburbs. Most of the people who live there are so bored
they’ll do anything, whether it’s open marriages, swapping or hard
core dealing. I’d feel safer being in a crack house in the roughest
part of Boston than the most elite suburb."

Mitch laughed. "I can promise you that there
is no dealing or swapping going on at my house, and I’m not sure my
parents could get an open marriage going. I had a great time in
Natick. Maybe I lived in a parallel universe?"

"Oh God, stop!" Zainab threw her head back.
"I feel a Trek recap coming on."

Emily giggled. "Okay, okay," she said, "but
I’d much rather talk about swapping, drugs or Trek than finals. I’m
starting to get nervous."

Mitch turned his head. "Finals are about five
weeks away."

Emily sighed. "I’m taking an extra
class."

Zainab shook her head in disgust and turned
to Mitch. "And she’s one of those annoying people who actually went
through the syllabus and read everything already."

"And next quarter you will too," Emily
pointed at her reprovingly.

Zainab scoffed. "Why, if you’re still so
stressed out about it?"

"I stress to get an A, not so I can
pass."

Mitch looked at Zainab in the rearview
mirror. "Do I have to start dragging you out of Cappuccino Princess
at a certain time from now on?"

"Anyway, what are you doing tomorrow night?"
She nudged Emily. "I think you can afford to give studying a rest
for one night."

She just had to use the word "afford". "What
did you have in mind?" Emily asked reluctantly.

"Something simple, like dancing all
night."

Emily smiled. That was never simple, but it
was fun. She did a quick calculation. "I’ll do it on two
conditions: One, you let me spend the night afterward-"

"Done."

"And you spend the next day studying with me-
in the library or your house- not at a coffee shop."

"Fine," Zainab groaned.

Mitch cleared his throat really loudly.
"And...what about me?"

"You’re not going to be heads down with
Joe?"

Mitch shook his head. "Wow. Have I been
reduced to Joe Welles for my Friday nights?"

"You know he’d love that," Emily said
softly.

He grinned as he pulled in front of Zainab’s
building. "Should I see if he wants to join us?"

Emily cursed under her breath. "Yeah, I
wanted to study tomorrow anyway."

"Oh, shut up," Zainab said as she opened the
door. "You’re coming out with me- and apparently Mitch."

"I’ll keep the evil Mr. Welles away," Mitch
whispered with a smile. Before she could say anything, he called
out to Zainab. "You’ll tell me where tomorrow?"

Zainab gave him thumbs up. "And I’ll see if I
can round up everyone else."

"It’s a plan!"

Zainab waved to them both and then winked to
Emily when Mitch turned away. Emily opened her mouth, but Zainab
smiled and walked into her building.

Mitch turned the ignition and revved the
engine. "So… where to?"

"How well do you know Newton?"

"Route Nine, Comm. Ave, Washington
Street-"

"Ding ding ding! If you know Washington
Street, you can find me pretty easily."

Mitch started driving. "How bad are Zainab’s
classes going?"

"I exaggerate, but she under represents. I
don’t think she’ll fail but she's definitely lost momentum."

"You’re a good friend to care so much about
it."

"Thanks but I know what it’s like to be the
smart person filled with unrealized potential. It sucks."

"You haven’t always been Little Miss Straight
A’s?"

"I’ve never been Little Miss Anything, and
especially not in high school."

Mitch smiled. "Tell me about high
school."

"You first. Tell me a little bit about
yourself."

"What’s to tell? I live in Natick, I’m in the
SGC, I’m a senior-"

"Big man on campus."

"And what year are you? Let me guess.
Middler?"

"Wrong on two counts."

"How can I be wrong on two counts when I made
one guess?"

"I should be a sophomore, but I’m actually
pretty close to getting the credits I need to graduate, so I’m
technically sort of a junior."

"Huh?"

"When I was in high school, I took some AP
classes. I could have gotten better grades, but I did well enough
on the tests that they gave me enough credit to come in as a
sophomore. On top of that, I literally had nothing better to do the
summer after high school, so I decided to take some classes over
the summer."

"How many?"

"Four. Anyway, then I took extra classes
throughout my first year, so last semester I was halfway through
middler year. By the time this quarter is over, I’ll be a junior.
And if I keep going at this pace, I’ll be done by the end of
June."

"I’m sure you’re a very hard worker," he said
after a moment, "but that doesn’t add up. You should still be just
about finishing middler year."

"Oh right, I didn’t take summers or any other
quarters off. I’ve been going straight through."

They stopped at a traffic light. "I think I
would have lost my mind by now."

Emily closed her eyes. "I sort of have."

"Insanity notwithstanding, I wish I had done
that, but I don’t think I could dedicate myself like that."

"Great segue, because we were talking about
you," Emily smiled. "What have you been doing in place of racing
through school?"

"Sorry, what did you say?" Mitch asked. Emily
pursed her lips, irritated that he was ignoring her question. "So
you’re what, twenty?"

"I will tell you as soon as you get me home-
by the way, bear left in two sets of lights- if you answer my
question."

Mitch had to make the turn quickly.
"Fraternity," he said quickly. "I was in a fraternity."

"Oh," Emily said after a moment.

"Was being the operative word. I am gone, I
am out, and I am never going back."

My, how strident
, she thought.
"Why?"

"Because they asked me to leave."

"Did you kill someone?" she asked finally. "I
know this is a stereotype, but I was under the impression that
anything went at frats, short of maybe that."

Mitch raised his eyebrows. "No, I didn’t kill
anyone. What I did was much worse. I told them to stop hazing."

"Hazing? Why, other than that it’s illegal
and immoral?"

"That pretty much covers it. And I’d be lying
if I said I never participated before, but it got worse."

"How so?"

"There’s a difference between making your
pledges walk home ten miles in the rain and making them drink in
your basement until they vomit, and then making them drink some
more."

"I don’t know, how cold was it when it was
raining?"

Mitch threw up his hands. "Not so cold that
they couldn’t shake it off with some hot coffee."

"Or alcohol?"

"Or alcohol. But I was not looking forward to
dragging some unconscious eighteen-year-old to the emergency room
with alcohol poisoning." He looked at something off in the horizon.
"Maybe I just didn’t have enough to drink myself one night. There
is something about a roomful of sloshed up, slightly sadistic guys
that loses its appeal if you don’t have your own buzz going."

"And that’s when you told them to stop
hazing?"

"I did one better than that. I told them to
stop, they didn’t stop, and then I reported them to our regionals,
who of course found no corroborating evidence. And then within the
week they voted me out. Hence, Natick."

Emily smiled sympathetically. "I’m sorry,
especially about Natick. How long has it been?"

"Three months."

"Do you still talk to any of those guys?"

"My ‘brothers’? They send me emails all the
time to let me know what a jerk I am. But that’s fine because I’m
going to be sure that all of the incoming freshmen next year know
what they have to look forward to."

"And that’s why you joined student
government." Emily said, thinking more. "And that’s why you're on
budget review. You want to limit their funding."

He made the turn at the light. "Ding ding
ding! I can’t let it go on."

"I respect that." Mitch looked at her.
"Really. It takes a lot of courage to stand up for your principles,
especially when your friends don’t approve."

"Thank you, but I don’t know if it’s courage.
Once the thought came to me, I couldn’t let it go. I had to follow
it through."

"No matter the consequences?"

"No matter the consequences."

"If you don’t want to be brave, you’ll just
have to be dedicated after all. Ooh, that’s the next turn-
sorry!"

They pulled up in front of her house. "So, is
that enough information? Are we even now?"

"Even Steven!" He laughed. "But I think
you’ll have to tell me about high school next time."

"Deal, but then you’ll have to do the
same."

Emily nodded in agreement. She found herself
looking at Mitch’s now glowing green eyes. She looked down. "So...
thank you so much for the ride, you have no idea…"

"It’s not Natick, but this is pretty far from
school. How do you usually get home?"

"Actually, the fifty-seven bus gets off
pretty much right here."

"But you have to switch lines from school.
That settles it." Now Mitch looked down. "You’re just going to have
to let me know the next time you need a ride home."

"That’s really nice of you but I couldn’t let
you drive all this way for me."