Monica and I
Pairing Music
Today was the first day back to school. On the university campus, there was that familiar buzz. Girls with long hair, standing in small groups, laughing a little too loudly trying to act at ease. Guys walking tall, eyes behind sunglasses, looking at all the girls in the small circles.
Although I am a professor the energy of the first day always lands me in a glorious bout of nostalgia. I can see Monica and I picking out prospective dates. She would always say something like, “Three o’clock, three o’clock, hurry!” And I would look, the wrong way, and she would say, “Not nine o’clock you dumb ass!” And I would hurry and look the other way and she would nearly scream “NOT SO OBVIOUS!” And then my eyes would dart to the ground. And I would laugh. And she would finish with, “Way to blow it! Now he knows I that I love him”. And the whole time she’d be joking and laughing to subdue that first day angst.
Other times we’d nudge each other and throw a nod in the direction of a strange dude, wearing way-too-tight pants, or a guy picking his nose and say, “What’s your boyfriend doing here?” On certain occasions we’d notice that someone resembled a person we knew, or a celebrity. “Dude, that guy looks like Tom Hanks, but younger!” One of us, would always trip, usually over our own feet. Typically it was me that fell, but she had been known to tumble as well. Those first day nerves got the best of us, even though we thought we were so cool.
Once or twice in the first day mayhem, we’d be walking and as we passed a cute guy I’d say, “Excuse me? My friend here…” and I’d point to Monica, and say, “she likes you.” Monica would throw an elbow into my side and speed up her walk before the guy had a chance to stop. I laugh and rub out the pain in my side from her jab as I jogged to catch up with her.
We had a favorite game we’d play called, what would you do? And on first days of whatever we had, we’d play it more than usual. The game had no beginning, middle, end or objective for that matter. But we loved it. “What would you do if I wore that sweater?” And of course she’d be talking about some hideous sweater an old lady professor was wearing that had quilted images of sailboats or a cat. “What would you do if I laughed like that?” And I’d hear an annoying girl fake laughing a few feet away. “What would you do if I walked like that?” And I’d point to a too-tall and thin student walking on their toes. By the time we’d reach our first class we were exhausted and still not ready. We were never ready for what was ahead of us. Then again, who really is?
How immature we were. Now, nearly twenty years later, I find myself trying not to laugh as I imagine the two of us making jokes, embarrassing each other, one first day after another.
We live 2,000 miles away now. There are still text messages that carry somewhat of the same content, the same humor. And I miss it. Today, as I walked across campus, I imagined Monica and I standing off to the side, buterflies in our stomachs, pretending to look for something to seem busy, while we subtly observed everything around us.
If I could I’d whisper to myself across the dimensions of time and I would say…"
