Chapter 75: Nolan

Nolan

My phone has been going off every few minutes since I woke up this morning. That’s the problem with having a sister. She thinks you care about anything that involves rumors or celebrity gossip. After the tenth text, I silenced her messages so I could get in a few extra minutes of sleep. It’s my first official day as a TA since my class time was cut short when I had to help that girl…Bryn. She’s been popping up in my thoughts here and there since that day. I keep wondering if she’s okay and then the comments her boyfriend made to me before I left. The guy was crazy, no doubt about it, but it piqued my interest and I did some research on poly relationships.

I do not know what I was expecting to find, but what I found is that the dynamics mostly revolve around one man and several women. One woman and several men are not as common, and yet they were making it work. How? The idea of sharing a girlfriend sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. The jealousy alone would case a huge problem, but it’s more than that. Poly relationships are illegal in many states, and that’s no small thing. Some more progressive states have stopped prosecuting it, but marriage in those situations isn’t possible. So why do it?

Not that people have to get married to be in an official relationship, but what if the woman wanted to get married? Who would she pick and how would the other guys feel about it? The whole concept is outrageous and eventually I gave up trying to make sense of it. Still, the girl has been in my mind ever sense and I have been actively trying to think of anything else. I’m not here to mess around with some girl with two boyfriends. I don’t want to be involved in any petty drama. My future is too important for that, and relationships always get so dirty when you’re in the medical field.

Girlfriends want your time and attention, but if you work in a hospital, then you have very little of both to give. I’m going to be a teacher which will keep me busy as well, and I don’t think any woman will be okay with how I spend my time.

When my official alarm goes off, I get out of bed and head for the bathroom. I flip the light on and look at myself in the mirror. My sister insisted on me getting a haircut before I got here and it’s still weird to see myself like this. This is the shortest it’s ever been. My hair is wavy, so when it was longer, it would drop over my forehead and made me look like a surfer guy, but I liked it. Obviously, being a TA and eventually a professor, I had to give that up. It’s not professional having floppy curly hair as a professor. This new haircut makes me look a lot more mature too, which is going to be important as one of the youngest TAs on campus.

I keep my shower quick and grab my phone when I head back into my room to change. Like I thought, I have around ten texts from Piper with another coming in as I unlock my phone.


*Piper: oh my gosh, your school is famous!
Piper: Do you know people on the hockey team because I would love an introduction! They’re hot!
Piper: Also, this girl everyone is talking about is super cute! She’s definitely my new girl crush.*


That last one has me a little surprised. As far as I know, my sister has never dated a girl or mentioned an interest in doing so. Have I been so out of it that I missed any signs of this? I quickly reply to that one.


*Me: Are you interested in dating women?*


She answers right away.


*Piper: Finally you reply! And I’m not currently into women, but with the kind of guys I’ve been meeting, who knows? Men are quickly becoming overrated.

Me: Thanks. I’m glad to be part of an ever devolving class of human being.

Piper: Chill out bro! You’re a special case, but unfortunately, like many good men, you have made yourself unavailable to the poor females in the world still hoping to find a guy that isn’t a total trash canoe. *


What on earth is a trash canoe? Nevermind, I don’t need to know.


*Me: If you aren’t interested in women, why did you say you have a girl crush?*


Why am I even entertaining anything she says?


*Piper: It’s just a saying. Like if I was into women, I would go for her. You know?

Me: Can’t say I do.

Piper: Okay, old man. So about the hockey players… (Smirk emoji)

Me: I met two, but it was a brief and unusual exchange. I met the girl as well. She fainted in class and I had to take her to the hospital.

Piper: What?! No way! Did you get her number? Maybe I will try my luck at dating in my genre.

Me: I didn’t get her number. I barely got her name.

Piper: Yeah, well, the whole world knows her name, so you aren’t that special.

Me: What do you mean?

Piper: Seriously, bro? Check out the links I sent you.*


I scroll up and see she’s sent me links to both twitter and Instagram. The twitter link is first so I start there. When I open the link, I see a picture of the three people from the hospital. The two guys have their hands on the girl’s stomach and are kissing both of her cheeks. She’s smiling brightly and her eyes crinkle a little in the corners, showing genuine happiness. Her smile only adds to her beauty, which is not good for me. This girl has caught my interest and I don’t like it. I’m going to be the TA for her class, and I can’t give any illusion of favoritism since I will be grading papers often. No, I can’t let my appreciation for her looks to cloud my judgment.

Instead of opening any of the other links, I lock my phone and finish getting ready. Unfortunately, that photo has only been added to the roll of pictures in my mind of this girl, but it’s for the pure reason of appreciating a beautiful woman. There are a lot of beautiful women in the world, so this is no different. Right. I quickly send a text to Piper to ask her what I should wear today. She says if I had a girlfriend then I wouldn’t have to depend on her for this, and then proceeded to help me, anyway.

She chose a light blue button-up shirt that is made out of very soft material. Not the kind you would find on a basic dress shirt, and I have to admit I like this better. I pull on a dark blue sweater over it and khaki pants with my dark Oxford boots. My dark-rimmed glasses come next and with a bit of gel that I run through the longest parts of my hair, I’m ready.

I’m not much of a breakfast person, so I choose a coffee smoothie made with a coffee extract mushroom powder mixture with some soy milk, plant protein powder with chia and flax, and some frozen bananas. I pour up my smoothie mixture into a large tumbler and grab a water bottle from the fridge.

This place is small with appliances to match. My fridge looks like the kind they used in the fifties, and barley works. So I only store drinks in it and have been eating out for every meal since I arrived. It’s not ideal, but until I can find a better place, I’ll have to deal with it.

I head for the door and grab my shoulder bag, keys, and my coat. Just like my apartment, I was only able to find a small car. Small as in a smart car. I didn’t think they still made them, but since I’ve been forced to climb into one, I can say that they still do. It’s a tight fit, but somehow I’ve managed to fit myself inside. I only use it to go to campus since it’s too far to walk, but otherwise I’ve taken to walking almost everywhere.

When I get closer to campus, I notice a crowd forming in the lot in front of the medical building. I quickly turn in but park a good distance away and when I climb out of my car, I see the crowd has formed around a car with two people inside. People have their phones pointed at the window and some are yelling at whoever is inside. I move closer to the passenger side and see a familiar face. It’s the girl from the hospital and she looks terrified.

So much for not getting involved. There is something that tugs at the sight of seeing her so scared, and I can’t sit back and do nothing. She needs help, and I seem to be the one meant to save her…again.