The Drumbeat Years (girlxgirl)

4

4

15th. November 1988

Despite her disappointment, Tina tried her best to continue as though nothing had happened. She still attended classes, including English, and tried her best to keep her motivation. But, as the days wore on, the whole sorry mess began to weigh on her. She couldn't blame Dawn. She was a tutor and she had her own life to lead. The childish crush of a girl like Tina was not Dawn's problem.

She had, however, stopped meeting Dawn at the end of the day. She couldn't face it. Seeing Dawn in class felt bad enough, but to walk beside her every night proved too much for Tina to handle. It wasn't as though Dawn had encouraged her, or turned her away. The tutor had accepted it without complaint or admonishment.

After a few days, however, Tina's drive began to stall. Assignments became a drag once again and, more than once, she didn't bother going to any classes at all. She would spend the day in the city, browsing the latest expansion modules for AD&D. Sitting in one library or another, working on her own world. Her own campaign and characters that she would never show to anyone. Not anymore, at least.

Kyle had noticed, of course. Her, relatively, new friend had come to know her well in the short time they had spent together. He tried his best, but even his attempts at raising her spirits had little affect. At this rate, she could see herself failing all the courses and she couldn't find it within herself to care.

She found herself sat at her and Kyle's favourite spot, for lunch, chewing on a plain cheese sandwich as she made more notes for her campaign. If nothing else, she had expanded the lore and history of her fantasy world. She had even written a few short stories to help her get a better understanding of the customs and politics, using writing techniques learned in Dawn's class.

"Can I join you?" The voice caused Tina to stiffen, her pen scratching a line upon the page of her notebook.

"Umm, sure. I guess." Her legs, already folded upon the wall to use her knees as a rest, tightened closer to her body, crushing the notebook against her chest.

Dawn placed both hands on top of the wall and heaved herself up, twisting to sit with her back against the wall of the building. She dangled one leg over the side, curling the other in almost the same fashion as Tina. For a second, she didn't look at Tina. Instead, she reached into the pocket of her jacket, taking out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

"Kyle told me you'd be here." Squinting as she lit a cigarette, Dawn drew in a lungful of smoke before releasing it. She rested her hand upon her raised knee, the smoke from the cigarette trickling upwards. "It's a quiet place."

"Those things will kill you, you know." Tina pointed her pen at the cigarette and Dawn looked at the burning cylinder as though she had only seen it this second.

"Not if I get there first." She took another drag, paused and let the smoke gush from her lungs. With a glance at Tina, Dawn shrugged, pressing the cigarette into the empty flower bed atop the wall. "I shouldn't smoke on campus, anyway."

They lapsed into an awkward silence with Tina tapping her pen on the edge of her notebook, looking anywhere but at Dawn. Dawn, however, continued to look at Tina, her expression unreadable. Apart from not meeting her at the end of the day, Tina had tried her best not treat Dawn any different than before. This felt as though Dawn examined her under a microscope.

"I've not been walking with you because I've had to get home early." Blurting out the words, Tina felt like an idiot, heat rising in her cheeks. "I've had ... things to do ... for my mum ... and dad."

"That's okay." Bouncing her hand, that still rested on her knee, Dawn picked at her thumbnail with a neighbouring finger. "I'm worried about your work. No, not worried. I'm curious. That first story was really good. Really good. Every subsequent story has declined in quality. When you've done the assignment that is."