In New York You Can Be a New Man

Chapter Twelve

"Wake up, sleepy head." John said, tickling Alexander's nose with his paintbrush.

Alexander sneezed and rubbed his eyes in an attempt to knock John's hand away.

"Just five more minutes—" Alexander muttered, rolling away from John. 

"Wake up or else I'm playing Miley Cyrus and I know how much you dislike her music."

"Okay, okay!" Alexander called, climbing slowly out of his bed. 

Once Alexander got out of bed, John linked his arm through Alexander's and pulled him through the door. 

"W-what—where are we going?" Alexander sputtered, stumbling to keep pace with John and his large stride.

"C'mon! I invited the whole squad to come eat breakfast with us; after all, we didn't get time to give you a birthday breakfast yesterday!" 

Alexander felt his cheeks warm with the memories of yesterday. Thinking back on it, he really shouldn't have consumed that much alcohol. It was practically a miracle that he didn't have a hangover—maybe birthday magic?

Alexander blinked as he was hit with a blast of cold, air-conditioned cafeteria air, his body still not fully awake. Almost immediately, a group gathered around Alexander, giving hugs and saying happy birthday wishes. 

Maybe college birthdays weren't as bad as he thought it would be.

--

"I bet you can't eat more pancakes than me."

"You want to go, Mulligan?"

"Bring it on, turtle man." 

At that, John let out an indignant gasp. "Have you know, turtles are actually totally awesome animals! Oh, by the way, it's on."

Alexander watched with half interest, slowly shoveling scrambled eggs into his own mouth. After the boys' third pancakes, Alexander turned his interest back to his debate notes. After all, the debate was in a week. 

At the sound of "Eat! Eat! Eat!", the Schuyler sisters had drifted over to their table and were cheering on the boys.

Eliza, however, was consoling Alexander and massaging his shoulders. 

"Alex, you'll do fine! I'm sure you'll hand Jefferson's butt right back to him. Don't sweat it! If you  need to practice debate, you are always welcome at my dorm!" Eliza's melodic voice murmured into Alexander's ear, and he turned to face her with a smile.

"Eliza, what would I do without you. You are surely the best of friends and the best of women." Alexander whispered back as John started devouring his fifth pancake with Hercules tight on his heels. 

In the end, both finished ten pancakes, so they had to call it a draw (even though John claimed that he won by a landslide). 

"Ugh, I don't think I can walk again..." John moaned, as he hugged his stomach and glared at Hercules. "This is all your fault. If you hadn't insulted my precious babies, maybe we would be able to properly stand without hurling." 

Hercules chuckled, but his laughter quickly morphed into retching noises. Eliza sighed and patted Hercules' back. 

--

The group dispersed and headed back to their dorms. Before long, Alexander had retired to his computer and was writing and essay about his views on the current presidential race. His fingers were flying across the keys, and John contentedly listened to Alexander's angry mumbling. 

John had at first been annoyed at Alexander's constant muttering of words, but that trait had eventually grew to become an endearment. 

Once John had finished eating the small pile of strawberries that he had snuck out of the cafeteria, John turned to his computer to type his essay on equal rights. 

The two boys worked tirelessly throughout the day, and soon after eleven, both had completed the said essays. Alexander was ready to launch into another practice essay session on the debate, but John refused to make Alexander work anymore.

"Fine. If you aren't going to help me win this debate, I'll go beg Eliza to help me." Alexander sighed, gathering his books and slipping out the door. 

John figured that Alexander wouldn't be back for another few hours, so he glanced at his notebook. He could go and draw turtles at the art studio, or he could write another essay on law. 

It was a very hard choice for John; it took him less than a second to grab his book and jog out the room to the art hall. 

The air outside was warm, and John was grateful for the heat. In his forgetful rush to get out of the room, he had forgotten to grab a jacket in precaution against cold weather. 

The art hall was relatively empty, only a few students populated the seats. Peggy, a digital artist, waved at John. John felt a grin slip across his face as he shot a quick thumbs-up back. John took his seat at the back of the room, setting the book down and standing up to get his toolbox. 

Peggy joined John at the counter, and he chuckled at her choice in clothes. 

"Hey, Peggs! I didn't think that overalls and crop tops could be worn together, but then we have you rocking it, so." John said encouragingly.

Peggy was always the forgotten Schuyler sister, so in an attempt to be noticed, Peggy would always throw together the most eye-catching outfit she could. Most of the time, Peggy's outfit inspired Hercules and some fashion majors to take notes, but despite her efforts, her sisters were too more popular and well known for her to shine. 

Peggy giggled and bumped her shoulder into his. "You're too kind, John!"

The two of them laughed and parted ways, John carrying his box and Peggy balancing a new cup of coffee from the maker on the counter. 

When John returned to his table, he sat down in the seat, prepared to begin painting. Once he flipped open the cover, he realized something strange about his notebook.

All the pages were filled with cramped, tiny handwriting—not sketches. In horror, John flipped the book's cover closed, and took in the golden "A. Hamilton" on the cover. 

Internally, John banged his head on the table for walking all the way to the art room with a notebook that wasn't his. Then an idea dawned on him. 

Maybe he could finally figure out what Alexander was thinking. Maybe he wouldn't have to read between the lines when it came to his elusive roommate. John debated with himself for a moment and made his decision. 

Taking a deep breath, John flipped the book open. 

***

Well, that escalated quickly... Anyways, this chapter was kinda wild and some OOC but you know. I try, okay. Have a great rest of the week! :)

Also, a small note from me to John: WHAT THE HECK DO YOU THINK YOU WILL BE ACCOMPLISHING BY BREAKING INTO THAT NOTEBOOK HUH?