Equilibrium

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

After Tyler and I finish unpacking, we hear a knock on our door. Tyler and I exchange puzzled looks before he goes to answer the door.

"Hi." I hear Jennifer say as she walks in with Kelcey walking in timidly behind her.

"How'd you know our room number?" Tyler asks.

"The rooms each have a book with all that information in it." Jennifer says before she adds "I found Kelcey's room and then we headed to yours. Anyway, there's a cafe on campus. I thought it'd cool to check it out.".

"Sure, let's go." Tyler says.

Jennifer leads us to the cafe with the map of the university she got. I don't know how they fit a map of the whole university on a piece of paper, but they somehow managed.

On the way, we see parts of the university we hadn't been by earlier. I'm not an architect buff, but I'm amazed at the grandeur of the whole University. From sky scraping arcs to imposing pillars, this place has got it all.

I laugh at the attempts at intimidation some of the upper class-men try to muster; but I'm also aware that some aren't acting. For example, the air Alchemist who hurt Tyler earlier. The look on my face dares anyone to try to hurt a friend of mine.

Wow. Even the cafe looks like it was made in Greece. I was expecting a more modern style at the cafe, but I appreciate the consistent scenery of the University.

We walk into the cafe and the assortment of food is beyond belief. We walk over to the line and it's surprisingly short. It only takes us a few minutes to get to the front of the line.

"Whadaya want?" the women behind the counter asks.

"Where's the price menu?" I ask.

"There is none," the women answers, as if she's said the same line thousands of times, "everything on campus is free for students."

At the sound of that, I get a croissant, a pastry I've never seen before, and a coffee. Tyler just gets a biscuit and coffee. When we get to the table, I notice that Jennifer gets more than anyone, and Kelcey gets less than anyone.

"So," Jennifer begins, "what are your schedules?".

"Oh, we didn't even look." I reply.

"Well I got all advanced classes, besides my actual element class, which is the same level for all freshman." Jennifer tells us proudly.

"That's very impressive." Kelcey says.

"Thanks, did you look at your schedule?" Jennifer asks Kelcey.

"Yes, but nothing out of the ordinary or advanced." Kelcey says.

Throughout the conversation Tyler stays quiet. I wonder why the sudden change in his regularly social personality; I noticed he was quiet on the tour of the university as well.

We have some boring conversations, and I almost see Kelcey start a conversation, until Jennifer pipes up.

"I saw some upper class-men picking on a few freshmen earlier. Did you see anything like that?" Jennifer asks us.

Tyler and I glance at each other, and Tyler looks uneasy. So I jump in. "Yes, actually. But Tyler here stood up to them and they stopped bugging the freshman."

Tyler gives me a puzzled look, but Jennifer has already gobbled this information up.

"Wow, that's so brave." Jennifer says admiring Tyler.

"Yeah, I don't think I could do that." Kelcey tells Tyler.

"Me neither." Tyler says, "That was someone else. Ken must've just mistaken them as me."

What? Why would he deny that? I know he knows I made that up, but why not roll with it?

After that, there's an air of awkwardness to our conversation. You could drive a pick-up truck through the pauses. We finish and decide to go to our own rooms. We need to get prepared for tomorrow, it's the first day of classes for us.

Once we get to our room, I look at Tyler.

"Hey, Tyler. Why'd you deny that you stood up to someone?" I ask.

"Because I didn't." he replies.

"You know what I mean. They were so impressed. Why'd you deny it?" I persist.

"I know why you said it. But it would've been better if you would have just told the truth." Tyler says calmly.

"How would that be better?" I ask, obviously missing something.

"Nothing." Tyler says. I know better though.

"What? You can be honest with me." I let him know.

There's a long pause; but I stand expectantly. Tyler knows he can't get out of this. My stubbornness does come in handy at times.

"Because....Because if you told them the truth then they would be less likely to like me." Tyler says. Just when I didn't think I could get any more lost.

"What do you mean?" I ask, dumfounded.

"If people don't like me, then they won't get hurt." Tyler says.

"What do you mean? You wouldn't hurt anyone, unless you had good reasons." I tell him.

"You don't get it." Tyler says.

"Then educate me." I say.

He let's out a sigh. He's getting ready to tell me something. As if persuading himself to tell me.

"My mom died the day I was born. My mere existence killed her." Tyler says with hesitance bound to his voice. It took a lot for him to tell me that.

I begin to tell him the obvious, that that is not true and it's not his fault; but he interrupts me. I didn't think he had the ability to interrupt.

"It doesn't stop there. I had my first girlfriend in seventh grade, she had heart problems. She would have scares but it would always be fixed with a few days at the hospital. One day, she had a scare. Only, it wasn't just a scare." Tyler looks away and after a few moments he musters the strength to go on.

"But at least I had my best friend through all of this. His name was Brian, and he was an Alchemist like me. He helped me after my first girlfriend. Everything was fine, he helped teach me how to deal with things and let them roll off of me. One day last year, on the way to our neighborhood, a car came by with its windows down. The passenger shot at me, but Brian jumped in front of me. He saved me, but not himself." Tyler's voice is cracking frequently now.

I embrace him for at least five minutes. Tears are falling down both of Tyler's cheeks by now, but he makes no sound. As if he has practiced crying without being heard for years now.

I step back and grab his shoulders. "Listen to me." I say. "You are not the root of death. All of those people cared so much about you. And they are so proud of how strong you've been, so you've got to prove that their deaths weren't for nothing. You've got to continue making them proud, just as you have your whole life."

"I-I will. I just-I just don't know how." Tyler says between staccato, deep breaths.

"With the help of a good friend." I say. "And I'm not going anywhere."