The Piano Knows Something I Don't Know

What is friendship?

What is friendship?

Needless to say, I returned to the Aubergine the next night and every night after that. Every time I came back there, I found something new to love about Brendon, from his energetic nature to his nearly endless array of sparkly suits. Each night, I came home at an absurdly late time, as I spent more and more time chatting with Brendon after the show. I hoped that Patrick wouldn't notice, and as far as I could tell, he didn't. I wasn't getting much sleep, especially with Patrick waking me up at five o'clock in the morning and the Greek Friendship Society partying through the night, but it was worth it just to see Brendon every night.

A few weeks after I started at the Aubergine, Patrick entered our shared dorm room just as I was opening my paycheck from all of my piano playing. I stuffed the envelope under my bed as he opened the door, and he didn't seem to notice anything. "Hey Ryan," Patrick said as he adjusted his glasses.

"Hi Patrick," I said. "What's going on?"

"I was just wondering if you had heard about the party here at Flack Hall," Patrick said.

"No, I haven't heard about it," I said.

"Well, there's going to be a party in the Flack Hall basement tonight," Patrick said. "Hayley's inviting everyone who lives in this residence hall so that we can all get to know each other. Personally, I think it's a great idea. I'm not much of a partier, but I'm all for getting to know my fellow freshmen."

"Who's Hayley?" I asked. The name sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite remember her face.

Patrick sighed. "This is exactly why we're throwing the party," he said. "It's October already, and we barely know each other."

"I'm not entirely certain that any human can truly know any other human in the deepest sense," I said. "It's just not possible to know someone else's inner thoughts and emotions..."

"Ryan, you know what I meant," Patrick said. "Anyways, are you coming?"

"I'll come, but I might have to leave early," I said. "My Great People of Mathematics professor assigned a lot of homework."

It was partially true - my professor had assigned quite a bit of homework over the weekend. However, I had finished all of the reading the day before. It was a small lie - in fact, it was more of a half truth than a real lie. Was it wrong of me to lie? Telling the truth didn't benefit anyone in this case. Patrick would freak out if he knew that I wanted nothing more than to go to the Aubergine that night, and so would most of the rest of Flack Hall. It was easier and better for everyone to say that I had homework, but I still wasn't sure if that made it right.

"That's fine," Patrick said. "I can even meet you in the Beauregard Library if you'd like. I have a psychology paper due on Monday."

"That's okay," I said. "I think I'll focus better if I study by myself."

Patrick shrugged and said, "Let's just go downstairs." I followed him down the stairs until we reached the basement, where all of the freshmen living in Flack Hall were gathered. They were all chatting and enjoying themselves, although not nearly as much as I would have been if I was at the Aubergine.

Patrick wandered through the room, and I followed him until we reached a redheaded girl and a few of her friends. "Hi Hayley," he said quietly.

"Hey Patrick!" Hayley said, grinning. "I'm so glad you showed up."

"Ryan, this is Hayley," Patrick said. "She's in my freshman writing seminar. Hayley, this is my roommate Ryan."

"Wait a second," Hayley said. "I think I recognize you. Were you on my tour when I visited here in high school?"