The Piano Knows Something I Don't Know

What does perfection look like?

What does perfection look like?

A few weeks went by, and slowly but surely, spring arrived. The snow melted, and as the days grew warmer and flowers sprouted all across campus, I became lost once again. When I wasn't studying or hanging out with my friends, I was with Brendon, and I couldn't help but fall for him even harder than I already had.

Patrick, on the other hand, went on his date with Pete, and before long, the two of them were a couple. Pete and Patrick were inseparable, even if Pete couldn't convince Patrick to start coming to our Guyliner Club meetings. "I don't even wear guyliner, and it's at the same time as the Environmentalist Society meetings," Patrick explained to Pete and I one day at the Aubergine.

"You could always quit the Environmentalist Society," Pete suggested. "You're not even a biology major anymore."

"First of all, you don't have to be a biology major to support environmental protection," Patrick said.

"Most of the students in that club are majoring in either biology or ecology," Pete pointed out. "I still think that you should quit."

Patrick ignored him and continued to speak. "Second, I haven't officially changed my major yet. I'm considering sticking with biology."

"Really?" I asked. I hadn't heard this particular piece of news yet, despite the fact that Patrick and I lived together.

Patrick nodded and said, "I'll probably still be a biology major, but I'll find a different career. I don't want to be a veterinarian anymore, although I might like another job in the field."

"That makes sense," Pete said. "There's nothing that says that you have to be a veterinarian if you major in biology. There are lots of available biological careers. I'm still planning to stick with my plan though."

"What's your plan?" Patrick asked.

"I'm going to go to law school after I graduate from Kale," Pete said. "After that, I'll be a lawyer, and then once I have some experience, I'll run for public office. Someday, I could even be the President of the United States."

"That's pretty ambitious, Pete," Patrick said.

"At the very least, I'll be a better president than Donald Trump," Pete said. "For that matter, you'd make a better president than Trump. Maybe you should run, Trick."

Patrick shook his head and said, "I'm not old enough, I have no experience, and I probably wouldn't win anyways."

"I'd vote for you," Pete said, smiling.

"I still think that the United States would be much better off if a philosopher king was in charge..." I interjected.

"Shut up, Ryan," Pete said.

Brendon appeared out of nowhere and exclaimed, "Pete, don't you dare tell my boyfriend to shut up! He has the right to express his opinions."

"Thanks, Brendon," I said.

"Ryan's totally wrong though, and Laura and I have been telling him that all semester," Pete argued.

"Haven't you read The Republic?" I asked.

"That was written over two thousand years ago," Pete said. "It doesn't apply to modern society."

As a proud student of ancient philosophy, I was more than a little bit offended. How could Pete say something like that? "A lot of ancient ideas can apply to today's world," I said.

"I have an idea," Brendon interrupted.

"What is it?" Patrick asked.

"We should all go on a double date," Brendon suggested as he took a large gulp of his drink. "As long as Ryan and Pete don't get into an argument, I think that it would be really fun. I haven't been on a double date in forever."