Down in the Park (Trent Reznor Oneshot)

Down in the Park

It was a Saturday morning. I rolled out of bed and let out a sigh of relief, realizing I had nothing to do today. That was a very strange concept to a college student, but I was the one who had signed up for this thing in the first place. I could drop out whenever I had wanted, but I stayed for one reason, and that reason had left to pursue his dreams.

I rubbed my eyes as I got out of bed, all groggy but, for once, well rested. On days like this, I had wished that he hadn't left to do what he wanted to do.

I met Trent in an English class at this very same college. He was a brilliant young soul. He had plenty of ideas stirring in his mind. I could tell right off the bat that he was gifted. Every time Trent had an idea or an argument to pitch out, he was too shy to admit it, but if and when he did, it was always well-constructed, as if he had gone over it in his mind at least one hundred times and come up with ten different back-up plans if the idea was rejected. I guess that was what had led him to pursue music. I wasn't upset about it; I just missed him.

We had talked for quite a bit, but it was hard for me to talk about my feelings to him. He was an intelligent person with a lot of life experience. He acted older than he actually was. It was obvious that college wasn't for him. Besides, it was evident that he was different from everyone else: he dressed differently, had different political views than those around us, he listened to different music, and viewed the world in a darker, more cynical way than I could have imagined.

Although, I think that that was why I was most attracted to him: how different he was.

As I sighed and followed my daily routine, I kept thinking about Trent. Although he was a quiet individual, I knew his mind wasn't. He was with his band most of the time, but I knew him well enough to know that whatever those guys were doing wasn't what he liked to do. He was so gifted in electronics and engineering, and his understanding of music came so naturally to him.

I recalled a time that I'd caught him analyzing a song that he was singing along to and writing about in his journal that he never showed anyone. He looked embarrassed when I asked him what he was doing, but I encouraged him and left him alone. He was surprised by it, but I could tell he appreciated it. Ever since that day, I knew that I had fallen hard for this guy that probably had already forgotten about me.

As I ran my hands through my curly hair, I looked at myself in the mirror.

"You need a break," I told myself.

And with that, I impulsively decided that I had to go out for coffee and read a book in the park. It may have been the cheesiest and lamest thing I'd ever done, but I needed this time to myself.

I put on a little bit of makeup as I usually did to make myself feel nicer, threw on a random outfit, and headed out with nothing but my purse and my book. I had my cell phone in there and some money, but other than that, nothing much.

I headed out of my dorm and walked myself to the coffee shop. After ordering myself a small drink, I picked it up and walked to the park that was near my college. I was reading "Existentialism and Human Emotions." I was in a lost place in my life and wanted to see what a philosopher had to say about our need for someone to look up to and follow.

As I sat beneath a tree and opened my book to read it, I soon became engulfed in the words and what Sartre was trying to tell me through it.

I became so invested in the piece that I didn't realize someone had come and sit next to me and was watching over my shoulder, taking in the text at the same time. I only noticed when I felt his fuzzy hair brush against my cheek. I jumped up and dropped the book in my lap, turning around to see a smiling Trent.