Through My Eyes: Storyteller

It was about a week away before Christmas break. I ventured myself to the other side of the campus to the art buildings, to the office there to ask information about my friend. They didn’t want to help, nothing I hadn’t expected but I had to try. I noticed a brunette leaning over to the conversation I was having with the other secretary.

She looked positively interested when I said I wanted to take Nichole a birthday present and that was why I was asking about her… I remembered then that back in Burgeoys she´d said her contact information wasn´t given to anybody…maybe she´d made sure it was the same way now.

“Nichole birthday is today?” the brunette asked. She had an accent that went well with her appearance; it almost seemed as if her red lips made it happen alone.

“Yes” I smiled at her politely

“How do you know?” she pouted a little, I knitted my eyebrows

“She told me”

“Gaaaaahh!! –She exclaimed- you must really know her! –she threw her hands up- I´ve known her for a little over a year and she didn’t want to tell me” she squeezed her eyes shut

“Well, can you help me so that I can get her this?” I lifted a gift bag

“Give it to me, I´ll give it to her” she smiled as she extended her hand, I eyed her curiously, the Nichole I knew wouldn’t have a close friend like that “she´s my roommate” she made a face like I was being silly

“Maybe we are not talking of the same person” I said, doubting she was really her roommate

“Didn´t you say Nichole Cristales?” she inquired, still a ghost of her easy smile on her face, I nodded

“…But she´s never liked roommates” I said somewhat hesitant, the girl laughed

“Nichole, glares a lot, brown eyes, always pushes people away, walks like a freaking model and almost cuts your head off if you call her Nicky? Isn´t that her?” she laughed quietly, fondly. Her laughter was contagious, it made me chuckle

“Sounds like her, what´s the address?” I asked, she receded her lips in her mouth

“She won’t like it if I give it to you” she sounded apologetic

“No visitors?” I inquired knowing the answer

“Yeah”

“It must get boring to you” I leaned forward on the counter a little, she smiled what looked like a shy smile but she didn´t seem shy at all…by then I could tell she´d taken an interest in me

“Nah…” she shrugged lightly leaning in a little

“The no visitor policy?”

“It´s hers not mine” she said with a cute smile

“Ah… I guess I´ll leave this with you then” I said thinking over my prior plan…I could´ve gotten to tell me what I asked, I knew I could but I shouldn’t attempt to make Nichole´s friend to betray her trust

“Don’t worry, she´ll get it” she smiled

“Thank you”

That same day at around eleven at night I got a text, in three years now, I hadn’t received a single one from that number, the one I had bought for Nichole

“Thank you for remembering” it said, I smiled. I had only gotten her a cupcake and a bag of those minty tiny lollipops she´d liked before, that she thanked me made me glad. I knew she didn´t celebrate, I knew she hadn´t gotten presents as she grew up, no one had seemed to acknowledge it was an important date… back when I learned about this, it made me very sad, it made me feel also very lucky, all my life Aaron and my birthday had been a celebration, a party, presents, surprises, starting very early in the morning and as we grew older finishing very late at night, I had always taken that as the norm until I met her, she´d never had that and though she´d said she didn’t care or didn’t even needed it, I could tell she was happy when I celebrated her 17^th birthday.

The next day I got a call from an unknown number, around the evening. “Hey, it´s Marissa, Nichole´s roommate” she said when I picked up, I would´ve recognized her accent even if she hadn’t said who´s roommate she was

“Oh, hey, thanks for yesterday” I said as rubbed my eyes; I had been reading an extremely long hand-out.

“You´re welcome….-she sounded as if she was smiling- Listen, I asked Nini your number, I hope you don’t mind –she said in quite a confident voice-, she said she didn’t” was added as an afterthought.

“I don’t mind” I replied guessing what she wanted and indeed she invited me to a cup of coffee. I agreed and then for some unknown reason I texted Nichole about it, when I realized what I was doing I had already sent it. If only I could take it back! I thought as I shook my head. It´ll get ignored was my next thought and surprisingly it calmed me down, except that I was wrong.

“Cool –was her reply- she was so annoying to get your number” I laughed because I could imagine her rolling her eyes. From there we started texting, not frequently but when something out of the ordinary happened or when random things happened, like:

“I think I´ll flunk this subject” from me and a “take it again” from her, there were the pictures ones, like that of three birds I sent her and a stone wall one that I got from her.

Marissa and I went to drink that cup of coffee and some more after that. She had this easy contagious smile and a confident personality that wasn´t arrogant… she spoke her mind without being abrasive. She was also always telling stories; I particularly liked that about her. “I particularly like everything about you” she said once as she jokingly mocked my answer of what I liked about her.

Through Marissa I found out a few of the things Nichole had done in those two years I didn’t know of her. I never asked but it seemed that Marissa had enjoyed Nic’s company; she was in most of them there was Nichole.

She told me that they´d met in Italy, her native country, on the street, Marissa painted there in the touristic places. Nic had been with Vincent, I couldn’t believe that but I didn’t comment, Marissa had painted the guy´s portrait but when he wanted Nic to be in the painting and she refused he got mad and told her he was leaving her, Nic had shrugged and then asked Marissa if she could borrow her things to paint.

“Nini is heartless!” Marissa had said but she had that fond smile again, indulgent. She said the jerk, Vincent, had left angry as people had started to gather to see Nic paint. Marissa asked her to stay and paint with her and even to come back the next day. She had come back.

I didn’t gather the entire story at once but Marissa´s stories were always with Nichole. She told me stories of them backpacking through Europe, painting to pay their motel room and food. That had been when they first became roommates. She told me sometimes Nic left for a week or two but always came back to her, she didn’t know back then but later she realized she came home to her little sister.

“Do you know Camille?” she asked me

“Yeah, I saw her a couple of times when we were in high school” I informed her, my mind still in the knowledge that Nichole had often come back, I didn’t want to name the feeling I had gotten after learning that but I couldn’t deny I was hurt

“Aw, you know her so well! –Marissa pouted her sultry lips- she´s never allowed me to meet her family”

“I only met Camille by accident” I informed her wishing she stopped talking of the girl and at the same time wanting to know more.

For other bits of her stories it sounded like they party a lot too, Marissa laughed a lot as she told me once how Nichole had defended her from drunken guys in many occasions.

“Ah! She´s so good with knives! I didn’t even know she had one!” she laughed “having her is like having a guy protect you” her laughter grew. I said nothing and Marissa just kept telling me about the dance club that apparently was so much like the one we were in.

When she told me how she´d ended up in this school I learned that she had thought Nic had no money at all until Nichole had informed her that she´d decided to study art back home.

“I was very surprised and a bit angry –she laughed- but she told me to join her and I told her she was crazy, we barely had money for paint and food we couldn’t have money for college”

“If I had the money to go… would you go with me?” Nic had said

“I still wouldn’t have it –Marissa had said back then- and that´s when I knew she had money, that sneaky rat! –she laughed as she related- but I didn’t know how loaded she was until we were boarding the plane and she took me to the first class section!! Can you believe that! and then when we landed a new car was waiting for us, driver and all, a nice room in an expensive hotel –Marissa rolled her eyes- if I had known she had that much money I would´ve let her pay my major like she offered instead of taking that scholarship but I should´ve known when she got that for me” she laughed, she was and is a happy person, she is the opposite of Nichole or at least of the Nichole I used to know.

“Did you know she was loaded?” she asked and I smiled holding back a laugh “ah! You knew!” she playfully pushed me “does that mean you´re as rich as her?” she narrowed her eyes “you must be to have the car that you drive!” she answered her own question “well… that´s good because that way I don’t feel bad for letting you pay for stuff” she poked her tongue at me and I smiled at her playfulness. It made her look even more beautiful.