You'll Never Walk Alone (PG13), Grand Finale - 06Apr08 Options

[mezzogal]

I thought I would wait till later to post this but I can't wait. I'm too excited about it. So anyway, here's the story I've been writing for Nanowrimo. Cos it was for Nanowrimo, some bits may be a bit long and there's quite a significant amount of padding but, hope you enjoy it anyway. I'm not too sure how often I'll be updating so just check back and try your luck.

The usual disclaimer: all events and sequences in this story are fictional and not meant for any purpose but for fictional storytelling.

Here goes:

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YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE

Chapter1

Carrie stared at the email on her screen.

There is an error regarding your placement in the Student Exchange Programme for summer term 2001 to the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Please make an appointment with our dean of overseas relations to resolve this error.

She couldn't believe this. After all those weeks of madcap running over the Raffles University campus to get recommendation letters from her professors, submitting the mountain of paperwork and getting approval, it was too cruel that there would be an error at this time. She was already preparing to go. She was looking forward to it so much and her friends going with her were all planning everything they would do over there.

Ok, calm down girl. Carrie thought to herself. This isn't the end of the world. Maybe you just missed out on something in the papers. She closed the lid of her laptop and ran her mind over the mental checklist of paperwork she had been required to submit. To her knowledge, nothing was amiss. She had even counter-checked with her friends. It seemed in order. Only one way to find out. She concluded as she opened her laptop again and began to compose an email to the dean to fix an appointment.

"Hey girl! What's up?" Her best friend approached her study bench on campus and sat down. Riverina was a chubby but pretty girl who tried her best to live down the first name she was given, preferring to go by her Chinese name of Ying Lu instead.

"I got an email from the SEP office. They tell me there's an 'error'. So, I gotta go see the dean and check it out."

"Oh shit! No way!!! They better not say you can't go." Ying Lu was horrified. They were going to go together and had even made the (brainless) decision to room together. "Who's gonna be my roomie and drinking buddy and library buddy and sit together on Saturday nights moaning about the lack of dates?"

Carrie shrugged. "They haven't said anything about it yet. I'm just worried that something came up and vetoed it."

"But you're fine right? You've been checked out same like I did. No other problems what." Ying Lu was worried.

"Well, yeah, but..." Carrie didn't finish her sentence as a chime sounded on her laptop to indicate the arrival of new mail. She quickly opened it. "I gotta go. The Dean said she's got time to see me now."

"Good luck." Ying Lu told her.

Carrie dashed to the dean's office within the administration building as fast as she could. Stopping just outside the office, she composed herself and pushed some stray hairs out of her face. Offices like this unnerved her the way it was so quiet and a stern looking secretary sat behind a counter. She was cleared to meet the dean and waited for a few seconds whilst the secretary informed Dean Prof Tng of her presence.

"Ok, let me tell you about the situation on our side." Prof Tng explained briskly. "I know you've applied for UNCCH but there's a problem regarding that because of an oversight by someone who was handling the data. There's a student from UNC-Charlotte who wished to come to RU for an exchange and we managed to accommodate her by finding a RU student to exchange to UNCC. But, here's where the problem comes in. We had a student to UNCC but in making the application, there was an oversight with yours and your application was approved for Charlotte and the other student was approved for Chapel Hill."

Carrie was amazed and didn't know what to say. A kind of fear was gripping her heart that all her plans were ruined by this oversight. The dean paused as though expecting a reaction from her. Receiving a stunned silence, the dean continued, "Now we've approached the other student but she's refusing now to go to Charlotte now that she's received the OK for Chapel Hill. So, I'm asking if you would accept the Charlotte position or for us to push for Chapel Hill to accept you and for you to potentially lose your place in SEP."

"Um..." Carrie was not sure how to answer.

"Look, you can think on it and let me know the answer within the week, alright?" The dean asked firmly and Carrie nodded.

~~

"I can't believe you accepted that!" Ying Lu exclaimed. "We were supposed to go to Chapel Hill together, remember?"

"I know. But I didn't really have a choice." Carrie sighed.

"Didn't you talk to the other girl?"

"No. The dean didn't want to reveal who it was."

"Maybe Prof Tng's scared we'll beat her up."

"I feel like doing that to her too. But it won't help anything will it?"

Ying Lu clicked her tongue in exasperation. "No, it wouldn't help. But it would be satisfying. I mean, what kind of shit is this?! Accept or nothing. I mean, it's not your fault that they screwed up your application."

"Just drop it Ying Lu." Carrie cut her friend's rant off. "At least I know I'm going somewhere next semester and not just rotting here."

Carrie desperately wanted to leave the country and experience somewhere new. She was perfectly aware that she had a bad case of "the grass is greener on the other side". She didn't really care. Remaining in this little country was stifling to her and her academic career at RU was going from boring to super super boring. Carrie had jumped at the chance to go for an exchange programme. She had applied then held her breath and crossed her fingers hoping that she would be successful. Carrie was an average student and she was not on any scholarship programme like her friend was, hence, her chances were slim. It had been the best day in her college life when she found out that she and her friend had both been accepted for the programme.

They had been excitedly getting the mountain of paperwork done and approved. Only now the dean threw a bombshell at Carrie and effectively told her she couldn't go if she refused to go to Charlotte based on a mistake on the side of the administration department. There was no arguing with them and Carrie wanted too much to go on exchange to pick a losing fight. It was soon settled. Carrie was to be sent to Charlotte instead of Chapel Hill and some new paperwork had to be done to get her a room and to sign up for her classes. With the kind of luck she had been experiencing so far, she was sure that it would not work out either. But, at least there was some luck to be had, she managed to get the modules she wanted to take at Chapel Hill, so academically, it wasn't too much of a loss. And she managed to get a room at Hawthorne Hall. Looking it up on the internet, it looked like a pleasant accommodation.

Her parents weren't entirely happy that she had been so successful in her application. They felt that an exchange programme was unnecessary and a waste of time. Furthermore, going to such an unknown college, such as the University of North Carolina, would not be of any value on her resume. Carrie had applied behind their backs and had to face their wrath when she told them of her acceptance. Eventually, she was smart enough to use knowledge learned in a sociology module to argue for the benefits of a student exchange programme. Essentially, the experience and the real world knowledge of the US. Even with the rise of China, the US was still an important super power. Eventually they gave in.

It wasn't a matter of money that they didn't want her to go. Her parents were both working and in the social hierarchy, they were in the lower high class. Not quite living at the exclusive Bukit Timah District One houses but they lived in a comfortable condo - she, her parents and a sister, almost ten years younger than she was. They had a maid and a grandmother who visited on occasion but who mostly lived with her uncle's family. As the oldest daughter, Carrie was sometimes pampered and very protected. She had never lived outside of her home before. Going overseas was really an Experience for her and Carrie was both excited and afraid. In the US, there would be no one to help her out if she ran into any trouble. And, being the only one from Raffles U at Charlotte, she was even more alone than ever.

Ying Lu constantly encouraged her not to give up for there were times when nerves got the better of Carrie and she toyed with the idea of going to Prof Tng and relinquishing her place in the exchange programme. Ying Lu stood by her and together, they got ready to go to the US. They went and shopped for travel things like a travelling iron and a kettle. They both spent hours at the shopping malls browsing the clothes and bags and stationery and dreaming about what it would be like there. Ying Lu was determined to get an ang moh boyfriend and to not be alone on a Saturday night with her Singaporean room mate. They would really get into the life there and do what the Americans did.

"So, I'm gonna really get into it and enjoy my experience over there." Ying Lu told her while they were out and munching donuts during a break in their shopping trip.

"I don't know Ying. I got the feeling my life there will be like my life here. Only transplanted. I'm not as outgoing as you and I don't make friends so easily. One semester is awfully short." Carrie moaned.

"Yeah! How can we learn in one semester?" Ying Lu demonstrated what she had learnt in class that day. "See, if the first month say, is honeymoon. Fine. Then two to four months of acclimation and adaption. Then after that comes integration or whatever. Four months of culture shock. Shit, that'll never work. By the time we get adapted to the place, it's time to come back."

"I completely agree." Carrie said, nodding. "Someone should write to the Dean and say that exchange programmes should be year long."

Ying Lu laughed. "I think, the way we're packing and buying things, we might as well move there."

"Oh won't you love that?" Carrie teased. "Maybe the guy you meet on SEP will propose to you, then you can get married and not come back."

"Oh my god, that'll be dream come true lah. But, I know it won't happen. The most I hope for is an ang moh friend."

"You'd never know. We're leaving in a few weeks time. Who knows what'll happen during the weeks after that."

This post has been edited by mezzogal: Apr 5 2008, 10:42 PM

[footloose]

you posted it!!!! hahahaha!!!

will comment later after work

ETA: here goes!

Riverina was a chubby but pretty girl who tried her best to live down the first name she was given, preferring to go by her Chinese name of Ying Lu instead.

i can understand . that's a rare name.

"Ok, let me tell you about the situation on our side." Prof Tng explained briskly. "I know you've applied for UNCCH but there's a problem regarding that because of an oversight by someone who was handling the data. There's a student from UNC-Charlotte who wished to come to RU for an exchange and we managed to accommodate her by finding a RU student to exchange to UNCC. But, here's where the problem comes in. We had a student to UNCC but in making the application, there was an oversight with yours and your application was approved for Charlotte and the other student was approved for Chapel Hill."

if it was other school then it would suck...but since it's UNC Charlotte...

Furthermore, going to such an unknown college, such as the University of North Carolina, would not be of any value on her resume.

ummm...she can tell them that Clay Aiken graduated from there and became rich and famous

"Oh my god, that'll be dream come true lah. But, I know it won't happen. The most I hope for is an ang moh friend."

"You'd never know. We're leaving in a few weeks time. Who knows what'll happen during the weeks after that."

*hums 'something wicked this way comes'*

glad you started it!!! although the story would take a totally different direction from how it first started. can't wait for next chapter

btw u forgot to explain the meaning of 'ang moh' there



This post has been edited by footloose: Dec 13 2007, 04:16 AM

[mezzogal]

ummm...she can tell them that Clay Aiken graduated from there and became rich and famous

LOL!!! Yeah! That would be interesting to put on her resume.

*hums 'something wicked this way comes'*

Shush!

btw u forgot to explain the meaning of 'ang moh' there

It means Caucasian. If there's any word you don't understand, feel free to ask. Some of it's slang and terms that are specific to certain contexts (mine).


Oh, and I hope I'm not causing overkill here. I know everyone's busy cos it's Christmas. Sorry.

This post has been edited by mezzogal: Dec 13 2007, 07:32 AM

[mezzogal]

Chapter2

Carrie sat alone in the bustling Raleigh Airport surrounded by her luggage. It had been an exhausting 20 hours for her. Leaving Singapore and flying up to Narita Airport was uneventful and it was fun seeing the little bit of Tokyo that could be seen from the airport. However, the flight out of Narita into Washington DC was terrible. The turbulence was so extreme that Carrie was sure they were all going to die. She clutched her laptop desperately and prayed harder than she had ever prayed in her life, God please don't kill me before I get the chance to exchange. Beside her, Ying Lu threw up every once in a while. She had to look away to prevent herself from doing the same. She had never been gladder to arrive at Washington Airport. Then had a mad dash to catch their flight into Raleigh. The turbulence had delayed their Narita flight and disorientation in Washington had left them with precious minutes to make their flight.

The domestic flight on American Airlines was pleasant. It was almost 10pm now and looking out of the plane's windows, Carrie could see America glittering below in a sea of lights. It was beautiful. She tried to snooze a little (to catch up on what she had not been able to do on the Narita flight) but was too excited to do anything more than close her eyes. As the plane made its descent into Raleigh, Carrie was positively bouncing with excitement. There was a delicious sense of potential washing over her as the plane circled and landed.

Except that things seemed to be going wrong from the moment they left the customs counters. Ying Lu and the others were met by representatives from UNC-Chapel Hill. Ying Lu gave her friend a big hug, promising to message her often and meet up whenever possible. Carrie watched as her friends, her last link with home, disappeared through the revolving doors of the Raleigh Airport. There was no one around that seemed to be waiting for her, contrary to what she had been told in the briefing before she'd left. Feeling lost, hungry and tired, Carrie lugged her bags over to a group of airport benches and waited. She munched on nuts she'd got on the plane and watched the crowds go by. She felt intimidated, having never been this alone in her life.

Close to 11.30pm, after waiting for almost one and a half hours, Carrie decided that whoever it was supposed to meet her wasn't going to appear. She'd had to take care of herself. Digging around in her carry-on, she extracted the letter UNCC had sent her regarding instructions for her arrival. Gathering up all her belongings, Carrie made her way to the taxi stand outside. It was August but the nights were cold and Carrie only had on a long sleeved tshirt she wore on board. As the taxi drove off, Carrie stared out the window and wondered if she knew what she was doing and exactly what she was in for.

She supposed she must have fallen asleep for she jerked awake as the taxi driver barked out a, "Lady, we're here. University Boulevard, Charlotte, Hawthorne Hall. You owe me forty bucks." Looking out the window, she saw a low red brick building and a car park with other buildings across from it. It was too dark to see more and Carrie was too tired to register anymore. She paid the driver and then stood dumbly as the taxi drove away. Carrie looked up at the building, supposedly her home for the next few months. She took a deep breath and made her way to the closed glass door to enter the building. It refused to open. Carrie felt like crying. As if things could not get worse. She tentatively knocked. At first there was no response but, like an angel appearing, someone walked into the hallway beyond. Carrie knocked and called again to get his attention. He was tall and skinny with brownish red hair and thick glasses, dressed in tattered khaki bermudas and a tshirt.

"Can I help you?" he asked, sticking his head out the door as he opened it from the inside.

"Um...I think this is my dorm." Carrie stammered. She'd hated that she was melting down in front of this guy but she just could not help it anymore.

"You think?" the guy sarcastically asked. "What's the password?"

Password??! Carrie began panicking and wondering if it was too late to just get on the next flight home. "I...I don't know."

"Well, no password, no entry right?" the guy responded and turned to go.

"No wait!" Carrie called after him. "I'm sorry. I just arrived here and I don't know what to do ok. I don't know the password, I don't know how to get into the building, I don't even know if I'm in the right place or not."

Now the guy looked a little more sympathetic. "Forget it, I was teasing ya." He stepped back and let her in. "It's 'Chicken' by the way. The password."

"Thanks." Carrie replied, still struggling with her bags.

"Do you need help with that?" he asked, eyeing her skeptically.

"No, I got it." Carrie insisted. "I need to find the...the..." she referred to her letter. "The admin office. It says I need to check in."

The guy giggled. "I'll bring you there but I doubt Miss Kee will be happy you waking her up at 1 in the morning to check in."

Miss Kee was not happy at all. A middle aged lady, she appreciated her beauty sleep and did all the admin work in the prissiest way possible, making it perfectly clear that she disapproved Carrie's arrival at that unholy hour. So far Carrie had not seen anyone else wandering around the building and it was so quiet. As Miss Kee assigned Carrie her room, she received another shock when Miss Kee told her that her room application apparently had not come through and that there was only one room left for her in the building, a co-ed room, so she had to take it or else find other accommodation. Miss Kee handed her a room key and dorm handbook, wished her goodnight and left the room, leaving Carrie to see herself out.

Exiting the office and hearing the door electronically lock behind her, Carrie was surprised to see that the guy she'd met at the door had waited for her. Seated in a cushioned chair in the waiting area, he was perusing a teen magazine and he looked up with a smile as he heard her come out.

"So you've managed to get your room."

It sounded more like a statement than a question and Carrie nodded. "She said it's a co-ed room. Is that a good thing?"

The guy shrugged. "If you like sharing a room with a guy."

Carrie stopped fiddling with her luggage and looked up at him in shock. "What?!"

"A co-ed room. You're sharing with a guy."

"Please say you're kidding me."

"I'm not."

Carrie quickly looked away, her tears coming close to the surface again. "Shi-i-it. So you're saying I'm sharing a room with a strange guy?" Seeing his acquiesce, she said, "You know, things couldn't have gotten any worse."

"Which room are you in? Maybe I know the guy. If he's a crook, I can switch rooms with you if you like. I'm alone for now. Either no roommate or roommate's not arrived yet."

"Is that allowed?" Carrie asked. He shrugged again. "I'm in room 307." He was silent. "What? Is my roommate bad or something?"

"No." He said softly, his voice dropping even more. "It's me."

"What?"

"That's my room. You're my roommate. I didn't know my room was co-ed." he repeated, his voice sounding awed. Carrie was supremely shocked at the revelation. She was also a little relieved. From what she saw of this guy, she felt safe to be rooming with him. How many guys would sit and wait for a strange girl who came knocking at such a crazy hour?

"So...what now?" she asked him, speechless to say more.

"Introduce ourselves I guess." he suggested. "I'm Clayton. Second year, special education major." He held out his hand.

"Carrie, second year, English language. I'm on exchange here for a semester." Carrie took his hand as he shook it warmly. "So, what's special education? Some special programme or something?"

Clayton laughed as he picked up one of her bags, leading her to their room. "No. It's teaching kids with special needs."

"So you wanna be a teacher?"

"Definitely." he told her. "How bout you? Where're you from?" He talked as he led them towards the stairs.

"Singapore. Raffles Uni."

"Raffles U. I've heard of that. A girl's on exchange there this semester. Some kind of special case. I can't quite remember her name..." Clayton trailed off as he tried to recall.

"Gena." Carrie offered. "It's cos of her that I'm here in the first place. I was supposed to go to Chapel Hill but some screw ups and I ended up here instead."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Clayton defended. "This place isn't that bad."

"I have no idea. I just arrived." Carrie replied. They were climbing the stairs at this point and suddenly, Carrie lost hold of a bag. "Oh freak!" Her bag went tumbling down, the sounds echoing loudly in the deserted stairwell. It was just the last straw and Carrie, tired out by everything that had gone wrong and the stress just literally sat on a stair and began to cry.

"Woah there. What's wrong?" Clayton was alarmed and sat beside her. He put an arm around her shoulders. "Surely, it's not that bad. I can get the bag for you. Don't cry."

"It's not about the bag." Carrie sobbed. "It's just...everything seems to be going wrong and this exchange's supposed to be...it was meant to be a good thing but nothing's gone right since the beginning."

Clayton wasn't sure what to do. He didn't like to have to see her so upset. "Aww honey," he tried to soothe her. "Don't cry. Things'll get better. I promise. You're just tired after a long crazy day." He got up and retrieved the bag. "Come on." he helped her up and held onto her arm as he led her onto the landing. "Let's just get you to bed and you'll feel better in the morning." They went down a deserted corridor with closed doors on either side. There was music coming from some, sounds of talking and laughter, some silent. Clayton stopped at 307. "You wanna try out your key?" Carrie nodded slightly and slipped her key into the lock, turning it.

"Well, welcome to your new home." Clayton told her as he held the door open for her to enter. "Sorry for the..um...mess. I'll clean it up." The room was pleasant with two twin beds set side by side. One was slept in but the other was not. Two small curtained windows. There were matching closets and desks on either side of the beds. Clayton had obviously settled himself in the inner half of the room. Clayton was placing her luggage on the floor while he continued his monologue. "The bathroom's shared with next door, but they're pretty passive. Two girls, Pat and Sally. Remember to lock the sliding door for the other side too else the neighbours might come in unexpected. Shared living room too. The TV's not really hooked up yet but I'm planning to get it done soon. No radio but you can use your laptop for that. Um...I can help you hang a curtain or something across the room if you want privacy. Kitchen and laundry facilities in the basement." He rattled off, his words tripping to get out of his mouth. Carrie had a little difficulty in understanding him - she was so unused to his accent.

Carrie noticed that the empty bed was bare. There was no sheet or pillow case and there was only a utilitarian thermal blanket neatly folded under the thin looking pillow. Clayton's bed however, was nicely sheeted with a deep blue sheet and duvet. "I didn't bring sheets or anything..." she said weakly.

"Don't worry about it. I'll lend you my spare sheets. Relax, they're clean, I don't have cooties, Mom washed them before I came." Clayton reassured her. Carrie felt lost as her tired brain struggled to process this sudden onslaught of information. Clayton must have noticed for he went on, "Look, you go and freshen up. I'll handle this tonight and you can unpack tomorrow. Ok?" And he gave her a little shove towards the bathroom.

"Thanks Clayton." Carrie stammered. She knelt on the floor and unlocked her luggage, extracting her pajamas and toiletries. The bathroom was medium sized and walls were slightly water stained but the water was hot and soothing and Carrie could feel the tension of the night melting away. The water tasted different to her as she brushed her teeth and she made a mental note to ask Clayton if the water was safe to drink. She noticed a squeegee by the shower stall and wondered if she should use it like she saw in the movies. She decided to try it anyway after she was done.

Re-entering the room, Carrie noticed that Clayton had made up both beds for the night. He had really lent her a set of nice black and white sheets, geometric patterns on it. Clayton was seated at his desk, looking at something on his laptop, biting his left thumbnail. The light was reflected in his glasses. He was playing solitaire on the computer. He looked up when he noticed her. "Good shower?"

"Yeah. Great."

"I made up your bed."

"I know. Thanks. You didn't have to. I could put the sheets on myself."

"I've already done it. Too late." Clayton giggled. He turned away from his laptop. "You hungry? I made you some soup." He gestured towards her desk. There was a steaming bowl of soup and a few slices of bread sitting there. "I can't really cook so there's not much in it. I just put the packet in and added hot water."

"It's looks good Clayton." Carrie sat at the empty desk and began eating. Now she'd thought about it, she was famished. The last time she'd ate a proper meal was on the plane.

Clayton watched as she ate. "So. Your first night in the US. How's it feel?"

"Exhausting. Can't wait to get into bed and sleep."

"What time is it back home?"

"Um..." Carrie paused and looked up for a moment to calculate. "We've got almost a 12 hour time difference. So, it's night here, it's morning at home. Technically I've been awake for the last...I can't even think now." She finished off with a huge yawn.

"Good night." Clayton told her.

"Actually, there's something I wanted to talk to you about before that." Carrie stood leaning against his desk as he looked up expectantly at her. "I mean, I barely know you, and we're gonna be roommates. I never had a roommate in my life, let alone a guy...you know what I mean?"

"I'm not going rape you in the middle of the night, if that's what you mean." Clayton grinned.

"No, well, yes. I mean...um...that's not what I meant." Carrie tried to explain herself. "But never mind. It can wait." She finished off her supper and stood, picking up the empty bowl.

"Leave it. I'll wash up later. You just get to bed."

"Oh. Um...Good night then Clayton."

"Night Carrie."

Carrie felt Clayton watch her as she climbed into bed and pulled the blanket over her. The blanket smelt of cologne. Clayton's smell. The sheets smelt of fresh laundry. It was nice to finally be able to sleep. Carrie shifted to a comfortable position and drifted off to sleep, the image of Clayton sitting at his desk with his laptop before her eyes. She slept so soundly that she did not hear Clayton washing the bowl in the bathroom sink. He switched off the lights and tip-toed across the room. She did not hear as the bed creaked under his weight, nor his whispered night time greetings, wishing her sweet dreams.

This post has been edited by mezzogal: Dec 14 2007, 07:28 PM

[footloose]

At first there was no response but, like an angel appearing, someone walked into the hallway beyond. Carrie knocked and called again to get his attention. He was tall and skinny with brownish red hair and thick glasses, dressed in tattered khaki bermudas and a tshirt.

see???

oh no! she's rooming with a guy!

oh joy! it's CLAYTON HOLMES AIKEN!

will comment later when i have time (gee, i haven't even commented the other story yet!)

*rushes out like white rabbit chanting "no time...no time..."*

ETA: to Patty

This post has been edited by footloose: Dec 14 2007, 07:31 PM

[mezzogal]

see???

See what??

waves at patty too!

[footloose]

see???

See what??

refers to my prev. comment "something wicked this way comes"

This post has been edited by footloose: Dec 14 2007, 07:40 PM

[patty2sink]

Hey, mezz & footloose

Great start mezz. Can't wait for more.

Love ya,
Patty T

[mezzogal]

Sorry this one is gonna end a bit abruptly cos I ran out of things to say.

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Chapter3

"Yo Roomie!" she heard a male voice calling her through her dreams. "Wakey wakey rise and shine." Carrie groaned a little and snuggled deeper into the blanket. "Carrie, it's time to get up." She suddenly couldn't quite register who that was. It didn't sound like her dad. She felt a slight weight as a warm body sat beside her on the bed, a hand on her shoulder gently shaking her. "Want me to sing you awake? The sun is shining, the grass is green, the orange and palm trees swaaayyy..."

Carrie jerked awake and turned looking right into the face of Clayton who was just as shocked at the sudden reaction. "Well. Good morning." he giggled. "That got you up real quick. I know I don't sing too good but was it that bad?"

"Morning Clayton." Carrie greeted him, a feeling of great happiness welling up like a bubble inside her. She had done it and it was not a dream. She was really here, in North Carolina. Seeing "No, you sing really nicely. I just didn't know you sang."

Clayton giggled at this. "Anyway, I would have let you sleep. Only, your phone's rang about a million times. Figured it might be important. And I figured you might want some real food for breakfast. The cafeteria ends breakfast in an hour, so if you want food, you should get down there real quick. I think I should show you around the campus later too and take you to buy stuff you need."

"Thanks." Carrie climbed out of bed and dug her phone out of her bag. Seven missed calls - 4 from her parents, 3 from her friends in Chapel Hill. She looked up her notebook on how to internationally call Singapore and dialled home. It rang twice before her mum answered. "Hey mum!...Yeah I made it ok. The flight was fine...Really tired that's why I forgot to call...What?...Yeah, I'm at the hostel...No, I just got up. I'm gonna go down and eat after this...Yes, my roommate's nice." At this point, her eyes flicked towards Clayton, seated at his desk, folded up in his chair. "Oh it's just some ang moh lah...Um...My roommate's name?...um..Rachel...Yeah she looks like a good person...uh-huh...yup. Ok...Hi dad!...Yes, everything's ok, no problems at all...Oh er...I took a taxi from Raleigh airport...don't know I guess he misunderstood when my flight was coming in...No, no problems, really...I'm going for breakfast then my roomie's gonna show me around...Yes, I'll be fine...Ok, good night...Bye."

Clayton looked at her with a raised eyebrow just as she got off the phone with her parents. "Rachel? I never knew I changed my name and gender."

"You expect me to tell my parents that my roommate's a guy?" Carrie asked him, laughing. "Spur of the moment name."

"Uh-huh."

"Hey! Are you going to tell your family that your roomie's a girl?"

"Nothing wrong with that."

"Ah well, you're culture's different from mine. My dad'll blow his top if he found out." She fiddled with her bed, making it neat and tidy. "Gotta make another phone call but I'm not sure how to. If I want to call my friends in Chapel Hill and they're using their handphone roaming service, how do I call? Do I make it international, or just dial their number?"

Clayton thought for a while. "I think international. We only have AT&T and Cingular out here. It won't work if you use your local services. Remind me go sign you up for cellphone service later."

"Right." Carrie finished with making the bed and sat down to dial the numbers. "Hey Ying!!" she exclaimed when the call went through. "Yeah I made it. No one showed up at the airport lah!! I took a taxi to Charlotte myself...yeah!! That's crazy, I was so pissed. How's Chapel Hill?...Oh my god, you all stayed over? So cool!...I'm at my dorm already...Yeah." Here, she got up from the bed and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. However, it didn't manage to close all the way and Clayton could still hear her conversation. "Guess what...My roomie's a guy...Ya I know! I was so shocked last night when I found out. It was so embarrassing too...He's called Clayton...No lah, not that good looking, but he's nice...yeah he made me supper last night...I know! So sweet right?..."

Clayton grinned to himself, listening to Carrie gossip about him to her friends. He was pretty excited about having a girl as his roommate. It had never happened before. He was nervous too. He wasn't sure how to behave around a girl who lived with him. He fiddled with the things on his desk, arranging and rearranging things. Semester hadn't begun yet so the table was still quite neat. Clayton thought back to the previous night when he first met Carrie. She was not exactly the glamazon dream girl in terms of her appearance. She was flustered, pale and on the verge of tears - she actually did break down and cry in his arms. The knight-in-shining-armour part of him was proud of that moment. Carrie wasn't the traditional hour glass figured model, Lucy Liu type that was the stereotype of Asians. She was a bit on the heavier side, with middling virgin hair pulled up into a spunky little ponytail, average skin and she was gossipping away, thinking that he could not hear her. He grinned to himself. He could learn to like this girl.

Looking at the clock, he knocked on the bathroom door. "Carrie, you'd better hurry up if you want breakfast."

"Ok, I'm coming." he heard her reply as she giggled into her phone. About 15minutes later, she came out all ready. "Let's go."

Before they left, Clayton insisted on calling on their neighbours in 308, who shared the living room and bathroom with them. Pat and Sally were obviously still asleep for Pat, a tall black girl was in pajamas when she answered Clayton's incessant knocking on the linking door. Sally was a plumpish Caucasian girl with long brown hair. Both looked very nice and, as Clayton described, passive. After the customary greetings and introductions, the two girls yawned themselves back to bed and Clayton led Carrie back downstairs, retracing the path from the previous night. All the way, he talked non-stop, telling her all about the campus. It was amazing how comfortable she felt around him, despite only knowing him for a few hours. He brought them to a sunny cafeteria on the ground floor. The place was clean and spacious with a high ceiling. It was also crowded with people. For a minute, Carrie felt shy. Clayton showed her how to scan her meal pass to get through the door and then brought her to the food line. There was a good spread of food, though depleted because of their lateness. Carrie took some sausages, an egg, beans and toast. Clayton took a bit of everything so his plate was overflowing. They got cups of tea and went to find a place to sit.

"Over here." Clayton nudged Carrie over to the side. There was a table for four with two girls already seated there. Clayton went over and greeted one of them, the blonde with sun streaked hair and beautiful tan. "Hey babe." he greeted, kissing her on the cheek. Placing his tray of food next to her, he sat and gestured to Carrie who was watching the scene in mute disbelief. "This is my roommate, Carrie. She's from Singapore. Carrie, this is Cheryl, my girlfriend. And her roommate Angie."

Carrie could only smile shyly at them. She was inwardly beating herself up for thinking that Clayton was single and available. Cheryl flashed a sunny smile at her. "Well, an Asian. Singapore huh? That's where the Honorable Gena Hawke went isn't it?" She addressed the question to Clayton who nodded in the affirmative. Her voice annoyed Carrie. She drawled like the quintessential bored blonde.

"Carrie, sit." Clayton gestured with a tilt of his head. He was eating his breakfast with gusto, as only a hungry man could eat.

Cheryl watched him with a slight distaste. "Really Clayton, do you have to eat like you're starving all the time?"

"I am starving!" Clayton protested. "It's been seven and a half hours since I last ate."

"But you don't have to act like it all the time." Angie put in. "Have some dignity."

"Oh I'm sure you girls can afford to have dignity when all you're eating is yogurt and dry toast." Clayton teased. "So dignified that you can eat it with a fork and knife." Clayton laughed. He, on the other hand, was eating as though there was no such thing as a fork. "Darling, could you do me a favour? Could you get me a glass of juice please?" he turned pleading puppy eyes towards Cheryl who rolled her eyes.

"Oh please, am I your mom?" Cheryl answered him.

"I'll get it Clayton. I want juice too anyway." Carrie quickly got up and left the table. She wasn't trying to be bitchy but there was something about Cheryl that she couldn't stand and it wasn't just her voice. But she was Clayton's girlfriend so she would have to at least try to get along. Getting two glasses of orange juice, she walked back to the table to find Clayton and Cheryl with someone else. Angie seemed to have left and there was another guy sitting in her place. Clayton schmoozing up close to Cheryl, trying to tempt her to eat some of his deep fried bacon and the guy was ignoring them completely, choosing to focus on his plate instead. "Here's your juice." Carrie said, to announce her presence.

"Thanks Carrie." Clayton said, turning his eyes back to her. "This is a friend of mine. Nick." The other guy looked up at Carrie and smiled. He was smaller and stockier than Clayton was but had the same friendly twinkle in his eye. He stood and shook her hand. The rest of the breakfast was an awkward one for Carrie, she didn't know what to do or how to talk to Nick and Clayton seemed too occupied to remember her. She was glad when it was finally over. Clayton wiped his greasy mouth with a napkin and gave Cheryl a kiss before picking up his plate to bring it to the tray collection area. "Come on Carrie! Ready for the grand tour?" He looked so excited that Carrie couldn't help but smile back at him and gain back some of that light happy feeling she woke up with.

Clayton and Carrie exited the cafeteria, stopping as Clayton greeted friends along the way. The cafeteria was still crowded with students, hoping to grab a little food before the breakfast time was officially over. It was a nice feeling of the morning bustle of people all living together in the same hostel building, people who would be family for the next few months.

Passing by the admin office on their way out, Miss Kee called out, "So it's you! How's your first night?"

"Morning Miss Kee." Carrie replied. "It was fine. I was completely conked out and probably would have missed breakfast if Clayton didn't wake me."

"For a minute, I was wondering if I had imagined you last night." Miss Kee informed her. "I see Clayton's being the good roommate and showing you around."

"Definitely." Clayton joined in the conversation. "Any place you'd recommend me bringing her Miss Kee?"

"Well..." she thought about it for a while. "I like the Barnhadt center. Maybe you could bring her there for a visit."

"Will do. The cafe there's really good."

Carrie laughed at this. Here he was, just having polished off breakfast and already thinking about the next meal. She was surprised he was still so skinny. They must have gone everywhere that first day. Clayton was so excited about showing her around his campus home away from home. Carrie couldn't decide which part of the day she loved most, whether it was taking the internal bus with Clayton round campus and him giving a running commentary about everywhere they passed, or having lunch at the beautiful Barnhadt student center whilst people watching, or driving to a nearby Walmart to buy things she needed for the new term. Clayton had special pleasure in picking out one of the two sets of sheets she bought.

Returning to her room at the end of the day, Carrie had a wonderful feeling about this new environment and school, a feeling that there were many amazing things in store for her here. She fell asleep that night tired out but content in her delight and pleasure.

[footloose]

aw man, you're just too fast for me!

tell you what, i'm going to comment on all new chapters tonight. just be patient

ETA: finally!

The turbulence was so extreme that Carrie was sure they were all going to die. She clutched her laptop desperately and prayed harder than she had ever prayed in her life, God please don't kill me before I get the chance to exchange.

this makes me because i would've been praying the same thing if i were in her place. Sometimes when you want something so badly, it becomes your wish before you die.

feel bad at the "service" Carrie is getting . I guess UNCC in this story is not used to having international students, judging from their unprofessional reception. Unlike most unis in Australia. and even unis in Australia have people like Miss Kee.

"Well, no password, no entry right?" the guy responded and turned to go.

"No wait!" Carrie called after him. "I'm sorry. I just arrived here and I don't know what to do ok. I don't know the password, I don't know how to get into the building, I don't even know if I'm in the right place or not."

Now the guy looked a little more sympathetic. "Forget it, I was teasing ya."

this is so Clay

Carrie quickly looked away, her tears coming close to the surface again. "Shi-i-it. So you're saying I'm sharing a room with a strange guy?" Seeing his acquiesce, she said, "You know, things couldn't have gotten any worse."

"Which room are you in? Maybe I know the guy. If he's a crook, I can switch rooms with you if you like. I'm alone for now. Either no roommate or roommate's not arrived yet."

"Is that allowed?" Carrie asked. He shrugged again. "I'm in room 307." He was silent. "What? Is my roommate bad or something?"

"No." He said softly, his voice dropping even more. "It's me."

Clayton looked at her with a raised eyebrow just as she got off the phone with her parents. "Rachel? I never knew I changed my name and gender."

I'm surprised he understood her amidst all the Singlish. I wonder why he didn't ask her what ang moh means

Clayton is as cute as a button. and very sweet too! Carrie on the other hand seems...umm...clueless

"Yo Roomie!" she heard a male voice calling her through her dreams. "Wakey wakey rise and shine."

"Guess what...My roomie's a guy...Ya I know! I was so shocked last night when I found out. It was so embarrassing too...He's called Clayton...No lah, not that good looking, but he's nice...yeah he made me supper last night...I know! So sweet right?..."

aww poor Clayton!!! I expected him to snark on her after that comment

just random. i've been thinking of another word to describe Carrie but i can't seem to find it. Now i know. Unromantic I mean, she's not easily touched. but neither are your other heroines.

She was a bit on the heavier side, with middling virgin hair pulled up into a spunky little ponytail, average skin and she was gossiping away, thinking that he could not hear

ah that explains it

i'm glad that the main characters in this story aren't physically perfect. makes the story more real.

Carrie could only smile shyly at them. She was inwardly beating herself up for thinking that Clayton was single and available.

never underestimate the power of the dork

so when she's going to realize he's handsome?

i don't like Cheryl either. she seems to take Clayton too much for granted

great start mezz! this story is quite different from your other stories and i'm already liking it. can't wait for more

This post has been edited by footloose: Dec 17 2007, 05:06 AM

[mezzogal]

I kept giggling when I read your comments.

aw man, you're just too fast for me!

Yup. I'll wait till Thursday before the next update, for both stories. Give y'all some breathing room.

The turbulence was so extreme that Carrie was sure they were all going to die. She clutched her laptop desperately and prayed harder than she had ever prayed in her life, God please don't kill me before I get the chance to exchange.

this makes me lol.gif because i would've been praying the same thing if i were in her place. Sometimes when you want something so badly, it becomes your wish before you die.

Ok, time for some credits. I got this bit of the story from a friend of mine who went on exchange. It was real and she really was thinking that. So cute. Had to use it.

feel bad at the "service" Carrie is getting frown.gif. I guess UNCC in this story is not used to having international students, judging from their unprofessional reception. Unlike most unis in Australia. and even unis in Australia have people like Miss Kee.

Yeah. I guess cos her uni usually doesn't send exchange students over to UNCC (remember hers was a special case), so the system screwed up a little. As for Miss Kee, I'm sure she's a nice person. But even nice people are cranky at being woken up at 1 in the morning to do paperwork.

I'm surprised he understood her amidst all the Singlish. I wonder why he didn't ask her what ang moh means lol.gif

I guess he guessed. And cos he didn't want to make it seem too obvious that he was listening to every word she spoke. And I didn't use that much Singlish!!!!!

never underestimate the power of the dork

Haha!!!!

so when she's going to realize he's handsome? hugegrin.gif

I'm basing this character of Clay a little bit on another friend of mine who's kind of cute but not handsome in the conventional sense. So this Clayton is not handsome the way we know him to be but he's pleasant looking. *ducks tomatoes*

i don't like Cheryl either. she seems to take Clayton too much for granted

She's the beauty in the relationship, unfortunately. So I suppose she feels more secure in it to treat Clayton like that.

[Canadian bAiken]

Finally got a chance to pop in here. And cool that she's roommates with Clay. He's so sweet here. Not much time to comment but I think it's a great story. This isn't it, is it? Is there more or did you just write enough to fill the Nano requirement?

[mezzogal]

There's much more. The Nano requirement was 50,000 words. These few chapters are no where near 50,000 words. So, yeah, you can expect a full fledged story.

[mezzogal]

Transitional chapter.

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Chapter4

Classes began the following week and Carrie was glad that Clayton had thought to bring her to the bookstore and shops to buy things she would need for school. Now that the full strength of the student population hit the campus, Carrie was overwhelmed by the feeling and more than one she would be wandering in circles trying desperately to locate her next class. She was taking Basic Latin, American Studies, Introductory Anthropology, and Psycholinguistics. Clayton was not in any of her classes but she soon found out that Cheryl was in the same American Studies class as she was. Her other classes were only marginally better. She was often the only Asian and exchange student in her class and more or less kept to herself, intimidated by her other classmates. The biggest problem she faced was the accents. It felt strange being in classes with the American accent dominating. Often she could not understand her classmates' speech.

Latin was fun and she enjoyed the classes even though she was alone. Dr Grote was a dynamic instructor who knew how to teach. He first came into the class and began by proclaiming something loudly in Latin. He then said that by the end of the term, if they didn't know what he meant, he would consider that he had failed to teach them anything. Cue ironic laughter from the class. Carrie found this class useful to her training in linguistics, the reason why she took the class in the first place. She had bought a thick heavy second hand soft cover copy of the text. Things were so expensive here, the exchange rate pushing prices up higher.

American Studies bored her a little. Prof Belus was a nice bubbly instructor, but it wasn't her fault that it was a relatively boring subject. Cheryl was in the same class and insisted on sitting by her during lectures and tutorials. Carrie was not very happy about that. Especially not since they had to do a paper project together detailing something that linked the US and any other country of their choice. She had this feeling that Cheryl's companionship had a hidden agenda. It was as if Cheryl was showing off that she was friends with the exotic Asian girl. Carrie foresaw conflicts but she was biting her tongue back for the sake of Clayton.

Anthropology lost her almost from the very beginning. Prof Brockman was a prim and proper kind of lady and it came across in her teaching. She used a lot of big words and scientific terms that poor Carrie was reduced to frantically writing down every single word Prof Brockman said, hoping that she could make sense of it later on. She made a note to bring in a voice recorder in future. That was, if she continued in the module. More than once in the lecture she toyed with the idea of walking out and dropping the module. However, there was no denying that the subject was fascinating, despite the tedious pedagogy.

Psycholinguistics was the one which fascinated Carrie most. Prof Blitvich was an elderly venerable kind of lecturer who knew his subject very well and other aspects of linguistics as well. It dealt with the psychological aspect of the acquisition of language. It was difficult and Prof Blitvich made no attempt to lessen the difficulty but insisted on ploughing on in his crusty teaching style. Carrie had the feeling that this was not a professor to be crossed. The wrinkles between his eyes indicated his displeasure when he scowled hard. Clayton announced that he could help her a little with this cos he took a similar class in his special education programme. Carrie was grateful for his help for she was a little confused about the biological aspect of the class. Now she was regretting that she had paid so little attention in Introductory Psychology when she took it back home. Knowledge of the brain in that class would have been useful here.

"So, how's the first week?" Clayton asked when they were back in their room on Friday and she had dumped all her books on her desk and collapsed on her bed. He was lying on his bed with a book but not really reading it.

"It was great!" Carrie exclaimed. "Draining and tiring but fun. You know, it's so different studying here. I feel like I really want to study. Change in scenery has been good for me."

"Wait till the work load gets heavier, then you'll see how much you like it then."

"Haha! I won't worry. I get to S/U my modules so the grades don't matter as long as I pass."

"S/U?" Clayton asked. He didn't know the term.

"Oh, it's a system we have at home. Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory. I can exercise that on all modules I take on exchange so it'll be graded as being satisfactory (I pass) or unsatisfactory (I fail) and it won't count in my CAP score. Or you call it the GPA." Carrie explained while Clayton looked on in amusement.

"We've got something like that here. But it doesn't look nice on the transcript if we use it." Clayton informed her.

"Yeah well, S/U won't look nice either if we get U. But, I'm on exchange. The point of exchange is not to study, it's to experience life overseas. Unofficially that is." Carrie refuted him. "So, I'm not going to worry too much about it. Anyway, I doubt I'll do that badly in my classes. I've survived everything at home without having to resort to it."

Clayton laughed. He told her a bit about his classes, complaining about a dreaded Friday morning class that he had to take. Then he told her that he would be taking on a part time job. Sort of like an attachment thing where he would be assigned a family which had a child with special needs and he would have to take care of the child. He seemed really excited about it. "I mean, I used to work at the Y and I've worked with kids like this before. I'm looking forward to working with them, now that I have some idea of what I'm doing."

"You've worked with disabled kids before?"

"Kids with disabilities." Clayton corrected her. "Yeah. Did I tell you? It's probably one of the craziest and most blessed things I've done. I was temping at an elementary school and the principal asked if I would like to take a class whose teacher had gone on maternity leave. So I said sure why not. And when I showed up the next day, it was a class full of kids with special needs. I almost died that first week."

"But you made it work."

"Yeah I did. Well, I don't quite know if they learnt anything from me. Doubt it. But at least, no one died or was bodily injured." Clayton looked like he was trying to mask his pride in his achievement. "I kind of found my vocation from there. I discovered that I really loved to teach. And I loved seeing the faces of those kids when I managed to connect with them. It was just beautiful. So, here I am, I came back to college and am learning to be a teacher so I can help those kids."

"If you've got the passion, I say just go for it." Carrie told him. "I can tell you really love to teach. That's good. Kids can be so annoying sometimes and the teachers get paid peanuts but make up for it in their passion."

"I know." Clayton added. "People used to say I should have gone to music college. I was thinking of going there too. But...I don't know. I just don't want to graduate and go knocking on doors, begging for someone to sign me on to a record. What's the point in that? I can't make any difference in the world that way."

"So your life goal is to make a difference in the world?"

"I just don't want to live out my life then at the end of it, look back and wonder what I've done to make the world a better place."

Their conversation fell short here and Carrie busied herself with arranging her books neatly on her shelves. The books had been expensive but it looked nice to have books on the empty shelf. It made her feel like she would be doing some hard core studying during her time here. Clayton was watching the way she fussed over her desk. She claimed to be the messy type but her desk at the moment was immaculately neat and tidy. By comparison, he felt like a slob. His half of the room was strewn with bits and pieces on the floor, clothes folded on his desk but not put away, books and papers all over. And it was only the first week of semester. He made a mental note to clean up when Carrie wasn't around. He didn't want her to see him trying to straighten up his space. It was surprising since at home, his room was always neat and clean. Maybe it was the absence of Mom's nagging that created the slack.

"Are you in any extracurricular activities Clayton?" Carrie suddenly asked him.

"Um..." Clayton took a moment to gather his thoughts, he was so far away in the mess of his space. "Well, if you count that programme I was telling you about. I'm in a band too. We do gigs sometimes. Why?"

"I'm thinking of joining the choir here." Carrie said. "Just for fun. But I don't know. Is ECAs a heavy load?"

"Depends." Clayton told her. "If you put in a lot of effort and if it's a high intensive one, then sure, it'll take a large amount of time. But I don't think the choir takes up a lot. If I'm not wrong, they only practise one and a half hours a week."

"I think I wanna join. They're holding auditions at the Robinson Hall performing arts center this coming Thursday."

"Cool! Want me to come with you?"

"Could you?"

"Why not? It could be fun. I could keep you company while waiting."

"Thanks roomie."

"No problem Care Bear."

Carrie smiled at him. No one had ever called her that before. "What'd you call me that?" she asked.

"What?"

"That. Care Bear. No one's called me that before."

"I'm sorry. It's just a nickname. I didn't stop to think that you might not like it."

"It's just strange that's all. I don't really know about the Care bears. I only know them as toys."

"Well, there are a few of them. I've been thinking that you remind me of Funshine bear."

"Funshine Bear?"

"Yeah. You're so serious most of the time. You've got to learn to laugh and take things a little less seriously. That's what Funshine Bear does. But sometimes he forgets to be serious when he has to be but the point is, have some fun now and then."

"Which one is he?"

"He's the yellow one with a sun on his tummy." Clayton grinned. "I should buy you one some day."

"That's so childish." Carrie chided.

"There we go, see what I mean about you being too serious?" Clayton hopped over to her bed and sprawled himself on his tummy on it, looking at her at her desk. "There are times when you should be more childish. Don't grow up too fast, it's not good for you."






Just cos I feel like it, here's Funshine Bear:


This post has been edited by mezzogal: Dec 19 2007, 06:09 PM

[footloose]

She had this feeling that Cheryl's companionship had a hidden agenda. It was as if Cheryl was showing off that she was friends with the exotic Asian girl.

i don't like this Cheryl gal. nooooooo sire.

i think you did a nice job highlighting Carrie's study experience and the difference between American and Singapore's education/culture

"You've worked with disabled kids before?"

"Kids with disabilities." Clayton corrected her.

this sounds so much like Clay and all the talks about his passion in special ed too.

I'm surprised that Carrie didn't notice that he can sang. She didn't sit up and notice when he sang to her to wake her up in previous chapter. Does Clayton join the choir too? It would be nice to see her listening to his voice and getting entranced.

"He's the yellow one with a sun on his tummy." Clayton grinned. "I should buy you one some day."

"That's so childish." Carrie chided.

"There we go, see what I mean about you being too serious?"

exactly my thought . she's probably the least romantic person in the world. I would've expected her to say "that's cute" or "that's sweet of you."

fun chappie Mezz. And it's cunnin that you include the Care Bears in this story. I dunno if it's popular in the US back then but it was very popular here

This post has been edited by footloose: Dec 19 2007, 06:39 PM

[mezzogal]

footloose

Does Clayton join the choir too?

Nope. He just accompanies her there. Oops. That's in the next chapter. Oh, about him singing in the last chapter, well, that wasn't really serious singing, just some cutesy for fun kind of song.

It would be nice to see her listening to his voice and getting entranced.

That comes later too.

exactly my thought lol.gif. she's probably the least romantic person in the world. I would've expected her to say "that's cute" or "that's sweet of you."

That's why Clayton wants to buy her a Funshine Bear. To keep her from getting too serious. But...actually...me using the Care Bears was just to find a cute nickname for her that's sorta a play on her name.

This post has been edited by mezzogal: Dec 19 2007, 08:08 PM

[Invisible Ink]

This is a fascinating story! I don't have a lot to add, except that I love the way you've written Carrie and Clayton. Very realistic.

Please, continue!

[mezzogal]

Thanks ink!

[mezzogal]

Merry (early) Christmas!!!
Again, if there's any terms you don't get, just let me know.

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Chapter5

The following week passed quickly too. There were no tutorials just yet so the classes were still light and easy. Carrie was getting to know people in her classes. The Americans were friendly people and they were curious about an exchange student, so she didn't really lack people to talk to if she wanted to. Cheryl still insisted on owning Carrie during American Studies class but she ran off like a shot after the class. It was the class before lunch hour and Carrie assumed that she had something to do during lunch. Finding her own way to the cafeteria, she was momentarily overwhelmed by the sights and sounds, having still not gotten used to the difference. She didn't quite know how to order yet so she usually queued behind someone and ordered in a way that imitated what those before her said. Clutching her sandwich and not finding a seat in the crowded cafeteria, she wandered around, thinking maybe to go and find a study bench somewhere on campus. Then, she spotted two familiar figures - Cheryl and Clayton. Cheryl had seen her too for she made an obvious move to steer Clayton away in another direction. Carrie felt a pang of hurt at this. Did Cheryl think she was trying to do something to her boyfriend? Was that why she didn't want her to be around Clayton? Carrie acknowledged private time for the couple but Cheryl didn't have to be so blatant in avoiding her.

Having been left in the lurch, Carrie had no choice but to leave the cafeteria. She didn't want to risk running into the couple having lunch together and being the third party. Cheryl's possessiveness of Clayton didn't surprise her and she respected Cheryl's position as his girlfriend. As she walked around the school, she finally found a bench which was empty and she plonked her stuff down and started to eat. She took her laptop out of her bag and started chatting with Ying Lu on it. Ying Lu was having the time of her life at Chapel Hill. It was only the second week of school and already she was going out to all those parties and clubs at night. Carrie wondered if there was any studying at all going on at Chapel Hill. By comparison, Charlotte seemed to be very studious.

'So how's things with you and the roomie' Ying messaged her.

'We get along. Nothing special.'

'Aiyo come on lah! Got any opportunity to get together? You very lucky leh, got a guy sharing room with you.'

'Dream on girl! He's attached and his girlfriend's not very happy that I'm around him so much.'

'Duh! She wouldn't be a good girlfriend if she didn't try to make sure that you don't run off with her man.'

'Now you're being illogical. First you ask me if got potential for me and Clayton. Then now you telling me not to mess around with him. Make up your mind girl!'

'Whatever lor. Don't deny getting together with him is in your thoughts. I know you always dreamed of marrying an ang moh.'

'Oh and when did we make the leap of logic into marriage? Crazy. We're just friends. Roomies. End of story.'

'What's it like sharing a room with a guy?'

'Strange. He's a slob. You should see his half of the room. And to think I thought I was messy.'

'You're not messy lor! You're the one who can't stand messiness when you're trying to study.'

'You know, he called me a care bear the other day.'

'Omg! How cute is that sia!'

'Yeah! He said I reminded him of Funshine Bear cos he thinks I'm too serious and I should lighten up like Funshine Bear.'

'Do I even want to know what's Funshine Bear? It sounds like some kind of drug.'

'Lol! Some psychedelic drug from the 70s? Yeah, come to think of it, it does sound like that. LSD or something.'

Carrie was so engrossed in her conversation that she did not notice Clayton approaching her table.

"Boo!" he jumped at her. Carrie was so startled she literally jerked. Clayton laughed, seating himself opposite her. "You should have seen your face, you were so engrossed. What're you doing anyway that's more interesting than me?"

Carrie quickly closed the window. "Nothing. I thought you were with Cheryl. I saw you two in the cafeteria."

"You saw us and you didn't come over and say hi?"

"I didn't want to intrude." Carrie mumbled.

Clayton put his bag on the table and rested his chin on the fabric, pushing his glasses a little higher up on his nose. "She said she had to rush off to get something before her next class. I didn't expect to run into you here though."

"The cafeteria was too crowded. It was easier to find a bench around school than to find a table in there."

"Yeah, it can get kinda packed in there." Clayton admitted. "Can you believe Dr Sherry? He gave such a killer reading list and it's only the second week back!" He took out a stack of notes and began reviewing them. Carrie, observing that he was occupied with reviewing his lectures, opened her instant messenger and continued chatting with Ying Lu again, apologising for having closed the window because the subject of their conversation had arrived at the scene. It was an enjoyable few minutes they had together between classes and Carrie felt a little regretful when Clayton had to run off at the hour.

"But I'll catch you tonight, hear. At Robinson Hall." Clayton reminded her.

The audition. She had almost forgot about that. She smiled as she waved at him as he left for his class at the College of Education.

~~

The Robinson Hall Performing Arts Center was a beautiful place, being the venue for the campus' theatre and concert hall. Numerous rooms for the various performing arts clubs were housed in this building too. Carrie was glad that Clayton had arrived earlier than she did and she found him leaning against a pillar in the lobby. She hated to have to wait for people, especially in a place like this which scared her to have to hang around in. Clayton however, looked very at home.

"Hey!" she called out to him. "Sorry I'm late. Did you wait long?"

"Hey yourself." he said back to her. "Nope. I just got here about five minutes ago. But then, I arrived early so no worries."

"Ok, so according to the flier, I'm to take the lift up to the fifth floor." Carrie looked around for signs of the lifts and Clayton immediately pointed them out to her. They entered the lift and ascended. They were still early and there was no one around. Upon reaching its destination, the lift door opened and Carrie caught sight of a prominently placed direction arrow with the words "Choir Audition" placed above it. "I guess we follow the arrows from here."

"Good idea." Clayton was following right behind her. The corridor was quiet as they came to the door marked "Choir Room". Carrie gingerly opened the door. There was only one person inside the large studio like room.

"Hi. Is this the choir auditions?" Carrie asked.

"Sure is." the girl answered, glancing at her watch. "You're the first to arrive. Lucky for you. I'm just setting up the place. Maybe you'd like to sit and wait a bit, our student conductor's on his way."

Carrie agreed and came into the room with Clayton. "Hey Melissa!" he greeted.

"Clayton!" Melissa exclaimed. "What are you doing here? Don't tell me you're auditioning too?"

"No I'm not. I'm accompanying my friend here. This is Carrie. Carrie, this is Melissa, she's a friend of mine from high school." Clayton introduced at top speed.

"Nice to meet you Carrie. I've been trying to get this one to join the choir for forever. With pipes like his, he should. But he always refuses." Melissa shook Carrie's hand warmly. "Glad you're joining. Maybe your enthusiasm will diffuse over to him."

"I guess Clayton's busy enough as it is." Carrie loyally stood up for her friend. "And I've got little success in convincing people to do what they don't want to do."

"Oh Clayton's got a soft spot with women, don't you Clayton?" his friend nudged him playfully. Clayton just blushed and looked down, mumbling something about already having a girlfriend. "That's the entire point. Cheryl's wearing the pants in the relationship. Clayton just laughs along with whatever she does."

"Is that a slight on my not being enough of a man for you?" Clayton sarcastically said.

"No. I was just illustrating your soft spot with the ladies." Melissa laughed at Clayton's discomfort. "Don't let his macho exterior fool you Carrie. He's just a puppy underneath all that." Clayton stuck out his tongue at Melissa's comment and they all laughed. At this point, a few other girls came in and Melissa went over to tell them to wait.

"Carrie, were you ever in a choir before?" Melissa asked as she came back to them.

"I'm in the choir at home." Carrie replied.

"Which section?"

"Alto."

"Oh. I'm soprano. But that's ok. The altos here are nice."

"Altos everywhere are nice." Carrie commented, grinning.

"You'd say that, you're an alto." Clayton jibed. "And what're you doing around me then? I'm a tenor. I'm supposed to kick it with the sopranos. You should find yourself a bass friend."

"Quit it with the stereotyping. At home there's a couple that's made up of a Soprano 1 and a Bass 2 so it's proven that the stereotype doesn't hold." Carrie shot back.

"Ah, but it might be an exception to the rule." Clayton instantly replied. Carrie rolled her eyes, unable to find a come back line.

"Where're you from Carrie?" Melissa asked.

"Singapore." Carrie told her. "And don't ask me where Singapore is cos I will just about smack you."

"She means it." Clayton informed Melissa. "She considers it an insult for people to think Singapore's part of China."

"Um..." Melissa stammered, still broadly smiling too. "I should have you know Carrie, that I failed Geography in school and there's a reason why I'm a life science student who spends almost all her waking hours in the lab."

"What she means is she doesn't know where Singapore is. Go on, smack her." Clayton interjected, egging Carrie on.

"I'll pass this time." Carrie giggled. "Ok, you know where's Southeast Asia? Where Malaysia and Indonesia is?" Melissa nodded. "Yeah, Singapore's somewhere there. On the southern tip of peninsular Malaysia, above Indonesia. You can't really see it on the map. It's what we sometimes call the 'Little Red Dot'."

"Gena's out there now." Clayton suggested. "You know Gena right?"

"Oh that place." Light dawned for Melissa.

"This Gena seems kinda famous around here." Carrie observed. "Is there something I should know about her?"

"Only she's the most famous student in UNCC." Melissa began. "She's one of those model types, leggy, always with a guy on her arm. Straight A student too, so we can't put the dumb blonde label on her."

"I'd love to." Clayton mumbled.

"She tried to pick up Clayton once I heard." Melissa gossiped. "But it was at a club and she was drunk and didn't realise it was Clayton." Clayton stuck out his tongue at Melissa again. "Cut it out little boy. Anyway, yeah, it was all over school that she was going to Singapore. Apparently she was really proud of that she had managed to get Raffles U to accept her despite the fact that Raffles U doesn't have any exchange agreement with UNCC."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that." Carrie said. "It's cos of her that I'm here. But that can't be all right? I mean, anyone can be pretty and smart."

"Oh I haven't gotten to the juicy bits yet." Melissa eagerly went on. "She a California girl but she moved to NC with her parents a few years ago. Pretty much a wild child. You name it and she's done it. She's dated every eligible guy in school and rumour has it that she's gone for an abortion. Twice. She's even been arrested once for driving drunk and then making out in the car in full public view."

"Alright, enough with the gossip you two." Clayton finally interrupted. "Joel's here." Joel was the student conductor of the UNCC choir and looked ready to begin the audition process. Melissa hurried over to inform him of what was going on. "You ready?" Clayton asked Carrie. She nodded, her nerves coming back to her in full force. She saw Melissa gesturing to her to come over to where she was with Joel.

"Carrie, this is Joel. Joel, Carrie. Joel's the student conductor and he'll be doing the auditioning today." Melissa formally introduced.

"It's nice to meet you Carrie." Joel offered his hand which Carrie took. He shook her hand warmly. "Shall we begin?" He led her into an adjoining room where there was an electric keyboard and a set of tables and chairs prepared. "Ok, so you know how this works? You sing any song of your choice then I'll try you out on some scales then a quick interview. Ready?" Carrie nodded and he signalled her to start when she wanted to.

Carrie was nervous and she almost forgot what she was going to sing. But she started anyway. She sang a song from her school choir but the alto part.

Within the woodlands flow'ry gladed, by the oak trees mossy moot
The shining grass blades timber shaded, now to quiver under foot
And birds do whistle overheard and waters bubbling in its bed
And there for me the apple tree do lean down, low in Linden Lea.

When leaves that lately were a springing now do fade withing the copse
And painted birds do hush their singing, up upon the timber tops
And brown leaved fruits a turning red in cloudless sunshine overhead
With fruit for me the apple tree do lean down, low in Linden Lea.

Let other folk make money faster in the air of dark roomed towns
I don't dread a peevish master, though no man may heed my frowns
I'd be free to go abroad or take again my homeward road
Where there for me the apple tree do lean down, low in Linden Lea.

"Very nice." Joel commented when it was done. He had been taking notes the entire time. "What's the title of the song?"

"Linden Lea. Something I learnt in my choir back home." Carrie answered.

"Ok Carrie, now I'll just play some scales and you sing along alright?" He proceeded to play simple running scales on the keyboard which Carrie sang along to, her voice shaking a little out of nervousness and she cracked at the high notes.

"Sorry." she apologised as she blushed at her voice break.

"It's alright. That was a G sharp." Joel told her. "Let's test your lower range now." He played the lower notes and had her go down all the way to a low D. "Very good. Please take a seat Carrie." he gestured to a chair on Carrie's side of the table. "Now Carrie, why do you want to join the choir?"

"Well, I love to sing and...I'm on exchange and I see it as an opportunity to learn about the US and since I love being in choir a lot, I guess it was an easy choice to come and join." Carrie realised that she was beginning to sound a little incoherent. It happened when she got nervous, even though she knew there was nothing to fear from Joel. "I don't want my life in college to be just study or just play. I see choir as a point of balance between that and it's also a nice way to get to know people and make new friends."

"Were you in any leadership post in you last choir?"

"I was the logistics secretary last semester. My term of office ended and I came on exchange so I'm not any more."

"From my experience of exchange students, they tend to join for a few practices then disappear for most of the semester. I'm not really keen to let in singers like that."

"Oh I assure you that I'm not like that. I take choir very seriously and I will always turn up if I am able to."

"Alright then Carrie. I don't see why I shouldn't let you into my choir." Joel concluded. "You're in. Alto section. I'll see you at the first practice."

Carrie was surprised at this. Then she remembered hearing that Americans often made decisions on the spot about things like this. "Thanks Joel! I look forward to singing with you." They shook hands and she left the room, feeling light as a feather.

Clayton was waiting for her when she got out. "Well?" he asked. Her glowing eyes were all the answer he needed. "Congrats!" He gave her a hug.

"I knew you'd get in." Melissa came over and congratulated her too. "Welcome to the choir. First practice is here next Thursday night at 7. I'll see you then Carrie."

Before they went back to their room, Clayton decided to take Carrie out for some supper to 'celebrate'. He brought them to the waffle house at the student center and together they ate a hearty supper of waffles and ice cream.

This post has been edited by mezzogal: Dec 23 2007, 07:05 PM

[mezzogal]

Very quiet in here. *tiptoes in and deposits the next chapter*

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Chapter6

"Urgh! I knew I shouldn't have eaten so much." Clayton moaned as he and Carrie walked back to their room after supper. Carrie said nothing. She had warned him that too much ice cream that late at night wouldn't be good for him. She had to open the door when they got back for Clayton just leaned weakly against the wall. Upon entering, he immediately collapsed onto his bed.

"Will you be ok?" she asked in concern, seeing him huddled on the bed, his arms hugging his body.

"Yeah I guess." Clayton replied pathetically. "The stomach cramps are getting worse." He crawled under the covers.

"Do you want to see a doctor?"

"No. I don't need to see a doctor just because I've got a bad stomachache." Clayton insisted manly.

"If you say so." Carrie replied, not entirely convinced. "Do you need to puke?" she asked tentatively.

"I can if I want to, but I don't fancy it." was his curt reply.

Carrie gave it up and went to take a shower, leaving him to his own devices. The TV Clayton had fixed up in the living room was on and she could hear the music of a popular drama playing. She supposed the neighbouring girls were watching. Coming out from her shower, she was worried to see that Clayton was still huddled in his bed letting out low moans. He was hugging his pillow to his stomach now and his brow was knitted together in an expression of pain.

Carrie found her first aid kit and took out a bottle of medicated oil. Crossing over to Clayton's bed, she sat and leaned over him. "Clayton, try rubbing this oil on your stomach. It might help." He mumbled something and sat up slowly. His face was so pale.

"Thanks." he whispered, taking the small bottle from her. He seemed unsure of what to do.

"Dab some oil onto your stomach and rub it round." Carrie instructed. Clayton did as he was told. He pulled up his tshirt, exposing his stomach, a thing he usually would not do in front of a girl if he was entirely conscious. His skin was snow white under his shirt where the sun didn't shine and his body was so skinny, she could almost count his ribs. He applied the oil and rubbed it round before replacing the tshirt. Carrie watched as he went through the motions.

"Better?" Carrie asked. He nodded. "Do you still feel cold?"

"A little." Clayton whispered back to her. "But it's ok, I'll warm up. Thanks Carrie."

Being a woman, Carrie understood how bad cramps could get and knew that the best thing for it was warmth. The medicated oil would help but she knew it wouldn't last very long. It wasn't as good as real warmth. She thought back to a field trip she had taken with her school a few years back to England. Someone had fallen sick then too and the solution was to get them a hot water bottle. But she had no hot water bottle with her.

She went into the living room where Pat and Sally were sprawled on the couch watching Desperate Housewives. "Hey girls, do you have a hot water bottle? Clayton's got stomachache and I think heat will help." The girls were concerned and Sally volunteered her bottle. She went back into her room to get it whilst Carrie boiled water in the electric kettle. Sally's hot water 'bottle' was essentially a teddy bear with a hot water compartment inside. "It's like hugging your puppy." she described in response to Carrie's skeptical look. Carrie's impression of hot water bottles were orange rubber things with cork stoppers. But she took the hot water 'bear' anyway and filled it. The warmth was delicious and Carrie couldn't help hugging the bear for a while before she brought it into her room.

Clayton seemed better. He had stopped moaning but he was still doubled up in bed hugging his middle. She leant over him again as she whispered to him, "Clayton, try hugging this."

He took it without argument and an expression of content washed over his face as the warmth spread to his body. Carrie tucked him in with the bear and let him sleep it off. From experience of cramps, he'd feel better in the morning though perhaps a little hung over.

~~

The next morning, Carrie awoke to the smell of hot toast and eggs. Opening her eyes, she saw that Clayton had just entered the room carrying a plate containing a stack of toast and another plate of bright yellow eggs. He was trying to be quiet but glancing over to her bed, he saw her awake and watching him. "Morning Care Bear. I thought I'd make you breakfast to make up for last night."

"Morning Roomie. I take it you're feeling better?" Carrie asked.

"Much better. All thanks to you." Clayton beamed at her, pulling back the curtains from the windows and letting the bright sunshine stream through. "Come on, eat before it gets cold."

Carrie took a piece of toast and forked some eggs onto an empty plate and sat on his bed to eat it. Clayton sat at his desk with the food on the table. At first they didn't talk then Carrie initiated conversation. "This is good. Did you cook this?"

"Yeah I did." Clayton replied, looking a little embarrassed. "I know it's not as good as the eggs in the cafeteria but I'm pretty sure it won't give you stomachaches."

"Wow! I didn't know you could cook."

"Not really. Just basic stuff like eggs. I'm a master chef with instant and microwaved food though." Clayton laughed, making fun of his own culinary skills.

"Want to talk about last night?" Carrie asked him carefully. She had wandered what it was about last night's supper that could have sparked off such a strong reaction in Clayton.

"It happens sometimes. I don't remember exactly. What did we eat?" Clayton asked playing with his eggs.

"We went to the waffle house and ate waffles, ice cream...I think we had plain and chocolate waffles and vanilla ice cream. Some fruits too...strawberry, cranberry, peaches I think." Carrie recalled. It was delicious but on hindsight not too much as it created stomachache in Clayton.

"I think it's the chocolate. I got that reaction last summer too after I ate fried Oreos at the fair."

"Fried Oreos? Eww..." Carrie winced. She'd heard of fried ice cream but fried Oreos sounded unnecessary and disgusting to her. "Why would someone want to fry a perfectly good Oreo?"

"Welcome to the South Care Bear. We dip anything that's edible in batter and fry it up." Clayton teased. "Yeah anyway, I think the chocolate gets to me."

"Are you allergic to it?"

"I have no idea. I'm allergic to a bunch of other things too. Which since we're having this conversation, you might want to take a pencil and write them down." Clayton grinned as he saw Carrie's disbelieving expression. But he was perfectly serious. "Right, so, I know I'm allergic to tree nuts. That's any nut that grows on a tree. And coffee and shellfish and mint. And maybe chocolate but that's not official yet."

"Poor you. That's like so much good food you can't eat." Carrie sympathised as she finished writing down his list.

"Well, I can eat it but I just have to suffer the consequences. I'll get stomach cramps like last night. But nuts'll make my throat close up and kill me." Clayton grinned diabolically. "Then you'll have to stick me with my epi-pen or call for the medics." Carrie must have looked alarmed for he quickly added, "Don't worry, I'm careful when it comes to nuts. I don't exactly desire to eat them the way I desire to eat chocolate. I mean, who can live without chocolate? I still haven't broken the habit."

"You should you know. Especially when the reaction gets bad like that."

"I know. I try but...I'm trying." Clayton conceded. They enjoyed his eggs in silence for a while more.

"Wouldn't Cheryl be looking for you in the cafeteria?" Carrie asked. She had noticed that when Clayton went down for breakfast, Cheryl would invariably meet up with them and have breakfast together.

"I didn't say I would be meeting her for breakfast." Clayton said a little nervously.

"I get this feeling that she doesn't like me hanging around with you." Carrie casually mentioned, though she was afraid of offending him. After all, Cheryl was his girlfriend and was, and would be, around when Carrie wasn't.

"I think she's fighting a losing battle there if she feels that way." Clayton good naturedly replied. "You're my roomie. It's impossible for me not to hang around with you. Seriously, I think you know more of my habits and 'deep dark secrets' than she does." He made the gesture with his fingers to indicate that he was using inverted commas in his sentence.

"Yeah but..." Carrie didn't know how to voice her concern. She couldn't explain that she didn't like Cheryl either and she valued Clayton's friendship too much to tell him directly how she felt about Cheryl. She knew also that she was getting a major crush on Clayton, understandable although she thought that it was the result of her spending so much time with him. If you practically live with someone, you couldn't help liking the person and for someone like Carrie who had never had a boyfriend, a guy paying her the least bit of attention brought out the romantic in her to an extreme degree.

"Don't worry about it." Clayton told her. "Funshine bear's all sunshine and smiles. Don't worry bout Cheryl. I'll talk to her." Carrie couldn't help but smile at the reference to her Care Bear character. Finishing their breakfast, Carrie picked up the dishes and took them to the bathroom to wash. Clayton followed her there and dried off the dishes as she washed them.

"Don't you have a class to go to?" Carrie asked as Clayton still hadn't changed out of his pajamas. "It's Friday morning."

"I'm skipping." Clayton matter of factly informed her. "My excuse is that I'm still a bit queasy from being sick last night."

"I thought you said you were better."

"Yeah, but the professors don't know that do they?" Clayton said conspiratorially to her. Seeing her disapproving look, he felt compelled to add, "I'd just stay in bed for a while more then I'll hit the books on my own. Promise."

Carrie shrugged. "I think I still don't know how things work here."

"Oh, if you see Cheryl, just tell her the truth, that I'm still asleep." Clayton suddenly said. Carrie was packing up her bag for the day's classes and she looked up at him in surprise. He was slouching against his desk, his hands stuck deep into his pajama pockets.

"I get the vibe that you're trying to avoid her." Carrie suggested.

"Me? Avoid her? Now why would I do something like that?" Clayton asked in mock surprise. "You'd better get going. You're gonna be late for class."

"Alright then. You sure you'll be ok?" Carrie gave in and quit questioning him further.

Clayton nodded. "I'll drop in and return Sally her bear later." He saw her to the door and watched as she walked down the hallway onto the stairs. Then he watched her through the window as she left the building, walking across the car park and to the academic buildings which housed the College of Arts and Social Sciences. He knew he was in trouble when he looked at her like that. Clayton found himself having to remind himself that he already had a girlfriend and Carrie was out of bounds where love was concerned. She would be gone after a semester but Cheryl would be around for years more. Thinking about that really gave him a sickly feeling in his stomach. He would definitely miss her when she left.

That was a reason why he had been avoiding Cheryl lately. He found it difficult to face her when he knew that he was thinking about Carrie in his mind. By the looks of things, Cheryl was suspecting his feelings for her too. "Come on Clayton, snap out of it. You can only pick one woman and it sure ain't the Care Bear. Get real."

But it was Carrie who had taken care of him when he was sick the previous night. Cheryl had done none of that when it happened in front of her. Then again, his mind played devil's advocate, Carrie lived with him, it was almost an obligation for her. She couldn't well ignore her room mate in pain. Confusion reigned in his mind. He got back into bed and punched his pillow to fluff it up. Maybe god would speak to him in his dreams and tell him the answer to this dilemma.

This post has been edited by mezzogal: Dec 26 2007, 10:23 PM