Nick Book II
SmokinDriver
Nick
Book II
Advanced Reader Copy Edition: June 2021
Copyright ©2021 SmokinDriver
Author: SmokinDriver
Publisher: G. Younger
Editors: Bigfoot227
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
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All characters depicted in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Author’s Note: This is a continuation of the first Nick Book. It will be hard to pick up without reading Nick, High School first. It can be read for FREE on the website www.StoriesOnline.net
This book is intended for mature audiences.
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 1
After the long night with the Tankov's I was ready for bed. Mom was glad that I was home, and Agent Crow could work on his own plans without me.
On Sunday morning, when I woke up, I found that I had no plans, or obligations. It was cold, and snow was on the ground. Previously, I had caught up on all my schoolwork. I also realized that not one of my friends would be stopping by. What that meant was no one would be coming over to use the word processor, to type a report, or to join me in any other activities. I mentioned it to Dad, and he suggested that we try some cross-country skiing. Although I'd never done it before, both he and Mom had done it before.
He also knew that there were skis at the Embassy. When we went to look, I was lucky to find a pair that fit me. With the skis in hand, we drove out-of-town to a park designed for that type of skiing. In the beginning, I moved my feet more than my body. But in short order, I got the rhythm down, and moved well on the flats, and downhill areas. I didn't do so well on the inclines. At the end, I realized that I had a good workout, and enjoyed the outdoors with my family.
On Christmas day, we had a nice time playing games, and enjoying our time together. I read The Man From St. Petersburg by Ken Follett. One day, I received a phone call from Sophia. She invited me over to spend the day. She'd had a talk with her mom and dad. When I arrived, Emma met me at the door. She invited me to her bedroom. Victor had gone out, but would return home later. For some untold reason, Sophia stayed in the living room, not giving me more than a quick hello.
Emma just wanted a quick fuck, but I made her strip, for me, and put on a show. When I approved, she helped me out of my clothes. Then I gave her the release she craved, as fast as I could. I didn't orgasm, but left Emma alone in her bedroom. I walked naked to the living room, and spoke to Sophia. "Sophia was there a reason that you invited me over?"
She looked at me, and saw my hard cock still wet with her mother's juices, so she jumped up, and came to me. I took her in my arms, and then to her room. She was horny, so I spread her ripe peach with my fingers, and used my tongue to make her feel special. We were at it for an hour, before she conked out, and fell asleep.
When I walked out, I saw Victor, but he didn't look well. I dressed quickly, but Emma and Sophia were both napping. Each time I'd been by before to see Emma, Victor seemed happy, but this time he didn't.
"Are you alright Victor?"
"No, I just got back from the doctor, and I'm not well."
"I'm sorry to hear that. Is there anything that I can do? We have access to medicine from all over the world."
"I have cancer, and they tell me that it's too far along. I've less than six months, and I don't know what my family is going to do."
I sat next to him, and put my hand on his shoulder. We weren't best friends, but we both cared for his wife and daughter. I thought about what would be best, for them, and then came up with a plan. I figured that he'd either agree, decline, or want to think about it.
"Victor, I can make sure that the proper people take care of your wife and daughter, for the rest of their lives. But to make that happen, they'd have to leave the Soviet Union."
"We can't leave. They won't let us leave."
"I'm sure that you love your country like I love my country. I see things that your country does better than mine, and the other way around. You know enough to see those same things. The American approach has flaws in many areas. This is especially true in the areas of training and educating their young. With her knowledge, Sophia could be a top math student at any university. But she can't do that, because she's stuck here. America gives people choices, and freedoms. They can live their own lives, and achieve whatever they want. They can become as successful as they want to become, as long as they are willing to put in the effort."
"But even if they wanted to they couldn't leave."
"Victor. The Soviet Union has one of the longest borders in the world. Isn't there some place where they aren't watching it? I could move them out, but we'd have to plan it very carefully. The escape would be the easy part. But we must do it in a way that no one would look for them after they were gone."
"How?"
"I have an idea."
Suddenly, I became the middleman. I was helping Victor in creating a grand escape plan for his wife and daughter. We decided not to tell Sophia or Emma about any of this. This way, they couldn't do something to hurt the plan. I continued my focus at school and swimming. But I started to become the broker for the deal that we were creating for Victor's family. For the next three months, Victor spent his days at work, and his nights and weekends with his family. The girls felt that something was up, but to soothe their concerns, he said that he was just getting old and sentimental.
After swim season, I decided not to play any sports. This way, I'd have time for the big finish. Victor planned a spring trip to St. Petersburg. He had a house, for two weeks, on the Baltic Sea, and a boat to use for fishing. He spent each day on the boat with his family having a great time. I was still in Moscow hoping and praying that the plan worked.
For the three months before the trip, Victor spent each night bringing home files that he'd photographed. He had access to a lot of information. But he didn't go out of his way to provide copies on something that would create suspicion. Everything that came across his desk he copied. This was his payment to give his family freedom. They'd receive new identities, jobs, education, homes, and monthly payments until they died.
Victor spent those last two weeks loving his family. On the second to last day of the trip, he finally told them that he was sick, and had only a few months left. He wanted them to have a life full of hope and freedom, and that he'd bought them a new life. They didn't understand, so he told them of the plan. He explained that he wanted them to go to America where they could be free. Just then, a fishing boat pulled alongside. After an emotional goodbye, he forced them inside the other boat, and it pulled away.
The raw emotions he felt were real when he pulled back to port. When later asked, those that saw him would confirm that he looked very upset, and out of sorts.
When he left the boat, he went back to the house. He wrote a note about how he'd found out that his wife and daughter were sleeping around, and he couldn't take it anymore. To take care of the shame, he'd taken them out to sea, and thrown them overboard. The reason he ended it this way, was so they'd have time to think about their betrayal, as they fought to stay alive in the cold water. He couldn't live his life any more, with his family's betrayal, and his sickness. The plan called for him to take sleeping pills. But, at the last minute, he changed the plan, and used a pistol to end his life. There were inquiries, and they even asked me questions. But I didn't know enough of the plan to have to lie about where they went, or who took them.
The suitcase full of film would make the guys at the CIA remember this day, as one of the largest information dumps of all time. By the end of the decade, it would lead to the end of the cold war. I stayed in Moscow so I could finish my school year. When the CIA couldn't convince me to go to college in the Soviet Union, they relented. They allowed my parents and me to leave the country.
Because of their service, the government gave them their choice of assignment. They had their choice of any location where they wouldn't face too many problems. Mom wanted to go back to Paris, but Dad wanted some place with less demands on him. He gave her the choice of Bermuda or the consulate in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada. She chose the small island in the Atlantic.
Now that I had a high school diploma, I needed to pick a college. Adam was still at MIT, and that would have been a logical choice. I also could join Tess at NYU, and stay at our apartment there. I was actually in New York when there was a knock at the door. That was weird, because the doorman hadn't called. It could be a neighbor, but the only one I knew was Yoko. With all that had gone on, I hadn't seen her since we walked in the park after John's death, and I wasn't sure if she was still in the building.
Instead, it was Kari, the CIA agent. She had another lady with her named Lisa. I let them in, and she saw the college catalogs on the table. "I guess we came at the right time."
"Can I offer you something to drink or eat?"
"I think that can wait. We wanted to talk to you about your future. I hope that you understand that you're still an undercover agent for the CIA. What that means is you can't apply your craft here in the United States. We'd love to push you to one of the foreign universities. How does Hong Kong or England strike you? If you want to stay here in the US, we'd consider loaning you to the FBI. This way you could do some work against groups that prey on college students."
"I don't think that those groups hang out at MIT, Harvard, or Stanford."
"No, but they do at Berkley. There are other places where they don't push strong patriotic agendas. Places where it's cool to push back against our government."
"Would I have to take Hippie 101?"
"No, you could study what you wanted. I know a girl who'll be starting there shortly. She'll be studying mathematics."
"I could go there, and study business or engineering."
"Yes you could."
"You do have another option though. Do you want to know which assignment I think would be best for you? It would be England or the University of Cambridge. It's about an hour and a half north of London."
"And what's there that would make it so special?"
"There's a boy your age who will be attending school there. He will be starting there in the fall. He's off to Cambridge to receive an education. In addition, we hope he will spend much of his time sowing his wild oats. I think that while he is there, he might need a friend; a friend who could become an ally in the future."
"Who is he?"
"He has a really long name, but his friends call him Hakim. He's the first son of the first son of King Armine of Saudi Arabia. His family has more money, wives, and influence than any other in the Middle East does. They dictate most of the policy to OPEC. Hakim is in line to become king one day. When he graduates, we expect that his family will give him positions in the Kingdom. As he grows, they'll upgrade him to positions with more responsibilities, and continue to train him. Just think about how this could play out. Let's say we had good relations with him today. Maybe over time, we could gather some dirt that would help us in the future. If you spend the next four to six years partying together, it could become a very good investment."
"Is he an ass hole, or a nice guy?"
"He's a Royal Prince. He has to act a little arrogant, but then again, so are you. His family wants to make sure that he has an excellent education, and to enjoy his youth. This is the same as your parents do. If you had the right openings, I think this could work out very well. To make sure this works, we've arranged to have you room across from him if you will accept this assignment. If not, there are some people at the University of Tokyo where we can place you."
"What do I have to do? Do I need to apply, and pay for college? Am I already in, and is everything paid for, or what?"
"We're already using your software in many places. So, what I want you to do is talk to Adam about getting a commission off the top. Once you have those funds you should have enough money to pay for the cost of your education and living expenses while at college. We'll increase the price of the order to cover all the costs. That way there will be no tie from the CIA to you. All your income will come from your company."
"I don't live cheap, and I'll have to fit in with a prince. Do I have a budget? Will I have to use my own funds if I overspend yours?"
"It's well-known that the Royal Family is worth billions. But, I'm not sure if the prince will have the family fortune at his disposal, so he can party at college. Try not to outspend the prince, and we'll let you know if you go too far. Just like any good mommy or daddy would do."
"So I need to start drinking more beer to prepare for college. Let's make sure I have this right. The first thing you want me to do is attend this prestigious school, where I'll study, and receive a first-rate education. Second, you'll pay my way so I can go to this university. Third, while I'm there, I'll be spying on a member of the Royal Family of Saudi Arabia. And last, while I'm doing all of this, you'll continue to pay my salary, benefits, and retirement. My options are to go to Berkley and hang out with my favorite Soviet math whiz, or go to a college that probably teaches in a foreign language. Did I correctly understand all that you said?"
"Australia and the University of Hong Kong, both have Universities that teach in English. That's just to name a couple of other places."
"You know what I meant. Let's plan on Cambridge, and if the Prince and I don't develop a friendship, then we'll go for plan 'B'."
For security reasons, Kari didn't want anyone to see us in public. So they left me alone to think about my college options. I called Mom and Dad to let them know that I'd received an acceptance to Cambridge. They were so proud of me, and glad that they'd picked Bermuda as their latest assignment.
The next time Adam came to visit for a few days, I touched on the new commission from the sale of software to the government. He said that, because of the work he was doing, he now had top-secret clearance. But, for everyone's safety, he didn't want to know the reasons behind the payments. We talked about the various products we were now offering, and the income each was producing. He was happy, and so was I.
Adam went to retrieve a disk to show me some new features on the new spreadsheet program. As he worked the program, I stood there amazed, as his fingers were flying on the keyboard. He really amazed me at how fast he could type. I mentioned it, and he said, "You're going to college. You can spend your time either typing papers or having fun. I can knock out a ten-page paper in forty minutes if I know what I want it to say. Typewriters are slow, because you don't want to make mistakes, or fix mistakes. If I type ninety percent correct, then I only need to spend a minute or two fixing the mistakes. You should work on your typing speed before you go to college."
"I could charge the girls blowjobs to help them out."
"They'd pay it. They've offered me plenty to type papers, and to use my computer. They can quickly fix mistakes after they proofread it for content. I just save the file on my hard drive or on a disk for them."
"That's something I'll work on over the next few weeks."
It appeared that Adam had hired good people. Our company was running well, and the products were in high demand. We now had many existing contracts. Because of that, almost every new computer that we sold came with our entry-level software pre-installed at the factory. If every user wanted, they could then buy the professional version, as an upgrade. We were printing money.
Over the next couple of weeks, I ran in the park and ate at various restaurants all over town. I also typed a few stories, and then copied a book or three, as practice for college. It was amazing how fast I became at typing. First, I focused on good technique. Then I focused on typing as fast as I could without any worry about typos, or mistakes. The word processor program would highlight almost all the problems. These I could then easily fix. Once I finished the document, I went back and reread everything. While doing that, I found several program issues. I took the time and typed them in a memo, which I sent that off to Adam, so he could address them in the future.
I decided to fly away from New York, and the US, and spend some time in Bermuda. I planned to spend some time with my parents, as they tried to settle in and set up shop in their new home.
They were both happy to see me. I worked on my tan during the day while Dad set up his office, met his staff. At the same time, Mom set up the house, and met her staff. I ran and swam quite a bit, but mostly just relaxed, and cleared my head to prepare for college. The government might be paying me, but that didn't mean that it was a full-time job. I'd do the same thing that I performed in the Soviet Union. I'd be myself, make some friends, learn as much as I could in school, have fun, and if the situation arose, then I'd try to help the CIA.
While stationed here in Bermuda, dad's title was Consul General not Ambassador. Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory. There already exists an ambassador between the U. S. and England. There can only be one Ambassador between countries. He served the same purpose, but it was a different title.
The weather in Bermuda was beautiful, and the beaches were great. I didn't go out looking for any women, although I saw quite a few. I'd have plenty of time once I got to college to take care of those needs. Mom and Dad seemed happy to have me around at night. That was because we enjoyed each other's company. After two weeks, it was time to head off to college. Mom decided to do the motherly thing. She escorted me to England to make sure that I settled in easily. She knew that I was only seventeen, but that would change soon enough.
I would soon be eighteen, on my own again, in a new place, with new friends. I sat on the plane and closed my eyes dreaming of what adventures might be in store for me at my new school.
We were allowed to move into the dorm when I arrived and my mom helped me get everything organized, we shopped for items that I may need and two days later she was flying home. The fridge and liquor cabinet were stocked similar to high school and she told me to be a kid, have fun, live and learn and of course that she loved me.
Things never go as planned. It wasn’t until the weekend that Hakim moved in.
I was across from Hakim and had the door to my room open when he showed up. His father and mother were both with him along with what I had to guess was security. I treated it as if it was an embassy function and made sure I was presentable. I walked across and knocked on the open door and introduced myself.
I met Hakim, his mother and his father, the prince. They didn’t introduce the security guys. I said, “I guess I’m not the only foreigner on the floor.”
The prince asked, “Where are you from?”
“My passport says, ‘America,’ but I have lived all over. My father is a US Ambassador to different parts of the world. He is currently in Bermuda but before that was Russia and Japan.”
“It is good to know that my son won’t be alone in a new place.”
“I’m sure that between the two of us, we will figure this place out. Everyone says that if you work hard that you can get a great education here. I’ve been working hard on my schooling and have done well to this point. In another 5 to 6 years, I should have my Masters and be ready to get a real job.”
“I hope that your drive rubs off on Hakim.”
“I’m sure when the time comes he’ll step up and do what he has to do.”
“We were going to go out to dinner. Would you like to join us?”
“Thanks for the invitation. I’ve just gotten my text books and like to read ahead a few chapters in case of a pop quiz and to have a better understanding of what I understand and don’t in the class so I can ask questions when I need to. Classes start in a couple days and I’ll have time to meet Hakim later. Spend this time with him while you can.”
We shook hands and I went back to my room. I did leave the door open because that’s what college kids do when they first move in. We were required by our college to live in the dorms for the first three years. I had my own room but shared a bathroom with the guy next door.
I picked up a book and started to read. The Prince said goodbye as they walked out and I waved goodbye. I was reading another when they came back and I saw them look in at me. My next door neighbor showed up a little while later and stopped over to say hello. His family lived in London. His name was Andrew Penn but went by Andy. I invited him in and we were sitting and talking when Hakim’s parents left. He was at the door saying goodbye and I called out to him and invited him in.
“Nick, my parents want me to be like you. I don’t know if I should kill you now or later.”
“Hakim, If you want to flunk out, then it really doesn’t matter. Just goof off and when the grades come out you can have the meeting that you will dread. I went away to high school and was on my own. I was at a great school that gave me a great education. I could have goofed off or done the bare minimum and gotten C’s. Instead I treated school like a job and got up, went to class and then studied or did homework until dinner. After dinner I would do whatever I wanted. I goofed off, drank, smoked, chased ladies and had fun. At the end of the semester, I had straight A’s. Mom and Dad were happy, I was happy and nobody bothered me.”
Andy said, “That sounds like a plan. I came here for an education. I plan to take over the family business one day and should know how to do it.”
Hakim said, “I have a little something to take over as well so I guess it isn’t a horrible plan.”
Walking over, I pulled open the fridge. “I have beer, whiskey and vodka. There are some sodas for mixers or if you don’t want the alcohol. If you tell me what you like, I can try to keep it stocked. My parents were happy with my grades in high school and like to make sure that I have what I need to succeed in life.”
“A Yank eh. I bet the beer is ice cold.”
“Andy, I can leave some out on the counter for you if you’d like.”
“I can drink it either way. I’ll take whatever you have.”
Pulling out two beers, one for Andy and one for me, I looked over and Hakim raised a finger to ask for one for himself. I thought that they didn’t drink for religious reasons but I wasn’t going to stop him. I turned back to Andy. “You said you were going to take over the family business. What business is your family in?”
“Liquor,” they all laughed. “My dad owns a liquor distributor and my uncles have a chain of pubs and clubs around the country. Last I heard it was about a hundred and fifty locations under five or six brands. They keep adding more. What about you guys?”
“My dad works for the American government as an ambassador. He has been in a few different locations. France, Belgium, Japan, Russia and is now the Consulate General to Bermuda since it is a territory and not a country. He is easing out in his later years.”
They both looked at Hakim. He shrugged, “My Grandfather is the king of Saudi Arabia. I will go into some role in the government and like Andy take over the family business.” That got another laugh.
Hakim asked, “What are you going to do after college, Nick?”
“I plan to get into the computer software business. I have a friend at MIT that’s in that business and we worked on his first big software project together in high school. It is fun to create something that saves time and money for people and businesses. Especially if they pay you for the help.”
Andy asked Hakim about the person he shared a bathroom with but Hakim hadn’t met him yet. Andy went over and knocked on the door. He came back with a thin blonde headed boy with shoulder length hair. He looked a little on the feminine side but he was invited in and offered a drink.
More introductions were made and they found out the kids name was William not Bill but William from Oslo Norway. His father was an architect and had his own firm. I said, “Today is Friday, we have orientation on Sunday and classes on Monday. Hakim are your parents in town or are we all here and parent-free now?”
“They drove back to London and will fly home some time during the week. I’m on my own.”
There were a couple things that crossed my mind. I said, “I think we should all go out tonight. I was thinking I might get a little drunk but I don’t have a car so I won’t worry about that. I was also thinking that if I got locked out of this place, I could knock on Andy’s door and get through the bathroom but if he’s out, I would have to find a porter. If I was drunk or stoned that wouldn’t be good. Hakim, would you hold a key for me in case. That way between you and Andy, I’d have a good chance of getting back in.”
Andy said, “I was already locked out because the doors close and lock automatically like a hotel. That was the reason I stopped by but I’m glad that I did. I was going to walk through the bathroom to get back into my apartment. William, will you hold a key for me?”
William said, “Sounds like a good idea, I will give Andy a key.”
Hakim shrugged and said, “Sounds good. Andy, does your family have any pubs or clubs around here?”
“A few. We can go out tonight but I try not to make it known that I’m part of the family. I can find things wrong easier if the staff isn’t trying to kiss my ass.”
I said, “I got my allowance so the first round or three is on me. My first official visit to a British pub.”
Keys were exchanged and they went out. They went to a pub first called the Red Lion and had pub food. I had the fish and chips and as I enjoyed the greasy food, I knew that I would have to make sure that I had a good workout routine. Going by the boathouse to check on using an erg might be a good idea to keep the pounds off.
We were all drinking and enjoying the atmosphere. There were some dart boards and backgammon boards set up. I sucked at darts but had played cards and backgammon my whole life. Andy was great at darts and said that he had grown up in pubs and was above average at darts, and anything on a billiards table including snooker.
There was an older gentleman that was sitting at a backgammon table and I asked if he was looking for some competition. He just nodded and said, “A pint for the winner?”
After sitting down, we started to play. We both had pints already and took sips as we watched the other play. I was playing a different style than he was. He was trying to get his back pieces around the board while I was leaving my back pieces back and moving my forward pieces to set up a block if I got lucky late in the game. It would be a big win or big loss.
I got lucky and was able to get one of his pieces and he couldn’t get back on the board to play. When there was finally an open spot and he was able to get back on the board, I had the game in the bag and offered up a double on the bet but he forfeited and took the loss. He introduced himself as Alexander. “It’s nice to meet you. I could get used to playing here and winning beers but the way I play I think it was luck or partial luck that I won this time.”
“It’s an aggressive strategy that relies on some lucky rolls but it can help you win as we just saw. I haven’t seen you around here before.”
“I just moved into town to go to school here.”
“And figured that the pub would be a good place to start your education?”
“As good as any I guess. Classes don’t start for a couple days and I’ve already read ahead in most of them.”
“What are you taking?”
“Creative Writing, Calculus for business, Computer Programming, Humanities, Chemistry with a Lab and The effects of the cold war on modern society.”
“That’s quite a class load. What have you studied for your calculus class?”
“So far I’ve read up on limits and derivatives and how they are needed or used in calculus compared to algebra or geometry. It is like going from explaining a two dimensional picture to a three dimensional picture. I studied it in high school so they aren’t new concepts.”
“Where did you go to high school?”
“Russia, in Moscow. It is harder to learn calculus and a new language at the same time.”
“I can imagine. How did you do it?”
“Tutors helped with both.”
“You don’t sound Russian.”
“I’m American, born in Paris, grew up in Belgium, Japan and then did a couple years of high school in the US before finishing in Moscow. England seemed like a good next stop.”
“One more game?”
The next game I won again but used a different style and a lucky double fives near the end to seal the deal. He bought me another pint and I went to watch Andy kick some ass in darts. It was more than a few pints later that I paid the bar tab and we went down the road to a club that had a band and dancing. This catered less to the locals and more to the college students.
The volume was turned way up from where it was at the pub. There was smoke, mostly tobacco and a dance floor in front of the band where more than a few people were out and moving to the music. I knew how to dance from the many functions we attended and school dances so I knew how to move with the music. My three wingmen looked around and didn’t see any empty tables. They all kind of looked to me to make one magically appear.
I saw a stand up table that had two girls standing with a drink in front of each of them. I walked over and asked, “Do you mind if we share the table with you, or were you waiting for someone?” Just then the waitress was walking by and I said, “I’d like to order a refill for each of the ladies, four Carlsbergs and six Alabama slammers.” She nodded and kept walking. It made sense that even if they said, ‘no’ to sharing a table, that they would at least let us wait for drinks.
Their names were Corrie and Tracy. They did agree to let us stay and share the table. We all took turns dancing together and went through a few rounds of drinks and shots. Eventually the band stopped playing and the lights came on as they sent people out the door. Andy invited both girls back to our place but although it looked like they might want to, they decided to wait until another day. We walked them back to their building before the four of us staggered back to our rooms.
◊◊◊
Chapter 2
The next morning came too early and reminded me that I needed some thicker curtains. I was never one to just lay in bed and try to get back to sleep unless I awoke a few hours before the sun. I put on some running shoes, shorts and a t-shirt and headed out for a jog. I didn’t run directly there but had in mind to stop by the boathouse.
It was almost 9am but there weren’t many kids out and about on campus yet. There were people down by the boathouse and as I walked up, I was surprised to see Julie. When she saw me, she stopped and stared before breaking into a run to come to me. As she got closer I could tell that she wanted to just jump into my arms but instead stopped to make sure it was actually me. “Nick, what are you doing here?”
“Starting school. What about you? What are you doing here?”
Looking down at her Cambridge sweatshirt, she said, “I needed to get away so after a year at Yale, I transferred across the pond and this will be my second year here. If I’m a junior here that means that you should be a senior at Emerson. Did they kick you out?”
“My parents were transferred to Russia and wanted me to go with them. I did my last year in Russia and they only have eleven grades. I finished up and graduated. My parents are now in Bermuda and I think it will be my dad’s last stop. He is slowing down a little and mom likes island life better than Moscow.”
“Are you rowing?”
“I wasn’t invited to but was hoping to use an erg here to stay in shape. If not, I'll get one for my room.”
“Come, let me introduce you to some people.”
She introduced me to her roommate that she was rowing with, Sara. “Sara rows on the team and I work out with her and row on the weekend or in the off season when she needs a partner.”
Julie knew the coaches and others on the team and took me into the boathouse and introduced me to the men’s coach. Coach Radcliff. “Coach, I want you to introduce you to my friend, Nick. He rowed with me in high school and was the best rower on the team. He wants to use an erg but I think you should see how he stacks up and let him try out for the team.”
Coach held out his hand and we shook. “Nice to meet you, Nick. I can’t promise anything but I can always see what you have to offer the team.”
“I’ve pulled on an erg almost every day since I was eight. I was in Russia last year and didn’t row competitively but still worked out.”
“Let’s go up and have you pull on the erg and see how you do and see if you would fit in any of our boats.”
“I wasn’t really planning on that but I guess if I can perform at my worst, I can do better when I wasn’t out all night at the clubs.”
He just shook his head and we went inside and into a nice weight room with a row of twenty ergs. He called over Ethan. After introductions, Coach said, “Ethan is the captain this year and will see how you do. I'm looking for consistency over the length of the race and not some sprint to the first split.”
Ethan sat down and I sat next to him. “Just follow my stroke and we'll go 5,000 meters.”
Nodding my understanding, I strapped in and gave a few pulls on the erg to see how much tension I'd be pulling against. We warmed up for a couple minutes to get the muscles working and then stopped to reset the machines and start our test. It wasn’t really a race since I was just pulling with him. By the end of the pull, I was with him pull for pull and didn’t drop off or lose pace. I was only about 50 meters behind him or 1% off of his power for the length of the pull. Both he and the coach looked at each other and nodded their heads.
“Care to go out on the water and show us if you can do that for real?”
“If you want me too, I can. I wasn’t really planning on it this morning but don’t have any other plans today.”
Julie and Sara were off to the side and smiling. We went out and I helped Ethan get down a two-man boat. It was a sweep boat with one oar on each side. Ethan said, “The two-man sweep is a hard event because you have to find two guys that are close in their abilities or one will dominate the pull or have to give less than 100% to stay even. I'm the top rower on the team and right now you would be number two based on that pull.”
It was just the two of us as we pushed away from the dock. “I haven’t been on the water since the open race in the states over a year ago and I was pretty drunk when I left the bar a few hours ago. I really don’t know how I'd stack up against you or any others if I was actually ready to race.”
“Well I’m glad that you stopped by when you did. I’m not going to try to kill you but just want to see how consistent you are with your pulls with the power you put into each pull.”
“You can sit in the stroke position and I'll try to keep up.”
We had both just had a good pull so we went upriver at a leisurely pace. The river was not straight at all and we were always making corrections to stay on course. Eventually Ethan said, “It’s five thousand meters to the boathouse. Let’s see what we can do.”
I thought he was going to kill me as he pulled long, hard and steady strokes. I was sweating and breathing hard as we crossed the finish line and I saw him stop his stopwatch that was on a mount in front of him.
“Nick, we could have just won almost any 2 man race. That was a great time. I don’t know much about getting people officially on the team but as far as I’m concerned, you’ve earned a spot.”
“I think you just killed me. I want to puke up all those shots from last night.”
“You kind of got ambushed this morning. If you were really out drinking all night, you may be better than me when we can see the real you.”
Julie was sitting out in an Adirondack chair. Getting some sun and watching as Ethan and I took the boat out and stored it back in the boathouse. “Hey Ethan, how did he do?”
“Much better than expected. we're used to kids thinking they’re good enough to walk on and compete but it takes more than muscles. Nick has the natural rhythm that’s needed to glide through the water.” Turning his attention to me he said, “Come by Monday around four and we'll have the rest of the team here.”
By now it was almost noon and I was drenched in sweat. Julie said, “You need a shower and then we can get some lunch and catch up.”
“Are you going to come and help me wash my back?”
A frown crossed her face. “I’ve been dating a guy for about a year now. His name is Ian and you should meet him. I'd appreciate you not talking about the times we’ve gotten together in the past. I'll just say that we went to the same high school.”
“No worries. I’m just surprised we both ended up here.”
“Me too but Emerson is one of the top high schools in the world. Cambridge is one of the top universities in the world. Three or four students from Emerson end up here most years. The same is true for Harvard, Yale and Stanford. The first two, being in the Northeast, the numbers are almost double that.”
“That makes sense I guess but either way, it's a pleasant surprise to see you and I’m used to getting the cold shoulder from you, so it shouldn’t bruise my ego too much.”
“I’ll bruise you,” she said as she punched my shoulder.
She told me where to meet her for lunch and we decided on 1pm. I went back and showered. I didn’t know where the place was but found it pretty easily. I sat at the bar and ordered a beer. The workout had burned some calories and I was in the mood for something cold and wet. The girl behind the bar was cute and the guy three stools down was flirting with her. It sounded like he was a regular.
Twenty minutes later Julie came in with her roommate and the guy down the bar got up to meet her at the door. She didn’t see me and they went to get a table. I went over after I finished my beer and Julie got up to introduce me to Ian. He gave me the once over to see who his competition was, or at least that was the impression he gave me.
Sara smiled at me and she gave the impression that Julie had told her a few stories of our days at Emerson. Ian asked, “So how well do you know Julie?”
“Fairly well. Her best friend was dating my roommate and best friend at our high school so we saw each other fairly often. She was a few years ahead of me and left after one year but I did go on a date or two with her younger sister. We did a lot of group activities and would go to concerts or skiing with our group of friends. I’ve met both of her parents at some of the rowing regattas.”
“You row? Are you rowing for the university?”
“I don’t know, I went down to pull some on the machines this morning and the coach asked me to row some with the captain and he seemed to offer me an invitation to row or at least stop by on Monday. So I guess we’ll see how things work out.”
“Well, good luck with making the team.”
The burger looked good on the menu so that’s what I had but switched to club soda with a lime for a drink. The beer was good but if I was going to row, I'd need to limit the intake. I asked, “Where did you learn to row, Sara?”
“I’m a local from London and rowed for a club and at school. I enjoy the quiet mornings on the water. It's kind of like Tai Chi. So calm and yet still a good workout. Once I started, I was hooked and luckily did well enough to row for Cambridge. My father rowed here back in the day.”
Our food arrived and the burger was alright. The girls each had salads and Ian had a steak. There was some chit chat during the meal. As the meal came to an end, Ian asked, “So what business is your father in, Nick?”
“He works for the government.”
“My family is in textiles and makes fabrics. It's one of the largest in Great Britain.”
“I don’t know much about fabric but I did sew some pajamas for my home economics project in high school. I got an A on it.”
Julie laughed as she remembered being in class with me and Sara thought it was funny. “Do you still wear them?”
“I'm bigger now than I was then and to be honest, I only wore them around the apartment but never to bed. I don’t like to be confined in bed.”
Smiling, Sara touched my arm and said, “You’ve grown nicely.”
“Get a room, you slut,” came from Julie as Sara blushed.
When the check came, Ian snatched it up and said he would take care of it as he whipped out daddy’s credit card. “Thanks for lunch. I’ll get the next one.” was all I could say.
Julie asked, “What college are you in?”
It took me a minute to figure out what she was asking. The university is made up of many different colleges. The colleges also provide housing so it was almost like asking what dorm I was in but the classes were assigned by college. I replied, “Caius, I’m studying Computer Science.”
Ian popped in with, “There are a lot of tech companies moving to Scotland.”
“They’re starting everywhere. There are a lot out near San Francisco as well.”
Julie asked, “What did you have to do to get into Caius? Sara and I are in Kings and Ian is across the river at St. John’s.”
“I don’t know. I just showed up and that is where they told me to go. I had someone else do the paperwork for me.”
“Nick, I did mine and spent months going back and forth trying to figure out which college to apply to. I think you had a lot less stress in your life.”
“I don’t stress about much.”
We all split up to go our separate ways. As I was about to enter my building, I heard my name called. I looked up to see a girl walk up to me. It was Lisa from when Kari came to visit me in New York and talked to me about college. “Can we take a short walk?”
“Sure.”
We walked together until we found a quiet place. “How’s it going so far?”
“Hakim showed up yesterday and we went out drinking last night. I have a key to his room but he has one to my room in case one of us gets locked out. I don’t see how I’m going to see much in his room though. If you want to try the same thing that we did in Russia, but putting a camera in his word processor.”
“Video would take up too much storage.”
“Tell Adam to put a motion sensor on it and beam it across to my room and have a recorder there. Maybe hide it in a new stereo. That way his word processor would be plugged in. My stereo would be plugged in. No need for batteries. I don’t know where his desk is compared to the bed but if it’s at a weird angle, we can change it on the upgraded version.”
“That sounds like a good idea. So you need one more?”
“I have one that I brought with me but why not send me five. I'll send mine back and set a routine of being a tester. If you want to put a camera in another one, I'll give it to Julie for her room.”
“Be professional Nick.”
“I was just kidding. How do you want me to get the recordings to you?
“I’m enrolled here as well so we can be friends and I can stop by.”
“I won’t tell Kari if you don’t.”
“Keep dreaming, Stud. I'll call Kari and see how fast they can get the devices sent over. Who will be getting them?”
“Me, Hakim, both of our suitemates, Andy and William. The last one was really for Jill and her suitemate Sara.”
“We live in the same building but I’m on the ground floor. Room 108.”
“Are you taking classes? You can help me study.”
“I think we have one or two together. I was like you and brought in right out of high school. This is a real college education for me and I’m also here to assist you if you need anything.”
“Well if you need any help just ask. I want you to do well in school.”
“Thanks Nick. I’ve heard stories about you and don’t know if they’re all bullshit, or if you’re really that good.”
“Maybe we can compare notes one day and figure it all out.”
“Maybe we will.”
As people were getting to know the school and hoping to meet new friends. There were a lot of doors open down the hallway. Andy saw me walk by and called out to me. “Hey Nick where have you been? I stopped by to see if you wanted to get some breakfast.”
“I skipped breakfast but tried out for the crew team and had a date for lunch. I also met a girl on the first floor. It hasn’t been a bad day.”
“Cambridge is known for its crew team. I don’t think you have much of a chance.”
“I’m free now, do you want to hang out?”
“Come on in. I’m just unpacking some things and setting up my room.”
“I got in a few days ago but still have some things I need to get.”
He had a chair that had a few things on it but he moved them and I sat down. He asked, “What do you think about being away from home and starting college? I really don’t know what to expect.”
“I’ve traveled all over so I’m not worried about living in England. I went away to boarding school for a couple years. I was in America but my parents were in Japan. I guess I’m already used to it. I said something yesterday and it’s true. College isn’t any harder than high school. The biggest difference is that you don’t have your parents there to harp on you to do your work. If you can make yourself get up, go to class, study and do the work, you will have nothing to worry about. There are tutors and places to go if you need help but you can’t let yourself fall behind.”
“So basically all I have to do is grow up.”
“You’ll have to at some point in your life, Peter Pan. Just think about what it will be like when you graduate with all A’s and B’s. Your dad will be begging you to come and work for him so you can learn and take over the family business instead of finding a place to put his freeloading son. He won’t have to argue with your mom about how much he has to pay you. He’ll know that if he doesn’t pay you that someone else will take you away and gladly pay you what you’re worth.”
“That puts a different spin on it.”
“All it takes is setting up a routine. Working hard and being honest with yourself about how well you understand the subject.”
“Can you help me out if I need it? I did okay in high school.”
“Sure, I even spoke to a friend today about getting something for all us guys to help our grades and speed up the work we have to do.”
“What is it?”
“Like a typewriter but it’s called a word processor.”
“I think my dad’s secretary has one. It cost a lot of money. I don’t think he will splurge for me to have one for my papers.”
“My friend invented them. He sends them to me to test out and give him feedback. I told him to send me five if he could.”
“Who are the five?”
“You, me, Hakim, William and the girl I had lunch with. She isn’t a girlfriend but a girl I met at school in the states a few years ago.”
“Is she cute?”
“She’s a hottie, but has a boyfriend. She’s also three years older. Her sister is just a year younger than me.”
As he got his room in order, we chatted about growing up in the families we did and the differences in the countries I’d lived in. We played a few games of backgammon with a ten-pound bet on the winner of the match to 64. It would give us a reason to get together and chat.
William was walking out of his room and poked his head in to ask, “Do you guys want to get some dinner? Hakim and I are going out in a little while to get some food.”
“Sure,” I said after getting a nod from Andy. We decided to leave in an hour and I went back to my room. I called Adam since it was a reasonable time in Boston. “Hello brother.”
“Hey, how are things in England?”
“Good. I want to get some word processors sent over for me and some friends. One of my friends, you know.”
“Who’s that?”
“Julie’s over here. I ran into her at the boathouse when I went down to row.”
“I thought she went to Yale. I haven’t spoken to her or Tess in over a year.”
“I bet you can still see Tess naked when you close your eyes though.”
“I have her naked ass on my wall with John Lennon. I’m glad that Tiffany likes the picture.”
“Give her a hug for me.”
“I will. Do you want these processors overnight or what?”
“This will be somewhat like the ones you shipped to Russia. We have some beta testers that We'll need to trade out or get information for suggested upgrades. Send me five tomorrow and the upgrades when you get them figured out.”
“I’ll talk to Kari and see what she can do to help get everything sent and the upgrades made.”
“Thanks. How’s everything else going?”
“Everything’s rolling along. Every piece of software is continually upgraded and reordered. We're printing money and trying to keep up with demand. When you finish school you may just want to retire.”
“Living the dream. I can become an ambassador and follow the family tradition.”
“Let me get things rolling on this end. We can ship using diplomatic flights and then send a courier when they arrive in England. I’ll let you know if there’s a problem. Give me your address.”
After giving him my address, we said goodbyes and I was glad I didn’t have to pay my phone bill. I called Mom and Dad and spoke to them for a while about his new post and he said that it was a lot easier. Russian problems were big whereas Bermuda problems were about a US citizen getting drunk and starting a fight or getting too much sun. Mom liked the climate and the people on the island.
When we went out to dinner we actually went to a restaurant. It was better than a pub but we had pizza so not the healthiest food. During dinner I told them about my friend Adam and the word processors. They all seemed happy once I explained how they worked and the benefits and savings of time. I also had to explain why he let us use them for free as we were testing the hardware and software and reporting any bugs or suggestions. We also would have to trade them out from time to time for newer models or versions of software and also so the engineers could do tests on the wear and tear on the machines. They all seemed willing to do the reporting if they could fix papers easily.
When I asked what the other two guys did all day, I think William blushed. Hakim said, “I slept in and then unpacked most of the day. Just relaxed for the most part.”
“I did about the same,” said William.
It made me think that they weren’t telling the whole truth but it didn’t affect me so I didn’t press the issue.”
We all had some beers with dinner but didn’t get drunk. We went to another club but about an hour in, William and Hakim said they were heading out. Andy and I met a couple girls and had fun drinking, dancing and talking to them. It was around midnight when one of the girls suggested we go back to their place.
I ended up with Carol, in her room and Andy was next door with the other girl. We stood kissing for a while at the foot of her bed. I asked, “What are you looking for tonight? Something slow and easy, hard and forceful or do you want to sit back and let me rock your world?”
“Nick, you are only the second guy I’ve been with. I’m not looking for a boyfriend but I’m away from home and want to spread my wings a little bit. Can you be gentle?”
“I know how to do that.” We went back to kissing as my hand started to unbutton her shirt. She was doing the same to me but using two hands. She was at my belt before I finished with her shirt buttons. We broke the kiss long enough to take our shirts off and she smiled back at me as I smiled down at her lacy bra. She put her hand on my abs and rubbed up and down smiling.
She took off her own bra so I wouldn’t have to fumble behind her back. We kissed again and her hard nipples scraped across my chest as she went back to undoing my belt. I let my fingers slip inside the top of her skirt while I kicked off my shoes and used my toe to peel off my socks.
When my belt was undone and my button and zipper opened, she wanted to get my pants off. I watched her eyes as I stepped back and pushed my jeans to the floor along with my boxers. Her eyes got big but the smile never left her face.
After finding a snap on the side of her skirt, she was soon standing in just her panties. “You look lovely,” escaped my lips as I knelt in front of her and kissed her stomach before lowering her panties and nudging her back to sit down on the end of the bed. My hands were on her knees as I first kissed the inside of her knees and then up her inner thigh.
When my kisses found her pussy, she tried to push me away once and then again. I looked up and quietly said, “Let me take care of you. You wanted it gentle but I want it to last. Sit back and enjoy. You can tell me what you are feeling so I can try to make it better.” With that, my tongue swiped up her slit and drug across her clit.
“Oooo!” came from her lips as her hand was again on my head but not pushing me away. They got closer together and louder until she came. My fingers joined in and she was soon cumming again. She was soon calling out, “Yes, yes, yes.” It was after her fourth orgasm that I pulled back and kissed her pussy goodbye and started to kiss up her body until my lips were on her neck and my cock was at the entrance of her pussy I used my hand to move the head up and down her slit while I tapped it on her clit.
“Don’t tease me, I want to feel it inside of me. This is so much better than last time.”
Carol was already amped up. She started cumming again as soon as I was all the way inside of her and for the next fifteen minutes, she groaned, moaned and screamed her satisfaction. When I rolled off of her, I saw her suitemate, Jessica and Andy standing naked in the bathroom door. They scooted back into her room and I held Carol to make sure she was okay.
“Do you want me to stay and hold you?”
It sounded like she purred but I think she was just thinking. “Nick, I had fun but wouldn’t be comfortable waking up with you in my room or in my bed. Can you lay with me for five or ten minutes and then let me fall asleep and continue in my dreams?”
“I can do that.” I held her and she gently rubbed my stomach, chest and once held my soft penis in her hand. I did rinse off quickly in the bathroom and when I looked into Jessica’s room, they were both dressed. Jessica smiled at my full frontal. I asked, “Are you ready to go in a couple minutes?” Andy nodded his response.
After kissing Carol goodnight, I dressed and left. I knocked on Jessica’s door. Before Andy opened the door, Sara came around the corner and smiled in recognition. Andy opened the door and joined me in the hall. I asked, “Do you live on this floor, Sara?”
“Yes, down on the right. What are you doing here?”
“I should be knocking on doors looking for you but we were just talking with some of your neighbors.”
“I haven’t met them yet but it’s good to see you again. Have a good night, Nick.”
“Good night, Sara.”
As we walked along the road back to our building. Andy said, “I guess I have some other things to learn from you besides study schedules. I had Jessica undressed and we were going at it. We finished once and after a few breaths, it was hard again and we went again. I was done after that and after a few minutes Jessica went to the bathroom and didn’t come back. After 10 minutes, I went to check on her and she had been watching you. When I got there you still hadn’t entered her. I learned that sometimes there are other things that can make it better for your partner. I hope you don’t mind but it wasn’t my plan to watch but I ended up checking on Jessica and well it just happened.”
“I’ll let Carol worry about that. I’m not a shy or innocent guy. You did a good job at wingman today. We'll have to do it again sometime.”
“Jess said that she and Carol weren’t looking for boyfriends but just a fun night to cut loose.”
“That’s fine with me. I plan to enjoy college and keep my options open.”
As we exited the stairwell into our hallway I said, “Dibs on the shower first.”
“Don’t take all night or use all the hot water.”
“I’m ready to sleep so it will be quick.”
Sunday morning, I slept in and went down to the dining room in my building. I didn’t see any of my neighbors and didn't know anyone in the dining room. It would have been easy to sit down by myself. I didn’t have a newspaper or a book so I looked across the tables that had people and saw a girl sitting at a table. She was alone without a book or anything and was just sitting down. I took my tray and walked over. “Do you mind if I sit here?”
Looking at the other tables and seeing that over half were empty she said, “Sure.”
“I’m Nick. I just moved in.”
“Sandra, I’ve been here too long.” We ate in silence for a while and then she asked, “Why did you pick this table to sit at?”
“You were alone. You weren’t reading a book or a newspaper and you were just starting your meal. I’m in the same position. I figured I might meet someone new.”
She wasn’t beautiful, she wore glasses, she didn’t dress very fashionably unless frumpy was a fashion. She did wear glasses but not coke bottle lenses. I guess the best way to describe her was plain. I wasn't trying to find a girlfriend but just some friends. “Is there anything I should know about living or going to school here that might help me out?”
With a little laugh she said, “Study and do your work. I'm working on my degree in Chemical Engineering and help teach some of the beginning Chemistry classes. Some kids come in thinking they can show up for the class before finals and cram enough to get an A. Most don’t even pass.”
“I’m not that guy. I’ve already read ahead in most of my classes and did the same through most of high school. I'm here to learn so why not get the best education the school has to offer.”
“What’s your major?”
“Computer Science. I like software and the things you can make it do.”
“You’ve written programs? Like for high school?”
“Yes and some things for business and the general public. The school stuff I did on my own. The other stuff, I had a partner that helped.”
“Where’s your partner?”
“He lives in Boston.”
“That’s a city I’d like to visit. Is that where you’re from?”
“I’m not from anywhere.”
“Where were you born?”
“Paris.”
“Did you grow up there?”
“No, we moved to Belgium before I could remember Paris.”
“How long were you in Belgium?”
“About five years.”
“Then where did you live?”
“Japan, until I started high school.”
“Where did you go to high school?”
“New Hampshire in the states then Moscow for my final year. Then I moved here to go to college.”
“You’ve been in Japan the longest but it doesn’t sound like you have a place or even country you can call home.”
“I’ve always lived on American soil until now so I guess I’ll call that home. I grew up in American Embassies.”
“Sounds like an interesting life.”
“No complaints. Where did you grow up?”
“With my nose in a book. My family lives outside of Munich, Germany. My father is an engineer for BMW.”
“That’s an interesting job. What made you want to get into Chemistry?”
“It's interesting how things come together or what things are made of. What can make something stronger, lighter, more explosive? All the different variables that can change something else... Chemistry can make the world a better place or a worse place depending on what you do.”
By now my sausages and eggs were gone. I wasn’t sure what to do with the baked beans. It must be an English thing. We both got up and took care of our trash before saying goodbye and going back to our rooms. I put on my shoes and went for a run. I ran a long way but also was orienting myself to the campus and the city as the school seemed to go on forever with over 35 different colleges. The old buildings and cool architecture made the scenery more enjoyable. We had orientation after lunch so I showered and was ready to go on time. Andy asked if I wanted to walk over to the lecture hall where the orientation was going to be. It was much smaller than I expected but since it was broken up by colleges, the 3,000 freshmen were divided into groups of a hundred or so.
The rules were all covered as well as the tutors, porters which were like resident assistants in the US. We were told that we were now adults and should act like it. The whole meeting took almost two hours but a lot of people were introduced and there were questions and answers at the end. Most of the questions were already answered in the talk but the student must not have liked the answer or something.
When we were dismissed from the orientation, it was like someone shooting a gun to start a race for me. My life dropped back into student mode and I was ready to start college. I’d have to figure out my routines but I knew that I was ready to succeed. We weren't at orientation together but since we all got out at the same time we ended up back at the dorm at the same time. I said to Hakim as he was opening his door. “I’m going to read ahead for my classes tomorrow. Do you want to get dinner at 6?”
“Yeah, just knock on my door when you’re ready. I’m going to read ahead as well.”
Andy and William were still in the hall and Andy said, “Same here. I feel good about school this year.”
At 6:00, I put down my book and pulled on a shirt. After a couple knocks on doors we all went down to the cafeteria and got some food. It was interesting that they all said that they felt good about going into class, knowing that they had some idea about what to expect.
College in some ways is actually easier than high school as we didn’t have every class every day. The subject matter was more advanced and the amount of work in each class was greater but having to attend only two or three classes a day would leave plenty of time to get the work done.
The first day wasn’t too bad. Finding the room was the hardest thing. Then we'd review the syllabus. If the teacher was ambitious, they might teach a little but not a hard day. Our creative writing teacher said, “I know that many of you grew up and live in Great Britain but we have quite a few international students. I’d like a three page paper done on where you grew up and an interesting story about something you did there.”
Shaking my head, I knew that I'd just pick something and write it. I picked up my books and started to walk out. The teacher, Professor Green said, “Excuse me, please come here.”
Walking over to her desk, “Yes Ma’am?”
“I saw you shaking your head. This is a writing class. You are going to write a lot. You can’t have an attitude that it's a chore, it's what you are being graded on and learning to write will take you far.”
“It isn’t the writing, just the topic. I had this discussion just yesterday over breakfast. I’ve lived in many different countries and really don’t have a place I'd call home. I’m American but have only lived there about 10% of my life and those were at a boarding school my freshman and sophomore years in high school.”
“Oh, that’s a different story and I’m sorry I took it the wrong way. With all that travel and moving, I’m sure you had some interesting things happen in your life. Why don’t you pick one and just write about that?”
“The problem there would be picking just one,” I said with a slight laugh.
Professor Green smiled back, “I read hundreds of kid’s papers each year and most are pretty boring. Try to make it something interesting for me.”
“I think that I have just the story. I haven’t ever told the story to anyone. Many were involved but it was seldom talked about.”
“What was your name again?”
“I’m Nick Duke.”
“I look forward to reading your story Nick.”
I was almost late for my Calculus class but made it in time and after reviewing the syllabus, the professor went directly into teaching. I had Calculus in high school but they didn’t offer AP classes. Reading through the book there wasn’t much that I hadn’t covered. I knew that math would be a good thing to understand in computers so I paid attention to make sure that I knew it as well as I could.
My last class of the day was Program design theory. It was an introductory class but a requirement for my degree. It was interesting to see the students in the class. Some had some background and some had never done much on a computer. The one in my room was probably my fourth or fifth one and I knew how to program. I wasn’t really too worried about the class.
There was a highlight to the boring class and that was a cute blonde girl. She was tall and in good shape. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she had the prettiest smile. Her blue eyes stood out as they sparkled. I was drawn out of my dreams as the teacher wrapped up the class. “I know some of this is basic and already known to some of you but we'll soon have the class caught up and we'll be plowing ahead so don’t get too used to not paying attention.” He was looking at me when he said it.
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Chapter 3
As I looked at the syllabus, I saw there was a project to flowchart a program. It wasn’t due for a couple weeks but I knew that it would have to be done so I thought that now would be a good time to start.
It was only 1pm and I had my classes done for the day and my lunch had been eaten. Sitting down at my desk, I started first on my paper for my writing class.
It wasn’t hard for me to pick a story. I wrote the story about taking the nude photos of Nikki and how it caused a huge witch-hunt for both the photographer and the model. I did change her name just in case but other than that, it was all true. The word processor helped me to quickly type the paper and I was reading through it when there was a knock on my door. I still had the four pages in my hand when I opened the door.
There was Hakim. “Hey Nick, I’m doing what we talked about and trying to get my work done. Is there any chance I could use your word processor? I have to write a paper for my writing class.”
“Come on in. I just finished mine and have one or two edits to make.” He followed as I walked to the desk. “I’ve written it and used the machine to find most of the errors. I’m just reading it now to see if there are any other things I want to change.”
Sitting down, I showed him how to view things on the screen and then fix or change something and when I had finished editing my paper, I printed it out and put it in a folder. I saved it in case I needed to fix it later. Then opened a new document for Hakim to start typing.
I sat on the couch and did my calculus problems that were assigned for homework. Hakim was a slow typist but was making progress as I opened another notebook and looked at a blank page. What program did I want to design? I thought about the problems in high school that Adam and I tackled and made money from. What else could we do?
The way that I saw it was that not too many people were used to using computers so didn’t look to them to solve their problems. They looked at computers to guide rockets to the moon or some other problem far beyond their day-to-day lives. I thought about my small circle of friends and Andy came to mind. He had a family that was in the liquor business. Distribution and Pubs. I started to think about inventory management, and ringing up food and drinks. I started to jot down ideas and those sparked other ideas. I was on a roll when Hakim asked, “I’m done writing. Can you help me fix and print it?”