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Last Encounter: Part I

Jay Walworth

I was looking forward to the free day ahead of me.  Or at least I thought I would.  I had just gotten into the apartment building – not a shabby place at all – greeting the guard at the door with a distracted smile and a little wave before digging into my bag.  As I made my way to the elevator, I heard someone call my name.  It was strangely familiar.  I knew I heard it from somewhere.  I stopped what I was doing and turned to look and see who it was.  My blood froze in horror.

“Clark,” I said with a bit of undisguised distaste.

I looked back at the elevator door and pushed the button for it to get to where I was.  What the hell was he doing here?  It had been at least two years since I’d seen the guy and for him to be in the same place as I caused me to wonder what kind of bad deed I did just recently.  Just seeing him was already torturous.

“Hey, Jay,” he greeted with a sickening sweetness.  “I heard you lived here.  What’s up?”

Where’d he hear that?  What is he a stalker now?  I groaned inwardly.  To him, however, I returned a half-hearted smile.  “Nothing’s up.  Same old, same old, I guess.”

I left it at that.  Anyone can see from the relatively short answer that I didn’t want to talk.  Anyone with a half a mind could see that.  But he seemed so oblivious.  Typical, I thought as I saw him open his mouth to speak again.  Once more I felt like letting out a sound of exasperation, but I held it back.  No use in showing it.  He seemed to be heading the same way as me.  No need to be disrespectful at the first sight of him after all these years.

“Really?  How’s college?  What did you take up again?  Which floor are you going to?  I’m visiting a friend of mine.  Maybe you know her.  She’s a freelance pianist who’s part German.  Have you heard of her?  Her name is Cornelia.”

Don’t hit your head with your back… not even against the wall.  Just stay calm, Jay.  Just stay calm.  Damn, but he was annoying.  Even as I chanted the thoughts in my head, I could feel my blood pressure rising with each sound he emitted.  I let out a loud breath when the elevator opened.  I had until the tenth floor.  Hopefully he got off on the fifth… no, maybe the fourth… no, I think the next floor would be best.

“No, sorry,” I replied in a mumble as I stepped in.

He followed quickly behind me.  I noted his stride hadn’t changed one bit since I last saw him two years ago.  It was still that awkward open-legged step that made him look like a wannabe ‘Charlie Chaplin’; clopping along like he had big shoes.  Dear Lord, even his walk pissed me off.  As the doors closed, I felt my chest constrict.  He was too close to me – his annoying personality almost overwhelming in the small space that we were confined in.  Just a few floors, I told myself over and over again.  The elevator began to move.

“You still haven’t answered my question, Jay,” he reminded in his annoying little voice.

“I’m doing BA right now,” I answered curtly, pressing my lips together before I started swearing at him and telling him to shut up already.

“What university?” he questioned further.

“DLSU,” I said shortly, the irritation becoming more evident in my voice.

Sixth floor… seventh floor… come on, get out already you stupid prick.

All of a sudden the elevator began to shudder and abruptly stopped between the eighth and ninth floor.  The lights grew dim so that I could barely see Clark.  My heart went into overdrive as my eyes darted from one side of the elevator to the next.  “Oh crap, oh crap, you have got to be kidding me!”

“Damn it, I think we’re stuck,” he stated with slight annoyance and fear.

“Uh, thanks for stating the obvious, dude,” I retorted in a snappish voice.

I went over to the buttons and began to press the red one.  Emergency!  Help, I’m stuck in an elevator with the biggest idiot in the world!  Get me out of here!  After pressing it a series of times, nothing happened.  My frustration grew.  I began to rummage through my bag and found my phone.  Quickly, I dialed the number to the apartment that I shared with Tina and Randy.  Just as I began to call, the LCD screen flashed ‘Battery empty’ and shut off immediately.  The anger built even more.  I let out a sound of rage and began flailing my hands around in frustration.  Damn it, I didn’t want to be stuck in this place!  And to think, I was actually with Clark Crenshaw, of all people!

“How long do you think we’ll be stuck here?” he asked.

“Do I look like I know?” I snapped.  “I’m not a freaking fortune-teller!  You go figure it out!”

“Yeesh, there’s no need to be so irate just because we’re stuck here,” he muttered as he slid his back down the wall and sat on the floor.  “Let’s… just keep ourselves entertained while we wait for someone to get us out.”

I let out a heavy breath and leaned against the side of the elevator.  I didn’t think we’d be in the place for long.  I mean, how much time did it take for people to notice that the stupid elevator wouldn’t come down for them?  I began to calm down a bit at that point, trying to stay at least a bit positive.

“… Lord, we adore thee…” Clark suddenly began to sing quietly. “… hearts unfold like flowers…”

I was so ready to pound my head against the metal wall.  Not the singing again!  He always did this to me.  He’d always start singing in front or me and then expect me to sing along with him just because we were both in choir.  He sang also to show off that he was good… but it was just another overstatement.  I didn’t like his voice one bit.  Sure it had a bit of vibrato in it but the guy couldn’t stay in tune even if his life depended on it!  I was very nit-picky about it and he knew it, but still, he thought he was so good that he sang every time he saw me.  It was as if he was trying to prove to me that he was good.  Egotistic, little prick of a son of a…

“Come on, Jay,” he urged, breaking off of his low singing and cutting into my thoughts.  “Sing with me.  It’ll keep us distracted.  How does the beginning go again?”

“I don’t want to sing right now,” I practically spat out.

“Come on, you have a great voice!” he coaxed.  “You know you want to sing!  Come on… was it… Joyful, joyful, Lord we adore thee… come on, finish it up!”

I rolled my eyes and pursed my lips.  He was really dense.  “Fine,” I growled.  “Joyful, joyful, Lord, we adore thee; God of Glory, Lord of Love.  Hearts unfold like flowers before thee.  Hail thee as the sun above…” I sang it quickly and without my usual flare.  Go figure!  I’m pissed, stuck in a freaking elevator with the most annoying person in the world and my cellular phone was dead.

“Okay, now you sing the melody and I’ll do the harmony!  Go!”  And he began singing, his eyes wide and looking expectantly at me.

The desperation was surfacing onto my face.  I could feel my hands clenching and unclenching.  To punch his lights out or not to punch: that is the question.  I never was the physical type of person so I abstained and followed dully with no joy on my face or in my voice.  I made a sideward glance to look at his face momentarily and almost sneered at the sight.  His mouth was hanging wide open; someone could put two full hamburgers in there and he’s till be able to add more.  That’s how wide it was.  He looked so stupid like that; his eyes so open and his mouth hanging so low.  I heard him go off key and cringed, making sure that he could see it.  He broke off suddenly and began to clear his throat.

“Sorry, I kind of lost my voice.”  Well, that’s the biggest understatement of the year.  You never had a voice, period.  He began coughing a bit as if to reiterate his point.  He tried again and failed miserably as he got to the same point.  “Ah, never mind… oh, guess what, Jay?  I just joined this really good acoustic group!  They’re all grad students in UP and the girl who’s in it can play the guitar and piano!  I’m their lead singer.”

“That’s great,” I commented flatly.

“Yeah it is.  They actually needed another vocalist in their group at the time.  I would have asked you, but you always seemed so wired.  You’re still really busy these days aren’t you?”

I’m always free but just so that you’d just leave me alone I’ll say – “Yeah.”

“Okay, so, there, it wouldn’t really work out with all of us if I asked you.  You probably wouldn’t be able to make it to the practices.”

I felt like I was on the verge of tears.  This is absolute torture.  What did I do to deserve this kind of treatment?!  And in my mind I screamed and screamed while Clark spoke of his past achievements and his future plans.

~~ o0o ~~

Six hours; that’s how long it took for the stupid maintenance to finally get us out.  After the first two hours of singing and talking on and off, he stopped speaking to me.  I immersed myself in my textbook, trying to prevent any more conversation from beginning.  Still, he managed to ask some random questions.  Most of them I gave one-word answers to.  Some of them I gave three.  That was when I was feeling a bit better, though.  This lasted for the next two hours; then during the fifth hour I began to pound on the door and screaming on the top of my lungs.

Half an hour of running my voice hoarse paid off because someone had finally answered and called the guys to get us out.  That process had taken another hour and a half, a time that went agonizingly slowly.  Clark scolded me for doing what I did.  What am I, a child?  For goodness sake, I’m not stupid.  You’ll lose your voice that way.  It’s really bad to do that, Jay.  His nasal voice permeated my mind and it still riles me.  Once again, stating the obvious, Clark!  He was such a cow sometimes.  No, wait, what was it that Glenn called him?  Oh yes, a balloon filled with hot air.  Pointless comments; that’s all he gave.  My patience had lasted until the last half hour.  It finally snapped when his cell phone rang and he answered it.

The stupid bastard had a freaking cellular phone and he didn’t even use it to call someone!  I began to scream and rant at him, swearing in three different languages and pointing my finger at him menacingly.  There was no way in hell that anyone could stand him.  He was such an idiot!  The last few moments that we were stuck in the elevator were tense, but I felt immensely better.  I finally spoke my mind and it was like a great weight was taken from my chest.

When I stepped out, I walked quickly to the staircase and began to run up the last few flights to my floor.  Once in the comfort of my apartment, I heaved a sigh of relief and closed my eyes as I sank into my mattress.  At least I was guaranteed that he wouldn’t talk to me ever again.  At that thought, I gave a smile of satisfaction.