The Double-Tap Accident

Chapter Sixteen: I'll Be Your Sugar Daddy.

Chapter Sixteen: "I'll Be Your Sugar Daddy." 

"SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA?" I MUTTERED to Laurence in the middle of one of the lecture rooms in Roger Hall on Tuesday evening.  The beginning of November winter dawned upon the room by the traces of wet footprints down the aisle. Most people in the room were still rubbing their hands or cold cheeks and their winter coats were in their laps or thrown on the backs of chairs.

Fall was gone in southwestern Ontario and when winter typically came, it came with a vengeance I wasn't excited for.

The rest of the Piano society club was in the lecture room along with a few other adjacent music clubs that the club collaborated with or plans to collaborate for the school year. Laurence stood in front of the room, in front of me actually from where I was sitting with a few members of his own committee, all of us completely caught off guard from his announcement.

Laurence had the words 'CONCERT' written in a nice calligraphy on the whiteboard. A symphony orchestra to be held at a downtown concert hall conducted by the local orchestra made a lot of sense with our club. Yet it wasn't something that would appeal to a majority of the HU population. 

Laurence didn't care. 

In fact, Laurence made it sound like the best thing ever just by his tone. He did what he did best: explain.  

Laurence nudged me later that evening when the meeting was over. People were quick to start filing out of the room and Laurence and I were right behind the crowd. "Who can you sell to?"

"All of my friends hate classical type of music," I said.

It wasn't until we were in the hallway that I heard him mutter, "Useless."

"Hey! "I am not useless."

"One more time: can you sell a ticket to at least one of your friends?" I paused and Laurence shrugged, taking out his phone as if I wasn't worth his attention in any way. "Then you're useless."

"You're a dick." I scowled.

"Very true, but unless you can sell a ticket—"

"You've met Mariam," I sighed, trying to think of anyone who could even slightly enjoy music without words like we did. My mind immediately flashed to Aven, knowing he could tolerate that music but Laurence was his roommate. "She's not an instrument type of girl."

"Mariam is into Kyle," Distaste covered his voice. "I don't trust her judgement."

"Laurence." 

"I didn't insult her specifically," He said. "Have I not met her? Have I not helped her steal a cone off the street the other night because she wanted to add another collectable like her stop sign?"

"Yeah, Mariam's a lil' bit of a--"

"Of a klepto." He finished. "How many stolen things does it take for someone to become a kleptomaniac? I mean, people who are kleptos have irresistible urges but she wanted something pretty next to it because she said she had a lava lamp in her room so--"

"Moving on," I demanded.

"Her taste in men is questionable." He said with a shrug. 

"She dated Iman." I said I would like to think that my friend is a great catch. But Kyle? The way Laurence was talking about him made me frown.

Then Laurence did a double-take as we made it to the "Wait, like Aven's Immanuel? Are you serious? Where did she go wrong?"

Aven's Immanuel. The sound of that made me smile for some reason. They really are associated with each other. Probably have been for a long time. They'd be used to hearing something like that. "Do you really hate Kyle that much?"