The Outsider Ch. 06

Mike already was feeling romantic towards Ruthie. Not only was she the only woman who had paid any attention to him at all since the break-up with Lisa; it turned out that she was knowledgeable and interesting to talk to. Pushing through the emotional barrier of her shyness and her inability to make small talk took some patience, but once that initial barrier had been passed, he could talk to her about almost anything.

Ruthie's feelings towards Mike were not romantic in the least, but she felt a very deep appreciation for the one person who had paid attention to her since she started classes in the fall. She desperately needed a friend, and now it seemed that she had one. He was willing to talk to her, do favors for her, spend his time with her, and most importantly, listen to her.

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A few minutes later Mike returned to campus and parked close to Ruthie's dorm. Even though she was used to walking alone on campus late at night, he insisted on seeing her safely back to her room. The hallway was largely empty, but a couple of Ruthie's floor-mates glanced at her with surprise to see that a guy actually was bringing her back to her room.

Fortunately Shannon and her boyfriend already had gone out, so for once Ruthie would have the room to herself after she said goodnight to Mike.

There was no hint that Mike would go into Ruthie's room, because he did not feel that he knew her well enough to step into her sleeping area. Anyhow, she did not invite him in.

They did not really know how to say goodnight. Finally Mike broke the silence by asking what she was doing the next day. Studying, that was about it. When he suggested getting together for breakfast, she smiled slightly and nodded.

"Is 8:30 OK for you?"

Ruthie nodded again.

They nervously hugged each other goodnight and with that their first evening out came to an end.

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Mike returned to his own dorm building, happier than he had been in a very long time.

When he opened the door to his room, his loser roommate Todd was at his computer, playing his monster game of course. Todd was totally engrossed in what he was doing and seemed not to have noticed Mike entering the room. He did not put on his headphones, which he normally did whenever his roommate was present.

The prospect of dealing with his roommate's online gaming all night somewhat dampened Mike's good mood, but then he realized something. It seemed that Todd's online battle was not going well, because he was swearing and desperately going through on-line menus. Mike watched over his roommate's shoulder with vague interest for a few minutes as his situation worsened. Suddenly Todd's character took a hit and electronic blood spattered on the screen.

"Fuck! Godammit!"

Several flashing warnings came up:

"Yeah-yeah, I know! I know!"

When more electronic blood splashed on the screen Todd became increasingly desperate. Mike knew just enough about the online game to understand that his roommate's character was seriously injured and at risk of dying.

"Sonofabitch!"

Another hit, and more electronic blood...

"NO! GODAMMIT! NO!!!!!!!"

More flashing warnings...

"Come-on godammit, help me! HELP ME!!!!"

A few more minutes of desperation...and then quiet funeral music started playing...

"Sonofabitch! NO! Fuck! FUCK! GODAMMIT! NO!!!!!!!"

Todd's character lay peacefully on a dark screen, as electronic spirits came to take his soul to the game's afterlife. A poem in medieval script informed him that he had fought well, but we all must pass away at some point. His time had come...

Todd threw his keyboard off to the side and pounded his desk. He was crying.

Awesome! And Mike had been there to see it happen! He tried to maintain a neutral expression as he took off his clothes and grabbed his shower stuff. He smiled as soon as he was out of the room.

This was his day. Not one, but two great things had happened in the same evening.