Hyde Park Blues

Elena brushes the bangs away as the wind plays with her hair. She gazes at the marbled campus rising in the background between columns of tiny oak trees. From a safe distance it the imposing building looks no different than any other Ivy League campus. Tall, aloof, and disinviting.

She purses her lip and readjusts her librarian-style glasses, shoulders slumped to emphasize her apparent lack of confidence. With any luck, it won?t be a stretch blending in this insular community of 4900, every one of them clueless about anything, except that they?re young, nerdy?and incredibly horny.

Nope. No trouble blending in at all.

She watches as the freshmen glide through the commons oblivious to anything except the purses and backpacks slung over their shoulders. They all look the same as the other--interchangeable as though they are components of a giant machine.

She squint her eyes.

?Damn.?

Elena turns around and makes the long journey through the midway, wondering how in blazes she?s supposed to do her job when she can?t even tell anyone apart. She scratches the side of her face, careful not to touch the strategically placed mole on her cheek, even though she feels uglier wearing it.

?Find who you?re looking for, kid?? The raven haired pixie clutches her cigarette tightly. At this rate it?ll be a miracle if she doesn?t get some kind of cancer?esophageal or otherwise.

?Fat luck!? Elena throws her hands in the air.

?Reminds me of when I was dating, but that was a long time ago??

Elena glances back at the panoramic view of the campus. Like a needle in a haystack.

?This will be the **** of us.?

?Don?t harsh your mellow, kid. We?ll get through it. Or die trying.?

?We?ll be dead if we don?t make this guy. He?s a regular Bin-Laden. All that equipment and training for nothing.?

?Well at least they let us drive the Mercedes??

It's all the intern can do not to have a panic attack at the thought. Just the idea of Dee Dee muscling her way into the Loop at a speed only Grim Reapers makes her sick. Never mind her two loud, nosy girlfriends holed up in the apartment downtown. She'll carry the sight of those two with her til the day she dies.

Elena?s stomach churns. She thinks about ****-Jess. Seems it was only yesterday that they came face to face. The last time she saw her was when she was being tutored by ****-Myra, three months ago. Not a peep from ****-Jess again.

?Hey Dee Dee, what happened to Jess? The last time I saw her was during training. Is she okay??

The pixie puts out her cigarette and gazes awkwardly at her?comrade, acquaintance??though it takes no reader of men to understand the uncertainty in her eyes.

?She?s disappeared.?

Elena doesn?t hear her at first, too wrapped up in her elite surveying skills to notice.

?What did you say??

?She?s gone.?

The finality of the words snaps her into reality.

?What do you mean??

?She?s gone, like gone gone. The last time I saw her was the other day. She looked rough, but she was upbeat, you know? I mean not defiant but really happy for some reason. I left to do a couple of jobs and when I came back, poof! It?s like a spirit lifted her up and outta here.?

Not that the two of them were especially close. They only spoke to each other a few times, but the pink haired punk was the closest thing Elena had to a mentor during those first few days. Now she?s stuck with someone she barely knows, just as unconfident and scared as she. Worse yet, it?s her assignment, her call. Dee Dee?s just the follower.

?I?m going to take a walk and catch my breath. You got your taser with you??

Dee Dee nods.

As the intern strolls through the midway once more, her head reels with questions. How did ****-Jess disappear? Could she have run away? Possibly, but not without breaking free of the chains?the guards would surely notice. Something about this scenario doesn?t add up.

What could Jess have done to earn her fate? Was she disloyal? Did she strike someone? Or did she just happen to cross the wrong person along the way. A lot can happen in three months. The intern pauses chin in hand, considering all the bad outcomes.

?Pardon me, miss. Is something wrong??

Elena peers up to notice a slightly overweight man with red curly hair and freckles. He couldn?t be no more than nineteen or twenty, though more than a few prodigies have called the campus home since the school?s founding well over a century ago. Despite the intense stare, his angelic face and pensive demeanor strike her as innocent. Perhaps he?s just another freshman with a lack of confidence.

?No, I?m just trying to think.?

?My apologies.? He curtsies. ?I could?ve sworn you were troubled.?

Elena glances at him suspiciously.

?Do I know you??

?My bad.? The stranger extends his hand. ?Allow me to introduce myself. Name?s Ralph. Pronounced R-A-Y. Like the actor.?

?Well, nice to make your acquaintance, Ralph.? Elena pulls her hand away. ?Now if you excuse me I have to go back to my dorm??

?Drinks are off ten percent at the The River Tap tonight. Would you like to come? It?s just that it?s my first time at school and?I don?t want to be lonely.?

The tingle in Elena?s spine is hard for her to ignore.

?I?m actually sort of busy right now.? She blows him off as she walks away. ?Do you mind if I take a rain check??

?What if I could get you in for free??

?And how would you do that??

?My friends say I?m really good with keyboard. I can even type one handed.?

Elena puts on a brave face and smiles, even as her guts scream at her to run and never look back.

?Sure, I can go. Do you mind if I freshen up first? It?s been a long day and I?m really tired.?

?Where do you live??

?A loft, about six blocks away. Heard of the Ambassador??

?Yeah, I think I have. See you at seven??

Elena nods.