Chapter Seven

Wednesday, July 27, 2020 at 10am

Destiny stood at the entrance to University of Lexington. Lexington was a prestigious institution with an enormous campus. There were big brick buildings standing proudly throughout. Even though it was summer the campus was still lively - students walking to and from class, biking along the pathways, sitting on stoops, stairs, benches, and grassy knolls.

There was a large bulletin board that contained dozens of flyers - rooms for rent, part-time jobs and internships, missing dogs, summer abroad opportunities, invitations to pledge a sorority or fraternity, ice creams socials - all the cookie cutter activities you could ever imagine. You name it, they had it here on campus. Everything but a map.

A young student walked up to the board and stood next to Destiny.

“Hey, do you know where the library is?” Destiny asked politely. The girl looked at her with perplexity. She had on a tiny t-shirt that said, “Beach Babe” and a denim mini skirt. She raised an eyebrow and looked Destiny up and down as if to say what are you doing here?

“Um, yes...It’s that large white brick building on the far side of the quad that says, ‘Thomas J. Ferguson Library’ on the front in huge writing. You can’t miss it.” Her smug demeanor reminded Destiny of Miss Piggy. She was glad she decided to skip work today.

Destiny began walking towards the center of campus and what assumed to be the “quad”. When she came here with Edwin, she hadn’t been paying attention to his little campus tour. In the center of campus was a huge fountain that had a statute of an old guy with a beard sitting in a chair. His legs were crossed and he appeared to be reading a book.

To her left was the library. Destiny went inside. It was a nice library. Three floors. Countless books. Students quietly studying in their cubicles, others checking their email and social media accounts.

Destiny found an open computer and started doing research. She learned about the McConnell family and that Edwin’s parents are Tracy and David McConnell, well-respected research scientist turned conspiracy theorists.

Destiny tried went to the building where Edwin’s office was located. Edwin’s office was on the third floor of a big, beautiful building with red brick and grand windows.She planned to break into his place in order to find some more information about his father. Right as Destiny was standing outside of his office door, she heard a voice coming from inside. Seconds later the door opened and Edwin was standing there.

“What are you doing here?” He asked.

“Looking for you.” She lied.

“Oh. Well come in.” He said.

The room was decorated with posters displaying various quotes from important people like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Ghandi. There were also some Bible quotes and inspirations. There were photos on his desk of a handsome older couple.

“Are these your grandparents?” She asked.

“Yep, that’s Granmommy and Grandaddy. Been almost two years since we lost Grandaddy.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Thanks. It’s okay.”

The rest of the photos were of dorky kid with the glasses and nice looking couple posing in front of historical landmarks and well-known tourist sights. The man in the photo looked oddly familiar, almost identical to the man who was at the library this morning, maybe ten years younger. Holy shit! Destiny thought.

“Is this you?” She asked.

“Yeah.”

“And are these your parents?” If these were the same people from this morning, what the hell were they into?

“Yeah.”

“Nice looking family." She said. "What do you parents do for a living?” She questioned.

“Not much of anything. They’re dead.” He said matter-of-factly. What? Why would he lie about that?

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Maybe his dad just happened to look somewhat similar to the man from the library. She figured.

“It was a long time ago. Anyway, what do you think of my office?” He quickly changing the subject.

“Kinda depressing.” She stated.

“What? Why?” He looked disappointed by her answer.

“Well with the blinds down, this place looks rather dark and dreary. And some plants would really add a nice touch to it.”

“Plants?”

“Yeah. Maybe a ficus or two. It would really liven the place up.”

Edwin looked around.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right.” He smiled at her. Suddenly she felt the room get warmer.

“What are you after, Professor?” She asked.

“Huh?”

“Why did you really bring me up to your office? I already told you I wasn’t going to have sex with you. So what do you want? Or do you think you are so smooth and charming you can change my mind?” She accused.

“You’re crazy.”

“No, you are if you think I’m falling for your bullshit!” Destiny couldn’t believe she had blown up at him again. What was wrong with her. For some reason this man made her nervous and defensive.

“Look, I don’t have time for this. I have class in 10 minutes. Can we do this another time?” He asked. Destiny glanced down at his desk and noticed a small pin that had a head the size of a nickel. On the pin was a white, winged lion on a gold background. Was this the lion the wolf had been talking about?

“Okay.”

“So did you change your mind yet about coming to my class?.”

“Yes. I am.” She felt it was in her best interest to get to know him better.

Destiny couldn’t help but notice all the female students they passed were ogling him without shame just like the girls from the coffee shop had been doing. Was he supposed to be some kind of stud? However, Edwin didn’t seem to notice.

“I see you have a lot of admirers.” Destiny noted. Edwin laughed nervously.

“Admirers? Hardly. Why do you say that?”

“You don’t notice all these young girls around you smiling and trying desperately to get your attention?”

“No, actually I don't. Besides, I’m more interested in the woman right here with me.” Destiny blushed. She was flattered that this handsome, well-educated man was even interested in someone like her. Her flattery soon turned to insecurity and paranoia.

To Destiny’s surprise, there were a fair amount of people in attendance - approximately 40-50. Mostly geniuses and nerds with thick glasses and soggy bellies, but there were a few young women there. Probably a part of his fan club she thought. Destiny sat in the back of room near the door, just in case she needed to make a quick exit.

As time went on, she realized she didn’t need it. Some of what Edwin had to say was quite interesting.

“Okay, class. Let’s get started. I trust you all read chapters 17-20 in your books.” He said.

“Yeah, yeah.” There were some groans from the audience.

“Are there any questions before we get started?” There was silence. “Okay great. Last week, we were discussing the evolution of languages based on the nomadic translations that occur over centuries of what is essentially the ‘telephone game’. There are enumerable translations but the original gives you unrivaled powers of compression. In the comparative method, Sanskrit. The word changes its meaning entirely. By reversing the historical changes, one could determine that original word in the mother language. Thus by examining the basic principles from which its language is derived from, it would be possible to comprehend all languages.” Destiny watched Edwin talk enthusiastically about the subject at hand. He transformed from an awkward nerd boy to a self-assured confident man right before her eyes.

“Professor, surely you don’t mean every language?” A student asked.

“I’m not saying you’d be fluent in every single language that ever existed. But essentially you’d have a theoretical understanding of the parent words and their meaning. By understanding the root of those words, you can translate any word from any language into any subsequent language you wanted to. The Greek philosopher Piatus postulated that…”

Destiny found herself captivated by this man. Until she noticed that all the females in the room were hanging onto his every word just as she was. Oh great, she thought. I look like just another one of his groupies.

After two more hours of postulating and theorizing, Edwin finally wrapped up his lecture. A few students applauded but most rushed for the door. Destiny watched in amusement as a couple ladies from the audience boldly approached professor heartthrob. They were fawning all over him, batting their eyelashes, and stroking his arm. Both the girls were wearing mini dresses and high heels, as if they were going to the club rather than class.

Edwin was no longer the confident and assured professor, he was shy and timid geek boy from the diner, fidgeting and shifting awkwardly, obviously uncomfortable with their forward advances. Destiny waited a few moments before making her way down to the front of the auditorium.

“Hey babe. You ready to go?” She said. The two girls turned around and were confronted with Destiny. They looked her up and down, clearly unimpressed. The jealousy quickly poured over their faces when Edwin walked over and stood by Destiny.

“Here, I come dear.” He said. “If you ladies will excuse me.” Edwin grabbed her hand and the two strolled out of the lecture hall. The warmth from his hand on hers radiated through her body. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before. Was this some type of attraction or just static shock? She gazed up into his hypnotic green eyes.

“Thank you!” Edwin exclaimed once they had safely made their exit. Destiny hadn’t noticed they were still holding hands.

“I figured maybe I owed you one from the other day with the old creep.”

“I certainly appreciate it. And thanks for sticking it out in there. I know that wasn’t the most fascinating thing in the world.”

“Actually it was pretty interesting. You really know alot about history and languages. I have to admit I was slightly impressed.”

“Well, thank you.” Edwin didn’t hide his contentment.

“So would you like to grab some lunch?” He asked.

“Um...I’m sorry. I should get going. I have somewhere I need to be.” Destiny lied.

“Oh, right. Sure. No problem. I can drive you back to the park.” He said.

“No, that’s okay. I have some business to take care out this way.”

“So when will I see you again?”

“Probably the next time you come to the diner.” Destiny replied.

“Ha ha. Okay, I got you. How about this. Can I take you to dinner tonight?”

“I thought I wasn’t your type.” She teased.

“We both know that’s not true.” Destiny was flattered. She appreciated his honesty. It was a refreshing change from the lies people usually told to get what they wanted. “Well, what do you say?”

“Alright.” Destiny wasn’t sure why she agreed to go. Why was she suddenly so drawn to this man?

“Great!” He was beaming that big goofy grin at her. “Let’s say six-thirty? Where can I pick you up?”

“How about I just meet you there?”

“Alright...well they have a great restaurant near campus called Victor’s. Do you like Italian food?”

“Sure.” The truth was Destiny didn’t dine out that often, if ever. Her meals consisted of whatever she made herself and the occasional soup or salad she would eat on her lunch break at Roxanne’s diner.

“Great. See you tonight, then.” The two parted ways. What was she getting herself into?