Interlocking Squares: Vincent (1)
Thursday 29 December 2006
Vincent was the last to leave his business correspondence class, because he had stayed back to clear up some details about the syllabus with the lecturer. Granted, it was only the beginning of the semester, but he had found that it helped to get these things out of the way in the first or second classes.
He was making his way down the front steps of the Faculty of Linguistics when he heard, from behind him and just a little to one side, a quiet but emphatic: 'Stravag.'
That was not a word he often heard. In fact, he didn't think it was a word he had ever heard before at all. Curious, he turned to see who it was.
It was a girl – to be politically correct, he supposed he should call her a woman, but he'd been calling girls 'girls' since primary school and so far nobody had objected – who seemed vaguely familiar. Yes, he recalled after a moment's thought. She was in his business correspondence class – had been sitting a couple of rows or so behind him. She was glaring at her mobile phone as if it had done something offensive. Seeming to feel his gaze on her, her head whipped up suddenly.
'Yes?' And then: 'Oh, you were in that letter-writing class just now. You were sitting...' – here she screwed up her eyes momentarily – '... at the front. The middle of the row, I think. You put that big pile of books – the one you're holding now – on the seat next to yours. The top book was green.'
Vincent tried not to gape open-mouthed at her, not that it was easy. The girl waved it aside with a laugh. 'Don't ask. That's just the way I remember things. Close my eyes and summon up little freeze-frames. Some of my friends call me the human scanner.'
Vincent worked his mouth once or twice. 'Er. Just now. You... said something?'
Vincent had given up trying to keep track of names and incidents somewhere around Selina's extra lab work. He sifted through the maze of words and came up with what, to him, was the main point. 'Oh. You mean you don't have any way of getting home, then?'
'Not really,' said the girl. 'I can walk. Well, walk to the bus station anyway, and normally I wouldn't mind doing that. It's just that it's getting dark, and I haven't got any LRMs or PPCs handy, more's the pity. Guess I'll have to bug Tee Siew a bit more. Maybe a spot of judicious blackmail – '
'I could give you a lift to the station,' said Vincent. 'It's on my way anyway.' To tell the truth, it was a little out of his way, but it wouldn't do to let her stay stranded on the steps of the Linguistics Faculty until Heaven knew what time.
The girl hesitated, but only for a moment. 'You could? That's... really nice of you. If it's not putting you out of your way – I mean, what with yet another petrol price hike and all – '
'No, no. No trouble at all. My car's that way.'
He was backing the car out of its parking space when the girl turned to him with a grin. 'I just realized that I don't know your name. Not very good form, is it, when I'm sitting in your car?'
Vincent chuckled. 'I can't believe I forgot about that, too. I'm Vincent. Vincent Yap.'
'Lim Ching Juan. And you're from the Faculty of Accounting, Business Administration, and Other Related Number-Crunching Trades.'
Once again, Vincent's jaw dropped, and once again, Ching Juan laughed.
'It's printed on your forehead. No, I tell a lie, I found out because I read your mind. No, I didn't actually read your mind. It's written on the front cover of this book of yours.'
Vincent couldn't think of anything more intelligent to say than, 'Oh.' After a pause, he added, 'And which faculty are you from, Ching Juan?'
Another one of those quick flashing grins. 'Guess.'
'I'm not very good at guessing this kind of thing.'
'Never mind. Go on, just give it a shot. I promise not to throw you into the scorpion pit if you get it wrong.'
Up ahead were the campus gates. Vincent halted at the guardhouse, and took the opportunity to give Ching Juan a quick glance while the guard was scrutinising his student's pass. 'Er... Arts?'
'Nope. Try again.'
The guard waved them through, and Vincent ran through a mental map of the campus as he turned out to the main road. Not his own faculty, that was for sure – he'd have noticed her. Could it be... 'Law?' he hazarded.
Ching Juan made a sound somewhere a choke and a snort. 'What, because I talk a lot and I talk very fast? No! Brrr, that place must be like some sort of... of... some modern-day version of the Nine Hells. I wouldn't like to imagine the tortures that go on in there. No, I'm from Science. The Computer Science Department, to be exact.'
'Wow.' Vincent took his eyes off the road long enough to give her another quick glance. One of his friends was doing computer science in another university, and he seemed to spend most of his time hunched before a monitor muttering arcane things to himself. 'I wasn't expecting that. Er, no offence meant, of course.'
Ching Juan sighed. 'That's the trouble with being a girl geek. People have trouble believing it, even if you are wearing glasses and a shirt that says Orlando Bloom has ruined everything. Next time I'm getting one that says All your base are belong to us. Have you had dinner?'
The swift change of subject left Vincent momentarily disoriented. 'What?'
Ching Juan leaned forward to have a closer look. 'Wing Wah's? Great. I could murder a bowl of noodles. "It was the girl geek at Table 6 with the chopsticks!"'
Vincent was the last to leave his business correspondence class, because he had stayed back to clear up some details about the syllabus with the lecturer. Granted, it was only the beginning of the semester, but he had found that it helped to get these things out of the way in the first or second classes.
He was making his way down the front steps of the Faculty of Linguistics when he heard, from behind him and just a little to one side, a quiet but emphatic: 'Stravag.'
That was not a word he often heard. In fact, he didn't think it was a word he had ever heard before at all. Curious, he turned to see who it was.
It was a girl – to be politically correct, he supposed he should call her a woman, but he'd been calling girls 'girls' since primary school and so far nobody had objected – who seemed vaguely familiar. Yes, he recalled after a moment's thought. She was in his business correspondence class – had been sitting a couple of rows or so behind him. She was glaring at her mobile phone as if it had done something offensive. Seeming to feel his gaze on her, her head whipped up suddenly.
'Yes?' And then: 'Oh, you were in that letter-writing class just now. You were sitting...' – here she screwed up her eyes momentarily – '... at the front. The middle of the row, I think. You put that big pile of books – the one you're holding now – on the seat next to yours. The top book was green.'
Vincent tried not to gape open-mouthed at her, not that it was easy. The girl waved it aside with a laugh. 'Don't ask. That's just the way I remember things. Close my eyes and summon up little freeze-frames. Some of my friends call me the human scanner.'
Vincent worked his mouth once or twice. 'Er. Just now. You... said something?'
'Did I? I know I said a lot of things. But I don't remember saying "something". You know, as in the word? S-O-M – ' Vincent started to explain, but the girl waved it aside again with a laugh and a sigh. 'Yes, yes. I know what you mean. Just being perversely literal-minded, that's all. Happens all the time. Yeah, I said "Stravag." Clan curse, from my MechWarrior 5 days. You ever play that? No? Oh well. I was never much good at it myself, never got to that mission where you get to frag His Genocidal Highness Victor Ian Steiner-Davion...
'But anyway, as I was saying before I went and sidetracked myself – can you actually do that, by the way? No, don't answer! – I was being profane, sort of, because Selina was supposed to pick me up from here but then her professor sprang some extra lab work on them. So then I called Tee Siew, but it seems he's too busy gallivanting around with that new girlfriend of his to lend a friend a hand – huh! And then Beng Yee just hung up on me because she's rushing off somewhere – I didn't catch where – to do something – I didn't catch what either, only that it's something important. Well, it better be really important, that's all I can say!'Vincent had given up trying to keep track of names and incidents somewhere around Selina's extra lab work. He sifted through the maze of words and came up with what, to him, was the main point. 'Oh. You mean you don't have any way of getting home, then?'
'Not really,' said the girl. 'I can walk. Well, walk to the bus station anyway, and normally I wouldn't mind doing that. It's just that it's getting dark, and I haven't got any LRMs or PPCs handy, more's the pity. Guess I'll have to bug Tee Siew a bit more. Maybe a spot of judicious blackmail – '
'I could give you a lift to the station,' said Vincent. 'It's on my way anyway.' To tell the truth, it was a little out of his way, but it wouldn't do to let her stay stranded on the steps of the Linguistics Faculty until Heaven knew what time.
The girl hesitated, but only for a moment. 'You could? That's... really nice of you. If it's not putting you out of your way – I mean, what with yet another petrol price hike and all – '
'No, no. No trouble at all. My car's that way.'
He was backing the car out of its parking space when the girl turned to him with a grin. 'I just realized that I don't know your name. Not very good form, is it, when I'm sitting in your car?'
Vincent chuckled. 'I can't believe I forgot about that, too. I'm Vincent. Vincent Yap.'
'Lim Ching Juan. And you're from the Faculty of Accounting, Business Administration, and Other Related Number-Crunching Trades.'
Once again, Vincent's jaw dropped, and once again, Ching Juan laughed.
'It's printed on your forehead. No, I tell a lie, I found out because I read your mind. No, I didn't actually read your mind. It's written on the front cover of this book of yours.'
Vincent couldn't think of anything more intelligent to say than, 'Oh.' After a pause, he added, 'And which faculty are you from, Ching Juan?'
Another one of those quick flashing grins. 'Guess.'
'I'm not very good at guessing this kind of thing.'
'Never mind. Go on, just give it a shot. I promise not to throw you into the scorpion pit if you get it wrong.'
Up ahead were the campus gates. Vincent halted at the guardhouse, and took the opportunity to give Ching Juan a quick glance while the guard was scrutinising his student's pass. 'Er... Arts?'
'Nope. Try again.'
The guard waved them through, and Vincent ran through a mental map of the campus as he turned out to the main road. Not his own faculty, that was for sure – he'd have noticed her. Could it be... 'Law?' he hazarded.
Ching Juan made a sound somewhere a choke and a snort. 'What, because I talk a lot and I talk very fast? No! Brrr, that place must be like some sort of... of... some modern-day version of the Nine Hells. I wouldn't like to imagine the tortures that go on in there. No, I'm from Science. The Computer Science Department, to be exact.'
'Wow.' Vincent took his eyes off the road long enough to give her another quick glance. One of his friends was doing computer science in another university, and he seemed to spend most of his time hunched before a monitor muttering arcane things to himself. 'I wasn't expecting that. Er, no offence meant, of course.'
Ching Juan sighed. 'That's the trouble with being a girl geek. People have trouble believing it, even if you are wearing glasses and a shirt that says Orlando Bloom has ruined everything. Next time I'm getting one that says All your base are belong to us. Have you had dinner?'
The swift change of subject left Vincent momentarily disoriented. 'What?'
'Dinner. The meal people eat in the evening, or at night if they're really busy. Aargh, Ching Juan, will you stop this bloody literal-mindedness? It's just that I'm feeling kind of hungry, and we are passing all these restaurants and assorted eating places, so...'
Vincent realized he was getting a little hungry too. 'There's a restaurant up ahead,' he said. It was one of the few in the area he had actually been to – he and his friends occasionally met up there. 'The food there isn't bad. Are you all right with that?'Ching Juan leaned forward to have a closer look. 'Wing Wah's? Great. I could murder a bowl of noodles. "It was the girl geek at Table 6 with the chopsticks!"'
11:43 AM, March 24, 2006
Hey, can't beliv I'm da first 1 2 leave a comment!
Tat girl's scarryin guys away!!Anyway, tink people with da name 'Vincent' deserves to be a gentleman(bias??).Storyline's great and I really wonder whether such a girl exists in UM!!
Take k and keep on writing. top