Adaptation of the Chameleon Read online

  A brief moment of silence ensued before Anna responded, “Oh. Did you? I didn’t have any missed calls. Oh well, how is your day going?”

  The two continued to talk as Luke strolled back to his dorm. He found the atmosphere warm and inviting. He lay on his bed and talked to Anna for over two and a half hours. They discussed even further the topics they had touched upon the night before. They talked about their families, school, and even past relationships.

  Anna informed Luke that she grew up in Oxford and her family decided to move to Bay St. Louis shortly before she began at USM. She explained that her mother was a teacher in Oxford but decided one day that she wanted a change. She quit her job and announced to the family that she had received an offer two weeks earlier to teach geometry at the local high school in the coastal town.

  Her father had worked for the city in sanitation and was able to transfer. He was only briefly remorseful in the decision to relocate because leaving Oxford meant leaving his two other daughters he had from a previous marriage. But because of the history he had with the town, he too was ready for a change. He supported his wife in the decision to move Anna and her twin sister to the coast for a fresh start.

  At the end of their conversation, the two had decided to meet up at Luke’s dorm the coming Friday for his birthday. But they also decided that it would be wise to verbally set boundaries and express their intentions before Anna arrived. They realized quickly that they had one very important thing in common: they had both been hurt by love. They mutually confessed interest in one another and agreed on a common ground in which to take things slowly, letting any emotions bloom on their own if the chemistry was right.

  The night arrived and Luke became nervous. He stood outside his dormitory building, waiting for Anna to drive up. After a few minutes, Luke saw Anna drive into the parking lot in a small, silver Toyota. She parked and get out, greeting Luke with a hug. The two began talking. They ascended the staircase to Luke’s dorm room and sat on Luke’s bed while continuing their conversation.

  They shared their stories of woe and other times in their lives that were actually pleasant. Anna could feel Luke beginning to get closer to her, both physically and emotionally. It was a first for Luke to be able to connect with another human being who was aware of what he had been through with Marion.

  Anna expressed great guilt and regret about her time with her ex, Jason, explaining the day he told her that he was “done with her.” Luke knew what it felt like to be rejected in love, having spent a great deal of time with Marion, only to have it all taken away.

  While in conversation, Anna received several calls. She seemed disappointed by the caller. Luke, curious if her ex’s ears had been burning, asked her who it was. She told him it was a man she had met the previous semester. The two had a class together and exchanged phone numbers for a lab they were participating in. She confessed to Luke that she wasn’t interested in the willful man and wished he would stop text messaging and calling her phone.

  Luke saw that moment as an opportunity to show Anna that he was capable of protecting her. Luke waited for the man to try calling again, and when he did, Luke offered to answer the phone.

  Anna handed the phone to Luke. He examined the device for a moment before realizing how to receive the call. He sat on the side of the bed and began talking to the stranger. “Hello?”

  “Hey, is Anna there?” the voice responded.

  “Yeah man, but she is kind of busy.”

  “Well,’ the voice began to shudder, ‘can you tell her that Matthew called?”

  Luke snickers before responding, “Yeah man, I can… but I don’t think she is going to take the message. She says that she doesn’t want to talk to you anymore and that she wants you to take the hint and stop calling her.”

  Luke heard the man begin to breathe heavier and pull the phone from his face in an attempt to stifle a sob. He then heard Matthew place the phone back to his ear and respond, “Okay, dude. Tell her I won’t try to call her anymore.”

  Luke allowed the man to end the call. While still holding the phone to his ear, Luke could feel sympathy for the man. He finally handed the small cellular device to Anna, smiled, and then laid his body on the bed.

  Luke reached for the remote and pressed the play button. While watching the movie, Anna admitted her fear of horror films.

  “They are just too gruesome for me! I remember watching some zombie movie when I was a child. My older sister, Emma, watched it with me. She must have known that I was scared out of my wits, because she decided to play like she was dead or something. Then when I tried to wake her up, I mean I was literally slapping her, she opened her eyes and looked at me really scary, she put her arms up and kept saying, 'brains!”

  Luke looked at Anna, trying very hard not to smile. He then responds, “Yeah, but this is just 'Ghostbusters.' These are the good guys.” Luke continued looking at Anna until she broke out laughing. She then moved closer to him, placing her head on his shoulder.

  It wasn't long before the movie was on its final scene. Luke decided to turn down the volume on the television and allow an opportunity for the two to continue conversing. Luke lifted his body into a sitting position and said, “I think this has been the best birthday I have ever had.”

  Anna smiled, and with a sparkle in her eyes, she looked at Luke and winks at him. “Well, I don't want to brag or anything... but I am good company.”

  They discussed a possibility of another date, during which Luke figured that it was the perfect moment to make his next move.

  He started telling Anna that the best first kisses were right in the middle of a conversation. Just as she started to respond, he made his move and placed his lips onto hers. It was a brief moment of inactivity before Luke began feeling Anna kiss him back.

  Lost in the lustful passion, Luke placed his hand on Anna’s chest. Distracted by the attempt, Anna pulled his hand away. She softly pushed his body away from hers and told him that she didn’t want to move that quickly. Luke apologized and promised to keep his hands to himself.

  After the movie ended, the two sat in Luke’s room; they talked more about seeing more of one another. They decided to see how things go, taking each day one at a time. With a brief moment of remorse, Anna said, “I just don't want to rush things. I'm in a place now that allows me to be free and do the things I want to do. Plus, I'm leaving next year to go to “Ole Miss” and I don't want to invest in something that will keep me from doing that.”

  “What do you mean you are leaving?” Luke responds.

  “Well, okay...” Anna continued, 'you are going to think that I'm weird, but hear me out... my mom went to “Ole Miss” and she had me apply there, but we moved when I was about to start. The only school that I could enroll in, under such short notice, was here. So I started, thinking that I was going to transfer for my sophomore year, but then I met my ex. I decided to stay at USM and just graduate here, because me and him had this great big plan to one day get married... but my mom was upset that I wasn't going to go to “Ole Miss.” So... we compromised. I promised her that I would attend “Ole Miss” for my last year of college. Then of course, me and Jason broke up... so that made it easy to plan my escape from here.”

  Luke held firmly to the confused look that had overcome his expression. He thought for a moment about what he was getting himself into. He realized that he was attracted to Anna, but couldn't decide at the moment if it was worth pursuing.

  Luke decided to weigh the options later, so he calmly nodded his head and smiled. He could feel Anna's nervousness begin to shed as she noticed his lack of fear for a decision that was so concrete. She got up from the edge of the bed and walked to the door. Luke, following her, walked her to her car and kissed her goodnight.

  The next day, Luke woke up feeling completely refreshed. He pulled himself from his bed and walked across the room to where his phone was placed the night before. He picked it up and sent a text message to Anna:

  “Good morning
beautiful.”

  He set his phone down and prepared for the day. He walked out of his room and started heading to work, enjoying the text and voice messages from friends and relatives whom were wishing him a happy birthday as he strolled.

  Luke and Anna sent text messages to each other the entire day. Luke felt that he wasn’t afraid to let her in. He was going with it, and keeping his hopes high. The two even made plans to see each other that night, nothing in particular planned, just driven by the general sense of wanting to be in each other’s presence.

  Luke’s slow weekend shift at the pool had finally ended and he was able to head back to his dorm and prepare for his date with Anna. He laid out his favorite shirt and a pair of deep blue straight legged jeans. He reached for his caddy from the floor of the closet and headed towards the communal bathroom.

  After a shower and change of clothes, Luke had time before Anna arrived and decided to meet with Enzo. Luke drove down the road and turned onto Concorde and soon pulled into his cousin’s apartment complex. He walked into the apartment and was greeted by his cousin who was sitting comfortably on the couch, watching football and drinking a light beer.

  Enzo offered Luke a drink and then immediately asked how the date with Anna went the night before. Luke told him that it was the greatest date he had ever been on. Enzo smiled and showed his happiness and support for his cousin. The two finished their beers. Luke sat back and enjoyed the feeling of pride. He then decided to text Anna.

  “thinking of you!”

  Anna quickly responded:

  “Me too, babe. Can’t wait to see you tonight :)”

  Luke left Enzo’s apartment soon after and drove back to his dorm to meet up with Anna. The two decided to take a walk around the beautiful campus. Luke was enjoying the cool air rushing past his face and the warm touch of Anna’s hand as it embraced his. They stopped in the campus square when Anna decided to open up about the mysterious Jason. She described him as being a tall man with an athletic build. The two dated during Anna’s first few years at USM before he moved to the coast. She confessed that it was very serious between the two, declaring that they had fallen hard for one another.

  Jason transferred to the USM campus in Long Beach before the end of the previous spring semester. Anna continued and explained that once Jason had moved, he informed her that he had been seeing another woman while he was still dating her.

  Anna declared to Luke that she had dated some since, and just couldn’t find a guy that fitted her. Not worried, Luke responded by telling her that he has had some not so serious flings since moving to Hattiesburg. He explained that it was a rite of passage you go through when you move to a new school, the rite of adaptation.

  It was soon late and Anna had to leave. She had an exam in her English class on Monday morning and wanted to be rested and ready to go over her reading the following day. The two parted with a kiss as they walked their separate ways.

  That night Luke had a dream. He was in Biloxi, Mississippi and was walking down the beach. He saw Anna waving at him with both hands in the air. He began running towards her. But the sand was too thick. He kept trying and was only digging deeper into the loose ground. He eventually dug himself into the earth and had to start pulling himself out. Struggling, he reached out as far as he could, until a hand grabbed him and pulled him out. He brushed the sand out of his face and opened his eyes. To his surprise, it wasn’t Anna, but Marion. Luke then woke up to the sound of his alarm clock. Disturbed by the dream, he gets up and headed to the laundry room to wash some clothing. Curious about the strange dream, he tried forgetting about it but just carried the uneasy feeling all the rest of his day.

  Chapter 3

  It had been two weeks since Luke and Anna first started seeing each other. They still weren’t exclusive, but both retained a level of extreme interest. It was also getting towards the end of the semester, and Luke had two things he was looking forward to: the holiday break from school and a small trip he and Anna had planned to visit her hometown of Oxford, Mississippi to stay with one of her oldest friends, Eva.

  The trip was planned for the upcoming weekend, which was also the same time Luke was to move his belongings out of his dorm. He wasn’t moving back on campus when it was opened for the spring semester. Instead, he had plans to get an apartment with his new friend Seth. He felt that it was a good move, since Anna didn’t feel comfortable in the same room as Andy and Dexter. Luke knew that they needed more room for their new found relationship to blossom.

  Luke and Anna were soon to be leaving. Before they were to go, Luke had many things to take care of. He needed to make several trips to and from Wiggins, which was only thirty nine minutes south from Hattiesburg. He did the move alone since Anna had to work and all his friends were already home for the holidays. His father was unable to help but did grant him permission to stay in the family cabin for as long as Luke needed.

  The time had come and Luke had completely moved out of his second floor dorm. All he had to do was wait patiently for Anna to get back to Hattiesburg. He kept his mind occupied by cleaning out his vehicle for the trip. Before he knew it, Anna was at her second home in Oak Grove, waiting for him to arrive. The excitement began overwhelming his mind, and all he could think about was kissing Anna for the first time in almost a week.

  He arrived at the time they had agreed upon and began loading Anna’s bags into the back seat of his vehicle and they were soon on their way to north Mississippi. The drive proved to be exciting and lively.

  As they passed Clinton, Luke confessed to Anna that he had never felt this way about anybody, not even Marion. She was flattered and told Luke she felt he was becoming the ying to her yang. Although they were driving to Oxford to see her friend, that was not their focal point. Perhaps the alternative motive was to just get away together, even if just for the night. It was their first real alone time together and expectations were high in Luke’s mind.

  Luke had a passion for music, and one musical artist in particular that Luke wanted to share with Anna was Elvis Presley. Since she insisted on playing the disc jockey on the trip, she humored his taste for the old music and played through several songs performed by the “King of Rock and Roll.” One song in particular that Luke wanted to share was “Falling in Love with You.” Luke, with his charming personality and lack of fear, took the opportunity and sang along but with alternative lyrics. For the chorus, he would sing, “falling in love with Anna.” He would look into her eyes when he sang, and each time, he could see a tear happily making its way out of Anna’s beautiful eyes. She would lean over and kiss him every time during the chorus.

  The two soon arrived in Oxford. The time was around 11:34 p.m. The two pulled into the driveway of Eva’s home. Luke and Anna took their things inside to the second bedroom where a pull out couch bed was set up for them. They made their way to Eva’s garage, which she had turned into a game room. There was a ping pong table set up with two bottles of beer and empty solo cups on each end of the table.

  After a few rounds of watching from the sidelines, Eva challenged Luke and Anna to a game against her and the gentleman she was seeing, Louis. He was a gifted and ambitious gentleman who received a full paid scholarship to attend “Ole Miss.” He had his hopes on attending the excellent law school in Oxford after graduating the following fall semester. It was the common ground between Luke and Louis that made the young man comfortable in the new setting.

  Luke felt exceptionally confidant in their chance of winning, considering it was the most commonly played drinking game among he and his friends in Hattiesburg. He was only concerned about making a good impression on Anna’s friends.

  The two started playing against Eva and Louis, but even Luke’s high level of skill couldn’t make up for Anna’s lack of experience with the game, and the two lost their first round. For the next round, Anna decided to sit out and watch. Eva volunteered to play with Luke. They played against two other friends of Eva’s.

  The challenge was mad
e and the stakes became higher. One of Eva’s friends was a self-proclaimed “King of Beer Pong.” He proposed that the loser of the match had to strip naked and run around in the cold weather for over a minute. Luke and Eva agreed.

  The game started with Eva tossing the first ball into the front of the other teams’ lineup. Luke followed with a bounce to the left side of the triangle, instantly clearing two cups from the table. The other team returned with two bounces, discarding four more cups.

  “I told you, mofo! I’m the best at beer pong! This is my town, my game!”

  Luke looked over at Anna and smiles, then returns his eyes to the other team and said, “Yeah, but this is my time… my redemption.”

  They continued until each team had one cup remaining. Slightly intoxicated, Luke advised Eva of a philosophy that he had learned from Enzo from all the times they played the game together. He pulled Eva aside and said to her, “Don’t worry if we lose; they didn’t expect us to get this close. They are scared and I can feel it. Just remember, ‘aim small-miss small’.”

  Eva smiled at Luke and turned back to the table. With a brief moment of focus, she tossed the small white hollow ball into the air and hit the side of the red plastic cup, breaking it down instantly.

  The other team began celebrating and chanting, “Take your clothes off, losers! I told you, this is my game!”

  Before they could enjoy their moment, though, Luke picked up another ball resting in the rinse cup and said to them, “It’s still my turn, bitches.”

  With a steely look in the other teams’ eyes, accompanied by a silence in the room, Luke focused his attention on the last remaining small red cup over five feet away. He took one more look at Anna and winked. He looked at the cup again, closed his eyes, and threw. All he could hear was the rest of the room screaming and celebrating. He opened his eyes as he became embraced by Anna and Eva. They hold on to Luke. Then they demanded that the other team follow the order and strip.