We Real Cool

"Busy day," the person in the driver"s seat replied. "What about you?"

Oh no, Mr. You would not believe what we have gone through tonight. I thought.

"Well," Red answered as he buckled up. "It"s been a h.e.l.luva night."

All along, I thought he was used to all the dancing, the singing, and this spontaneous car ride. But no. As curious as I am, I want to ask him what he exactly means by "a h.e.l.luva night". I want to ask him what he means by "hands down". Then again, I keep these thoughts to myself. I remain ghost-quiet. Besides, aside from overthinking, I"m also too busy looking around the sick interior and appreciating the new car smell.

"We"re headed to Newport, right?" the driver asks.

"Right," Red answers. "We"re visiting the Breakers."

"Oh, yeah?" he replied, looking at me through the mirror. "Well then, hope you two have the best time."

"Thanks," Red replies.

While I could have remained silent and waited for him to introduce me to his friend, my gut told to do it myself. "Do it, Lizzie," it said. "Do it."

"Hey," I started, looking at the front mirror, flashing a smile. "I"m Lizzie,"

"I"m Benj," he replied, freeing his right hand from the wheel and holding it out. We had an awkward handshake given our positions, but I appreciate his effort.

"Nice to meet you, Benj," I reply. "Call me Liz."

"Well," Benj replied. "Nice to meet you, Liz."

That"s a surprise. I mean, I didn"t suspect an easy flow of conversation with the guy, but talking to him felt natural. In fact, I"m now beaming with joy because I got to connect with him so easily as though I were just having a piece of cheesecake. And he looks like he"s feeling the same way, too. I mean, his eyes, which are the only thing I could clearly see, said it all. And while I was looking at them through the mirror that reflected it, I felt another pair of eyes on me – Red"s.

I took it as a sign that he appreciated my effort of being unusually outgoing by introducing myself to Benj, a good friend of his. However, as much as I wanted to look back at him, I did not. I had my full attention on the mirror, stealing glances at Benj, hoping to see what he looked like. Have I met him around Harvard as well? Would he be another proctor in disguise? I wanted to know. I did not want another bomb to be dropped on me again, so I guess it"s good to know who I"m hanging out with in the first place.

And as though the heavens heard the thoughts of my mind, we approach a traffic light. It"s on yellow now, but in five seconds, it"ll turn red. Five, four, three, two, one.

And right then, I was able to get a clearer look of Benj under the bright, blinking lights. The moment I had a chance to steal another look, the first thing I notice is the fact that he did not look like what I thought he would. For one, he didn"t sport our age at all. Not that I think he"s a thirty or forty-year-old. To me, he just looked a little more mature than a college student.

He had fine lines at the sides of his eyes and all over his forehead. The first thing that came to mind was the possibility that he might be an upper cla.s.s-man. He might be a graduating senior or I don"t know – a graduating senior who started college a bit late or something like that?
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It was interesting, and I wanted to confirm it. I want to be friends with Red"s friend. I want to strike a conversation and get to know Red the way Benj knows him. And what better way than to make the move now?

"So, Benj," I say in the most casual tone I could muster. "How did you and Red become friends at Harvard?"

"Oh," he replies. "You mean him?"

He"s now looking at Red, confused.

At that moment, Red breaks into an earsplitting laugh, and for some reason, Benj joins him, too. I, on the other hand, am downright confused. Did I say something funny? Was it the way I said what I said? What was so funny?

I wanted to ask, but they seemed too preoccupied in their little moment, insensible to the troubles of my mind. This moment of their boisterous laughter must have lasted a good 30 seconds or so before Red finally stopped.

"Liz," he started. "We just met five minutes ago."

"What do you mean?" I ask, looking back and forth between Red and Benj. "Didn"t you tell me that your friend was going to pick us up?"

Benj was now laughing again, subtly.

"It"s just an expression," he clarifies, looking back to me from his seat. "By friend, I mean an Uber driver, but yes, it looks like we are friends now."

And just like that, ladies and gentlemen, I felt a strong punch right in my gut. I wanted to tell it, "That"s what you get so next time, please keep quiet. Next time, let me keep my mouth shut." But it was too late now.

"I"M SORRY," I say, almost shouting. "IT WAS AN HONEST MISTAKE!"

"It"s no problem," he replies in between laughs. "I haven"t actually laughed this hard since I attended my college reunion, and that was years ago. So if anything, thanks."

"Wow," Red chimes in. "That"s a long time."

"I know," he replied. "Long time. I don"t know about you guys, but whoever said that high school is the best part of their lives, I disagree. College is my favorite time."

"Good for you," Red replied.

I couldn"t even think of anything to say to join the conversation because at this point, I am deeply humiliated by what I"ve done. I would never trust my gut again. I would never a.s.sume. I would never make the first move if it meant jumping to the wrong conclusions that my silly, little mind would come up with. It must have been a good minute or so of silence when suddenly, the top of the down comes down.

"I don"t usually do this for my customers," Benj says. "So consider this as a thank you for making me laugh so hard. Hope you enjoy the ride with the top down."

And just like that, the top did come down. The wind blew my hair and hit my face, making me feel so free. So young. I move to the center of the seat, right in the middle of the two seats in front, hold onto them, and stand up. And right on cue, one of my favorite songs, Green Light by Lorde, blasts out of the speakers, making my first ride in a convertible all the more special.

"Enjoy," Benj says, looking up at me. "We"ll be in Newport in five minutes so enjoy the ride."

I respond with a smile, knowing that he"d understand what it means: I will. Thank you very much.

And as the song played, I close my eyes, preparing for the chorus to come. And when it did, I raised my left arm and waved it like crazy, no longer caring about what other people thought.

This is my jam. And although I"m not singing the song out loud, I know every word. While it played up until the end of the ride, I sung to it silently like a rock star. In my mind, I"ve never felt more alive.