The air was rich with the smell of damp earth. The gentle rustle of the river could be heard in the distance. Jesse Montgomery felt contented, walking with his dog, a bearded collie named Scampers, through the Yvette Uys Nature Reserve, a few kilometres from Ridgemont University. Jesse lived on the edge of campus so that he could easily escape to the nature reserve and go up the mountain trail whenever he needed to. He loved the isolation and the time he spent with Scampers enjoying nature.
He wore his heavy blue windbreaker, the chill of autumn finally descending after a long, hot Summer. Jesse loved the cold weather; it was a great excuse to stay home with a good book rather than have to make excuses for why he didn’t want to go out. Besides, spending time with Scampers was so much more fun than suffering through loud nightclubs with the boisterous and brash Ridgemont students.
The hiking trail up Yvette Uys Mountain was lined with evergreen trees. Scampers ran ahead of Jesse, sniffing at each one. His long, black and white coat of fur was a bit damp from running through the gentle streams along the trail. Scampers would look back at Jesse from time to time to seek his approval and to make sure that he wasn’t getting too far ahead, and Jesse would smile and tell him: “You’re okay, Scamp. I’m right behind you.” Scampers was almost seven-years-old, and was a bit slower and less energetic than he had been in his younger days, but he still had an adventurous spirit and relished the walks Jesse would take him on. He had been a loyal companion to Jesse throughout high school and Jesse had taken him along when he got his own flat at Ridgemont. He was happy that he could have his dog with him; spending time with Scampers was often when Jesse was happiest.
Jesse pushed his medium-length, slightly curly, dark-blond hair from his brow, his deep coffee brown eyes surveying the scenery. Jesse had full cheeks that gave him a boyish look, but his eyes showed a certain seriousness that counteracted his youthful features. His broad shoulders helped to make sure that people didn’t mistake him for a teenager; he had just turned twenty-one-years-old. He sometimes wished that he didn’t have such attractive features, that he could just disappear into the background, but his face had the innocent and friendly quality of making most people instantly trust him, and for that reason he often had a lot of unwanted interactions with strangers. Out on the hiking trail, he could be alone and enjoy his own thoughts. He had always been quiet and shy, and his slight stutter didn’t help matters, so being alone suited him perfectly.
Scampers suddenly rushed down the trail away from Jesse, barking furiously. Jesse ran after him, shouting his name and feeling his breathing quicken. Scampers was very obedient most of the time, but when he saw another dog he often couldn’t contain his excitement. Jesse finally caught up with him and found him sniffing a dachshund whose tail was wagging excitedly. “Scampers, come back here,” Jesse called out, but Scampers was too happy with his new friend to pay any attention to Jesse. Jesse took the leash out of his pocket and walked over to Scampers to fasten it to his harness, and noticed an older woman approaching him.
“Oh, I see your dog has taken a liking to my Daisy,” she smiled, her face lined and friendly. She had her greying hair tied into a ponytail, and looked like the type who loved the outdoors.
Jesse smiled back at her, and responded, “H-h-he seems to l-l-like her.” Jesse chastized himself silently. Couldn’t he have one normal interaction with a stranger without the damned stutter acting up?
The woman looked over at Scampers. “He’s a beauty,” she said. “I’ve always loved collies. The most loving and loyal dogs.”
Jesse smiled down at Scampers, who was sitting patiently at his side and watching the dachshund. “He means a lot to me, yes. We’ve walked a long road t-t-together.” Dammit, stutter!
The woman waved a goodbye and continued along the trail, and Jesse came up to where his car was parked. Scampers jumped into the passenger’s seat as Jesse opened the door, and they drove back to Jesse’s flat together. The sky was a clear blue but the air felt heavy and ominous, like it would rain in the near future. Jesse reflected on how much he loved the walks in the mountain. It was the perfect way to relax before test season really kicked into gear.
The car pulled up in the flat complex and Jesse could see a familiar red Jeep in the visitor’s parking next to his flat. He felt his stomach sink and shrugged his shoulders. “Looks like Phillip’s over for a visit again, Scamp,” Jesse said to the patient passenger sitting next to him. “Let’s just hope he’s not trying to get me to be a regular, outgoing student again.” Jesse knew that Phillip had good intentions, but his constant desire to get Jesse to be a social butterfly could be annoying at times.
Phillip sat in his Jeep looking at his phone, and gave a jovial smile when he noticed Jesse pulling up. He stepped out of his car and walked over to Jesse, waving his arms dramatically as he spoke: “I’ve been trying to call you. Where have you been? Luckily I haven’t been waiting too long, but you need to answer your phone, Jess. You can’t just disappear off the grid like that.” Jesse had been friends with Phillip since their first year at Ridgemont together. Jesse was attracted to Phillip’s confidence, since Jesse had always been too shy to make friends and Phillip had come right up to him on their first day in Psychology class and started talking to him. Phillip hadn’t stopped talking since then.
Phillip walked across the parking area and gave Jesse a hug, his long, bony arms poking into Jesse’s side. Phillip was tall and lanky, with large, protruding ears and a prominent nose. His dark brown skin was accentuated with light make-up. Despite his oversized features, Phillip still managed to be handsome and charming, his bubbly personality making him instantly likable. His hair was perfectly quaffed with short sides, and his outfits were color-coordinated and styled to a T, making Jesse always feel underdressed around him. Jesse broke the hug and said, “I’m sorry, buddy, I was just out on a hike and left my phone at home.”
Phillip pursed his lips, barely looking at Jesse in his frantic haze. “Well, you can’t do that to me. Don’t you know how stressed out I am about test season? I haven’t been studying enough for Professor Ndlovu’s assignment. You know I’ll probably end up getting the most difficult topic when he announces them on Friday. I just wanted to come and get your notes so I can make sure I study everything beforehand. There won’t be enough time if I only start next week.” Phillip’s was practically cross-eyed from worry, and Jesse tugged at his arm so that Phillip followed him into his flat.
“You’re going to worry yourself into a tailspin, Phillip. Come inside and get a cup of tea and I’ll find my notes for you.” They stepped into the flat and Phillip settled on Jesse’s couch in the small one-bedroom flat, exhaling loudly.
“What would I do without you, Jess?” he beamed.
Jesse found his notes in his bedroom and gave them to Phillip. “You won’t have to find out. Don’t worry. Just make sure you have these notes back to me by Monday. I need to make sure I do well in this assignment. Professor Ndlovu has been a hard-ass with me all semester. He knows how much I want to get into graduate school so he’s really pushing me to do well.”
Phillip smiled: “Jesse, if there’s anyone who’s getting into the Clinical Psychology course, it’s you. Trust me. The rest of us are just clamoring to keep up and you’re miles ahead. You have nothing to worry about. You were born to be a psychologist.”
Jesse smiled contentedly. He walked to the small kitchen area to make some tea, and handed Scampers a treat from the cupboard. Jesse smiled at the dog who took the treat to his bed in the corner of the living room. Jesse’s full cheeks were rosy from the effort of the hike.
Phillip started reading through all of Jesse’s notes and looked up, his eyebrow raised. “These are excellent, Jesse. I’m understanding it better just from looking through your notes than I did when Professor Ndlovu explained it to us. You’re going to do so well in this course.” A look of concern suddenly flashed over Phillip’s face and he whispered to Jesse: “But aren’t you a bit concerned with doing the presentation as pa
rt of the final assignment for the course? Won’t you struggle with your stutter if you’re too nervous?”
Jesse felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment. Phillip was a good friend, but he could be a bit insensitive at times, and bringing up Jesse’s stutter was sure to make him worry about it even more. “I’ll just have to push through. If I practice enough the stutter shouldn’t be that bad. And it’s a small class so I’m not too worried about being that nervous anyway,” Jesse lied. His stomach was in knots just thinking about it. Jesse had been studying for the assignment for weeks, and had even practiced some possible topics for the presentation component, but each time he had tried to get through it he felt overcome with nerves and his stutter was out in full force.
“You know what,” Phillip started, “I just realized that this will be our last chance to have some fun before we have to start working non-stop on our assignments and studying for tests. Why don’t we go to Percy’s Pub tonight just for a short while? It will really help me to unwind, and I know you could use some fun in your life too. What do you say?”
Jesse frowned as he handed the cup of tea to Phillip. He pushed his blond hair out of his face, feeling flustered. He knew that this request would come up; Phillip was always up for a party. “You know it’s not really my scene, Phillip. It’s the last Wednesday before test season and it’ll be chaos in town. Why don’t we just stay here and watch a movie or something?”
“Come on, Jesse. You’re my best friend. I have no one to go out with and if I don’t have a little bit of fun tonight I’ll collapse from all of this stress. Just come out with me for a few hours. We can go and meet some cute boys, flirt a bit.”
Jesse’s face sank as he took a sip of coffee. His deep brown eyes were more serious than usual as he looked over at Phillip. “You know I’m not ready to date yet. I just don’t have it in me.”
Phillip responded dismissively, waving his arm above his head: “It’s been almost six months since the whole incident with Martin. Believe me, every guy isn’t like him. He was a dirty, cheating, lying dog, but there are some good guys out there. You can’t still be hung up on Martin after all this time.”
Jesse sat down on the couch across from Phillip, a shadow falling over his face. “You know it’s hard for me to let people in,” he said, his voice low. “I’m not ready to meet a guy right now.”
Phillip cocked his head from side to side: “Okay, we can just go and have fun. If you happen to meet a cute guy, that’s just a bonus, but come and be a young person for once in your life. And promise me you won’t think about Martin again. If I never see his face again it’ll be too soon!”
Phillip finished his coffee and took Jesse’s notes as he left. Jesse didn’t even remember agreeing to go out with him, but it seemed like he had been overruled again. He felt conflicted about what Phillip had said to him. He was keeping a secret from Phillip, the friend who had been so loyal to him throughout their time at Ridgemont. He hated keeping things from Phillip, but Phillip made it quite clear how he felt about Martin.
Jesse walked to his room to take a shower and wash off the effects of the hike. He undressed and checked his phone. There was a text message from Martin. He opened it: I’m glad we decided to spend time together again. All of the nastiness is behind us now. I miss you, Jesse. M. xxx.
Jesse and Martin had been together for a year and a half, and Martin had made some mistakes, but he was a good guy. Jesse knew he was a good guy, deep down, no matter what other people thought of him. Everyone deserves a second chance, he thought. Besides, you can’t invest so much into a relationship just to give up. Jesse knew that he couldn’t tell Phillip that he was considering dating Martin again until he was sure that it was something real. In the meanwhile, he just needed to go out and pretend like everything was okay.
Chapter 3