College Life
Part 19: Good for me


by Greenbeans <gbeans@tyrlen.org>


Disclaimers:

"Good For Me" performed by Amy Grant (c) 1991 Tom Snow Music
"Galileo" performed by Amy Grant (c) 1991 Age To Age, Inc.
Amy Grant "Hearts In Motion" (c) 1991 A&M Records, Inc.

Comments, thoughts, complaints, compliments, ramblings,
and flames are all accepted.  But the latter two stand a
serious chance of being printed out and turned into rat 
cage lining.

All characters are property of their respective holders.
I belong to myself, thank you, and have a nice day :)



[We see Haruka and Michiru in a night club.  While it is
somewhat dark, their figures are unmistakable.  In the 
background, music begins to play.  It's the opening for 
this part of "College Life".  (To "Good For Me")]

   'You like to dance and listen to the music'

[Haruka standing against the back wall of the dance floor
listening until Michiru enters the room.  Haruka grabs 
ahold of her hand and pulls her out onto the floor.]

   'I like to sing with the band'

[At their house: Michiru singing softly to a CD while 
Haruka watches her smiling, unnoticed from the shadows.]

   'You like your hand splashing in the ocean'
   'Well I like my feet on the sand'

[At the beach: Michiru is running in the shallows while 
Haruka is chasing beside her on the sand.  Michiru grabs 
onto Haruka's hand and pulls her into the water with her.]

   'Does anybody have it any better?'
   'Isn't it easy to see just how well we fit together?'

[The focus goes to above their heads and "College Life"
is blazed across the screen.]

   'When I start to sing the blues'
   'You pull out my dancing shoes'
   'I think you could be so good for me'

[At their house: Michiru plops down into Haruka's lap.
Haruka is obviously moody about something, but immediately
cheers up when Michiru holds up her car keys.  They get up
together and leave the room.]

   'You get brave when I get shy'
   'Just another reason why'
   'I think you could be so good for me'

[At a market: Haruka is being her usual assertive self.
Michiru is behind her laughing into her hand as Haruka
parts the tides of people in front of her.]

   'You like to drive like Mario Andretti'
   'I like it taking my time'

[Haruka in her sports car with Michiru in the passenger's
seat.  The top is down with the winds tossing their hair
about as Haruka speeds them down the city street.]

   'But let me say wherever you are going'
   'You know it suits me just fine'

[The view stops following them to let the car go racing
down the strip.  It becomes a small speck in a matter of
seconds.]

*****

"Here," Beans ejected the CD from her CD-ROM, placing it 
into a jewel case before handing it to Michiru.  Michiru 
smiled by way of thanks.

"Beans is a sucker for sappy love songs and is getting 
Michiru hooked on them, I'm doomed!" Haruka lamented 
dramatically from her leaning spot against the door.

"Amy Grant does more than 'sappy loves songs'," Beans 
corrected before sticking her tongue out at her.

"Watch what you do with that thing," Haruka warned, "someone 
might take it as an invitation."  She winked.

Beans felt her cheeks turn hot at what Haruka was implying.  
Perverted woman!

Michiru chuckled politely behind her hand, then rose to join 
her partner at the door.  "Thank you for lending me this.  
I'll return it soon," she promised.

"I'll return it sooner," Haruka quipped after Michiru was 
out of the room.  Beans waved her off and they were gone.

*********** Sunday **********

It was a lazy evening.  A slight wind give the air a chilly 
nip, but not enough of one to discourage people from seeking 
out cafeteria food.  A group of geeks stopped by the dorm 
message board on their way back from dinner.

"Hey!" Dan pulled on John's sleeve enthusiastically to catch 
his attention.  "Sign ups for intramural baseball are 
posted."

"It is getting to be that time," John agreed.  He'd 
organized the geek's team last year, and was likely to do it 
this year.  He wasn't very athletic, but he was a great 
manager.

"I'll go around and see who's interested," Dan volunteered.

April, who was behind them, snorted.  "'Interested' is the 
polite way to put it.  'Bug them until they agree' is more 
like it."

That earned chuckles from those around them.

"You can't deny his enthusiasm," John commented, his mind 
already considering the possible roster.  "We should have a 
good team this year."

********** Monday **********

The first study tactic learned in college was to get to know 
your classmates.  That way, if you needed help with 
something you could keep knocking on doors until you found 
someone who could offer assistance.  With that idea in mind, 
Beans was systematically introducing the freshman Pedro to 
their classmates.  The best way to do that was at dinner.

"Hey, Pedro, do you play baseball?" Dan asked, to the 
chagrin of everyone else.

"No," he answered slowly, "but I did score-keep in high 
school."

That answer seemed to please Dan more than disappoint him.  
"HA!  We'll be the only team with our own scorekeeper.  The 
others will be so jealous!"

"Enough, Dan," April threw a wad of napkins at him.  "If you 
bug one more person..."

The rebuke fell on deaf ears since Haruka and Michiru had 
just joined them.

"Haruka!  You play baseball, right?"

April got up from her seat to give Dan her warning in 
person.  People scooted around to make room for the pair.  
Recently, they were coming around more often for dinner.  
They rarely ate, but the gesture of getting together at the 
end of the day was what's important.

"Good luck, Dan.  I already warned her," Beans teased from 
her spot next to Andy.

"Beans!" He whined.

Haruka puzzled as the conversation quickly flowed away from 
her playing baseball to other things.  Relieved by the 
apparent reprieve, she sat down next to Michiru and watched 
as April mock attacked Dan.

"They're insane," Pedro muttered.  He turned to the person 
seated next to him.  "I don't think we've met.  I'm Pedro."

Michiru smiled politely, introducing herself and Haruka.  
"I'm not a student here, but Haruka is," she explained.

"Oh?"  What do you study, or are you graduated already?"

"Violin," she gestured to the woman besides her, "and 
engineering."

"Interesting," he nodded.

Their conversation was interrupted by Dan protesting 
(loudly) that they needed to have a roster set to start 
practicing.  April whacked him again while Beans made her 
opinion of practicing in cold weather perfectly clear.

"Are they always like this?" Pedro asked in an aside to 
Michiru.

"Tip of the iceberg," Haruka answered with Michiru nodding 
in agreement.

*****

Haruka was annoyed.  While this wasn't a totally unusual 
event, it was rare in that there was little she could do 
about it.  Haruka was driving home from the college with 
Michiru in the passenger's seat and Amy in the CD player.

And that was her problem.  It disturbed her that she was 
quickly learning the lyrics to the songs.  Even more so that 
the bubble gum pop quality of it was growing on her.

She couldn't stop the disc.  That would earn her a level 
LOOK from Michiru.  It was so rare when their tastes in 
music collided.  Haruka swallowed her annoyance while 
Michiru continued to enjoy the CD.

********** Tuesday **********

Michiru paced the dorm hallways slowly.  She had long ago 
become used to the various posters on the walls and signs 
announcing upcoming events.  If Beans had taught her 
anything during the last two terms it was dorm etiquette, 
thus she recognized an invitation when she saw one.  The 
partially opened door to the room Beans, Alex, and Jeff 
shared beckoned for someone to enter and sit for a spell.

Michiru already knew that the person she would usually visit 
wasn't there.  Beans and Haruka were out on one of the ball 
fields doing something related to the baseball team Dan was 
excited about.

She tapped lightly on the door before sticking her head in.  
"Hello?"

"Oh, Michiru, hello," Alex looked up from her desk.  "Beans 
isn't here right now."

She smiled.  "I know, I'm just walking around while they're 
down at the baseball field.  I saw that your door was open 
and decided to stop by."

"Cool, please, pull yourself up a piece of bed," Alex 
gestured to the nearby bed that doubled as a couch.  "It's 
not often we get to talk.  Usually you're waiting for Beans 
to show up or something to that effect.  What's on your 
mind?"

"Actually, I did have a question for you," Michiru tried to 
get comfortable on the bed she sat on.  "Haruka and I have 
been curious for a while as to what Beans' real name is.  
We've heard a variety of stories so far.  As her roommate, 
we figured that you would probably know something more 
solid."

Alex leaned back in her office-style chair, a thoughtful 
look on her face.  "Beans' name?  It's funny that you ask 
that..." she twisted from side to side in her seat before 
stopping suddenly.

"Let me tell you a story.  I first met Beans when she 
transferred to our junior high.  She'd just moved to the 
area," she paused for a moment.  "You do know that she was 
adopted, right?  It's not something she discusses very 
often.  I know she told you about it after she was sick."

Michiru nodded in acknowledgement.

"Well, her adoptive family and my family are close.  They 
often invited me to spend the night with them so that she 
would make at least one friend," Alex's eyes crinkled with a 
smile.  "Making friends was never a problem once she was 
pried out of her shell!

"When she introduced herself to me for the first time, it 
was as 'Beans'.  I teased her, of course.  Children are 
cruel that way, but she shrugged it off.  She would get so 
*angry* if anyone used her given name, even her adopted 
family!  When I think of it now, I can't quite remember what 
it is.  I guess it doesn't much matter since she's all but 
legally changed it anyway."

"Why is that?" Michiru asked.

Alex twisted around in her chair again before answering.  
"You know how she can be...  She didn't take on her parents' 
name when they adopted her; flat out refused to.  I asked 
her why once.  She said, 'So that I can remember where I've 
been.'  She has a real twisted sense of pride at times," she 
shook her head at her friend's stubbornness.

"When it came time for us to choose colleges.  Beans and I 
decided to go to the same one and be roommates.  Jeff has 
been my boyfriend since my junior year of high school.  He's 
a part of the family, and we wouldn't have even dreamt of 
excluding him.

"Some other people who came here from our high school are 
April and John.  All the people I've named know Beans' past, 
how could they not when we're all from the same small town?" 
Alex smiled fondly at the memories.  "It's not discussed by 
tacit agreement.  To answer your question... I don't think 
any of them would tell you her given name even if they 
happened to know it."

Michiru stood slowly.  "Thank you, you've been more than 
helpful in explaining the mystery that is Beans," she made 
an off-handed gesture.

Alex laughed at that.  "If you ever do figure her out, 
you'll have to tell me what you discover!"

The aqua-marine haired woman waved as she showed herself 
out.  She then turned down the hall and continued walking 
until she found the next opened door.

*****

Beans scooped the baseball up off the dirt on a one-hop to 
her.  She quickly shifted it to her throwing hand and shot 
it to the waiting infielder.  A short trot later and she was 
back into position ready to make another catch.

Meanwhile, Haruka was watching from the sidelines as John 
considered her fate.  "You have a strong arm, but are you 
wild?  No offense to you, but it took us a while to calm 
down the other teams after Beans kept beaning them.  That's 
why she's in the outfield now.  You could take center 
field," he mumbled the last statement more to himself than 
to her.

Haruka rolled her eyes.  "I know how to control the ball," 
she crossed her arms stubbornly.

He sighed and shook his head.  "All right, I don't see what 
giving you a few games to knock back as many batters as you 
can would hurt."

"I won't hit a one of them!" She protested, offended that he 
would think she would hit a batter on purpose.

He chewed lightly on the erasure of his pencil as he 
considered the clipboard he held.  "Is your arm in shape?  
Don't want you pulling any muscles," he added thoughtfully.

She nodded.  "I maintain a regular exercise program."

"Well then, warm up and get out there," he gestured towards 
the field.  "We're going to scrimmage a few games before the 
season starts.  You'll get plenty of practice."

*****

Mellow tones from a viola wafted through the halls.  Her 
trained ear traced it to a room at the end of the hall near 
the bathroom.  The song stopped suddenly.  She walked 
faster, trying to track where the music was coming from 
before she lost it.  It was the last door on the right.  The 
door opened with the occupant hurrying across the way to the 
bathroom before Michiru could stop them.

She came to a stop in front of the door, reading the name 
placard.  "Who would have guessed?" She chuckled to herself 
softly.

"Michiru?" Pedro asked from behind her, obviously having 
just left the bathroom.

"I didn't know you played viola," Michiru commented by way 
of greeting.

He scratched the back of his head, somewhat embarrassed.  
"Oh, that.  Please, come in," he stepped aside to invite her 
into his room.  

He kept his living space neater than most of his male 
counterparts.  The shelves held as many books regarding 
computers as they did regarding music theory.  A few sleeves 
of sheet music were neatly stacked on his desk.  Not far 
from that, a collapsible music stand stood with his viola 
sitting on the bed.  A poster that was a detailed diagram of 
various string instruments covered most of the wall above 
his bed.

"Music is my hobby," he gestured to the poster.

Michiru took in all that was around her before answering.  
"I would say it's your passion."

He picked up the instrument carefully before sitting on the 
bed and placing it across his lap, almost protective of it.  
"I love music very much.  I couldn't give it up when I came 
here to study computers."

Michiru sat down besides him on the bed.  "I know that 
you're having difficulties in the computers programs.  Why 
don't you study music instead?" She asked gently.

He shook his head.  "There's no money in music.  I'd 
probably just end up being an instructor or some other low 
paying job like that.  There's lots of money to be made in 
computers nowadays."  He sounded like he was reciting 
arguments that were pounded into him, not as though he 
believe that rhetoric himself.

Michiru chose her next words carefully.  "You would sell out 
your dream to do something you don't love in favor of 
money?"

"It's not my choice," he grumbled.  "My parents worked hard 
to get me here.  They wanted the best for all their 
children.  Computers were the best way to show them that 
their sacrifices were worth it.  So that I can be successful 
and they would be proud of me."

Michiru paused to consider his situation.  It was a 
difficult one to be in.  He was in a major he didn't enjoy 
for the sole reason that it might make him 'successful'.  
She wondered -- if he did graduate with a computer science 
degree -- how long he could stand the work before changing 
professions.

"I'm sorry," she whispered softly.  "I would urge you to 
reconsider you decision to study here if your heart isn't in 
it.  The school I'm going to sounds more like the place you 
should be."

"It's where I wanted to go," he admitted.  "I applied there 
as well when I was looking for colleges.  They accepted me 
and even offered a scholarship, but my parents were 
adamant." He stroked the viola reflexively as he spoke.

She pursed her lips together, debating if she should 
continue to speak or not.  "You have to live your life for 
yourself.  That is the gift your parents gave you.  Please 
don't let them hold you back from fulfilling your dreams."  
Perhaps she was out of line for speaking so boldly, but some 
things had to be said.  The gift of life was also the gift 
of freedom, knowing that the child will grow up to make its 
own decisions and mistakes.

"My parents want what's best for me," a smile of chagrin 
crossed his face.  "We're still debating exactly what 'best' 
is."

Michiru returned his smile.  "I hope that you find what will 
make you happy."

********** A week later **********

Beans walked down the corridor to the cafeteria with a broad 
grin.  A grin wasn't the only thing on her face.  Mud caked 
her pants, streaked across the back of her shirt, and was 
smeared on her cheek.  Sliding practice was her favorite 
part of baseball and nothing made for better sliding than a 
swath of mud.  She wasn't the only one who enjoyed the 
activity if the mud-clad geeks that followed her into the 
cafeteria were any indication.

"Why didn't you clean up first?" Haruka scooted away from 
the filthy ball players to avoid getting any of the still 
fresh mud on herself.  She hadn't joined them in their 
'practice', instead shaking her head at their antics from 
the safety of a paved walkway.

"War paint," Dan answered.  "The other teams will be 
intimidated when they see how serious we are about winning 
this year!"

"Mud mask," Beans quipped.  "Aren't they s'posed to be good 
for your complexion?"

"You care about your butt's complexion?" Haruka politely 
inquired.

Beans flushed.  "Andy cares, don't you?" She turned to him.  
The look on his face could best be described as 'deer in 
headlights'.

He shifted in his seat uncomfortably, "No comment."

Both Beans and Haruka were about to turn the knife on him in 
their own ways when Michiru interrupted.  "You two can pick 
on each other.  Leave him alone."

Everyone was well into dinner when Pedro walked up to their 
table.  One could almost see the storm cloud hanging over 
his head as he pulled a chair up.

"Do you have time to tutor me after dinner tonight, Beans?" 
He asked after half-heartedly acknowledging the greetings 
from those around him.

"Um, I have to shower first, but sure.  I've already 
finished up my homework that's due tomorrow," she couldn't 
hide the concern she felt.  Something was on his mind, that 
much was obvious.  Maybe he would be willing to talk about 
it tonight?

He nodded then got up and left, not bothering to stick 
around long enough to eat dinner.  "I'll get a sandwich for 
him and insist that he eat it while we study," she assured 
herself softly.  Studying on an empty stomach was a 
difficult thing to do well.

*****

Pedro arrived at Beans' room not long after she got out of 
the shower.  She quickly finished brushing out her long hair 
while he fished his books out of his bookbag.  She pulled 
the sandwich she got for him out of a small fridge and 
tossed it to him.

"You looked pretty bummed at dinner.  What's wrong?" She sat 
next to him on the bed.

He looked at his books with a dejected expression on his 
face.  "Do you think I'll pass my coding class this term?"

"I don't know.  Finals are only a couple weeks away," she 
replied honestly.  "Your professor is a fair grader, which 
means that you'll get what you deserve, but I don't know if 
it's enough."

He bowed his head.  That was the simple truth.  He tried his 
best, but the concepts of variables, if statements, arrays 
-- all of it -- got jumbled up in his mind.  It made perfect 
sense when the professor or Beans explained it, but when he 
tried to replicate their work the results were never the 
same.  It was so very frustrating.  He felt like he was 
close to having a grasp of the concepts, only to have them 
slip away between his fingers.

Beans touched his forearm lightly.  "Don't be so concerned 
about failing that you can't do anything but.  You're trying 
your best, which is all anyone can ask."

"My best isn't good enough," he complained bitterly.  He 
didn't often let his frustrations show, but the pressure was 
getting to be too much.  The professor had spoken with him 
during office hours today.  The professor was concerned 
about his lackluster lab work.  Every lab he turned in so 
far this term didn't work quite like it was supposed to.  He 
was too proud to go running to Beans to get a hint when he 
couldn't get something to work as he wanted and so he 
struggled through it.  Thus the lab always came due before 
he could work all the kinks out.  It was a vicious cycle 
with him being perpetually behind his classmates.

The thought that he was only in the beginning programmer's 
class left him feeling depressed.  Was he going to have to 
struggle through all of college like this?

"I'll tutor you as long as you're willing to learn," Beans 
assured.  "Don't let your rocky start discourage you.  
Programming is like learning another language, some people 
are naturally better at it than others."

"By that logic, some people have a natural weakness towards 
certain subjects," he reasoned, feeling the need to be 
somewhat difficult.

"Well, yeah," Beans allowed, "but I won't accept that as an 
excuse to not try your best."

"No excuses," he agreed before opening his text to the 
lesson he was having problems with.  "Would you mind 
explaining the structure of an array to me again?"

She shook her head while retrieving a pencil and a notepad 
from her desk.  "Drawing it out helps a lot.  Here..."

********* Wednesday **********

Pedro shoved himself away from his desk in frustration.  
This function just was not working!  He copied it right out 
of the book and it still didn't work.  He bit down on his 
lower lip to keep it from quivering.  It wasn't dignified 
for a grown man to cry, but he was *so very* frustrated.

He stood up and began pacing around his room to work off 
some of his extra energy.  Deep breath, let it out slowly, 
regain his composure.  The anger that he felt drained out of 
him, only to be replaced by a feeling of despair.  How could 
he make it if the simple concepts eluded him?

What was he going to do?

*****

Haruka had a new plan for getting Amy out of the car's CD 
player without Michiru protesting.  Haruka almost kicked 
herself for nothing thinking of it sooner.  Michiru wouldn't 
deny letting her listen to a newly bought CD.  During a 
break between classes, Haruka scurried to a small music 
store near the campus and bought a jazz music collection.  
She didn't care if it was good or not, just so long as it 
wasn't Amy Grant!

When she picked Michiru up she was armed with her new CD.  
What she hadn't anticipated was that Michiru would be 
likewise prepared.

"Ara, you bought a new CD too, Haruka?" Michiru marveled at 
the coincidence.  "I found one of Amy Grant's other CDs at 
the college bookstore.  This one is 'House of Love'."

"'House of Love'?" Haruka could feel her eyebrows twitching 
at the very title of the CD.

"Romantic, don't you think?" Michiru beamed.  She was 
torturing Haruka on purpose, she had to be.

Haruka's heart sank into her stomach as Michiru replaced the 
old Amy Grant CD with the new one.  This was all Beans 
fault!  She would have to find some way to get her back once 
Michiru was weaned off of this horrible music.

*****

Pedro let himself into Beans' room after tapping lightly on 
the door.  Beans was seated at her computer.  Every few 
moments she would pause to look at a sheet of paper that was 
near the keyboard then type in a few more lines.  Pedro 
sighed heavily to himself when it dawned on him that she was 
writing a program from sketchy class notes.

"Beans?  Do you have a moment?"

She turning around hastily, only now noticing that someone 
was in her room.  He'd noticed that when she concentrated on 
something she tended to block out the rest of the world.

"Yeah, what's on your mind?" She turned herself around in 
her chair so that she was facing him.

He didn't take a seat on the bed like he normally would.  
What he had to say wouldn't take that long.  "I wanted to 
thank you for all your help.  You've gotten me a lot further 
along than I could have managed on my own."

Beans nodded, but he wasn't finished.  "I've decided to 
transfer to another school.  I'm just not making it here.  
So, I also apologize for wasting your time.  I appreciate 
everything you've done for me."

She tried to smooth over the startled expression on her 
face.  Trying and failing.  "Are you sure?"

He nodded.  "I had a long talk with my parents.  They were 
more understanding and supportive than I thought they would 
be.  Music is where my heart is.  I can't deny that part of 
me any longer," he smiled weakly.  "I'll leave things like 
arrays and link lists to you."

"Where are you transferring to?"

"I'm not going far, to the liberal arts college on the other 
side of town.  I'll make it a point to come over here and 
bug you if that's okay?"

She smiled.  "I expect to see you often.  And you already 
know someone over there, Michiru.  That'll make transferring 
easier."

"Yes, I think this is for the best," for the first time 
since coming to college, he felt like he was making the 
right decision.  He would be able to approach school 
whole-heartedly and without the constant fear of failure 
that he's been living with.  Now was his chance to excel.

********** Friday **********

Haruka pushed around a mushroom on her plate left over from 
tonight's pasta dinner.  There was more for her mind to 
digest and her stomach.  Finals were next week and then 
spring break, but that wasn't what she was mulling over.  It 
was something Beans told her after math class.

"Did you know that Pedro is transferring to your school?" 
Haruka asked her partner, who was busily clearing the table 
of dinner plates.

Michiru paused briefly.  "No, I didn't know that, but the 
decision doesn't surprise me.  I think he'll get along 
better now that he's following his dreams."

Haruka smirked, then got up to take her plate to the sink.  
"I should have known that you were in on this."

Michiru didn't reply, instead dipping her hands into the 
dishwater to scrub off the soaking dishes.  Haruka came up 
behind her and wrapped her arms around Michiru's waist.

"I think we need to give the Amy Grant music a rest.  I'm 
learning the songs," Haruka whispered in her ear.

"Is that so?" Michiru challenged.

Haruka nuzzled her face into Michiru's soft hair before 
cooing softly.

   'Ask me just how much I love you'
   'You are starlight, I'm Galileo'
   'Even on the darkest night, oh'
   'I will find the shining light of our love'

********** End Part 19 **********

Didn't have that much that I wanted to say at the end of 
this part except to point out that Amy Grant is one of my 
favorite English-speaking vocalists.  When I listen to 
'Hearts in Motion', many of the songs remind me of Haruka 
and Michiru.

Thanks go to Nightbreak and Sean Gaffney for offering their 
C&C services.

Created with Editsu 1.1

