Joey Cifelli ’23
A & E Editor
October 25, 2022 (Featured Image)
I met Matt on the way to the meeting. He had been walking in front of me down the cobblestone path, and I was content to watch him. But he turned around, and when he saw me he stopped. That made me so content I thought I might die. I really liked him. I always say that, but it’s always true. He was great. “Hi Matt,” I said, when I caught up to him.
“Hi Bobby,” he said. We walked side-by-side. “So, you’re going to the meeting as well?”
“Oh yes,” I said. “And you, you’re going?”
“I am. But I’ll tell you the truth. I don’t want to. I think these meetings are a waste of time.”
I always found the meetings pleasant because they gave me a reason to talk to Matt, though I would never tell him that. I said, “I think they’re fascinating. I love to learn about other people’s business. And not that this is a big deal, but I crave the hors d’oeuvres.”
He sort of laughed. “You’re strange,” he said.
“You’re strange,” I said. And we walked the rest of the way there. 8.7/10
October 26, 2022, Part 1
We sat in the back of the small lecture room. Matt was wearing floral-patched jeans and a leather jacket that smelled like pine trees. I don’t know which I liked more. They were both intoxicating.
“How many of these lightbulbs do you think you could break before someone stopped you?” I asked. I’d been waiting to say that all day.
Matt looked at me. Then he took a slow pan around the room. Little lamps hung from the ceiling on black cords. The round tips of the lightbulbs poked out from under their shades like ripe fruit. Matt sighed.
“All of them,” he said. “Easily.”
“I admire your optimism,” I said, “although some people, not me, of course, but some people might call that arrogance.” 7.4/10
October 26, 2022, Part 2
He raised an eyebrow. “Who would dare say such a thing? I’ll punch them in the mouth.”
I held my hands up like I was being questioned, and I said “I don’t know who, but they’re out there. And I have to say they make a convincing argument.”
Matt made a fist and moved like he was going throw a punch, but he didn’t touch me. He smiled and smoothed out his shirt, and the bit was over. I decided to live for once. “I like your dress,” I said.
“Thanks. I like your socks,” he said.
“Thanks.” My pencil rolled off my desk onto the carpet. I leaned over to pick it up. When I came back up, Matt moved his head close enough that I almost brushed him with my hair. I stopped. He had cool, gray eyes and straw-colored hair. He sort of smiled at me. We were secluded there, in the back. It was like a separate room. 8.2/10
October 28, 2022
“It’s really pretty,” I said. I didn’t pull away. I wanted to, badly, but I didn’t. I made myself live.
“I like your eyes,” Matt said. He didn’t pull away either. His breath was cool by the time it washed against my cheek.
“Me too,” I breathed, “yours, I mean.” Matt laughed. I moved forward and Matt gave me a quick kiss on the mouth. We leaned backward quickly.
“Well I’m glad we agree,” he said, “that’s a relief.”
“Oh definitely,” I said. “Yes.” I pretended as if nothing had happened, despite my life being forever altered. We sat there leaning comically far from each other. Eventually, we exhaled and came to our senses. “So,” I asked, “ah, what do you want to do now?” Matt pointed at the meeting going on below us, which I had forgotten existed. “Right,” I said. A second passed. “But after?”
“Are you kidding? Certainly something after. It’ll be great,” Matt said. And he was right. It was. 9.0/10
good job Joey Cifelli