The Plastic Age - Percy Marks (classic literature books txt) 📗
- Author: Percy Marks
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"Sure--Sure; I'Ll--I'Ll Ta-Take You Some-Somewhere. I--I, Too,
Cyntheea."
They Walked Unevenly Out Of The Gymnasium, Down The Steps, And Through
The Crowd Of Smokers Standing Outside. Hardly Aware Of What He Was
Doing, Hugh Led Cynthia To Keller Hall, Which Was Not More Than Fifty
Yards Distant.
He Took A Flask Out Of His Pocket. "Jush One More Drink," He Said
Thickly And Emptied The Bottle. Then, Holding Cynthia Desperately By The
Arm, He Opened The Door Of Keller Hall And Stumbled With Her Up The
Stairs To Norry Parker'S Room. Fortunately The Hallways Were Deserted,
And No One Saw Them. The Door Was Unlocked, And Hugh, After Searching
Blindly For The Switch, Finally Clicked On The Lights And Mechanically
Closed The Door Behind Him.
He Was Very Dizzy. He Wanted Another Drink--And He Wanted Cynthia. He
Put His Arms Around Her And Pulled Her Drunkenly To Him. The Door Of One
Of The Bedrooms Opened, And Norry Parker Stood Watching Them. He Had
Spent The Evening At The Home Of A Musical Professor And Had Returned To
His Room Only A Few Minutes Before. His Face Went White When He Saw The
Embracing Couple.
"Hugh!" He Said Sharply.
Hugh And Cynthia, Still Clinging To Each Other, Looked At Him. Slowly
Cynthia Took Her Arms From Around Hugh'S Neck And Forced Herself From
His Embrace. Norry Disappeared Into His Room And Came Out A Minute Later
With His Coat On; He Had Just Begun To Undress When He Had Heard A Noise
In The Study.
"I'Ll See You Home, Cynthia," He Said Quietly. He Took Her Arm And Led
Her Out Of The Room--And Locked The Door Behind Him. Hugh Stared At Them
Blankly, Swaying Slightly, Completely Befuddled. Cynthia Went With Norry
Willingly Enough, Leaning Heavily On His Arm And Occasionally Sniffing.
When He Returned To His Room, Hugh Was Sitting On The Floor Staring At A
Photograph Of Norry'S Mother. He Had Been Staring At It For Ten Minutes,
Holding It First At Arm'S Length And Then Drawing It Closer And Closer
To Him. No Matter Where He Held It, He Could Not See What It Was--And He
Was Determined To See It.
Norry Walked Up To Him And Reached For The Photograph.
"Give Me That," He Said Curtly. "Take Your Hands On My Mother'S
Picture."
"It'S Not," Hugh Exclaimed Angrily; "It'S Not. It'S My Musher, My Own
Mu-Musher--My, My Own Dear Musher. Oh, Oh!"
He Slumped Down In a Heap And Began To Sob Bitterly, Muttering, "Musher,
Musher, Musher."
Norry Was Angry. The Whole Scene Was Revolting To Him. His Best Friend
Was A Disgusting Sight, Apparently Not Much Better Than A Gibbering
(Index)Pg 132Idiot. And Hugh Had Shamefully Abused His Hospitality. Norry Was No
Longer Gentle And Boyish; He Was Bitterly Disillusioned.
"Get Up," He Said Briefly. "Get Up And Go To Bed."
"Tha'S My Musher. You Said It Wasn'T My--My Musher." Hugh Looked Up, His
Face Wet With Maudlin Tears.
Norry Leaned Over And Snatched The Picture From Him. "Take Your Dirty
Hands Off Of That," He Snapped. "Get Up And Go To Bed."
"Tha'S My Musher." Hugh Was Gently Persistent.
"It'S Not Your Mother. You Make Me Sick. Go To Bed." Norry Tugged At
Hugh'S Arm Impotently; Hugh Simply Sat Limp, A Dead Weight.
Norry'S Gray Eyes Narrowed. He Took A Glass, Filled It With Cold Water
In The Bedroom, And Then Deliberately Dashed The Water Into Hugh'S Face.
Then He Repeated The Performance.
Hugh Shook His Head And Rubbed His Hands Wonderingly Over His Face. "I'M
No Good," He Said Almost Clearly. "I'M No Good."
"You Certainly Aren'T. Come On; Get Up And Go To Bed." Again Norry
Tugged At His Arm, And This Time Hugh, Clinging Clumsily To The Edge Of
The Table By Which He Was Sitting, Staggered To His Feet.
"I'M A Blot," He Declared Mournfully; "I'M No Good, Norry. I'M An--An
Excreeshence, An Ex-Cree-Shence, Tha'S What I Am."
"Something Of The Sort," Norry Agreed In disgust. "Here, Let Me Take Off
Your Coat."
"Leave My Coat Alone." He Pulled Himself Away From Norry. "I'M No Good.
I'M An Ex-Cree-Shence. I'M Goin' T' Commit Suicide; Tha'S What I'M Goin'
T' Do. Nobody'Ll Care 'Cept My Musher, And She Wouldn'T Either If She
Knew Me. Oh, Oh, I Wish I Didn'T Use A Shafety-Razor. I'Ll Tell You What
To Do, Norry." He Clung Pleadingly To Norry'S Arm And Begged With
Passionate Intensity. "You Go Over To Harry King'S Room. He'S Got A
Re-Re--A Pistol. You Get It For Me And I'Ll Put It Right Here--" He
Touched His Temple Awkwardly--"And I'Ll--I'Ll Blow My Damn Brains Out.
I'M A Blot, Norry; I'M An Ex-Cree-Shence."
Norry Shook Him. "Shut Up. You'Ve Got To Go To Bed. You'Re Drunk."
"I'M Sick. I'M An Ex-Cree-Shence." The Room Was Whizzing Rapidly Around
Hugh, And He Clung Hysterically To Norry. Finally He Permitted Himself
To Be Led Into The Bedroom And Undressed, Still Moaning That He Was An
"Ex-Cree-Shence."
The Bed Pitched. He Lay On His Right Side, Clutching The Covers In
Terror. He Turned Over On His Back. Still The Bed Swung Up And Down
Sickeningly. Then He Twisted Over To His Left Side, And The Bed
Suddenly Swung Into Rest, Almost Stable. In a Few Minutes He Was Sound
Asleep.
(Index)Pg 133He Cut Chapel And His Two Classes The Next Morning, One At Nine And The
Other At Ten O'Clock; In Fact, It Was Nearly Eleven When He Awoke. His
Head Was Splitting With Pain, His Tongue Was Furry, And His Mouth Tasted
Like Bilge-Water. He Made Wry Faces, Passed His Thick Tongue Around His
Dry Mouth--Oh, So Damnably Dry!--And Pressed The Palms Of His Hands To
His Pounding Temples. He Craved A Drink Of Cold Water, But He Was Afraid
To Get Out Of Bed. He Felt Pathetically Weak And Dizzy.
Norry Walked Into The Room And Stood Quietly Looking At Him.
"Get Me A Drink, Norry, Please," Hugh Begged.
"I'M Parched." He Rolled Over. "Ouch! God, How My Head Aches!"
Norry Brought Him The Drink, But Nothing Less Than Three Glasses Even
Began To Satisfy Hugh. Then, Still Saying Nothing, Norry Put A Cold
Compress On Hugh'S Hot Forehead.
"Thanks, Norry Old Man. That'S Awfully Damn Good Of You."
Norry Walked Out Of The Room, And Hugh Quickly Fell Into A Light Sleep.
An Hour Later He Woke Up, Quite Unaware Of The Fact That Norry Had
Changed The Cold Compress Three Times. The Nap Had Refreshed Him. He
Still Felt Weak And Faint; But His Head No Longer Throbbed, And His
Throat Was Less Dry.
"Norry," He Called Feebly.
"Yes?" Norry Stood In The Doorway. "Feeling Better?"
"Yes, Some. Come Sit Down On The Bed. I Want To Talk To You. But Get Me
Another Drink First, Please. My Mouth Tastes Like Burnt Rubber."
Norry Gave Him The Drink And Then Sat Down On The Edge Of The Bed,
Silently Waiting.
"I'M Awfully Ashamed Of Myself, Old Man," Hugh Began. "I--I Don'T Know
What To Say. I Can'T Remember Much What Happened. I Remember Bringing
Cynthia Up Here And You Coming In and Then--Well, I Somehow Can'T
Remember Anything After That. What Did You Do?"
"I Took Cynthia Home And Then Came Back And Put You To Bed." Norry Gazed
At The Floor And Spoke Softly.
"You Took Cynthia Home?"
"Of Course."
Hugh Stared At Him In awe. "But If You'D Been Seen With Her In The Dorm,
You'D Have Been Fired From College."
"Nobody Saw Us. It'S All Right."
Hugh Wanted To Cry. "Oh, Lord, Norry, You'Re White," He Exclaimed. "The
Whitest Fellow That Ever Lived. You Took That Chance For Me."
(Index) Pg 133
"That'S All Right." Norry Was Painfully Embarrassed.
"And I'M Such A Rotter. You--You Know What We Came Up Here For?"
"I Can Guess." Norry'S Glance Still Rested On The Floor. He Spoke Hardly
Above A Whisper.
"Nothing Happened. I Swear It, Norry. I Meant To--But--But You
Came--Thank God! I Was Awfully Soused. I Guess You Think I'M Rotten,
Norry. I Suppose I Am. I Don'T Know How I Could Treat You This Way. Are
You Awfully Angry?"
"I Was Last Night," Norry Replied Honestly, "But I'M Not This Morning.
I'M Just Terribly Disappointed. I Understand, I Guess; I'M Human,
Too--But I'M Disappointed. I Can'T Forget The Way You Looked."
"Don'T!" Hugh Cried. "Please Don'T, Norry. I--I Can'T Stand It If You
Talk That Way. I'M So Damned Ashamed. Please Forgive Me."
Norry Was Very Near To Tears. "Of Course, I Forgive You," He Whispered,
"But I Hope You Won'T Do It Again."
"I Won'T, Norry. I Promise You. Oh, God, I'M No Good. That'S Twice I'Ve
Been Stopped By An Accident. I'Ll Go Straight Now, Though; I Promise
You."
Norry Stood Up. "It'S Nearly Noon," He Said More Naturally. "Cynthia
Will Be Wondering Where You Are."
"Cynthia! Oh, Norry, How Can I Face Her?"
"You'Ve Got To," Said The Young Moralist Firmly.
"I Suppose So," The Sinner Agreed, His Voice Miserably Lugubrious.
"God!"
After Three Cups Of Coffee, However, The Task Did Not Seem So
Impossible. Hugh Entered The Nu Delta House With A Fairly Jaunty Air And
Greeted The Men And Women Easily Enough. His Heart Skipped A Beat When
He Saw Cynthia Standing In The Far Corner Of The Living-Room. She Was
Wearing Her Scarlet Hat And Blue Suit.
She Saved Him The Embarrassment Of Opening The Conversation. "Come Into
The Library," She Said Softly. "I Want To Speak To You."
Wondering And Rather Frightened, He Followed Her.
"I'M Going Home This Afternoon," She Began. "I'Ve Got Everything Packed,
And I'Ve Told Everybody That I Don'T Feel Very Well."
"You Aren'T Sick?" He Asked, Really Worried.
"Of Course Not, But I Had To Say Something. The Train Leaves In an Hour
Or Two, And I Want To Have A Talk With You Before I Go."
"But Hang It, Cynthia, Think Of What You'Re Missing. There'S A Baseball
Game With Raleigh This Afternoon, A Tea-Dance In The Union After That,
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