Jump to new as of August 21, 2004

Introduction

Posted on Friday, 6 August 2004

Why me? Why is it that I get chased by girls twenty-four/seven?

Perhaps I should start by introducing myself properly. My name is Fitzwilliam Alexander Darcy. I hate my first name- it sounds too stuffy. So I go by William, or Will, which is what my friends call me.

I have family and friends who attract girls, but not to the same extent as me. My best friend, Charles Bingley, is the epitome of ‘cute’. He has blonde hair and blue eyes. Girls flock to him, always commenting on ‘How dreamy he is’. Richard Fitzwilliam is my cousin. In a way, he resembles Charles. He has sandy blonde hair, and blue eyes. But that’s the extent of their similarities. Richard is known as a ladies man, always going out with Miss Popular, whoever she happens to be at the moment; but beware ladies- his idea of a long-term relationship is only a few dates. I’m just waiting for the day he decides he’s serious about a girl.

Now for the girls, who are the bane (well, not always) of my existence. I like to call the girls that follow me everywhere ‘The Vultures’. My friends just call them groupies, which I suppose is true. Still, I like to compare them to scavenging birds, relentless in their pursuit of meat. Their ringleader, I would have to say, is Caroline Bingley. She just happens to be Charles’ sister. It is highly unfortunate, because I can’t tell her off for fear of offending Charles or something. I don’t think Charles would care, as Caroline bugs him as much as she does me, but I just ignore her all the same. As best as I can, anyway, since she is always attaching herself to my arm, like a drowning rat or something. Not all girls are bad, but Caroline, well, she gives them all a bad name.

I guess I’ll say a little about myself. I am eighteen years old, and recently graduated from high school. I was the salutatorian. The valedictorian was a girl by the name of Mary Simpson, though many called her Mousy Mary. She always had her nose stuck in a book, and was quite ugly. I didn’t really feel sorry for her, because she hated people’s pity, so I just kind of ignored her. Anyways, back to describing myself. I am six feet, three inches tall, have dark brown (almost black) hair, with deep brown eyes. I have been told by some that I am a “veritable sex god”. Which is why I have named these confessions in such a manner. Whether or not I personally believe I am a ‘sex god’ is up for debate. I feel I am a normal, teenage guy who (ok, I’ll admit it) is blessed with good looks.

Enough about me. Let’s talk about my two best friends, Charles and Richard. Charles is always falling in and out of love. At least he thinks it’s love. I don’t think so. I think it’s just passing fancy. It seems like every other month he is rambling on and on to me about his newest ‘angel’. I just sit back and put on an interested face, while inwardly I am rolling my eyes and tuning out whatever he says. So far this summer, he hasn’t met any such girls, but I am willing to bet that after the first day of college, he will be telling me about some new girl that is ‘an angel’! Just counting down the days. Richard, on the other hand, goes out with a new girl every other week. Sometimes more frequently than that. I think he needs a girl that is actually smart and has at least an ounce of wit in her head. That way, he can actually carry on a decent conversation with the girl.

I just sit here musing over my life, wondering what college will hold for the three of us.

Chapter 1

Posted on Sunday, 8 August 2004

Charles, Richard and I haven’t done all that much this summer. We’ve been to the lake a few times, but mostly we just sit around one of our houses watching TV, playing video games, or eating. Sometimes all of the above. It’s fun for a while, but then the monotony sets in and we grow bored. So, amazingly enough, we are looking forward to college, in a way. I don’t know if anyone is actually ever really ready for school of any kind.

It’s the middle of July now, and in a few weeks, the three of us will move into an apartment near campus. We thought about a dorm, but that would be a little cramped even for us. So we found this really nice apartment that is quite spacious and is a decent price. Since the three of us are pretty well off in the money department, we can afford it.

We plan on throwing wild parties (yeah, right… I don’t, at least) every Saturday night. Just watch Charles and Richard put me in charge of the music. I wonder what they and the other drunken guests would do if I played something like Danke Schoen? Hmmm… Wayne Newton. Not a bad idea. I’ll have to file that away for later use. Boy bands are never bad ideas, either. Just a clarification- I personally can’t stand boy bands. I try with all my might to ignore it. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don’t. It drives me crazy. Boy Bands and Bimbos (i.e. Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, etc) produce the worst forms of “music”. If you could even call it that. But enough of my ranting about the idiotic music preferences of some people.

By the way, Jungle Boogie is a good idea too… that should be fun for the drunk people to dance to. Ha! I’ll save that one, too! How about a nice collection of disco songs? Hmmm…

Anyways, let’s talk about college. The three of us will be to the University of Texas at Austin. We haven’t decided on majors as of yet, so we are just taking classes until we decide. Richard, for one, has already decided that his first year at least, maybe his second as well, are going to be party/fun years. I’m kinda wondering if he’ll end up on scholastic probation. I know he’s my cousin and I shouldn’t be mean, but I am so going to laugh at him if he does succeed in doing so.

Charles is a little more studious. He will work during the week, keeping his grades up. But on the weekends, he will ditch any such notions and party like there is no tomorrow. He is like Richard in that aspect- except I don’t expect Richard to work during the week very much at all.

I am the one that actually does the work all the time. I work during the week on homework assignments and the like, and on the weekend I study and do more homework. It’s how I made such good grades and became salutatorian. I go to the occasional party on a weekend, or “guys nights out” with Charles and Richard. I do try to keep some fun in my life. Otherwise, I would end up some stiff teenage bore in a suit. Ok, so maybe not a suit, but you get the idea.

I’ve always been a little on the shy side. Much to my chagrin, that reserve which I possess in abundance tends to make others think I’m arrogant, and too far above them. My money doesn’t improve this image. But I’m really not the haughty person many assume me to be. And sadly, it’s a turnoff for the nice, sensible girls with more than half a brain; girls I would actually be interested in dating. The girls who hang all over me (especially Caroline) are after my money, plain and simple. They don’t care if I appear sullen and disagreeable. If they’ve got the dough (particularly mine), they’re happy.

I absolutely hate the vultures!

Maybe this year I will meet a nice girl who actually does possess more than half a brain. A fair amount of wit wouldn’t hurt either. I wonder. I’m just worried that I’ll be my disagreeable self, and when I get the chance to meet the girl of my dreams, I’ll do or say something idiotic and ruin my chances with her. It’s odd- I get these strange forebodings sometime, and I know whatever I’m thinking about really will happen.

Please don’t let that happen! But watch it happen all the same. I’m not usually pessimistic, but these thoughts aren’t exactly sunshine for my soul. So I am resolved to be nice whenever possible. Charles, Richard and I have hosted plenty of parties, and I wasn’t exactly Mr. Congeniality those times. And I haven’t shown a sterling character at most parties I go to that are hosted by someone else.

Please, oh please, if there is any compassion in the world, don’t let me meet the girl of my dreams at a party. I might either: a) Scare her off, or worse, b) Piss her off. The shy, timid ones would be scared off by my surly demeanor. The smart, witty ones would probably get pissed at me, and shoot death glares at me the rest of the night and afterwards. And most predictably, the money hungry vultures would just keep flashing saccharine sweet smiles at me, even at my moody worst.

Gah! Enough of these bad thoughts. Maybe I should call the exorcist or something to banish them. And maybe I if don’t think about it, the whole scenario won’t even happen! Yeah, that should work.

Let’s talk about something a little more cheerful. How about girls again. They drive me absolutely buggers, but it’s still fun to talk about them. Caroline, for instance. Whenever she’s in the same room as me, she latches onto my arm in the manner of, as I said earlier, a drowning rat. She flirts rather shamelessly with me, which makes me sick. Sadly, she thinks her arts are subtle, but even the densest man on earth could see she’s flirting. It’s that obvious. I have to work hard and bite my tongue to keep from bursting out laughing at her expense. What really repels me, though, is not her blatant flirting. It’s her mercenary actions. She’s not poor- far from it. Charles’ family is pretty well off. But she wants even more, which she apparently wants from me. I think she also wants my supposed social standing. I say supposed because I really don’t give two cents worth about the social circles. I don’t go out of my way to make myself known. If I earn a name from accomplishments, it’s all well and good. But I don’t want to be famous because of my name and money. It’s like I’m a prized buck, but the hunters are all girls with dollar signs in their eyes.

Anyway, back to Caroline. I’m not sure she even likes me, or if she is just after my money. All I know is that she drives me insane. I just wish she would leave me alone. At least she’s not going to the same college as us. Although she is going to school in Austin. She couldn’t get into UT, so she is going to Austin Community College. She could’ve gotten into other colleges, but for some reason decided to go to ACC. I think I know what possessed her to go there. Being in the same city as me, that’s what. Please, take her away! I’m getting the feeling she will be hanging out at our apartment more than she is welcome to (which happens to be not at all). But there’s not really anything I can do about it.

How about the other girls? They still bug me, though not as bad as Caroline. I’m going to start calling her RAT, by the way, in honor of her rather annoying aforementioned habit of latching onto my arm. Anyway, those girls come up to me, bat their eyelashes, and give me saccharine sweet smiles. Then they giggle and say, “Hi, my name is ---! *Bats eyelashes* *Giggle*”. Inwardly, I feel like screaming, but outside, I just keep as normal a face as possible, trying with all my might to ignore them.

Well, I’ve just talked to Charles and Richard, and they want to move into the apartment next week. I am all up for that. And I’m ready for some freedom.

Overall, I’m ready for this new chapter of my life to begin.

Chapter 2

Posted on Wednesday, 11 August 2004

School will start next Monday. We’ve been living quite comfortably at our apartment for about three weeks now. So far, Caroline hasn’t been here. Charles told me that she was staying with a group of friends at Martha’s Vineyard. I am most definitely not looking forward to her return. The three of us are basking in the glory of an absent Caroline.

Suffice it to say, Charles and Richard are already planning the first party of the year. As predicted, I am in charge of music. Masking my true intent, I asked them if there would be alcohol served. They just shrugged and said ‘maybe’. Which means that there probably will be. Just a clarification: I don’t drink except on rare occasions- those usually include weddings, all the fancy schmancy society parties, and the like.

Anyway, back to my original topic, and the reason for my question (to which I received surprised looks, by the way). I asked because I was quite serious about playing old stuff like Wayne Newton and disco (that’ll be a hoot!). Also the horrible “music” of the Boy Bands and Bimbos. I think it would be an interesting experiment to see how the drunken masses react to good ‘ole Wayne. To hide my intent, however, I told them that I hated parties (which of course they already know), and that I might turn rather disagreeable. And thus a good beer might cover up my surliness. Who knows? I might end up drinking anyway.

We plan to see whether or not we can hide the party from the prying eyes of Caroline.

Since we’ve been in our apartment since before the first of August, we’ve watched people move in to this complex. There was one day last week that two girls were outside unloading their things. Charles and I were walking over to Jester*, and Richard was out somewhere. Anyway, back to what I was talking about. At first glance, you would think that the girls were friends. One was a tall, pretty blonde with cornflower blue eyes set in a pleasant face. She was attractive enough, and I could almost sense Charles thinking, “She’s an angel!”. Anyhow, she wasn’t the one that grabbed my attention. It was the other girl- a brunette a little shorter than the blonde, with green eyes and an absolutely beautiful face.

Charles immediately walked over to the two girls, with myself in tow. I’m sitting in my room now, mulling over the conversation and my behavior.

“Hi! My name is Charles Bingley and this is my best friend, Will Darcy. We have another roommate, Richard Fitzwilliam. Who are y’all (spoken in true Texas accent, of course)?”

The blonde glanced at the brunette, and then turned back to the two of us, replying, “My name is Jane Bennet, and this is my twin sister Lizzy. Elizabeth. We don’t look much like twins, I can tell by look on your faces.” She smiled serenely, and I swear I saw Charles drool.

I stole a glance at the girl I now knew to be Elizabeth Bennet. I thought she was gorgeous, but refrained from saying anything. I just acknowledged them. But for some incredibly stupid reason, my disagreeable side came out. The way it seems to do when I meet a girl I might be interested in. One of those girls that actually have a brain. And wit. Oh, boy, I could feel her liveliness, intelligence, and sparkling wit seeping out of her and manifesting itself to me, drawing me in.

But with one last glance, I assumed what is sometimes called my “haughty, arrogant mask”, nodded my head in their direction, and then turn around and walked back into the apartment. Inwardly, I felt like bashing my head against a wall because of my idiocy. Here she was- the girl of my dreams- and I just had to go and reveal my Mr. Hyde personality, thus causing her to hate my guts. I felt red-hot shame and remorse creeping down the back of my neck. And I could feel her eyes boring into the back of my head, shooting a death glare at me.

As I disappeared into the building, I could sense laughter in those incredibly fine eyes that I’d only had a short look into. My mind wandered to her figure. It was shown off fairly well in a short, snug fitting pair of shorts. She also wore a form fitting tank top. Both items showed off her soft curves. And those shorts, oh good Lord, showed off her legs. Can I say, legs for days?? Even though she was shorter than her sister, she was at least 5’8”. Not short by any means. Any her long chestnut curls were pulled loosely into a high ponytail. I felt mildly ashamed for letting my hungry eyes rove over her body before even meeting her face.

But those eyes took my breath away. So full of life, intelligence and... impertinence. How fun it would be to spar with her. But her eyes were a sparkling emerald green. I wonder what they would look like clouded with desire? And those full red lips. I found myself wanting to bury my hands in her curls and kiss her senseless. But I had to rein in my rather volatile libido. The mask I put on was one way of attempting to control my desire. I wanted to kiss her senseless before I even knew her name.

I guess I’m similar to a ‘sex god’ in that I have a volatile and almost insatiable libido (down, ladies).

I’m wondering what’s gonna happen now that school will be starting soon. And if Charles invites his newest ‘Angel’ (told you) to the party like I expect him to, will an invitation be extended to Elizabeth as well?

I’m kind of uneasy about all of this… I hope it all works out.

*Jester is a meeting place on the UT campus. Students go there to mingle. It has eating places, etc.

Chapter 3

Posted on Saturday, 14 August 2004

School has started, and it is actually going very well. Since Jane and Elizabeth are in the same apartment complex as us, we see them occasionally. Sadly, I still get death glares from Elizabeth. Which I suppose she has every right to do. I’m going to try and be less cynical about women, starting with Elizabeth.

She’s absolutely gorgeous. I still can’t believe I was so stupid. It’s that shyness coming out. I get nervous around a girl I actually like. I get tongue-tied. And to hide my discomposure, I turn kind of aloof. Which definitely doesn’t help matters. I think I need to take speech or do something to help overcome my reserve.

As I predicted, Charles thinks Jane Bennet is an absolute angel. And I admit, she’s pretty. But she’s nothing to my Lizzy. Wait a minute. Did I just refer to Elizabeth Bennet, the girl who I totally offended as my Lizzy? Oh man, it’s gonna be a long year. But anyways, I just hope that maybe I can prove to her that I really am a good, nice guy- just one who’s a little shy.

On another note, Charles, Richard and I have been making friends around campus. The party boys more than me, but oh well. I’m not out to have half the campus as my friend. We are pretty much done planning the party. So far we have managed to keep it under wraps from Caroline. We are quite proud of ourselves. Charles told me she is coming back next week. We are going to lock the door whenever we are or are not there, and pretend we’re not there. Maybe she’ll leave us alone! That should be nice.

The party is two weeks from this Saturday. I’ve pretty much got all the music I’m going to play together and burned. I’ve got “new, popular” music, of course, but as the party progresses and people get drunk, I will start playing the funny stuff. True to my word, I’ve got Wayne Newton, Disco, some line dances (Boot Scootin’ Boogie, etc), and a variety of other things. This should all be interesting. I can’t wait to see what happens.

The only thing I’m dreading is the Bennet sisters. I don’t think that they’re coming is bad. It’s what their reactions to me will be. Especially Elizabeth. I’ve seen her a couple of times since that fateful day, but each time, she shoots me death glares. I want to get on her good side, but I don’t know how. Maybe Richard will help. Even Charles in his love struck haze could probably help me. And his dating Elizabeth’s sister is a definite plus. So I guess I will casually introduce the idea to Charles, and try to get him to tell more about Elizabeth.

For some reason, Richard hasn’t met Elizabeth yet. In all truth, I’m not sure I want them to meet. Well, I suppose they could meet, but I wouldn’t want them to start dating or anything like that. They are quite similar- outgoing, cheerful, always smiling. Bingley fits that description, but he is too mellow and easygoing to be Elizabeth’s type. He and Jane fit together nicely. I can tell he likes her, but I have yet to see that she really likes him. We’ll have to see.

I have a fairly easy course load this semester. I’m not quite sure what I want to major in right now, so I’m taking the requisite classes. I will probably end up majoring in something to do with business since I will most likely take over my father’s business some day. I just hope that it’s not anytime soon. I want to enjoy my college years and savor the freedom that comes with them.

There are a lot of things to do and a lot of places to go around campus and in Austin. Sometimes Charles and I will go to Jester and similar places. Since Austin is the capitol of Texas, there is tons of historic places to see. The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum is nearby. It’s really interesting. It chronicles the history of Texas from the time of the Indians to the Space Race, and beyond. There is an IMAX theatre inside, which shows different things throughout the year. A certain show will be showed for about 2 to 3 months, and then a new one will take its place. There is also the ‘Spirit of Texas’ theatre, which places a short movie showing the history of Texas. Its highlights include the Indians, the Alamo, the 1900 Galveston Hurricane, and the Space Race. It also tells about the lives of Texans during different time periods- Mexicans and Anglos moving to Texas during the early 1800’s, the Civil War era, the early 1900’s, the Depression, and on. It’s really neat and the special effects are cool, too. If you’re ever in Austin, the Museum should definitely be one of the first stops on your list.

Of course, there is also the State Capitol. Did you know that the Texas State Capitol is taller than the one in Washington DC? It is! And it is made of pink granite from the granite quarries in the Hill Country. You should go there, too.

Then there is the infamous Sixth Street. Not bad infamous- just well known. Sixth Street is pretty wild. Bars line the street. Whenever there are big parties, such as Halloween, Mardi Gras, and the Fourth of July, tons of people from Austin and the surrounding cities flock to Sixth St. to partake in the drunken merriment. It’s also kind of fun to see how many minors get charged with drinking. In a public setting. With hordes of police around. It really is. I don’t know why people even try.

You might be wondering, why is he making light of drunkards at parties when there will be alcohol at his own. Well, part of it is that our party is most definitely private, in an apartment. And even if I do drink, it is in moderation. I might have a bottle of beer, but that’s it. I don’t particularly enjoy being drunk. It’s somewhat pleasant at the time, but come morning, the hangover totally takes whatever enjoyment in the inhibition that there might have been the night before out. Absolutely.

But back to sightseeing. There is so much to see while in Austin. So much that I can’t even list it all because we haven’t done all of it, even though the three of us have lived near Austin for the past few years. We lived just outside Round Rock, which is a suburb of Austin. Round Rock can be interesting at times. It is known for the ‘round rock’ in Brushy Creek. Settlers traveling on the Chisholm Trail used it as a landmark. We went to Round Rock High School, where we were Dragons. Richard played on the football team, while Charles and I played both baseball and soccer. Some girls told me that I should have (and had the body to have) been a swimmer. I just thought, no. Don’t think so. And some girls told me I should’ve been a football player so that they could cheer me on. I just felt like rolling my eyes, but I refrained.

Anyhow, there’s more to do around Austin. That includes the lake. There is Lake Travis, the main lake near Austin. There is also Town Lake, which is really the Colorado River. There are other lakes around Austin and in the Hill Country. But most people go to Lake Travis. It’s fun to rent a party boat and take a load of friends out. Even better is having your own boat and spending the day cruising the lake.

Austin is full of stuff to do. I don’t think you’d ever be bored if you came to Austin. Unless it was raining. That really limits you. But I think you could still find stuff to do.