Friday morning: on the way to the Dining Hall for breakfast, Roderick passes Lily Chang, who is on her way to a lecture. Wordlessly, they exchange the knowing satisfied glance of those who belong to Cyathos et Gladios.
In the Dining Room, Megan, Natasha and Anna chat over breakfast. After filling his plate with scrapple and applesauce, Roderick joins them.
Megan, sitting to his left, noodges him. "Are you coming home with me this weekend?"
Roderick takes a bite of scrapple. "No, Mom and Dad and the Blooms are coming up this weekend for a change."
Anna, seated across from Roderick and next to Natasha, inquires of the latter: "How are you settling in?"
"OK, I guess," sighs Natasha. "Moving is so much work."
"Yes," says Roderick. "Your driver had so many boxes to carry."
"Really!" groans Natasha, head in hands. "I'm tired just thinking about it!"
Anna, ever the lady, inquires: "And how are Felix and Fanny?"
"Oh crap!" cries Natasha. "I forgot to Skype them!" She rushes off, leaving her tray for someone else to clean up.
After breakfast, Roderick goes looking for Mr. Strnk, who is once again not in his office.
Mr. Ingres' Human Life class is finished for the day, and Molly dresses. Albert approaches.
"Um....Molly?"
"Yes," she says, pulling on her pants.
"Um...I was wondering if you could come to my room and model again."
Molly pulls a t-shirt over her head. "What time?"
"Three."
"OK."
At three o'clock, Molly knocks on Albert's door. He opens. "Hi, come on in."
Molly enters and immediately removes her t-shirt and jeans. "Where do you want me to pose?" she asks.
"Um...over there." Albert points to the bed. Molly stretches out in her favorite Odalisque-ish manner. Mentally, she's elswhere, thinking of a video Roderick sent to her, with some girl playing one of her favorite Beethoven scherzi. The girl even looks a little like Molly from a distance.
"What?" Molly's reverie ends as Albert sits down on the bed and puts a hand on her unclothed hip. She sits up and looks at him curiously.
"Um, I was thinking...you know...that we could..."
"I don't understand how you want me to pose."
"Well...I thought maybe before sketching we could...you know..."
"What?"
"You know, you and me..."
"Oh, that."
"Yes, exactly!"
"No."
"Oh." Albert looks disappointed.
"You look disappointed."
"I thought girls who model in Human Life class are easy."
"I don't know what that means."
"It means that you're willing to have sex with anyone who asks."
"And you figured that since we're both here in your room completely nude that if you simply asked me for sex I would say yes."
"That's right."
"But you never actually asked."
Albert brightens. "Oh, OK. Would you like to have sex with me?"
"No." Molly has thought a little bit about sex lately and she figures she will have sex at some point in the future, but she doesn't want her "first" to be pity sex. Also she has a pledge with Roderick which she will keep no matter what.
Albert puts his head in his hands. "Now I'm in a fix!" he moans.
Molly may seem cold, but secretly she sympathizes with every creature, including animals. Some animals, anyway. Cute ones, like rabbits and cats. Dogs, too. And horses, Molly definitely likes horses. Not bugs, though. Bugs are gross.
She pats Albert on the head. "What sort of fix?"
"I'm almost twenty-one," he wails. "It's a rule -- if a guy doesn't have sex before he's twenty-one, he will never have sex ever. I'm running out of time."
"I never heard of that rule."
"It's an unwritten rule."
"Have you spoken with Emily Scharf? I've heard her standards are pretty low."
Albert shakes his head. "She only digs guys who sing, and I can't carry a tune." He demonstrates, by attempting to sing Mime's opening lines from Act One of Siegfried. Molly winces.
Silence.
Molly has an idea. "If you have cash, you can try my sister. She's coming to campus this weekend." She ruffles around in her backpack and pulls out one of Mr. Bloom's business cards. "But first you have to talk to my Dad."
"Why do I have to talk to your Dad?"
"He's her pimp, silly." Molly dresses and departs.
That evening, in bed, Roderick snuggles close to Molly. "How was your day?" he whispers.
"It was OK. Albert wanted to have sex with me."
"That's not surprising."
"I'll tell you more tomorrow."
Roderick puts his arm around Molly and buries his nose in her hair. She is very warm and smells good.
