Any Given Thursday

Jake had never been one known for broaching uncomfortable topics. Somehow, the people that he socialized with knew what and what not to say around him most of the time, and he in turn knew to do the same. He rarely felt awkward in social situations, and he almost always knew how to segue into any acceptable topic spoken with polite company. Of course, his current company was far from polite, and definitely not in the mood to play games with him. He sighed loudly, catching the attention of the silent female next to him. As they walked up the steps of the Kurgan Institute, he noticed that Celina had become visibly more composed.



Her shoulders were arched, and as he stole a peek at her face, her eyes were determined as well. They went to the assigned office, noticing that they were not the only people there. Celina had noticed Anna Jacobs and Dylan Carter in the room as well. After exchanging brief pleasantries, a silent plateau filled the room. They waited patiently for a few more minutes, and then Jake began to squirm and fidget. Celina nudged his chest, trying to keep him from his embarrassing her. Jake glared at Celina, and he would have continued to move around, had a distinguished gentleman not entered the room.



The man standing before them was white, tall, and slightly overweight. He was balding, and the shine from fluorescent lights above, made his head look like a bright beacon. Nevertheless he was dressed as just another member of academia would be attired. His tweed suit looked a bit too tight on his portly body, but Celina knew better than to judge others based upon appearance. The man gave them all a once over, skimming his clipboard silently. He smiled at them suddenly, gesturing for them to enter one of the back rooms. As the quartet sat down, he passed out various forms.



“Good afternoon, I am Professor Jacob Gaither. I’m the director of this project, and if any of you have any questions they can be directed to me. You four are in luck, since you elected to begin your project immediately. The initiative that has been shown here today will be rewarded.”



“The study we are conducting is an experiment that will enable us to peer into the minds of America’s politically aware public. We will be examining how people tend to lean politically, how they vote, and the political groups with which they are charitable. We require both male and female participants because our experiment will focus on how open the people you talk with are based on age, sex, race, and political affiliation. You will soon discover that people are remarkably candid with those that are their complete political opposite. The same could be said regarding gender as well.”



“Also, after you collect your findings, you and your partner will write a report which will be published in our nationally recognized journal. Now I know this may seem like a lot of work, but there is a bonus that will be awarded to the first six participants. Since you elected to begin your assignment immediately, you will have a chance to win a trip to Washington, D.C. where there will be a consortium on the results of our project.



“There is one more thing. Professor Rosenberg failed to tell you this, but there is a grand prize for the winners of this project. Not only do you win a trip to Washington, D.C. for the winning thesis but there is a 25,000 grand prize to be split between the winning team.”



The professor smirked at the shocked stares he was receiving. Apparently his friend had failed to inform them that not only were they getting extra credit, but that they also had a chance to win twenty five grand. He cleared his throat, stifling any laughter that may have fallen out.



“I see Rosenberg left that part out. He has graciously referred all of his Poly Sci students to the Institute.”



Celina leaned back in her chair, completely flabbergasted. She had already agreed to take on the project, but it required so much devotion. Still, she needed those twenty five points for her overall grade. It would mean working with Jake on a continuous lengthy basis, but she could set aside their differences just this once right? The project did not seem too difficult, but they were basically glorified pollsters. John Zogby never had to resort to grade curves to get his employees. She allowed herself a small smile at the thought. Her eyes fell to their project folders, which were very detailed descriptions of their assignments. According to the dossier, they would be given a stipend in case travel was required. So far, this project appeared to be simple in nature.



“I have a question Professor Gaither. Should we qualify for the consortium, is this an all expenses paid trip?”



Professor Gaither allowed himself a small smile, nodding to Anna Jacobs. He sat on the oak desk, smirking at his students knowingly.



“Should you qualify then yes, all expenses are paid. Now, I have devised a very simple, thorough guideline for you all to follow. You are to begin conducting your surveys immediately. In exchange for your services, you get political experience needed to survive as a political science major. There is also the bonus of knowing that you did something for the good of the community.”



Dylan Carter rolled his eyes at that statement, elbowing Jake. The two shared a secret male laugh, which only those endowed with a pea sized brain were privy to. Professor Gaither left then, off to do whatever it was a fellow at institutes did with their free time. Celina snuck a glance towards Anna and Dylan, surprised to see that they had already begun divvying up the workload. Jake was still thoroughly reading the packet himself; and she wondered how long it would take for the two of them to begin work.



“I think that we should tackle the west side of Georgia first, working our way east. We could start with the names in Carrollton, and drive towards the east side. At least then we would have traveled through many cities in which these people live.”



Jake said suddenly, looking at her for approval. Celina didn’t like the idea, but she didn’t want to argue with him. He was her partner, and if she made a critique of his suggestion, a fight would most likely escalate. Still, his idea wouldn’t work well with their itinerary. She chewed her lip thoughtfully, thinking about their other options.



She gathered her things, absently mindedly grabbing Jake’s hands and tugging him out of the room. The sound of his hitched breath beside her made Celina release her hold. She hadn’t realized that she had grabbed him. Blushing slightly, she felt embarrassed and angry at how easily he could make her feel flustered. Quickly, Celina reminded herself that she hated Jake Collier. The look on Jake’s face was somewhere between amused and confused. He crossed his arms, staring down at her expectantly.



“We can’t travel through the state West to east. Think about it, the state of Georgia is longer than it is wide. We’d cover more ground by traveling south to north. Then, once we’ve finished that part of the trip, we could double back, and travel east to west, or west to east. Besides, we are competing with Anna and Dylan and we can’t let them know of our game plan.”



Jake regarded her silently for a moment, his mind mulling over her previous statement. Her plan was just as flawed as his, and wouldn’t work either. They needed to have something set that would allow them to travel faster, and cover more ground. Now that they were excused for the remainder of the semester, they had time, but they should cover as much ground as possible.



“I don’t think so Celina. We need to head to the library, print a map of these centers in which the interviews will take place. And go from there. Now most of these people on this list live all over the place. I say that we go to the centers that are on the outlying parts of the state. Once we handle those, we move towards the center, where clusters of people live.”



Celina pursed her lips silently. Jake could tell that she liked the idea, but was unwilling to give him even a grudging respect. Exasperated with him and everything dealing with their new project, she agreed, walking out of the building and towards the school library. Jake jogged to catch up, saying nothing as they walked.



“Hold it, Celina. We don’t need to go to the library. I have a computer in my apartment, and you should probably go back to your dorm and get packing. We have a head start, and out closest rivals are Anna and Dylan. Just pack your stuff for a few days, and I’ll do the same. We leave as soon as possible okay?”



“Let’s just get something straight Collier. I am not going to be led around like a dog by the likes of you. Furthermore, this is a joint project so you can forget about bossing me around as well. I will treat you with the same respect that you give me. As long as we keep to the assignment we should have no problems.”



Jake’s face still looked amused as she went on with her angry spiel, and when she finally became silent he nodded as if he had been listening all along. Her anger excited him, and he had not been excited in quite sometime. He missed their verbal spars, especially the way she would pull his hair, or how her breasts would shake as she slapped him for making a rude, vulgar comment. The days in which they could both be at ease with one another had long since passed. He knew that it was his fault, and he had never apologized for what happened between them so long ago.



“Then it is a done deal Ms. Thompson. In fact let’s make it legal. I suggest a temporary truce, for the sake of this assignment. We can agree to mutual terms, and this will ensure that out project is a raving success.”



Her glare was skeptical, but finally she nodded curtly for him to continue. They sat facing one another on a wooden picnic table. Searching through his backpack, Jake finally found a pen beneath the clutter. Celina passed him her notebook, and he began to write down both their names. Curious to see what he was writing, Celina leaned over the table, peering down at his messy scrawl. Surprised by the sudden shadow looming over his paper, Jake looked up and was met with Celina’s ample cleavage in his face.



The button shirt she wore complimented her figure, and also gave him a wonderful view of the chest she always tried to hide. After knowing Celina for so long, Jake had a fairly good idea about her own physical image. Celina had always been a little insecure about her body, failing to notice the appreciative stares she often got. Drawing his eyes away from the tempting sight, he looked into the brown eyes of his partner/enemy suddenly embarrassed at being caught staring. She gave him a confused stare, unsure as to why he was reacting this way.



“What’s wrong? Why is your face so red? It’s not that hot out here, Collier. Move your hand; I want to see what you’ve written.”



Celina commanded, walking around the table so that she leaned over him. Jake’s brow knitted together, and he found himself unable to concentrate. The flowery fragrance Celina wore was driving him mad. The feel of her breasts pressed up against his back made him drop the pen in his hand. Dammit, didn’t she know what she was doing to him?!



“I was just writing down the beginnings of our contract. Now if you’ll just park your butt in the seat in front of me, we can continue.”



He coldly responded, trying to coax her back down again. He wouldn’t be able to get up for awhile, thanks to the innocent moves that she made. He avoided looking into her eyes once more, willing the tightness in his jeans to go away. He hadn’t meant to be rude, but he needed to hurry up and finish this little contract and get as far away from her as possible.



“We, Celina Alicia Thompson and Jacob Daniel Collier, do solemnly swear to abide by this temporary contract to the best of our abilities. The creators of this contract shall be known hitherto fore as C.A.T. and J.D.C. Rule number one: C.A.T. and J.D.C. will not force, or coerce the other into abiding by rules the other ignores.”



He wrote aloud, briefly looking into her eyes for confirmation of the new rule. She gave her agreement, refusing to meet his eyes. Had it finally come to this? Were they both so stubborn and childish that it took contracts to even get along? Apparently, she wistfully thought—they were.



“Rule number two: We both stay out of the other’s personal business. No comments, questions or exceptions.”



Celina added to the growing list, ignoring Jake’s curious stare. He shrugged, and wrote down her words verbatim. He knew that she would want to add a few of her own rules, and he of course believed that her first rule made perfect sense. They should keep things professional and stick to the work alone. Still, he could not help but feel a bit melancholy. There was a time in both their lives when her business was his, and his business was hers. Now however, was not the time to painfully reminisce.



“Rule three: We tell each other the truth.”



“The truth about what Collier?”



His writing stopped once more, and he regarded her curiously as if he were seeing her for the first time.



“I’m talking about our expectations of each other, Celina. What we think of the work, how we’re measuring up. I don’t want you bullshitting me by telling me I’m holding up my share of the work, while secretly keeping a file from me, or about me.”



Celina crossed her arms, regarding him with a satisfied smirk.



“Believe me Jake, if you are screwing up my grade I’ll tell you honestly. There will be no bullshitting about it. If I’m unsatisfied with you, you’ll definitely know it. Rule number four: We keep it real. In other words we behave how we normally would.”



Celina said slowly as if she were talking to a child. Jake scowled at her coy smirk, knowing that she was telling the truth. He penned down her rule, leaning back in his seat. He passed the paper to Celina and watched as her eyes scanned the paper for anything missing. Appeased with the contract, she signed in her elegant penmanship her own name, and passed the sheet so that he could do the same. They stood from the bench, staring at one another uncomfortably.



“Professor Gaither has already informed our teachers of this project, and so we can leave whenever you’re ready. I was thinking tomorrow morning around nine? We need to get a start on the road, and keep our lead. We can take my Jeep if you want.”



“Before we leave we should stop off and get our allowance for this project. I’ll pack enough for two weeks. After that, we have to check in with our progress. Meet me at my dorm at say, 8:15? I’ll see you then.”



They awkwardly shook hands, both extremely uncomfortable with the other. They were both grateful for an excuse to get away, and prepare for tomorrow’s trip. Celina would be sure to bring the necessary items for the assignment, but also something to keep her entertained on the road. She didn’t want to spend hours driving with Jake and be forced to converse with him. The last thing that either of them needed was a walk down memory lane.