Divergent Limit

October 25th, Saturday

Suzuka, Moa, and Momoko stared at him. Most of the time, their gaze came across as completely neutral to him, but today they looked like they were questioning him. He averted his eyes from the mirror and looked down at the sink.

"Come on, Eugene. If she thinks the shirt's too weird, you don't stand a chance anyway."

He reassured himself. There was no point in hiding his nerdy side from Claire. For all he knew, she was just as much of a geek as he was, if not more. The girl was crazy about math and science. First time he saw her, she had come to the analysis discussion section she taught with a purse that had Maxwell's equations and a "Let there be light!" print on it. He had a crush on her ever since.

Eugene took one last look at his shirt in the mirror. The three girls from Babymetal drawn in a chibi, pixel art retro style still stared at him. He sighed, then clapped his hands together. He had scrutinized his reflection for so long that his blond curls were dry now. It was time to go.

He stepped outside the bathroom and into the hallway, closing the door behind him. He took a few steps toward his bedroom to grab his hoodie and jacket when he came to a sudden halt. The door to the other bedroom in the small apartment opened and his roommate Eleanor joined him in the hallway.

"Hi... Uhh... I'm going out."

He greeted her, taking a step back. She looked at him briefly before lowering her eyes.

"You... You're meeting with Emily and Claire, right?"

Her voice was uncharacteristically small. The tall girl with the long, raven hair didn't look well. She wore the same pajamas as yesterday evening, her hair disheveled.

Now that she stood in front of him, he realized he hadn't seen or heard anything from Eleanor all day. When she was home on a Saturday like this, he usually would have heard music blasting from her room at some point, ranging from speed metal to the 80s soundtracks of the Rocky movies, as she pummeled the punching bag in her room. He shouldn't have urged her to watch the Rocky movies with him if he didn't want his Saturdays to feel like an 80s training montage.

Looking at her, he could only conclude she hadn't left her room since yesterday evening. Something was wrong, obviously. He didn't need to be a genius to figure that out. He wanted to help, to be there for her. And he had tried his best yesterday.

The memory of her hand creeping down his stomach briefly invaded his mind. He shook his head. She was hurting, but no matter what happened to her, it didn't justify what she did.

"Yeah, I'm supposed to be at the Infinite Pint in 30 minutes. I did the laundry and cleaned the bathroom earlier. I'll take out the trash now. Can you go to the store later? We're running low on a few things."

She nodded.

"Mhm, sure."

He nodded back. He detested the pang of guilt crawling up his spine as he walked past her into his room. Watching her as she shuffled to the bathroom, he could see how dejected she looked, like a mere shell of her normal self. Still, he had been nervous in anticipation of today ever since Emily invited him three days ago. He wouldn't let the bullshit Eleanor pulled on him yesterday ruin this for him.

He grabbed his hoodie, closed the zipper, then opened it again. What was the point of wearing the Babymetal shirt if he hid it underneath his hoodie? He was about to grab his jacket too when he wondered: did he actually need one? This late October day still carried with it a hint of summer. Climate change, probably. A quick look at the weather app on his phone let him know that the temperature wouldn't drop below 50 degrees before midnight. He'd be fine without one.

Eugene stepped outside. It was 6:30 PM, 30 minutes left, more than enough time for him to walk the distance to the Infinite Pint. Emily had told him to be there at 7 PM, which felt kind of early. He didn't go to many social events like this, though, so he could be wrong. If he didn't know better, it almost felt like Emily was trying to play matchmaker between Claire and him.

Emily was a physics major in her senior year who taught a discussion section on classical Newtonian mechanics for engineering students like Eugene. When she invited him on Wednesday to a small get-together of seniors like her and freshmen like him, he felt flattered, but wasn't particularly interested. He was about to politely decline her offer when she casually mentioned some of the others who'd be there, Claire among them. How could he say no to that?

Looking back, he started to wonder. Was his crush on Claire so transparent? And wouldn't that imply that Emily was rooting for him? He shook his head and smiled. A lucky coincidence, that was all this was. All the nervous energy made him see ghosts.

He hoped that the walk through the city streets would help him clear his head. Instead, his thoughts kept circling back to yesterday. Why had Eleanor done this? Straddling him? Placing his hand on her boob? And finally, grabbing his dick? That was so out of character for her. She had done the same thing as...

His thoughts were interrupted when he walked by a small park. He could hear a ball bouncing, two kids finishing a casual basketball session at the park's hoop as it was getting dark. He narrowed his eyes and walked a bit faster.

By the time he reached the Infinite Pint, he had gathered himself. He was now focused on his mission: get Claire's number. The heart in his chest was all too aware of what was at stake as it hammered away. The logo of the bar, a pint framed between two infinity symbols, beckoned him. The faint sound of indie rock was inviting him in and he was ready to answer the call. He opened the door without hesitation.

The music got louder immediately. He took in the lyrics as he got his red wristband marking him as under 21.

"Love turns into fear

And it won't just disappear

And I don't know how to get out of this

Mess we're making here"

Even if he were allowed to drink, he wouldn't have today. He doubted he'd make a better impression while drunk.

He scanned the room. It looked like he was early indeed. The place was far from being crowded, the waiters still seemed relaxed. He spotted two billiard tables nobody was playing at yet. Then his eyes found Emily and Claire sitting alone at a table. Emily saw him at about the same time and jumped from her seat immediately to come greet him. He waved at her.

"Eugene!"

She greeted him as eagerly as if her favorite person had just entered the room. She was closing the distance between them quickly as he walked toward her with cautious steps. The blue strands in her dark brown hair were new.

"Love the blue strands. Looks great!"

She came a little closer than he expected.

"Thanks! Wanted to try that for a while!"

Then she hugged him, which caught him off guard. The scent of her perfume entered his nose, citrus and the faint trace of something sweet. He didn't remember them being this close. He awkwardly patted her on the back.

One day, he'd figure out how an extrovert's mind worked, but today was not that day. She leaned more into him to whisper into his ear.

"I got her to come. Rest is up to you."

Then she let go of him. He was a little baffled. She gave him a quick once-over.

"That shirt is... a choice."

She had a knowing smile on her lips.

"I think she'll love it!"

She winked at him before she hurried back to their table. So much for seeing ghosts. He didn't expect to have a wingwoman in his corner today. Not that he was going to complain. He'd order a dozen Emilys if they helped him out like this. Maybe he should trust his instincts more often.

He followed the metaphorical and literal path Emily had cleared for him and approached the table.

"Hi."

He raised his hand in the air, looked at it briefly, then lowered it again.

"Am I too early?"

He asked as he sat down next to Claire.

"A bit. 7:30 is the official start."

He furrowed his brows at Emily's response. He could have sworn she had told him 7 PM.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

He was about to stand up again when Emily got up herself and grabbed him by the arm.

"Relax. Maybe, just maybe, I misspoke. You being here early is perfect, actually. Gives me a chance to hit the ladies' room without my girl here getting bored. Later!"

Then she strolled away while very obviously not headed for the restroom. Subtlety had officially left the table.

He was alone with Claire. It was do or die now. He looked at her. Big hazel eyes, freckles painted across her face, and that little snub nose. God, she was cute. Using her pinky, she shyly brushed a strand of her shoulder-length, light brunette hair behind her ear as she looked at him expectantly.

She had brought her Maxwell purse again.

"Uhh... cool purse! Maxwell's equations, right?"

She grabbed the purse dangling off her hip and put it on the table, her eyes firmly locked on it.

"I'm surprised you noticed that. You should still be making your way through classical mechanics, no Maxwell yet."

A gentle smile adorned her face.

"Yeah, I won't pretend I'd know how to use them, but I've seen them before. They describe electromagnetic waves, right?"

She looked at him. Her eyes briefly darted up to his hair, then found their way back to his face.

"Mhm, that's the whole point behind the 'Let there be light!' joke."

Great, the ice had officially been broken. What now? Should he ask her whether she was actually religious? Oh God, no! He remembered Eleanor's advice from two days ago when he told her he was meeting Claire today.

"I met her at the gym a few times. Ask her about her workout. A delicate-looking girl like her never gets asked about that."

He didn't know how to pivot to that, and he didn't want to think too much about Eleanor at the moment.

"So... where did you get it? A store selling merch like that must have other cool stuff as well."

"Oh, I don't actually know. It was a gift for my birthday from Emily. She's the physics major after all. We can ask her when she returns."

He grinned.

"That might take a while."

Claire chuckled.

"You might be right."

The bar got fuller as they kept talking, the ambient noise more difficult to talk over. He recognized Ashley, a fellow first-year student, among the people entering, and some guy from his classical mechanics course whose name he couldn't remember. Claire was sipping on a Virgin Mojito while he simply ordered a Coke. Occasionally, Emily could be heard enthusiastically greeting people. Claire pointed at his chest.

"So, what's Babymetal? Please tell me nobody's putting headphones on infants and blasting them with death metal."

He had a bright smile on his face as he looked down at his shirt.

"You shouldn't underestimate the value of death metal as an educational tool for infants. But no, Babymetal is a kawaii metal band from Japan."

Claire looked at him intently, encouraging him to continue.

"Are you familiar with Japanese idol culture?"

Claire tilted her head back and forth.

"Uhh... kind of? I know as much about it as you can from watching anime, I guess? No idea how accurate that is, though."

He shrugged.

"Close enough."

Then he continued.

"So, usually these idol bands produce like cutesy J-Pop, right? Well, the three girls from Babymetal took that formula and thought 'How about we do that, but with metal?' And the result was... Babymetal. I think that's all there is to it."

Claire took another sip of her cocktail. He could see her thinking. Then she asked.

"And what do you like about it?"

He had to think about that for a moment.

"Hmm... I guess I like the 'no fucks given' energy these girls have? The fun thing is, rather than being seen as a mockery of metal, the scene welcomed them with open arms for the most part. Imagine tall, muscly dudes with long hair and beards headbanging enthusiastically to idol pop metal from three tiny girls from Japan. Why shouldn't three cute girls band together and create an idol pop metal genre fusion?"

Claire tilted her head a little to the side as she contemplated her answer.

"I think I can relate to that. As a woman in math, I know what that's like. So, what song should I listen to to get an idea of what it's all about?"

She grabbed her phone from her purse, plugged her earbuds in, and handed him one, inviting him to listen with her. The eager, anticipatory expression on her face as she scooted closer to him made his pulse reach questionable heights. For a moment, he was unable to say anything.

"Eugene?"

He returned to earth and swallowed the saliva pooling in his mouth.

"Uhh, yeah... Try 'Gimme Chocolate!!', that's probably their most iconic song."

The title alone was enough to make her smile. Eugene put the earbud in. She was so close that their arms almost touched. Then she hit play.

"A-ta-ta-ta-ta, ta-ta-ta-ta-ta, zukkyun

Wa-ta-ta-ta-ta, ta-ta-ta-ta-ta, dokkyun

Zukyun, dokyun, zukyun, dokyun

Yada, yada, yada, yada, never, never, never"

He watched the grin on her face widen as she listened to the song. He couldn't help but smile himself.

"That's so dumb! I love it! What are they even singing about?"

Eugene noticed a guy entering the bar. He approached Emily who seemed to shrug him off immediately. Then he began walking toward their table. Eugene was eyeing him cautiously.

"The song is about the girls wanting to eat chocolate but being worried about their weight."

The guy came closer, he was definitely headed for them.

"I wouldn't mind some chocolate myself right now."

She responded. Then Claire noticed him too. She pulled the earbud out and rolled her eyes.

"Can we help you?"

Eugene asked the guy now standing at their table. He cast Eugene only a fleeting glance before his attention shifted fully to Claire.

"Look who it is. A rare sighting of Robertson's pet in the wild, on a Saturday no less. What's the occasion?"

Claire sighed.

"What do you want, Alex?"

Eugene remembered that Claire worked for Anthony Robertson, the linear algebra professor Eleanor had sought out yesterday morning for help with her financial situation after her mother had cut her off. Eleanor had never responded to his text asking how the meeting went and then acted all weird when he saw her in the evening. When he had asked what was wrong, she said that her mother had called. Her mother always brought down her mood, so he had thought nothing of it, but maybe that wasn't the whole story?

"Relax, Claire. Just thought I'd greet a colleague when I run into her at an unexpected place, that's all."

Eugene didn't know the history between the two, but Claire's face said it all. If she rolled her eyes even more, they'd catch on fire from the friction.

"Greeting noted."

For a second, Alex looked disgruntled. Probably didn't get the reaction he hoped for.

"Have 'fun' you two."

Alex's condescension was barely concealed. Then he leaned down, put his hand on Eugene's shoulder, and half-whispered:

"Don't get your hopes up, dude. That one's as frigid as they come."

Eugene was fully aware that Claire had heard Alex. He didn't say anything, just pushed Alex's hand off his shoulder, and watched him walk away.

Eugene had been prepared for awkward silence between them, but not exactly for this reason. He looked at Claire out of the corner of his eye as he took a sip of his Coke. Her downcast gaze and her hands folded in her lap made her seem deflated.

"Sorry about that."

She murmured. He shook his head.

"Don't. Not your fault. Does that happen often?"

She glanced at him.

"What do you mean?"

He nodded in Alex's direction.

"Guys like that acting... like that. I'm no psychologist, but the dude's a walking hurt ego if I've ever seen one. A professional should take a look at that."

Claire sighed.

"Sadly, yes. Many guys in math seem to like the idea of finding a girlfriend who's into math too... until it turns out she's better at it than them."

Eugene nodded. Alex was unlikely to become one of his favorite people. Somehow, he was sure of that.

"That sucks."

Eugene had an idea of what must have happened. Alex probably hit on Claire in the past and got rejected. And when she maybe got a scholarship he wanted or simply ranked higher on the Dean's List, he could only reconcile that with his self-image by attributing her success to being Robertson's personal favorite. He was curious, but now wasn't the time to ask for more details.

He was wondering how to stir the conversation back into more lighthearted territory when he saw Emily return.

"How are you? Sorry, I got a bit distracted. Didn't mean to leave you two alone for sooo long."

The side-eye Claire gave Emily was delicious. Eugene gave Emily a brief summary of the evening so far.

"Aside from a brief spike in the local idiot-density, I think we were doing fine?"

He gave Claire an encouraging smile. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"What Eugene said."

He was happy to see her aligned with him.

"Well, I was just about to offer to teach you two how to play pool in case you ran out of fun. Anybody interested?"

Claire looked back and forth between Eugene and Emily.

"I don't know. I've never played before...?"

Eugene got up from his seat.

"Me neither. Let's do this! Lead the way, Emily."

Emily clapped her hands together.

"Perfect! But before we get into any fancy rules explanations, let me first show you how to properly use a cue. No point in playing an actual game if you don't even know how to aim."

Claire got up too.

"Alright, what could go wrong? I mean, pool, isn't that essentially just conservation of momentum turned into a sport?"

Eugene snorted.

"Heh! I think somewhere a professional pool player just felt a disturbance in the force."

Claire poked her tongue out at him as he walked over to the free pool table.

Eugene walked around the table and ended up standing opposite the two girls. Getting some distance between himself and Claire actually helped him relax. He hadn't breathed normally ever since she handed him that earbud.

He had crushes before, had even slept with two girls. But he'd never been this nervous. He started to doubt whether he had ever been truly in love before. And he recognized that, despite all the nervous energy, he still barely knew Claire. He wondered: was being in love with someone you really knew even more intense than this?

He watched Emily hand Claire her cue as if she were bestowing knighthood upon her. She began to explain. Emily pointed at the balls and the holes in the table, took a shot herself to demonstrate how to do it, then let Claire take over. He tried to memorize Emily's instructions as well, but his mind drifted off, relying on Emily to explain it all again when it was his turn. The last thing from the tutorial he remembered was Emily moving Claire's hand up the cue a little, since holding it at the very end was apparently wrong.

Seeing Claire stand, he was reminded of how small she was, not just in comparison to himself, but even to a woman of average height like Emily. Of course, not all girls were as tall as Eleanor who, at 5 feet 11 inches, almost reached his own 6 feet. But Claire was what? About 5 feet maybe?

Watching her, he couldn't help but smile. She was wearing a forest green, long-sleeved top, slim black jeans, and brown ankle boots. But that was not what amused him. Her eyes narrowed and her tongue stuck out of her mouth as she took aim with her cue as if she were defusing a bomb.

His gaze wandered to her shoulder. Her top had slightly slipped off her shoulder, revealing a blue bra strap beneath. He gulped as Claire briefly let go of the cue to tuck a defiant strand of hair back behind her ear. Almost involuntarily, his eyes drifted further down her body. As she leaned over the table, he could see the outline of her small boobs through the green fabric of her top. He was just about to remind himself not to stare when something hit him.