Green has always been blue, as far as Zeke knows.
Zeke and Green grew up in the most cookie-cutter neighborhood in a quiet Midwestern college town. The kind with two types of homes(single family or multi ) and the same 4 colors for shutters.
Green's dad, Guo Qiang, went by GQ, was a visiting chemistry professor from Beijing, China, back in the mid 90s. His white button-up was always two sizes too big for his boney torso, large-framed 70s glasses and pewter color dress pants tightly buckled in with a faux black leather belt. Though GQ wasn't a heartrob, his bright whiskey brown eyes and a man bun that was way before his time always got him in trouble with the wandering eyes of all the white girls in his classes. It is the 90s Midwest, you'd be considered cultured if you have ever tasted Chinese food let alone talking to a living breathing Chinese man who happened to be your professor. He was a man of few words, like most of his Chinese peers at that time, GQ blushed easily and rarely smiled.
As a former gifted child, GQ finished his Post Doc by the age of 18 and became the youngest professor at his alum mater in Beijing. While his parents had all the high hopes for him to make 6 figures at a big pharmaceutical company, GQ just wanted to stand on top of the grand canyon in his brand new white tennis shoes and have a kind American stranger take a picture of him, and then with him so he can say he spoke to a white person and made American friends. Naturally, when GQ's university presented him with the opportunity to be a visiting scholar at one the leading research university in America, he took it in a heart beat.
GQ's TA definitely took advantage of that. Evening Starr, she goes exclusively by Eve because she thinks her name is the most desperate attempt from his mother to make her standout amongst all the girl babies named Nancy, Susan and Sally. Eve has a slim yet athletic build body after years of cheer, standing at a solid 5'3, the thick long strawberry blonde hair of hers radiates like warm afternoon sunshine on a peaceful lake. It's the same warmth that set her apart from all the other candidates for GQ's TA for Organic Chemistry.
"Dungeons & Dragons, huh, what's that ?" GQ took a sip of his Jasmine tea while not breaking eye contact with Eve's cover letter he has in his hand, the steam from the cup fogged up his lens.
Eve looked over at GQ's tightened forehead, she couldn't help but gave him a big grin. GQ was probably the smartest guy she has ever met, now she had the chance to teach him something.
"Haha, it's a table top role-playing game, basically like LOTR but instead of you watching Frodo on his journey, you ARE Frodo taking the ring to Mordor." Eve wanted to paint a vivid picture for GQ just in case he has trouble grasping the concept of role-playing, so she grabbed one of GQ's pen he used to grade papers, drew out stick figures representing Frodo and Sam with her hand waving in the air in an upward motion mimicking the lava and extreme condition of Mt Doom.
GQ was thoroughly amused by Eve's silly attempt to make him understand something he already figured out 20 minutes ago. GQ was more distracted by her strawberry blonde hair that's flying all over the place. Almost everyone has dark hair back home, it always felt depressing and boring, so GQ didn't mind indulging in Eve's sunshine for a little longer.
"So, just like The Journey to the West ? " GQ shot Eve a look of confidence throught his half fogged up glasses, "you know, a Buddhist monk on his quest to retrieve the sacred scroll in the west but to protect himself from all the monsters and beasts on the journey, he assembled an adventure party, which had a Monkey fighter, a barbarian bag carrier and a talking pig. They fought shape-shifters, sirens, giant spiders etc ...then they got the scroll and everyone became demi-gods at the end." GQ let out a short "now it's your move" sigh and lifted up the corner of his white shirt to clean his glassess.
Eve didn't know if she was more caught off guard by the sight of GQ without his thick glasses, or the fact that she could see a small part of his bare abs that reminded her of the sections in the video store she wasn't allowed to look. GQ had a very symmetrical face, almost flawless with no acne scars or dark spots, it's almost a crime to hide those bright whiskey brown eyes behind the thick frames of his glasses.
"YES!!Exactly like that! Journey to the West sounds like a blast, wow. I gotta add that to my reading list! Anyways, hey, I'm running a session this Sunday, what do you say, if have fun you have to pick me as your new TA ?!" Eve smiled as big as she physically could, playfully turned her head to look at GQ.
GQ had never drowned in someone's gaze before, it was the same three shades of brown back where he was from. He didn't understand why people always describe pretty blue eyes as "piercing blue" when a more superior version clearly exists and that's Eve's. Hers are the color of the sky above the Grand Canyon in GQ's dreams, the color of the uniform he wore to win the International Chemistry Olympiad.
"Hmm...deal!" GQ sticker out his pinky, "Come on, I thought this was how Americans seal the deal." GQ let out a chuckle, held his pinky closer to Eve.
"You are on !! " Eve held out her pinky, carefully but firmly wrapped it around GQ's, "hey, don't forget the stamp!" Eve stuck out her thumb, GQ followed suit and put his right against hers, "alright, now this is a binding contract." Eve and GQ both pulled away and started giggling.
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"Green, hey G, it's your turn!" Zeke lightly nudged Green while popping a cool ranch Doritos in his mouth with his other hand.
In her lap, there was a black and white college ruled notebook that has clearly seen better days. On top of one of the loose pages poking out of the notebook, a line reads "DO NOT ENTER THE SHED!!!!!"
*** ❤️ To be continued🐉 ***