Authors: Janice Hadden
My
phone buzzed. It was a text from Sam, saying she might not be able to
come because she was held up at her part time job…with a sorry
face at the end of the text. I texted her back…no worries. It
had been another hour of silence, when suddenly, an angelic friendly
whisper disrupted me. “Hey, Kat right?”
“
Ye…ah...”
I said slowly as I looked up, trying to recall a vaguely familiar
voice. A guy in his early twenties was leaning toward my table. He
was tall with clipped, short, blonde, almost spiky hair, wearing a
green t-shirt and plaid shorts.
“
I
saw you at the Blue Lagoon restaurant…” His voice almost
a whisper as he waited for me to recognize him. But my reaction
showed nothing that would give a hint that he was somebody familiar.
“
You
were our waitress.” He smiled again in anticipation.
Suddenly,
I felt a little silly for not instantly remembering that one
embarrassing moment when I accidentally spilled soda on someone. I
couldn’t stop apologizing, but he was so sweet about the whole
incident.
“
Oh,
I spilled soda on you!” my face turned awkward as I recalled
how clumsy I was even on my second night at work. I cupped my hand
over my mouth, embarrassed, I
was
about to apologize again.
“
Don’t
start apologizing or I might have to complain about you,” he
teased. His lips stretched to a grin. His eyes sparkled. I
laughed—almost silently, wanting to be as courteous as I
possibly could without being rude to everyone else that was around
us. He laughed too, though he didn’t hold anything back.
All
of a sudden, he fumbled at his words as his face turned slightly
heated red and his fingers fidgeted into a nervous shake. “So…um…I
was wondering if I could take you out some time?” his voice,
almost a whisper now, while his eyes hinting toward uncomfortable as
he waited for my response.
I
quickly contemplated whether to let him down easy or take him up on
it. It was automatic for me to turn down a date. I had been doing it
for so long, it surprised me that I was even weighing on a different
answer.
“
Sure,”
I said, brushing a hint of smile on my face. My answer surprised me.
But then again, I thought he was polite, looked cute, and obviously
he had a good sense of humor. Sam and Becca would be so excited. They
had been nagging me about going out on dates. But in this case, I was
really surprised to realize that the desire to go out with someone,
came from me.
“
I’m
Josh, Josh Bailey,” he extended his hand to shake mine.
“
Nice
to meet you,” I said.
“
So
um, can I get your number?” I thought it for a brief second. I
usually never give my number to strangers…ever. But there was
something about him that I felt I could trust. Without hesitation, I
wrote it in a piece of paper and handed it to him. He smiled as he
walked away.
“
I’ll
call you soon!” he yelled, his voice a little restrained this
time. Still keeping the grin on his face. I waved as he strode toward
the library exit. I checked the time. The time on my cell read 6:05
p.m. No messages or text since the last time, which was about half an
hour ago. I buried my head in my books. I rough draft a good essay,
studied about two chapters on history. I’d been there for two
and a half hours except for occasional bathroom breaks—I’d
been focused, wanting to be ahead since I have a full schedule at
work in the next few days.
As
I was rustling through the pages of my book, I felt an unusual,
unsettling feeling—a feeling that someone was staring at me,
the kind that you feel, even when your eyes couldn’t see it. I
felt sudden goose bumps and a strange chill in the air. I quickly
scanned my surrounding but didn’t see the origin of my
suspicion. Across another table, sat a group of students that were
intently studying. I turned my eyes, gazing to my left to the several
rows of tables which showed no sign of anything unusual. I went back
to my books, my mind gave no more thought into it. But after a couple
of minutes, the same uncomfortable feeling settled on me again. I
looked up again and raked the crowd slowly this time. As I was
sweeping through my peripheral vision, scanning every face in the
room, is when I saw him.
Oh
shit!
…
Tristan
was glaring at me.
My
heart jumped frantic and flat lined. He was standing between the long
bookcases, gloriously, with stiff, cold eyes. Terrified doesn‘t
begin to cover the gush of fear that pulsed through me.
Why
is he staring at me for?
My
mind tried to look for an immediate logical reason to block the
feeling of panic I felt. I couldn’t come up with anything
concrete, but I knew I couldn’t let him know I was afraid.
Pushing
my fears and anxiety about seeing him there and armed by my curiosity
about another coincidence, I resuscitated my heart before I casually
got up and cautiously went toward him.
He
can’t do anything to me here, might as well let him know that I
wasn’t afraid of him—
though
the truth was, I was more than terrified. I wasn’t planning on
confronting him. I was planning on passing by his direction to let
him know, I wasn’t intimidated by him. But as I walked toward
the bookcases with my heart about to jump off my chest, about five
feet away, I heard a yell that was directed at me.
“
Are
you following me?” Tristan’s voice was fuming. His
eyebrows strained with the same agitation as his tone. Confusion
settled on my mind briefly. I was thinking…
that
was supposed to be my line
.
“
Excuse
me?” I spitted the words, inflecting each word with
indignation—feeling the need to defend my innocence. The words
pushed through my lips, but not strong enough to affect his
aggression toward me. My eyes narrowed, feeling the heat of his
stare. I was obviously offended by the accusation but tried to
compose myself, after all we were at the library and the last thing I
wanted, was to attract any negative attention, let alone get kicked
out of the school I haven‘t officially attended yet.
“
Everywhere
I go, you’re there.” His tone was definitely aggressive.
His voice shot higher. I couldn’t escape the stare from the
other students that are now looking in our direction.
“
What?”
I couldn’t believe he was saying this. The accusation seemed to
float in my head, unable to recognize the words.
“
I
was here before you were.” I answered defensively but rather
meekly, feeling now, the many heated eyes that were glued intently in
our simmering conversation.
“
I
doubt that,” he accused.
“
If
you’re not leaving, I guess someone has to.” He said the
words loud, clear and livid, leaving no question in both our minds
that he hated me and he wanted me to know it. He was gone in an
instant.
I
usually didn’t tolerate anyone talking to me in any rude
manner, but every time I had an encounter with Tristan, he seemed to
walk away so quickly before I could find the courage to set him
straight. I couldn’t believe the rush of different emotions
that took over. I tried to ignore what just happened, but this time
he really crossed the line.
I
went back to the corner table where I sat, moments before my
altercation, feeling the heat of anger that filled me. I went back to
my studies, wanting so badly to ignore what just happened. I
couldn’t. My mind was way too upset and overwhelmed to even
understand one word I was reading. I found my reaction to him a
little more than unnerving. I wasn’t the type to let anyone
treat me like a doormat. My natural defense mechanism seemed to
deflate without my approval whenever it came to dealing with him.
Tristan’s
odd behavior was beginning to really get to me. I wanted to cry, a
natural tendency to anger, but settled for slamming my books hard. I
wanted to kick and scream. Why should I let someone intimidate me? I
unzipped my backpack and shoved everything inside. I zipped my bag
close and headed to my car. Recalling the incident again, gave me an
unavoidable headache.
I
parked two buildings from the library. I usually didn’t mind
the walk, but now, I wished I parked closer. A chill hovered and an
unusual fog seemed to have suspended itself in the air. I zipped my
gray sweatshirt all the way up to my chin and covered my head with my
hoodie.
Walking
fast, I could hear my own breathing, feeling a little exhausted but
decided to continue the pace. I heard faint footsteps from the
background which I ignored with the confidence that it was just
another student walking in my direction. But then, the footsteps
seemed to have gotten closer and sounded like it was coming toward
me. It could have been my imagination but I looked over my shoulder
anyway, to see—no one. I usually wouldn’t bother scanning
from behind since it wasn’t unusual for many students to pass
in and out of the buildings. But it was dark, and I was also
beginning to feel like someone was following me. Then, it suddenly
occurred to me that violence in campus is more common than most
people think. I hurried my feet even more, realizing there was no
security on site, at least none that I can see—so did the
footsteps. I tried to calm myself, concentrating on the fact that
there would be more students around, once I reached the main
building.
But
before I could console myself with that fact, suddenly, on the
farthest corner of my eye, I saw a man. I twisted slightly, trying to
see clearly the profile, but I couldn’t see the face. All I
could see was someone with a large build wearing a dark hoodie, head
covered, coming in my direction.
He
seemed to be walking fast. Then I couldn’t tell after that. He
looked like he was coming for me. Whether or not that was a fact, I
couldn‘t be sure—I ordered my feet and decided to run for
it. I thought better looking stupid than dead.
T
he
dream came in a haze. Fog and mist had dawned in the forest. I was
alone. Large tall trees and its massive trunks blocked everything in
front of my view. Thick roots that looked like long fingers twisted
everywhere, snaking from the bottom up. Large trunks, crept as I was
overwhelmed by their moss stricken bodies. I breathed the humid air.
I could smell everything—the rain, the leaves, the mud, the
dread that continued to spread through me. The small hard rocks on
the ground grazed my feet. I stared at the decaying leaves that
looked like they had been there for quite some time, hiding whatever
little creatures that crawled on the ground. I was barefoot, my feet
curled as I realized the feeling of rough wet leaves, sharp tiny
rocks, old roots and creatures underneath my feet.
But
I quickly dismissed my disgust when I realized my predicament. I saw
a shadow hiding in a fog. I couldn’t quite see what it was. As
I came closer, a dark form emerged, it turned around, though I
couldn‘t make out the shapes clearer. As if something was
blocking my vision.
Suddenly,
The silhouette was inches from my face. Then my eyes flickered
sending the shadow farther away. He was a man. My breathing
accelerated. I tried to run after him for no clear reason but my body
wouldn’t move. I was frozen solid. The shadow stared at me from
a far, and though, I tried to clear my eyes, the haze blurred
everything in front of me. I gasped at the thought of the dream
ending before it was over. I chased it with exhaustion in my mind,
not wanting to wake up for the first time and just stay in the dream.
I didn‘t feel afraid. But despite my unimaginable effort, my
eyes automatically opened to my bedroom—my reality.
I
wasn’t sure how I got to school that day. I was extremely tired
from the dreams and nightmares that kept me waking up in the middle
of the night.
“
Did
you find a partner yet?” a familiar, husky voice spoke, jarring
me from my thoughts. I turned my head halfway to look at him. I was a
bit anxious remembering that I didn’t have a lab partner yet.
It was Brody. Brody is our class clown as well as our student body
president. He was tall with dark hair, and as always, he was wearing
a friendly smile.
“
No…actually,
I need to find one,” I said, realizing that he came to ask for
us to pair up. “I’ll be your partner then,” he
volunteered. I was glad and very lucky. Brody is so much fun to be
around, not to mention studious.
The
instructor came in and wrote lab. Room # 124 on the white board
without saying a word. Everyone gathered their things and slowly made
their way out. We both got up. I yanked my shoulder bag from the
floor as Brody gestured his hand forward letting me pass first. We
walked side by side two doors down to Rm. 124.