In My Dreams

Chapter 4

"So how are you adjusting to the city life" a woman's voice piped from the other end of the line. I placed the phone snug in the crook my my shoulder "Good so far. The campus is huge"
"Well, yeah, it's Ivy league shit"
My free hands were occupied with emptying the last small boxes, placing a plaque on my desk that was carved elegantly into with the name-

"Mr. K, world to Mr. K"

"Stop that" She howled something between a cackle and a laugh,
"It suits you"

"Uh huh"

I placed a handful of pens into a holder before tossing the box under the desk "I just hope I can keep everything under control"
I leaned against the desk with a sigh, glancing down at an opened drawer, the orange cylinder of a pill bottle peaking through. I shoved it closed. She knew what I meant and fell silent for a second in thought,

"Just remember to take your medication. And give your therapist a kiss for me"

"Funny"

There was a bit of shuffling on her end of the call,
"Call me later, yeah? I have to get back to work"

I made a sound in conformation and pulled the phone away from my ear, ending the call.

_____

Bruised.

Not ripe.

Perfect.

I bagged the plump tomato and knotted the bag. A sequence of smacking sounds echoed through the produce isle, loud enough to make me pull away from a bunch of asparagus.
A man beside me awkwardly turned to look at something behind me before walking away towards a rack of potatoes.

Turning to find the noise I spotted a woman, slapping a group of melons, her face set in determination, as if slapping the melons hard enough would make one admit to being the juiciest.
An amused smile pulled at my lips and I approached her.
"You don't have to slap them"

"Yes you do" her voice surprised me a bit, her tone completely dismissive.

I reached down and rolled a watermelon into my hands, inspecting the large bruise on it.
"You should pick the one with the most yellow bruising. That means it's had longer to sit"

Her gaze slowly traveled up towards my eyes and I could practically see the cogs turning in her head.

She's pretty.

I gave a gentle smile but stopped short, catching a glimpse of something awfully familiar in her eyes.

Her cheeks flushed a soft pink and I watched her mouth move, yet registered nothing.

"That makes sense. So, yellow melons"

"Yellow melons"
I repeated with a knowing grin and handed her the fruit, my hand briefly brushing against her own.
The moment our fingertips brushed, that's when I felt it, an intense buzzing in the back of my head. I feared that what I was feeling would show on my face, but she was already shoving something into her pocket and steering the other direction.

Had she felt it too?

I shifted uncomfortably and discreetly popped a pill capsule into my mouth, grabbing a fruit drink from a nearby display and shamelessly cracking it open to wash down the pill.

After a few seconds the sensation died down, my eyes training on a small card on the floor. I leaned down and recognized it as an ID.
A student ID.
At Delwan University.
This wouldn't have been a surprise to me if it hadn't of been the college that I was just hired at.

I sucked in a breath and read the name.

"Neiva.."