Looming Endangerment

Unexpected Guest

Finally, I walked into my last class for the week, film class, which was perfect because it has always been a passion of mine therefore it never felt like a class. I walked into the same room I had for the past quarter, a room with aisles of red theater seats, each with a small black pull-out desk attached to its side. With each step, I felt my stomach sink and ache with anxiety, at least that's what I thought until I felt it rumble. Hunger. I placed my black JanSport backpack on the floor next to the aisle seat I decided to occupy for today's lecture. Before class officially began, I grabbed a granola bar from my backpack. I peeled the wrapper gently and broke a piece from the granola bar, and placed it in my mouth to chew. I looked around as I chewed carefully, the professor had a strict rule of no food or drinks in class to preserve the theater, making sure no teaching assistants were in sight. In all fairness, I typically respected the rule, but right now my stomach was about to give out and growl, and I did not want to deal with that embarrassment when the class was silent as the professor lectured. After eating the granola bar, I placed the trash inside one of my backpack pockets to throw away later. I then opened the larger pocket of my backpack and pulled out my black spiral notebook and a black ballpoint pen; I pulled out the mahogany desk attached to its seat to place my notebook along with my pen and began to write today's date and lecture title "Cinematic Shots". The class has begun.

The professor finished the lecture and gave us a fifteen-minute break before she screened today's film. I placed my notes back into my backpack and grabbed my phone and checked my notifications to see if any of my roommates had texted me about where they were going for lunch. Panda Express. I may be hungry, but having the same fast food restaurant twice in a row was not something I could do, especially considering it made my stomach hurt last night. Alternatively, I started looking at where I would be getting lunch on campus, making me lose track of time. I felt a tap on my shoulder and my body internally shook with shock. I turned around to see a handsome tall-medium built man. He was dressed casually athletic, in a solid dark gray shirt with black sweats and a black baseball cap with a Nike logo. His mouth curved, forming a smile as he asked, "Is this seat taken?" as he pointed to the seat next to me. I shook my head "no." He sat down next to me and took off his hat. He quickly messed with his Ivy League-cut brown hair to undo the mark his cap left. I caught myself staring and started to feel my cheeks flush with embarrassment. I quickly looked down and unlocked my phone and responded to my sister's text about when I would be going to visit: three weeks.

The guy who sat next to me tapped my arm and softly said, "Hey. I missed the lecture. Would you mind sharing your notes with me?" I nodded yes and grabbed my notebook out of my backpack. I gave him my notes and he took a picture of them before handing back my notebook. As I placed my notebook back into my backpack I heard the tapping of a microphone followed by the professor's announcement,  "Class. Please pay attention to the types of cinematic shots used in the film you are about to see and see how your perspectives have shifted from when you didn't know the importance of cinematic shots."  The class lights dim. I put my phone on Do Not Disturb and placed it on my lap. The guy leaned and whispered to me, "Don't think I didn't catch you staring." I felt my blood rush to my cheek as I unsuccessfully hid my embarrassment and stuttered, "I don't know what you're talking about." He lets out a small sinister laugh.  The intro to the film started rolling until the title of the movie showed, Citizen Kane.

Meanwhile, the film played, I was thinking about the weekend getaway me and my friends were going to. Yet, one nagging question bothered me: why did the guy next to me look so familiar? My mind started to go through many possibilities: a generic face, a fraternal twin of someone I knew, or have I seen him around campus. My brain was being overworked with these possibilities so I started to take my mind off it by watching the film to relax. Bad idea. I felt my eyes grow heavy and before I realized it, I had fallen asleep and began dreaming of walking in the woods unbeknownst to where the main trail was. I suddenly woke up from my dream and felt someone's hand on my arm. I slowly opened my eyes and saw the cute guy's hand moving my arm gently. He turned his head and leaned towards my ear as he whispered, "You were snoring." My eyes opened in embarrassment and as I looked straight ahead avoiding eye contact I uttered, "Oh, god. That's embarrassing." He said softly, "It was a cute snore. I stopped it before it got louder to save you from one of the teaching assistants waking you up." He pulls himself away from hovering near my ear. I look at him and he smiles at me, and I embarrassingly smile back. Of course, this would happen to me. I checked the time on my watch and it's nearly one. Thanks to my nap, my stomach began growling even more and I felt everyone could hear it. Snoring was embarrassing enough, I couldn't bear the attention and stares so I grabbed my things and left. As I exited the building, I heard footsteps speeding up behind me. I didn't think anything of it because people were always rushing on campus to get from one class to another. I felt a tap on my shoulder and my initial reaction was to turn swiftly and swat the hand away from me like it was a fly. I looked to see who the hand belonged to and it was the guy who sat next to me in class. His face looked startled at my reflex.