The Darkened World

Sarah hated Fridays.

She had been all ready to go to sleep when her two friends decided "hey let's go club hopping!" she had been stuffed into a too short dress and too tall heels, and dragged along when all she wanted was sleep.

Which was how she found herself working on an essay for her comparative world religion class, typing on her cell, while her friends danced themselves silly.

"Is this seat taken?" A voice questioned while Sarah finished the conclusion on the parallels between Christianity and Buddhism.

"I don't own the place." Come her curt reply as she scanned the essay for any mistakes. Her professor, though quaky, was a grammar Nazis and Sarah refused to look the fool because she misspelled a word.

"Can I buy you a drink?" The voice continued to question while she cleaned up her phraseology to make the paragraphs run smoother. If there was one thing Sarah truly hated it was a paragraph that was choppy.

"Unfortunately, no I am the designated driver." When she had told her friends that, they had been too drunk to even realize that there was no car; they had taken a taxi. Sarah had not been about to correct their intoxicated mistake.

"Shame. One wouldn't hurt." Sarah debated if she should inform him that every ones brains worked a little differently and, while one alcoholic beverage may not intoxicate him, a drink could blur mental imagery and processing. As the daughter of a lawyer, Sarah had been witness to too many cases where a person claimed to have had only one drink.

"I am a cautious person." Sarah had not even looked at the man and, to be honest she, did not care. Ever since she had decided to become engrossed in her education and career, Sarah had had little to no time for anyone of the opposite gender, despite how attractive she may or may not have found them. Sarah had, at an early age, discovered that men were never worth the trouble. They were not complex beings, but they seemed to be the one puzzle she could never solve. Sarah had been, more than once, called a cold hearted woman because she could never understand what her friends or boyfriends felt. She either thought that they were fine or that they were a danger to themselves. Sarah was never able to determine what a person felt while they were feeling it, unless they informed her.

Which was why when she saw the man move out of the corner of her eye Sarah was not upset. They only thing she could feel was a mild relief that he would not be speaking to her for any longer time.

That, however, would not seem be the case. Before Sarah could tell what the man was doing, she suddenly found herself with the man's hand on her waist, her back pressed against his chest, and his lips against her ear. Her relief turned into annoyance for she had not implied that she wished the interaction to continue.

"The issue with being cautious is that it can ruin your life." The man declared as Sarah debated if he would be worth the breath to argue with. She could lay down the law with anyone, her father had long since informed her of her rights as a free and independent citizen of the United States. By the time she graduated high school, Sarah could win a debate against the most seasoned of lawyers, much to their dismay.

"Or save it." Sarah argued without missing a beat. She decided that the simple minded man would be unable to process the complexity of the law, considering he had so greatly misread her interest.

"A ruined life full of pleasures or a safe life without any." His hand played with the edge of the too short dress Anna had forced her into.

"I can see the choice you have made." Sarah said coolly as her mind played out the ways she could drop him onto his ass. Her step-mother, having been concerned that Sarah would no longer be living at home and having known how simple minded college boys think, had made Sarah take several years of self-defense. Sarah had, at first, hated the classes simply out of spite of her step-mother. However, after a few classes, found that she loved having the knowledge that, if it came down to it, she could rescue herself. She had long since killed the dream of being rescued by a Prince Charming.