Utopia

Chapter 6: Cheeseburgers and Curly Fries

I'm walking down a long corridor. I recognize the paintings on the wall and I seem to be underground, so I know I'm somewhere in the castle. Suddenly, someone jerks me backwards, my back colliding with their chest. I want to scream, but before a cry can escape my lips, the person puts their hand over my mouth. My heart starts to race and I feel like it's going to beat out of my chest.

"Alejandra, calm down, it's Jaron," the person whispers in my ear. I let out a breath and lean on him. He turns me around to face him and looks at me closely. "What are you still doing here? I told you to run."

"I did, but I took a wrong turn and got lost," I explain to him.

"Come on, we need to get you out of here, and fast." He takes my hand and starts running in the direction he came. We're about to exit through the castle door when a strange figure comes out of the shadows. Before I can see who it is, everything around me fades, and I start to wake up.

I haven't seen Jaron or Eledina since the day I had to climb the side of a mountain. Three days have passed since then. We've tried to get together to make a plan, but every time I call, their mother's around. These last few days, I also found out that my birthday is in a week on Tuesday, July twenty-seventh, twenty-sixty-three.

I lay in my bed for a bit, then take my pillow and scream into it. I hear a knock on the door and my dad walks in.

"You alright, fuzzball?," he asks me.

"I'm fine," I mumble through the pillow.

"What's bugging you?"

"I keep having this recurring dream, and I don't know what to do about it," I explain reluctantly.

"I don't know how to help you there, sweetheart."

"It's okay, Papà. Can you give me the comm that's on my desk?" I feel the device being placed in my hand, and after a few seconds hear the door close. I get my head out from under my pillow and sit up, and call the girls. They barely got their comms two days ago.

"Hello?" Blanca answers after the line rings for a few seconds.

"Hey. I was just wondering if you and Adri wanted to go get some breakfast at the restaurant we found yesterday?" I ask her.

"You mean AJ's Diner?"

"Yeah, that one."

"Sure, see you in like an hour or so."

"Okay, see you then." I hang up and drag myself out of bed. While walking to the closet, I trip over one of the many boxes in my room. "Fuck!"

Why didn't I unpack these past few days? I ask myself.

I get up and open the doors to my closet. I sift through it until I come across a loose pink blouse and pair it with some blue jeans and white shoes. I grab some underwear and a white bra before heading into the bathroom to get ready. I let the water run for a bit before finally getting in.

I let the water relax me and forget all about the visions I've been having. I won't let the visions control who I fall for.

You like him, just admit it, my subconscious tells me.

I don't like him, I barely know him, I say, trying to mostly convince myself.

The visions are proof, don't deny it.

I'm not going to let some visions decide who I'm meant to be with.

There isn't a response after that. I turn off the water and wrap myself in a towel before getting out of the shower. I put my clothes on and start running a brush through the mess that is my hair. After I've tamed it, I braid my bangs and pin them back. I look at my reflection one last time before opening the door and walking into someone's hard chest. I look up to see that it's none other than prince Jaron himself.