Let Me Sleep On It

Chapter 3

 

Written by: LadyofRivendell. (Note: A little confusion from the authors? Chap. 1 says Keita lives in an apartment with her two friends. In Chap. 2, she seems to have switched to living in a dorm room. I’m going to assume that she’s in her apartment and go from there.)

 

 

The man sat tall in my orange, plastic chair, which would normally be in front of my desk in the corner of the room. His auburn hair was a spike-gelled mess on top of his head, not unusual for a guy who looked to be in his twenties. What was weird, however, was the fact that he was wearing sunglasses and a black trench coat. Legs crossed, hands clasped together in his lap, the man stared at me from behind the black lenses.

“Yes…” I stuttered hesitantly, not sure what to say first. Should I bolt for the door? No, he was in my path, he’d grab me before I even made it halfway there. The window? Leaping from four stories up didn’t seem like a brilliant idea. Maybe I could attack him?

Scanning the room for some sort of weapon, my eyes froze when I spotted a packed suitcase next to the door. My suitcase. It was easily identifiable, being a red and black striped bag. But I didn’t pack anything. Heck, I hadn’t even seen that suitcase in over a year. Grad students don’t exactly have much free vacationing time.

“I took the liberty of packing for you,” the man spoke again, almost as if reading my thoughts.

“Packing for what, exactly?” I eyed him warily, but neither of us made an effort to move.

The man smirked. “Why, we’re going to Disneyland, of course.”

Wait, what? “Um, don’t you mean Disneyworld? Disneyland is the one in California.” Great move, Keita. Trapped in a hostage situation, and what do I do? Demand to know what’s going on? Scream for help? Try to escape? No, I correct my captor on his geography.

“No, I mean Disneyland. Disneyworld is boring in comparison,” he answered, a little too casually for my liking.

This was weird. Beyond weird. What on Earth happened last night?! I remember going to the club with Taffy, being dragged off by this guy, and then everything’s…gone. I wake up in my apartment, get ready like any other normal morning, and then a stranger somehow located in my bedroom informs me of a sudden vacation. This was like some bad joke…

That’s it! This must be a joke, something Taffy set up. Maybe that was why she’d been so persistent on forcing me to go with her to that stupid nightclub!

Upon my realization, I began cracking up. Tears rolled down my cheeks, I laughed so hard. I sank to the ground in my fit of humor.

“Okay, Taffy, Brawnsie,” I gasped amidst my bouts of laughter, “give it up. You guys got me good this time.” My chuckling ceased once I discovered that no one was popping out and admitting their guilt. Glancing up at the man, I found him staring down at me, head cocked and eyebrows raised.

He glanced at the black wristwatch under his sleeve, which caused his face to turn from one of amusement to one of anxiety. “We’re running out of time, so as soon as your sanity’s back, we really need to get going. Quickly.”

“Okay, listen,” I stood up, summoning my courage. “I don’t know who you are, or what you want, but you’ve clearly got the wrong Keita. I’m not going to Disneyland with you, you freak!”

Maybe I took it too far right there. With an impatient sigh, the man stood up, grabbed my elbow, and pulled me to my door. With his free hand, he hoisted my suitcase up, and dragged me along with it as if I, too, was a piece of luggage.