The Love Expert

Chapter 6

Johnny opened his eyes. He saw his brothers and sisters surrounding him.

“Johnny, good thing you’re awake now!” his sister said to him. Johnny could not speak of anything. His senses were not functioning well.

“Hey Johnny!” one of his brothers said.

“What happened? Where’s the old man?” Johnny replied slowly.

“What are you talking about, Bro? We’re so happy that you’re conscious now.” said Rob, the oldest among his siblings.

“What? Where’s Jennifer? I want to see her.” Johnny ordered.

“Who’s Jennifer?” his sister asked.

“She’s the one I’ve been telling you. Can’t you all remember? She is my girlfriend!” Johnny said.

“What? You have a girlfriend?” his siblings asked in chorus.

“Bro, you better recover first before we talk about those things but honestly, we don’t know what you are talking about.” Rob said.

Johnny was hospitalized because of his bus accident. The accident was televised so his siblings were prompted to check him in the hospital. Everything about his knowledge and prowess about love were part of his realistic dream when he was still unconscious. That means all the girls he had a relation with, including Jennifer, were not true.

“You’re clear to go out now from the hospital.” The doctor told Johnny that he already recovered from his injuries.

“I just want to clarify some things.” Johnny said.

“What is it?” the doctor said.

“Can I be a genius because of the accident?” he asked.

The doctor felt that what he said was a bit silly. “There’s a possibility that you might be a genius after that accident but that case is very rare. We cannot tell unless you notice that you suddenly became a specialist in a specific field.”

“Last question, Doc. Can I be genius in the field of love?” Johnny said.

The doctor laughed and said, “Funny one!”

“I’m serious, Doc!”

“I haven’t heard any news about someone who is an accidental genius and became an expert in love.”

Johnny went home and faced the bitter truth. He is not really a love expert. Everything was back into his usual life. “Damn! Back to reality: no talent in love, no popularity, no girls, no Jennifer, no money!” He thought.

He went to his workplace the next morning. He just discovered that he was fired by his boss because of many absences. As he was exiting the department store, he heard a voice calling him. He turned around and saw his co-worker.

“Hey, Stephen!”

“Johnny, long time no see. How’s it feel being fired?”

“I don’t wanna talk about that now.”

“So what’s your plan now?”

“I don’t know. I’ll just find a work.”

“You know? I can offer you a job.”

“Really? Thank you. What is that job?”

“We’re having happy hour later. You know what I’m saying, right? Actually, we’ll not pay you we just want someone to serve us.” Stephen laughed.

“Like, hey where’s the beer, Dumby.” Stephen added.

Johnny just went out of the store without saying anything. He thought that Stephen can offer him a real job but Stephen ended up making fun of him. After that, Johnny went home. He thought of where he could earn money. Suddenly, he remembered what made him rich in his dream. He decided to write books about love. He opened his laptop and tried to type a story.

Few hours had passed but still, no good idea has entered his mind. He was able to write an abysmal one page story. He deleted it right after he realized that it could be compared to a work of a ten year old pupil. He continued thinking until he felt a bit tired. He sat down on his sofa to think. Unexpectedly, he heard a voice inside his house.

“Johnny!” the voice stated.

Johnny was alarmed. He picked a knife and sneaked to the place where the voice came from. The voice reverberated around the house, “Johnny! Johnny!” Johnny became confused. He was terrified. The voice kept on repeating. He did not know what to do. The sound was coming from all angles. The voice seemed to go inside his head. Johnny closed his eyes and screamed, “Stop! Stop! Stop!” The echoing of the voice stopped. Johnny opened his eyes slowly. He saw a man facing a mirror.  He walked slowly towards the man while pointing the knife. He was shocked when he found out that the man’s face in his reflection was blank.

“Who are you?” Johnny shouted at him. The man turned around and he was the old man whom Johnny talked to in his dream. The old man said to him, “Seize the day.”

Johnny fell from his sofa and hit the floor badly. “Shit! Just a nightmare.” Johnny said.