Missing Pieces of Me

10 Ugh Classes

Blanche

I wore black long-sleeves under a red shirt with a math pun printed on it and semi-comfortable jeans. I put on my contacts since I'm uncomfortable with wearing my glasses outside. I do not feel like dressing up, no make-up, except for the usual lip tint and powder, so I wouldn't look too sick.

I was walking around the campus grounds when I saw my usual seatmate, Carrie sprint toward me. Well, she is a somewhat friend. We met on the first day and I got too lazy to avoid her since we were seatmates and she was the most bearable to interact with in the whole campus, with the exception of Lexy.

"Don't you look terrible for someone who hasn't had class for two days?" She said as she approached me, a smile beaming from her face. She joined me as we now walk to our room.

"You're one to talk. You look like you didn't get much sleep either, don't you?" I smiled back. Her high spirits seem to affect my mood positively. It kinda makes me feel nice to leave my place for a while. I wonder what got her so positive today.

"I have my reasons for staying up late at nights," she said with a wink.

"Aaaanyway, what about you? You really do look sick today. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah. It's just a fever. No big deal."

We continued on to chat about what happened to us during the past two days, well, Carrie mostly did the talking since a lot of things usually happen to her, when I saw the sign leading up to our classroom. We went inside and get seated at the chairs nearest to the door but still at the back of the classroom so as to avoid any interaction with the professor.

It took three hours to finish this lecture but I did my best to stay awake but my headache is still killing me. Also, the fact that UP knew about Alex when I haven't even mentioned him kept bugging me. How did UP even know?

Two things may have been the answer, either Alex knows about UP, really knows, like they have met already or UP has a connection with me even when I'm awake. I decide that either of the possibilities make any sense.

My thoughts shut down when lunch break came, finally, because I was starving and needed to take my meds. Carrie and I reached the cafeteria and walk through the stalls, examining each of the food offered by each one as if this was our first time coming here. I look through the glass containers trying to find my appetite but each meal seemed to just make me vomit more than usual.

Carrie and I ended up buying sandwiches because it seemed like the most appetizing today compared to the others.

We were on our way to a bench nearby when Carrie was stopped by a girl wearing a black shirt with some numbers of pi printed in a tiny white font which continued for a lot of lines until the whole front was covered.

She was almost as tall as I am, her hair just reaching past her shoulders as compared to mine which is almost to my waist and she wore glasses with huge lenses that seemed to cover almost half of her face which may seem nerdy but at the sides were subtle but eye-catching cat-ear designs. She seemed to chat about catching up with Carrie.

She turned to look at me. Did she catch me staring at her? She finally waved bye to Carrie and waved at me giving me a hint of smile just before she turned around. I don't know if it was a common courtesy to smile at a friend's companion or if she felt awkward when she thought I was staring at her or it might just be a genuine smile and I'm just overthinking.

Carrie nudged at me and I was brought back to my senses, "Come on. I thought you were hungry?"

"Y-yeah. Okay."

We sat down on the bench and munch on our sandwiches. After eating, I took my paracetamol because my fever still hasn't gone away.

"Who was your friend?" I asked.

"Oh, Just someone I met at a party. She's cool."

The day dragged on with until the second and last subject ended. I said my goodbyes to Carrie and walked to my apartment. It was not yet too late but the breeze seemed nice enough to take a stroll to. I put on my earphones and got lost in thought. I wanted to ask Alex about the dream I had. It was such a minor detail but it's huge. If Alex knew UP then maybe he could help me make a decision. UP said I should make this decision by myself but I don't think I can.

I tried weighing the pros and cons of each situation. There's not much to do in the real world. I don't have a lot of friends, and I don't interact with people much. The only thing keeping me here is some personal attachments like Alex, my parents and the tv series I'll never get to watch. Of course there's still college but the dream world makes me feel powerful. It just feels like a more permanent choice which I'll end up regretting.

The dream world seems great because I can do anything, imagine anyone I would want to meet and meet them there, it doesn't even matter if they're fictional or not, I wouldn't get hurt because I would technically be dead already, and it's not like I'll be completely alone, UP will be there but I don't want to live in a world where I wouldn't get more updated with my favorite series.

I won't get to graduate college and start a career. I would be plagued by the question of what I could have been and how would my life be if I leave this world too early. The dream world lacks the unpredictability of the real world.

In the real world, you get dealt a random set of cards and make the most of it. There, you can never experience pain but you can never get a feeling of something new because everything here is everything you have ever thought of.

I didn't realize that I had already reached my apartment building and climbed up the stairs. I arrived at the front door and took out my keys. I don't know if Alex is already home and wouldn't want to disturb him.

He's done a lot for me today, even before today. I wouldn't want to leave him and just run off to the dream world. I opened the door, and the lights were off.

I flick them open expecting that I'm still alone when I heard a loud thud. I look over to the couch and Alex was lying on the floor next to it. Oops. Looks like I startled him. So much for not disturbing.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I thought you weren't home yet. Why are you even lying on the couch?" I knelt beside him and inspected his head, looking to see if he has a concussion or any head injury.

"Why didn't you just knock? I thought you were a freaking ghost," he said, still rubbing the part of his head where he fell.

"Didn't want to disturb ya," I answered, trying to hide mask my laugh. Such a scaredy cat. He just laughed.

"So, how have you been all day? Did you take your meds?"

"Yup. Feeling better now. Have you eaten yet?"

"Nope. I got home a little early because our professor didn't show up and I decided to stay at our apartment. As soon as I got here, I just surfed through channels and next thing I knew, a bright light flashed."

"Okay, I'll order pizza. You want some?" I asked Alex as I grabbed the flier by the kitchen and opened my laptop on the nearby table. Food places with websites are awesome; I wouldn't need to talk to people.

"Like you can eat a whole pizza... Just in case, get one for me too. Leftovers can be breakfast for tomorrow," Alex stated as he cleaned up his stuff from the couch.

After I order the pizza, I decide to ask Alex about the dream world, I just have to bring it up naturally.

A/N Thanks for reading the story. If you like the story please vote and comment. I want to hear from you guys.