(Sur)realism • Calum Hood

e l e v e n

When I woke up, I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes. They seemed too heavy. It wasn't a pleasant feeling.

"Emily!" I heard someone shouting. "She's breathing, but I don't know why she's not waking up."

"Emily?" There was a second voice.

I gathered my strength and opened my eyes. Two blonde girls were staring down at me, and beyond them was an enormous crowd. Noise rang in my ears so heavily I couldn't hear much at all.

I brought my hand to my eyes. It was tan, but I'm not tan.

"Where am I?" I asked.

"Jesus Kelsey, she's out of it." The girl on my right shouted over the music. It was music, that's what the noise was. "Fucking told you we should have called a squad."

"Emily is fine, look at her she's talking, isn't she? Calm down and lighten up."

And then it clicked. I'm Emily.

"Where am I?" I shouted louder.

The girl who was screaming about calling a squad leaned down next to me. "Emily, you're at a concert." She grabbed me at my elbows and pulled me up. I felt dizzy and the world looked...surreal.

"You tripped on your own shoelace you fucking nerd, tie them next time we go out, alright? You've been out for two hours but Kelsey insisted you'd be fine. Nobody stepped on you or anything, don't worry."

I looked at her, so confused.

And like a bullet hitting my head, everything rushed back.

My name is Emily Young, I'm seventeen years old and I came here to a Five Seconds of Summer Concert with my friends Kelsey and Danielle. I was dancing when I stepped on my own shoelace and hit the ground.

I touched my face, and started breathing heavily. "Danielle, who's Victoria?"

"Em, what the hell are you talking about?" She turned to me and laughed.

"I asked you who Victoria was."

"I don't know a Victoria, sorry boo." She shrugged and then turned back, proceeding to shout the lyrics of a song I recognized as Good Girls.

I couldn't keep sane the rest of the concert. I was walking in circles, sitting on the concrete, and closing my eyes trying to figure out how I could conjure up two months of someone else's life within two hours.

"Emily," Kelsey kicked me as I sat on the ground, lost in my own thought. "It's time to go and word is the boys are leaving the venue to talk to fans."

I tossed by hair over my shoulder, which I found to be black, thick and curly.

I pulled myself off the floor and followed them out.

*

Two hours later, to Kelsey's wishes - we were still waiting outside the venue. It was eleven o'clock at night and there were only about fifteen of us left outside.

"Kelsey, it's not worth it. They probably already left, we need to go home."

"Shut your mouth - they're coming out I fucking know it."

Danielle rolled her eyes and mindlessly played with her hair.

Another thirty minutes passed and I too was starting to lose hope that they would come out. It seems like just as this thought entered my mind, a head of bright red hair exited the building and entered the small mass of girls, followed by three more heads. Kelsey and Danielle pushed their way to the front in a spastic manner, while I stayed back.

I stood on my tiptoes as I discovered that I was quite short. My heart stopped as I made eye contact with the one whom I recognized as Calum. He smiled at the other girls but he made his way over to me personally. My stomach dropped.

"Hey, are you alright?" He asked, pointing to my head.

I touched my forehead and found there to be a small gash.

"Yeah, I just fell, that's all." I laughed nervously.

"I'm glad you're alright. What's your name?" He asked me, running his hand through his hair the same way he did for Victoria.

"Emily." I answered with a slight smile.

"I'm Calum," he laughed, reaching his hand out to me.

I took it. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure we've met somewhere before."