Colors - l.h au

Chapter 3

I stared at the colorless sky, thinking about my strange experience in the Education Center. I was merely thirteen years of age, being the social butterfly I am. I met a handsome boy at age twelve, a new student in my Year Class. He was kind and admired by most young girls in the class, but he was a close friend to me than the others. Kyle, the boy, acted different towards me as we grew into age thirteen, that's when he placed his lips on my cheek. That gesture frightened me, as I did not know what he did. I ran home that day from the Education Center, my mother having a worried look on her face.

"Why are you home early?" she asked me. I wasn't crying, but my voice was shaken up from the incident.

"This boy from my year put his lips on my cheek," I touched the spot where his lips have been. My mother's eyes grew wide, pulling me closer to her as she grabbed my shoulders.

"What shade is this?" she asked, holding up a rag from the kitchen table next to us.

"It looks like white and black had a baby," I simply said. She sighed, looking down at her feet. "Why did you ask?"

"No reason," she smiled at me. "Now, tomorrow you tell the boy that you two can only be friends, okay?" I nodded, not understanding what she meant at that time but now I do. "Go up to your room, father will be home in a few." she gestured me towards the stairs. I did as I was told and the next day, Kyle told me interesting news.

"I have weird feelings for you," he told me as we both sat at the ledge of a small brick wall.

"We can only be friends, Kyle," I blurted out, looking up to him. His eyes softened at the sound of my words. He nodded, looking away. After that, Kyle distanced himself as the years went by. I haven't heard from him, but hopefully he's happy now.

"Hey, Pandora," someone whispered, throwing a paper ball at me. I turned around and saw Patrice facing me. "Stop imagining things and get to work. We need to turn this work to Joseph by this week." she smiled, going back to her work. I did the same, but thinking back to the memory. This is the first time I realized people kept asking me 'what shade is this' as they hold up an item. Why do they ask? It's not like there's different shading other than grey, black, and white.

"Patrice, when's Rest?" I asked, exhausted from all the work I have not done.

"In a few. You better get started or they'll take you away from me," she said, laughing. I smiled at how friendly Patrice is. Not many girls from the Education Center was as kind as Patrice, but I shrugged them off, not letting the girls bother me. One of my disadvantages in work is how easily I get distracted, even the smallest things. My parents were surprised I graduated in time. Minutes passed and it was finally 12:30; time for Rest.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked Patrice as we sat down at a table.

"Sure, what do you want to ask?" she said, setting her lunch in front.

"Is it weird I have dreams every night about the same guy?" I asked curiously. Patrice slowly looked up, staring weirdly at me.

"No, it's actually common. Is there anything else that seems odd?" she questioned.

"Yes," I immediately said. "There's two things. I can only see his eyes, nothing else. Also, his eyes have some sort of... tint?... to them." as I said that, her eyes went wide, her mouth filled with food.

"Do you supposedly see this "tint" in reality?" she asked after swallowing her food.

"No, which is strange," I said, finally eating my food bought from home. The delicious smell of pasta seasoned with pesto sauce made my stomach cry out louder than earlier. Patrice nodded, not saying a word. Minutes after silence, the same guy from yesterday stood right beside Patrice.

"You know you don't have to sit with your manager. A girl like you shouldn't be sitting with Loser," the guy said to me, nodding his head towards Patrice.

"Sorry, I didn't get your name," I said, looking up to him. There he goes again with the Name "loser".

"Name's Alfred. You're the newbie, Pamela, right?" he responded.

"Pandora," I sternly said. "Why do you care if I sit with Patrice?"

"Because, Pandora, an attractive girl should be with other beautiful people. Not this," he pointed at Patrice. She has not said a word the second he walked by.

"Well, Alfred, Patrice is my friend. The way you treat her affects me too. Please go away, your presence is killing my vibe." I told him off. He chuckled, leaning closer to me to the point where his hot breath was tickling my nose.

"Do not touch her," Patrice said, standing up from her seat. Alfred smirked, laying his hand on my arm.

"Notice anything different?" he asked, standing straight up.

"I notice you're a disgusting man," I simply said. I heard Patrice sighing in relief at the sound of my response.

"Leave now, Alfred," she lightly pushed him away. He huffed, walking back to where the Elders sit at. Patrice walked right beside me, hugging me tightly. "Hopefully nothing has changed." she whispered, barely audible for me to hear. Rest finished five minutes after the "argument", as you may say, with Alfred. Patrice and I were back at her cubicle, discussing the problem with the occurrence in my dreams.

"Describe the dream from last night, if you can remember," she said. I sat back in my chair, remembering bits of the dream.

The scene has changed and now I was walking barefoot on wet, mushy land as water pounded my feet with each step. I was at a beach; a beach I have never been before. I looked down on my left hand, seeing it intertwined with another. I wanted to look up to see who it was, but I knew it was the same boy from the other dreams.

"It's beautiful here," I spoke, looking ahead at the sky.

"It is. See how the sky is changing Colors with your mood," he pointed up. "They call it sunset orange. It's a warm Color, just like yellow and red. You're happy to be here with me." he laughed. I smiled at how beautiful he laughed. No one else was around, only us two. I stopped, looking up at his eyes. Again with those eyes. I have never seen this type of hue ever before in my life, only in my dreams.

"When can I see you in real life?" I asked.

"Soon, don't worry. It will be abrupt, though. Don't be frightened once you notice changes in your vision," he said, his eyes crinkling at the corners like always. Oh how it kills me I cannot see his smile. His eyes started fading into casual grey. I realized I was staring at Patrice's eyes now, sucking me into reality.

"This is amazing!" Patrice exclaimed, clapping her hands.

"What does it mean though?" I asked, confused.

"Um, what happened here?" I heard a deep voice ask. I tried to look up, but Patrice's sharp gasp grabbed my attention.

"Gia- I mean Luke, what are you doing here?" she asked nervously, looking at the strange guy.