Before We Met

"The mechanical advantage means that the machine can exert X times the amount of force as the effort. For the wheel, mechanical advantage is directly correlated to the radii of the wheel and axle. And that's all for today's class. Everyone, read pages 300 through 345, and we'll discuss them tomorrow."

Professor Grant walks up to my desk and leans over, his glasses almost falling off the tip of his nose, "Ms. Lloyd. I see you're awake. Please come to my office."

See, Professor Grant is the physics teacher, the headmaster, and my guidance counselor. Which means scrutiny of scholarship students is in his job description.

I screw my face up in annoyance and follow after him.

Matt Creevey waves at me, a confused look on his face as he sees his goody-two-shoes friend getting called in.

Once we get in, he directs me to the swivel chair in front of his desk, and though I want to spin round in it, I refrain, and smile sweetly at him.

He looks at me, unwavering smile and all, and looks disappointed. I mentally groan in frustration.

"Vanessa, I don't think I saw you awake for more than 10 minutes of my 45-minute class. Why's that?"

"I'm sorry."

"You've got dark circles and red eyes. I've noticed this for a while now. What's wrong? Family troubles?" he looks genuinely worried

"No." I sigh, "It's nothing like that, it's just, haven't been getting much sleep lately, that's all."

"Well, you do know how much you need to worry about college, Vanessa. After all, you're studying to become a doctor. But, not at the risk of your health. You're a good student. Excellent even. But, to stay at the top, you need a clear, refreshed mind. And that needs sleep. " he smiles, and I quietly nod, smiling back politely.

"See you tomorrow."

I sling my bag over my shoulder and head over to lunch. I nibble on my energy bar as Matt and his friends eat around me, chatting loudly.

After lunch, like always, I pick up my bag and leave before the others. Like always, I meet the security guard outside my college and slip him a cigarette, and he, like always, opens the gate fifteen minutes earlier for me.

I walk alone for the twenty-minute walk to my house, unlock the front door, and, like always, am met with darkness.

Except, there's a light on in my older sister's room. Guess she got back early.

I drop my bag and slip my shoes off, heading for the cooler. I take out two glasses and set them on the counter as I turn to get the ice. When I turn back, my sister is holding two filled cups of water and smiling.

"Hey, Rosie." I say, plunking ice into the two cups.

"Hey, Vee, you're back early." she hands me a glass.

"I'm always back at this time." I say into the silent house, "You're early."

"Yeah." she smiles, leaning on the counter, "Got off early so I could take you to that bookstore you wanted to go to." she looks at me excitedly.

"Rose, it's really not that important. You could've taken me whenever." This is how my sister always is.

Our parents died when she was 13 and I was 7. Ever since then, she'd learned to take care of us both and always prioritized me, even now when I'm in my second year of college.

"I want to spend time with my lil Vee-Vee. Is that a problem?" she smirks as I slap her arm

"It's bad enough people have heard you call me Nessie." I gulp down my water and follow Rosie out and we head to the bookstore in the city where the latest copy of my favorite author's book is available.

"Whoa! Whoa! What are you doing?" I stop my sister from paying and offer the cashier my money.

"Look at you, all grown up!"

The cashier slides a bookmark in the middle of the book and packs it, handing over the bag.

as soon as we get out of the shop, I, like always, pull out the bookmark to see what 'wise' saying is written on it. Kinda like a fortune cookie.

"Dreams hold the power

of one's past, present

and future." I read aloud and raise my brows.

"That's true. I dreamed of pancakes which had been dinner last night and that made me want some so I had them for breakfast, and we don't have to think about where to get lunch now!" Rosie says, rubbing my head as we head home.

I sit in my room and finish up my homework and catch up on what I missed in class thanks to my restless previous night.

I sit back, wondering if maybe I'll have the same dream again, or maybe it will continue? Or, will it simply be forgotten with all my other dreams? I think about having a quick nap to see what happens to my last dream before heading down for dinner. setting an alarm, I lie down, but my anxiety doesn't let me fall asleep initially.

When I do, (ah!), it continues.

Once again, I'm in the middle of a silent, dark forest. I begin walking and, in a while, reach the place where I'd been sitting in my earlier dream.

And there he is. On his stomach, reading a book about birds, my dream intuition tells me, though I'm sure I'm way too far away to tell, had this been real life.

His long brown hair is pulled back and tied at the nape of his neck in a tiny ponytail and he's laughing loudly about something he read.

I can't tell if he's wearing pants or shorts for some reason, but his arms are covered with woolen cloth. I wonder who he is? I've never seen a guy like him in the past. Never met anyone who even closely resembles him.

And I should be able to tell considering how clearly I can see his features.

He closes the book and walks off and I follow behind him, if a bit creepily, but l don't know what to say or if I can even speak at all in these dreams. It feels as though I'm a mere spectator and I'm content with that.

I continue to follow him and lose him behind some trees when my alarm goes off and I wake up.