Alienation and affinity

SKY's POV

I pranced from one side to the other in my room contemplating killing that jerk. Maybe I should give up on finding out why he appeared in my dream. Maybe I should beat the hell out of him. I ripped the sketch I made of him into a million tiny pieces and stomped on it. I can't believe this. I get the I wronged him a little but snatching my coffee was a bit too much. The more I thought of our encounters the more agitated I felt.

I gawked at my reflection in the mirror as I brushed my teeth. Dark circles shadowed my eyes and I was barely awake. I stayed up all night browsing the Internet. Searching for information on fishes, magic, soulmates... and other related topics. And as soon as I closed my eyes I dreamt of the jerk. Life is so unfair.

After looking up the concept of soulmates, It turned out there was more to the concept of soulmates than I imagined. Several articles linked it to natural affinity and a few pointed out soul connection.

I packed my books in my bag, changed into a basic brown tee and black trousers, tossed my backpack over my shoulders and left for class.

"Do you want a ride?" A man in his 50s asked as he stepped out of a Jeep Wrangler. "I'll do everything for you" he continued.

"No thank you," I said evading his question. I was getting tired of these strange men already.

Were all my soulmates old men? I jumped into a taxi and went to my lecture hall.

When I walked into the lecture hall, it was half empty. I came in thirty minutes early and I sat in my seat watching as students filled up the lecture Hall.

"Can I sit here?" one girl in pink braids asked pointing to the seat on my right.

"Of course," I said.

"I love your eyebrow split". She said taking her seat next to me.

"Thank you. I get that a lot. A lot of people don't even realise it's a scar. I love the colour of your hair and your nails are sick". I said sincerely.

"Then let's just swap. Let's swap fates," She grinned. "I'm May Mensah. I saw you yesterday during the orientation. And I said to myself I must befriend this girl."

I grinned and said, "I'm Sky Michaela Boateng. It's nice to have a friend in my class, my friend". I said laughing and May laughed with me. We spoke about arts and she was as passionate as I was. She was just the friend I needed.

The lecturer walked in and started with the course introduction. He pointed out some course materials we would need and other essentials.

With everyone seated my eyes scanned the lecture hall. As my eyes moved all over the place, I spotted Jamal. So he was in this class? He sat in an empty seat in the back distance from the rest of us. His eyes were glued to his phone and his earphone plugged in his ears. I wanted to whack that annoying head of his. How dare he deny me of coffee. That son of a bitch.

"You seemed to have found what you were searching for," May winked.

"Huh?"

"Your pencil fell," She smiled widely. I jotted down important notes as the lecturer introduced the program to us.

"Young man can you hear me?" the lecturer asked, pointing to the back. "There is an empty seat here. Come and sit in front" he continued, pointing to the empty seat in front of me.

I turned. With brisk steps, Jamal moved forward taking the seat in front of me. Looking at him from another angle, his shoulders seemed extremely broad that it was hard to concentrate. He smelled so good that I wanted to brush the tip of my nose against his neck. Only if he was a normal human being with human rationality, I guess.

Jamal was a bright student. He gave intelligent answers whenever a question was thrown at him and he always answered nonchalantly. He had big confidence.

"Who doesn't have a phone here?" the lecturer asked and continued. "I'm sure everyone has a phone. If you don't, write down the steps and do it later in your dorms. Go to your browser and open your student portal. Tap on the area labelled CONCEPT and choose any one of the themes you prefer. The grouping will be sent to you tomorrow. The concept study is 10% of your semester total average".

I opened my student portal. I browsed through the themes. Youth, love, addiction, dream, lost, journey, rain and many more. I chose one of the themes and submitted it.

After class ended, I walked side by side with May.

"Do you know Jamal?" May inquired as she turned to me.

"Who? Why?"

"Nothing. I thought you knew him".

"Kinda. He's my brother's roommate".

"Is that why your eyes trailed him all this time," May sighed and laughed.

"Maybe," I said. "I was hoping my eyes would turn into laser guns so that I poke holes into that head of his," I said with arched brows. "I don't know but he seems to think I like him. He's unbelievable. He thinks I'm stalking him. He's a jerk. He broke my glass containing my precious fish and I kicked him in-between his legs. I don't get why he's super annoyed".

"He's still the same," May said as we walked to the exit of the building.

"Do you know him?"

"Yes. He was my class genius. We were in the same visual art class back in high school. He was so cheerful and very childish when we were freshmen but one day he stopped talking to everyone. He stopped smiling. And he started zoning out all the time" May sighed.

"He literally became a robot. Why did he change so much?" I asked.

"No one knew the exact reason behind his sudden change since he stopped speaking to everyone. But there were rumours. I forgot them. It's been three years already and besides, I transferred schools. I was quite busy myself during those years," May blurted out as we exited the art building.

We walked in silence and sat under one of the summer huts. The sun shined too bright today and the weather turned sultry.

I turned to May who wore a jacket over her dress. Her face was shiny and specs of sweat beaded on her forehead.

"Are you not hot?" I asked May. She looked uncomfortable and she kept on adjusting the jacket.

"No. Which theme did you choose for the concept study?" May asked shifting the topic.

"I chose LOST. What about you?"

"I chose DREAM," May said forcing a smile. "Why did you choose lost?"

"That how I feel. Lost. I don't tell most people but that's how I feel all the time. I'm still figuring myself out. I'm still figuring everything out," I said.

"What about you? Why dream?"

"I live a dream," May mumbled almost inaudibly to herself and continued. "When I wake up every morning I feel like I'm living a dream. I just want to live life," May said. Her phone beeped in her backpack. She pulled the phone out of the backpack and said.

"I've to get going. I'll see you in class tomorrow. There is something I need to tell you. I will tell you tomorrow," May said nervously. We exchanged contacts. May hailed a taxi and drove off.

***

Later in the evening, I went to Lexis Hostel and apartment. As expected, the door wasn't locked. This was the second time I was here and the place looked so different and beautiful.

"What are you doing here?" I asked when I saw Daisy comfortably relaxed on the big sofa.

"Michael invited me here," Daisy said as she sauntered to me.

"And you came here without me?"

"I thought you were already here? But to my disappointment, you weren't" Daisy walked up to me giving me a long hug.

"Where is Michael?"

"He entered one of the rooms," Daisy said. My eyes scanned the doors and I entered the room closer to me. The smell of lavender welcomed me as I stepped into the room. The beddings were beautifully laid and the curtain was in perfect hues. Everything here was simple yet elegant. A lot has changed since I last came by. I skimmed the place and I saw my hex of England. My three beautiful fish. I ran to the glass vase that contained them and hugged it.

"I miss you my babies" I stood still watching as they jiggled their little tails in the water.

I lifted the three fish and the turtle down to the ground as I sat on the squeaky clean tiles. I bent over as I studied the eyes of the fishes.

It was red one moment, green one moment and blue in another. My mind drifted to Alexandra's ridiculous tale.

"It's just a tale," I mumbled to myself. The door rattled behind me as it flung open.

I averted my gaze to the bathroom door. Jamal stood there half naked. His towel hunged low around his waist revealing his prominent v-line. His wet skin shimmered from the reflection of the light. He grabbed onto his towel his eyebrows arched as he gaped at me in disbelief.

I didn't mean to burst out laughing or anything but somehow his facial expressions made me laugh. My eyes continued to scanned him as I searched his body for the lightening tattoo. His eyes scanned his body and back to my face.

I continued to laugh aloud. The sight was beautiful. Of course, this was happiness. The beautiful body of the boy of my dreams. Literally. That damn jerk. The jerk who thinks the world revolved around him.

***