five

"I went to the clinic and you were gone," she said taking a peek at me in between taking down notes and the lecturer at the front. "where did you go?"

"I... I went to my dorm." I took out my notebook and started taking notes. I think. or it was just a cover to steal looks at her, I didn't know. "panic attack."

"the nurse said you ran off, saying exactly that." she mused at her notebook and then looked at the front.

"I didn't run off," she chuckled so beautifully, I felt like I should loop this moment and look at it forever but I had already used up my time manipulation privileges and the gods were definitely going to skin me and all fcuk you's I sent them if I did it. then to think about it, she was as subtle and light as Kiara was.

was I looking for Kiara in her now?

"well, you do say. you forgot this. James." she said, handing me my student id. the butterflies in my stomach felt like they were disturbed when she said my name. I never knew that my name could sound this beautiful.

'Thanks." I said taking the Id from her and scanning for her name on her books. but I didn't find any within my vicinity. "what's yours?"

"what?"

"your name. what are called?" I asked. "you know mine, I don't know yours."

she chuckled, again, so beautifully, before smiling at me and saying, "I didn't take you for a player. but if you really should know.." she bit her lower lip so beautifully, my heart almost melted, and I nearly jumped on her and kissed her. "... you gotta work hard for it."

she picked up her handbag and descended back to where she had sat earlier. really? did she just challenge me? I blinked not knowing what just happened. I had a conversation with her and I really felt good. as she sat down next to her friends, I suppose, they all looked at me and turned back to their lecture looking all amused.

the guy behind me patted me on the shoulder and said, "smooth. gotta teach me that."

"Oh hell no," I whispered as I looked at her. she just challenged me to find her name. oh no she didn't. I can find even her grandmother's childhood nicknames and she just challenged me to find her name. okay, I can play that.... wait am I...?

"come on man, I'm just saying, you got game, wanna help me get a girl like that?" the guy behind me said in my ear and I turned to him. "what?"

"you got style man. that's real flirting." the guy added sounding sincere and humble but, I had a feeling he was trying to sound cool. what did he just say flirt? me, flirt? did he smoke weed today?

"what did you do to catch her attention man, gotta teach me that," he added. he saw wrong.

"I didn't flirt." I think she is the one who just flirted with me, not me. is that English?

"then what was that?"

"be yourself and honest," I said and packed my bags as the last slide of the lecture rolled in and waited a minute for the lecturer to dismiss us.

I spent the entire morning trying to find out her name without using the book of Life, or as the guardians call it, the earth registry. everyone on earth is written on it. as long as you had a birth certificate, your name is on it. including mine, except mine is... well, depends on what name you type. I'll be both alive and dead, depending on the name. To guardian corp, I was dead, I was agent Jay, a ghost. and I died when I was ten, right after I helped Agent Natalie graduate to field agent instead of going behind the desk as her parents wanted her. a few other names, I was both alive and dead. or a myth. depending on the string you pull.

I know she is an Engineering student, who took my class today. I could just use that and by eliminating other students I could have a margin of 250 students in my class. I could eliminate them then picture by picture. or use Thoth's facial recognition along with footage of the lecture that'll be easy. but why didn't I?

I played along with the programming exercise and finished it within ten minutes as I thought of the Her. Daydreamed of her beauty I almost salivated.

I need to get my mind off her.

"now, type in print..." the lab technician said as I raised my hand.

"Sir, I'm done, can I leave?" I asked.

"you can't be done it's..."

"scanf and printf," I said picking my bags. "I've done this lab before, so I'm taking a hike." I left as he came to check my work. I didn't need to stay to know his expression when he saw my work. I didn't just type in a simple addition and subtraction code, I added a few operations to make it a bit interesting.

I went for an early lunch and again found the cat I fed at lunch eating. but still, I couldn't figure out who did it. I checked the food for anything toxic or harmful to cats but the food was clean. instinctively I felt glad and a bit afraid. I've known men for long and no one would feed tens of cats without expecting anything in return. unless it was a serial killer in the making or a guardian. but I would have felt it if a guardian or a keeper was around. but still, I was glad.

by the time I was done attending, I went out for an afternoon walk and to look for that suni I found around the school grounds a few nights ago. I walked by the traps that people have set around the shrubs and checked if it was in but didn't find it. I took my flip-flops off and listened to the plants. oh, it was there but it wasn't alone.

"shh... I'm not gonna hurt you," she said approaching the Suni with an apple in her hands. she bit into the apple and chewed on it, showing the antelope that it was okay to eat.

"see, it's okay to eat it," she said. I chuckled as she tried to disarm the animal with her soft voice. the animal looked at her, and stumped the ground, barking a little. she jumped back shocked and I hid behind a tree as she stepped back, leaving the apple on the ground.

who the fuck was she?

she slowly walked back and watched it. "it's okay." her smile looked beautiful as she gladly watched the suni antelope approach the apple and smell it. it looked at her wondering if it should eat it, or not.

"I'm not scary, aren't I?" she started in almost a whisper as she stared at the antelope as it bit the apple and ate a peice. "I know, you are scared, honestly I am too. granny said I hurt someone before I was born and I need to repent for it in this life before I die, and I am scared too." I closed my eyes and looked at her, trying to decipher her mood. it wasn't gloomy but it wasn't as light as her smile and eyes made her look. she looked tormented, but healing.

the suni looked at her. "Approach her," I told the suni, "she won't harm you." the suni, did carefully. she saw it and as the small antelope approached her, she stepped back a little and froze. the suni looked her in the eyes and stood there. i could hear it swearing and cursing beneath its breath.

she put her hand on its small face and closed her eyes. it brushed her hands with the tips of its nose and ran off. she stood there for a few minutes not believing her eyes before smiling brightly and happily skipping off back to the school.

I took the remaining part of the apple and used my room key to remove the seeds. and left the apple on the ground. the suni was looking at me, probably wondering why the guardian would take its apple.

"This tree, take care of it." I told it as it looked at me from behind a shrub. "if it grows well, it will feed you forever." I told it as I planted the apple seeds.