*4*

I forgot I didn’t have my car so I didn’t get to class as soon as I wanted. That meant I couldn’t talk to my professor like I wanted either. I figured I would catch him after the class instead.

Sitting in my seat, I listen to his lecture. It seems I didn’t miss much yesterday from the way his lecture is going, but thanks to these two girls behind me I can’t be sure. Their stupid gossip about some party is making it hard for me to hear the professor. Why the hell he’s not stopping them is beyond me. They are not even trying to be quiet. It’s pissing me off. ‘Calm, Oliva, either they’ll shut up or the professor will make them. He can’t keep ignoring them’ I tell myself, trying to stay calm.

Five minutes pass then ten minutes pass. They’re still talking! I don’t get it. I look around at the others sitting around me and no one seems to care that these two girls are just non-stop!

My hands curl with my anger. No one cares about some stupid party last night. Some of us go to college to learn! My patience is gone. I can’t take it anymore! I just can’t! I turn sharply in my seat. “Will you-” I start to say but stop. The two people behind me weren’t girls, but two guys. They look just as surprised as I am.

“Will I what?” one of them asks in a whisper, confusion was written all over his face.

“If you want a date, I’ve already got a girlfriend but Danny here is all free,” the other says, winking at me.

I scowl at both of them and turn back around, ignoring anything either of them says to me. Well, that’s strange. I would have bet my life that the girls were right behind me. I roll my shoulders as I try to resist the urge to look behind me. At least the girls had stopped talking. In the end, that’s what mattered, right? I focus back on the teacher. I hope he’ll put the notes of today’s class on his web page later because I feel like I’m missing everything.

The class is nearly over when they start and again I swear it sounds like they’re just behind me or at least nearby. This time I try to go for discreet glances over my shoulder. I see two girls talking but they look like they’re whispering and they’re five rows away from me. Frustrated, I turn back around and halfway listen to the professor to finish his lecture. The loud buzzing noise to signal the end of the class startles me when it sounds.

It’s so loud it makes my ears almost hurt. Was it always that loud? I take my time gathering my stuff. No name boy from behind me sends me another wink and a wave as he leaves. The other rolls his eyes and gives me an apologetic shrug. I give him a little smile back as thanks and wait for the professor to finish talking to a girl about her marks on a past assignment so I can get notes and my assignments from yesterday.

The whole morning seems to follow the same pattern as my first class. Everyone seems to decide that today was “let’s not pay attention” day and gossip during the whole class. I found it near impossible to concentrate on the teachers or the lessons. If that wasn’t bad enough as it was, the teachers ignored all of them, doing nothing to stop the endless chatter. I couldn’t believe it. Even the tough as nails professors didn’t bat an eye.

By time lunch came around I was not in the greatest of moods, well that and I was starving. “Whoa, hungry much?” Kristen teases me as I sit down with her and Michelle, my two best friends-well only friends- in the world. 

“Just a little,” I reply, giving both girls a smirk before I start to eat. 

“And here we thought you were a vegetarian?” Michelle jumps in. I look up from my plate to her. There’s something in her voice or…I don’t know. I’m not sure how to explain it exactly but I know something’s up with her.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“Wrong? Nothing’s wrong. I’m fine,” she says, smiling but I can see it’s not at its usual strength.

“No, Oliva is right. Something’s wrong,” Kristen adds then looks at her with a squint. “It’s Link isn’t it?”

Michelle’s jaw drops with a gasp. “How’d you know?” 

I admit, even I want to know how Kristen guessed it. 

“I’m psychic,” Kristen replies with a sly grin. 

“More like psychotic,” Michelle tells her, rolling her eyes. “No, really. How did you know?”

“Well duh! I obviously have been hearing the same rumors as you, Mich. Link is sniffing around that new Swedish chick like the dog he is,” she says, rather bluntly. Michelle pales with a look like she’s just been slapped and I glare at Kristen. She shrugs with a ‘what I do’ look. I narrow my eyes a little more at her with a shake of my head. We’ve talked about this before. 

It’s not that Kristen is a bitch. Just she doesn’t have a nice filter when it comes to her mouth.  “Sorry Mich,” I tell Michelle, trying to be gentle but in all truth, it is kind of a ‘well duh’ moment. We did warn her. Link is famous for being a douchebag player. He’s so afraid of committing he can’t even pick a major. So when he got interested in Michelle, Kristen and I both tried to warn her off of him but she didn’t listen.

“Look, I know you probably don’t want to hear this but I have to say it. You can do so much better than him. Yes, Link is a hot guy with a great body but there are a lot of guys here that are hot with great bodies and they’re not commitment-phobic dweebs,” I say, squeezing her shoulder.

“Yeah and I can tell you that Link’s not even good in bed. He’s too selfish. I know some guys you might like Mich,” Kristen adds with a wave of her hand. I forgot she and Link had a fling last year. She dumped him but he tries to tell everyone he dumped her. Anyone with half a brain can see it as what it is - a lie. 

“See you should get rid of him, eat a bunch of ice cream, and loom for someone worth your time,” I insist. She gives us a sad smile and a shrug.

 “I’m not taking your hand me downs Kristen. I know Links can be a bit of a player but he can be really sweet too,” she replies with a sigh and a dejected look on her face.

“When he wants something from you but as soon as he gets it. It’s ‘see you later’. Can’t you see he’s going to hurt you? Correction he is hurting you,” Kristen snaps at her.

“No, not really. They’re just rumors right now,” Michelle snaps back at her. I can see this isn’t going well. With a sudden need to step in and keep them from their usual fighting, I knock on the table loudly.

“Enough,” I demand and both girls turn to me, surprise on their faces. Even I am a little surprised. I usually just stay quiet and let them argue then help them make up. “Kristen, let her be. If she wants to follow the rabbit hole until she hits bottom then there is nothing we can do to stop her,” I tell her then turn to Michelle on my right.

“We love you and it’s our job to tell you when we see you in a situation that’s going to mess you up and Mich, babe, this can only end in heartbreak for you,” I explain then look at both of them. “Now if you two are done acting like a pair of brats can we move on and finish lunch? I’m still starving!”

“Uh, yeah sure,” Michelle says, sounding a little stunned.

“Wow, who spit in your coffee this morning,” Kristen teases and I shot her a snooty look. “I mean Ma’am, Yes, Ma’am” she adds, with a salute. I shake my head at her with a laugh and we start to eat our lunches.

***

The rest of the day went a lot like the morning so when I got home in the evening my head was pounding. I open the cabinet, snagging the ibuprofen bottle. I take a couple of pills, swallowing them dry before I go back into the living room. I notice the bag of clothing from the hospital and cringe a little. I hope it hasn’t got mold or mildew from being wet so long. There was no way they could dry in the plastic bag. I rip it open and shake them out.

Sure enough, they’re still damp. I hold up my shirt, looking for any signs of mold or mildew. While I don’t see either my jaw drops at what I do see. The left sleeve has a large hole in it and the back has several tiny holes in it as if it was dragged along something. There was also blood splattered all over it. I drop it and grab my jeans. I unfolded them and I saw the same type of drag marks on them. 

In my nightmare, I remember the monstrous thing that did grab me and fling across the pavement. I could remember it well and almost feel the sting from the friction it caused but this didn’t make sense. The doctor never mentioned any injuries. I didn’t feel or see anything when I took a shower this morning. I drop the jeans like I did my shirt and run to the bathroom. Taking off my clothes as fast as I can, I look at myself in the mirror.

Nothing. I see absolutely nothing. Nothing on my back, nothing on my rear, and nothing on my legs. I don’t understand. What happened to my clothing then? Why there are holes and damage to them matching what happened in my nightmare. My nightmare that even now seems so very real, more real than any other dream I’ve dreamt before. Yet my body shows no sign of being bitten or dragged across the street, well except for the pink star-like marks on my arm.

I look at my arm again. I touch the pink skin and it feels tender, like new skin that’s grown over a scratch or scrape. I look at my back again only to see it’s flawless, maybe even more so than I remember it being. I shake my head as I get dressed again. My mind is reeling right now. What’s going on? Today is being so weird on so many levels. I don’t know what to make of it all.