Book Club

2. New Day

 That night, I dreamt of Naya. She was humming softly with her melodic voice. It filled my ears until I could hear nothing else. A smirk lit up her features as she watched me with impossibly dark eyes. I was simply frozen, completely disarmed and unable to move. I was incapable of even averting my gaze. Then, her eyes suddenly flickered with a bright and painful light. Twin flames were beginning to grow in the depths of them. As they grew to encircle both orbs, my body began to fill with an intangible warmth. It was suffocating, like I was ten degrees away from bursting into flames, but also oddly comforting. It started in my face and spread to the very tips of my toes. I still could not move, but, deep down, I had no desire to. I needed only to be a pair of eyes to watch her with, a pair of ears to hear her beckoning voice...

 After a moment in this trance-like state, I felt the sensation beginning to slowly return to my face and went to call out to her. But just before I could choke her name out, I suddenly awakened.

 Even in my morning haze, I was quick to rip the blanket from my overheated body. I laid myself out flat on my back, my arms and legs sprawled in the starfish position, trying to catch the cool breeze coming in from my window. It was like the intense heat of my dream was still lingering, making it hard for my brain to adjust to reality. It was difficult to shake the vivid image of Naya with her eyes engulfed in flames.

 "What the hell," I murmured, rising to a seated position and rubbing two fists over my bleary eyes. I couldn't even tell whether it was a dream or a nightmare. It was just... intense.

 I stood, groggily shuffling out of my room and into the bathroom. I did my best to clean up and get ready on autopilot, not wanting to think too hard about what I was preparing for. That... stress-dream had shaken my resolve. I knew that if I let myself think, I would eventually talk myself out of going to class. It had happened before for much less daunting occasions. 

 Instead, I let my mind wander to the day before, allowing the images of Naya with her fiery eyes to fade as they were replaced with the real memories of embarrassing myself in front of her. I didn't know why she was already stuck in my head, enough to even dream about her. And the more I thought about it, the more ashamed I felt for not remembering more about the details of the meeting and the other attendees. My goal was to make friends, not get hung up over the first person that talked to me.

 I knew I was prone to infatuation, but this was a little ridiculous. Chill the fuck out, I commanded as I gathered what little school supplies I needed into my backpack. You just met her. She's a human being. Don't put her on a pedestal. 

 Now was just not a good time, anyway. I didn't know myself nearly enough as a person to get involved with someone else. Sure, there was something about Naya's... energy that I found incredibly alluring, but what I needed now was simplicity. Routine. Not a drama-inducing crush on someone I barely knew. I sighed. Maybe today was just what I needed after all. I was eager to finally start my chosen classes and begin familiarizing myself with my new schedule. I was hoping it would just be a smooth and low-pressure day without too much stimulation after the trainwreck of a day I'd had yesterday. Unfortunately, I wasn't so lucky.

***

 I was twenty minutes early to my first class. While I had passed an abundance of other students on my way through the building, the lecture hall was completely empty. Not even the professor had arrived. I sighed quietly. Was I really the only one worried about getting lost on their way to class? I was never the most punctual person, but I just didn't want to be tardy for my very first class. I made my way over to the back corner and took a seat before pulling out my laptop. There was nothing I could do now but wait. I figured that being way too early still had to be better than being late because there was no one there to stare at me when I entered the room... or casually glance up. For me, they were basically the same thing. So... small victories.