Aerie's Fallen Immortal

Chapter 16

She stated at herself into the mirror, into herself. Her eyes were red, as if she had weed, as if it was ready to bleed blood anytime.

"Hey." A voice entered her ears. "Are you okay?"

Aerie looked in that general direction. There were nobody. She thought. They had a male voice, Aerie thought. Did she want to the right bathroom in the first place?

She looked around. There was really nobody around so she really couldn't tell. If she was the wrong one, then there would have been less to worry about. But if he was the wrong one, then her instincts should be up, which, obliviously, were not.

"You look as if you would be fainting any moment." He said, calmly, "and you went to the wrong toilet."

The gentle voice made Aerie want to believe him almost instantly. "Yeah. Not feeling so well." She whispered, and closed her eyes for a brief second. The world continued to spin, and the figure in front of her was so blurry that Aerie couldn't tell which gender he was— not to say how he looked.

But by his voice, by the tone that came from his throat, Aerie could tell that she had never met him before.

"Woah." He said. Aerie saw the figure reaching for her, but did not know why, "hey—"

She could feel something wrapping around her. Maybe she fell. Or maybe when going unconsciousness.

"You'll better soon." he said at her eyes, "Aerie Kudrow."

Aerie could not see. She had no idea where she was, and no idea where she could be going to. He sounded nice. He seemed nice. He did not harm her. He was good.

Between one moment and another, she could feel something being injected into her forearm, a brief moment of breeze entering her veins, driving her brain up, driving the hormones.

And in the other moment, Aerie woke up. Not in hospital, not at the school nurse's.

She was awake. Conscious. Inside the toilet. Up and awake as if nothing happened at all. Thank god only fifteen minutes passed, and that she was still the only one inside the restroom.

There were no bandages on her forearm when Aerie checked. When she found out that it was a male's bathroom, she ran with wit embarrassment written all over her face.

But she was feeling a lot better now. The red and swelling in her eyes went away almost instantly, to Aerie's relief. Though she no longer had an idea of whoever that was, or why he was here. It was a restroom in a pretty remote area, given the lecture hall was pretty high in terms of floors and there were little students in the classroom in the first place.

And nothing seemed to bother her anymore in the day. Though she could not find any scar on her arm, she was sure that something was injected into her.

Medicine, maybe.

"Hey, Aerie." Brian said, "what are you thinking anyways? You have been looking like this ever since we met. Quiet and deep in thoughts. Anything happened to you?"

The lessons were long finished. One or two lessons went really important, she could freely ask the teachers afterwards anyways. That won't b a problem.

"Nothing." Aerie said, "Just dozed off yesterday inside my room."

"Oh. First time?" Brian said, "I often faint inside my own room at night when I'm tired. There was that one time when I slept in my bed at 6:00pm and woke up the other day in the morning. It happens. Especially to people like you who read so much. And also to others who smoke weed, you know."

"But I haven't done anything, you know." Aerie replied gently, "and my eyes swelled and I couldn't see clearly."

"You smoke weed? Really?" Brian asked, "wow. That— that is a horrible habit, you know."

"I don't." Aerie said, "how would I do that when I never even touch beer bottles?"

"But thats what you're describing." Brian said.

"Thanks for informing, and thats not helpful, Brian. I know what they look like and I have seen them myself." Aerie said, "I really haven't done anything yesterday."

"You're just tired." Brian said.

"But how- how could I be so dammed tired that I went to the wrong restroom?" Aerie yelled, where she covered her mouth tight afterwards to notice her mistake, "damm."

"Woah— that. That is quite a confession to make, isn't it?" Brian giggled. And Aerie simply covered his mouth forcefully with both of her hands, blushing.

"And there was someone else too." Aerie said, "I don't think that they were there by chance. I had a bad feeling that they came directly for me."

"Huh. Another professor that appears to be your childhood neighbor?" Brian joked, "You're famous, Aerie."

"Cade was not a 'childhood neighbor'." Aerie said, "and he was different—"

"Okay okay." Brian said, "that feeling like everyone knows you and were coming for you? Lily used to, and still like this, if you know her for longer. Don't worry about it— its nothing."

Lily waved for the two of them at the door of the hall, telling the two of them to take a seat inside the hall, "Take the black seats, it won't be as loud when we discuss."

"You sure that's okay?" David asked, "they aren't in the same degree as us."

"Of course its okay." Lily replied, "nobody's gonna see us at all. And nobody cares anyways. We can simply sign the attendance and leave for the common room instead, but that will be a little more crowded."

The whispering continued among the two of them. Lily's world map caught Aerie's attention, all of sudden. Everything seemed to be better, but it still felt so wrong.