Learning To Breathe

My Stranger

Chapter Two

I still couldn’t figure out how I felt about college.

On one hand, I loved the fact that I was getting a major for English Literature. But everything else seemed to sadden me.

I was surrounded by happy couples. Puppy love, I had told myself on the first day. But I knew I was lying.

They shared the same look that Kaelan once used to give me. Some of the students were older than me and often had their spouses picking them up. Sometimes a child.

The cup of coffee I held in my hands turned from burning hot to lukewarm. I took a quick sip, wanting to get the sleep out from behind my eyelids. I needed to stay awake in class. As I sat there outside my college, I looked around.

Students were running amuck. These were people that were twenty and above but still acted as though they were in the second grade. I smiled as the thought reminded me of my best friend, Rachael “Rae” Green. Rae has been my best friend since third grade. We’ve had our differences but our friendship still remains to this day. And that makes me proud. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a tall man walking out the registration office of BaruchCollege. His brownish black hair seemed uncombed and untamed in this wild November wind. His back was facing me so I couldn’t see his face. But his hair…again those light chocolate eyes flashed before my own. I sighed.

Shaking my head, I walked into my English Lit class where my teacher was about to begin the lesson.

Mrs. Emily Matassa, who insisted we call her Emily. She was a married woman in her mid-thirties. Shoulder-length caramel hair framed her face. Her eyes always seemed to amaze me when they changed colors. Sometimes blue, sometimes green. I thought I saw gray once. Her high cheekbones brought even more attention to her eyes. She seemed strict to anyone who didn’t know her. But if you get past her name, she becomes a confidante.

I walked over to my desk and sat with my head down.

Emily turned away from the chalkboard and faced us. “Okay, guys. We’re going to be starting poetry this month. Today, we’ll be reading Unfortunate Coincidence by Dor-”

Emily’s voice was cut off as the heavy door of the classroom opened. Someone walked in hesitantly before speaking.

“I’m sorry for interrupting, but I was told I could come here because my chosen elective was cancelled. This is English Lit, right?” the stranger inquired.

That voice. It was so familiar. Deep, smooth…intoxicating.

Emily replied with a simple yes and an okay, giving the stranger the signal to sit down. “Sit next to Miah, though. You’ll be partners with her for the rest of this semester.” The stranger’s step faltered and then stopped altogether. After few tense seconds later, the chair next to me scraped across the granite floor, as the stranger sat down next to me.

My hair had fallen over my right shoulder, creating a curtain between me and the stranger. His face was still a mystery to me, and truth be told, I could care less what he looked like. My mind was wrapped up too deep in the thoughts of Kaelan.

“Okay, now moving on. Today, we’re reading Unfortunate Coincidence by Dorothy Parker. Here we go.”

‘By the time you swear you're his,

Shivering and sighing,

And he vows his passion is

Infinite, undying –

Lady, make a note of this:

One of you is lying.’

“Who can interpret this poem?” Emily asked.

My mind was reeling. It seemed as if everything were pointing towards Kaelan nowadays. The chocolate, the couples at school, and now this poem.

“Yes, young man,” Emily called. Apparently, my partner, the stranger, had raised his hand to volunteer as I heard his voice next.

“I think that in this poem, Dorothy Parker is talking about how a relationship is about a two-way commitment. For love to work between two people, both have to really be truthful when they say, ‘I love you’, otherwise it’s just lying.”

Whoa. New dude was deep.

Emily smiled and praised his interpretation. Then, we received our homework. It was all timed perfectly; class was over in a few minutes. When Emily had finally told us it was time to go, I was relieved.

I need to get away to a place where I could think of Kaelan openly without distractions. I couldn’t seem to forget him. He was the one thing I was trying to get away from, but the one thing I seemed to come walking back to.

As I was packing my books into my bag, the stranger-was I entitled to call him my stranger? - called my name.

I heard a sigh to my right. “Hey, Miah,” he said softly. Once again the voice poked at my mind, urging it to remember the melody the hidden behind it. But to no avail. Oh so familiar, but still so vague. Suddenly, I smelled the most wonderful scent I had ever come across. It seemed as if it were soft sandalwood with a hint of vanilla to it.

A scent I’d remember anywhere. No…it couldn’t be-not after THREE years. But it HAD to be.

It was all so clear. I heard his voice. I smelled his scent. I tucked my hair behind my ear and slowly, ever so slowly, I turned towards my stranger.

“Hey, Kaelan."