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Forever was a long fucking time. Milliseconds, seconds, minutes. Minutes that turned into hours and hours that turned into days. Days then turned into weeks and weeks into months. Months turned into a year and years turned into more nothingness. He couldn't say it turned, really. It always had been. But, it grew deeper, darker and more void. More empty. Inwardly sighing, he felt himself return from his reverie and his vision focused on the influx of students who had started to enter his classroom. Smiling, laughing, bored. Exhausted. The range of emotion displayed on the faces of his students never ceased to humor him.
"Good morning, all." His voice was warmer than he felt, tinged with a potent British accent that still clung to his words no matter how long it had been now that he'd been in the States. It refused to leave him and he supposed it was just who he was. Or, had been.
His students mumbled, grumbled, others giggled and replied.
"You're excited to see me. I can tell." Sarcasm dripped from his sentence and he felt his mouth form a smirk.
"Right, then. Everyone get settled. Today, we're jumping right in." A collective groan made him chuckle and there he went, reaching for his briefcase with his lesson plan for the day. And so, began another day, trapped in repetition and cycles. Trapped in yet another moment of thinly veiled misery.
***
How he came to be was a tale he avoided. He did not talk about it. He preferred not to think about it. The more he pushed it further away, the easier it was to ignore. But, it seemed today that his students were more curious than usual and one question caused a sharp pain in his stomach. Tell us about yourself, Mr. Aurel. They had finished their class and should have escaped past his doors to the next one and yet they did not. They stayed put, each and every eye on him, waiting for their answer.
"You want to know more about me?"
"Yep!"
"What is there to know other than I am your professor?" One girl spoke up, usually quiet.
"Clearly, we know that Mr. Aurel. But, who are you really? You're so mysterious." He cleared his throat.
"Perhaps I'll share something next class. It's long since past the time for you to go. Run along." Stuped at his dismissal, the eager children pouted, clearly displeased by his refusal to reveal anything.
"Next class, you're telling us something."
"Sure." Their footsteps soon filed out of the classroom and he was left just the way he was at the beginning. Alone. But, for how long? How long could he hide with the safety of being alone?
