Aurel

six

Red. His favorite color had always been red. Something so vibrant about it, so pretty. So much energy. The twirling of polonaise skirts and ruffles, painted all kinds of colors. Red. In fair cheeks in blush. On lips, trapped blood beneath said lips from the pressure of another mouth. What an exhilarating and exciting color. What a terrible, intoxicating color. He remembered a time where it had been everywhere. All over him. For a moment, in that night, red became a nightmare.

***

"Mr. Aurel, you've been avoiding the question!" He finally moved his hand, having been quite obviously out of it for a minute. He put down the electronic pointer and sighed. He'd heard it. And, he had been prepared to ignore it. Turning around, he faced his class of eager college kids, all gathering around like the curious little children that they were. Chuckling, he again sighed, heavier this time. In defeat.

"Fine. I suppose you've warranted this as a reward for your good behavior as of late. Placing the pen down, he crossed his arms.

"Ask your question again."

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"How long have you been in the States?"

"Why do you talk like an old man?" The barrage of questions humored him, but he would only answer one. Pretending to ponder, he chose and answered one.

"I've been in the States a very long time." Not at all satisfied with his bland and monotonous answer, the children frowned.

"Okayyyy? Anddddd?"

"And? And what? I like it here."

"Explain why you talk like an old boomer."

"An old what?" You cannot be serious. The look on their face said. Clearing his throat, he did them a curtesy by answering just one more.

"I'm an old soul. I read a lot of books which does enhance one's vocabulary." Uncrossing his arms, he shoo'ed them away from his desk.

"Speaking of books, instead of being so invested in my personal life, I'd advise you all to get back into reading yours. This exam coming up won't be a cake walk. For all of your prying, I'm gonna make it extra challenging." Now, the lot of them collectively groaned and that brought a grin to his mouth.

"That's enough, now. Carry on. Shoo. On to your next class."

"You're no fun."

"Let's go, guys. He's not gonna tell us anything else."

"Yeah, I love the part where you conveniently dodged the question about a girlfriend."

"Byeeee Mr. Aurelllllll." He stood there, waving as they finally left him.

***

As much as he tried to play aloof, he really did enjoy toying with his students. They were like little children and as much as he wanted to spoil them, he also wanted to toy with them just to see that forlorn expression on their face at his denial. The very thought of it made him chuckle. Sighing, he grabbed his lunch bag and decided to make a quick exit to lunch before his next class. A chance to get some fresh air would hopefully chase away the thoughts of before. They were not relevant right now and he was not in the mood to revisit them.

***

The rest of the day had been ordinary. He'd finished up, cleaned his classroom and headed home. He hadn't felt inclined to eat, so he tided up around his apartment and took a shower. In cozy clothes, he was just about to sit down on the couch and find something to watch when it hit him. A sharp, stabbing pain that cut into his stomach. It took his breath away and he dug fingers into his abdomen. Breath shaky, he tried to ignore it and reached for the remote. Turning on the television, he flipped through a couple channels when it hit him again, this time with an even greater intensity. Laying now on his side, he gripped his stomach. The pain ripped him apart. Hungry. Starting to sweat, he grunted as he sat and eventually got up. He knew just what this was... and every time it happened... nothing good came out of it.