Synesthesia

Grey (Christina)

I stared across the table at my date. I couldn't bear to look him in the eye, his eyes scared me too much. His irises were so dark grey that they looked black. They bore deep into me, as if looking through my skin and bones, only to find my ice cold heart. He smiled sweetly at me, but paired with his devilish eyes it looked demonic. Instead, I looked at his hair. It was dark grey and looked very well kept.
    "So, Chris, what's your favorite movie?" He stammered, barely getting the words out.
    "Um... I'm not sure. What's yours?"
    He thought for a minute, looking up into the bright white clouds. "Toy Story," he paused, "2." I laughed, amused that his favorite was a Disney movie. He felt like a mustard yellow. He was energetic, but still calm. Not quite highlighter, but not gold either. I had never seen a color outside of my head. I had learned about them in school, but, like all the other children, none of us had ever experienced them ourselves. I'm not sure how or why the first color came into my head, but it was a vibrant green. I later learned the shade to be called "jade." It was like a paint splatter went off in my head, the green overtook my senses, filled my mind. I could think of nothing but jade green. After that day, whenever I heard certain words or saw certain things, colors went off in my head. Every person had a color. My mom was army green, my dad a navy blue, my little sister a bright pink. In reality they were all shades of grey, black, and white.
    "Christina?" I got the impression this wasn't the first time he had said this.
     "Sorry, I was thinking about my favorite movie," I lied.
     A breeze blew through my hair, sending chills down my spine. The small black chairs of the cafè tilted, uneven. The chatter of the people around us created a calm aura. A pale yellow seemed to emit from the grey humans. The man across from me talked, but I wasn't listening. I nodded and smiled politely, sometimes adding an "ah," or a "that's so cool." He didn't seem to mind, he just kept on talking.
     I heard a chime from my purse. I pulled out my phone, apologizing to the man whose name I couldn't remember.
   Rachel: how's that date going?
    Me: fine, he talks a lot
   Rachel: need a rescue?
     Me: sure
     I turned my phone off, apologizing again. He smiled, continuing his story about the laundromat. 15 minutes and 4 stories later, my phone started ringing again. It was Rachel, always coming to my rescue.
     "There's been an alien abduction and we need you to run to the store for us! They want a Milky Way!" She snickered, laughing into the phone.
     "What? You need me to come right now? I'm in the middle of a date!" I exclaimed, holding down my laughter.
     "Yes, they have probes! Hurry!"
      "Okay, I'm on my way." I hung up, apologized to my date, and hurried to the door.
     I drove off in my cramped grey car, relieved to have a bestfriend like Rachel. The town wasn't very big, so it didn't take long to get from the square to Rachel's neighborhood. I had always lived in Jacksonville, 17 years I had spent in this small town. Everyone was friendly, everyone knew everyone, everyone was welcome. No one ever left, no one ever came. That's just how it went in Jacksonville.
     As I pulled into Rachel's driveway my phone went off. It was a message from what's-his-name from earlier.
     Him: I had a great time today. We should do it again sometime!
     I really didn't want to go on another date with him, so I just deleted the message. I walked up the driveway and knocked on their black door. No one answered. I basically lived here, her mom said I was her favorite daughter. I walked in, taking off my shoes by the fluffy white rug.