Today was a good day. I had been able to unwind in the Music department with a few friends, and we were doing covers to some new songs that had come out. I was singing and dancing like usual when I felt like someone was watching me, and I saw a few people stopping and watching from the doorway.
I made eye contact with one of the boys there, but he turned and kept walking with his friend. I shrugged and concentrated on the music. We did a few more songs after that before I decided I needed to go back to class.
"I'll see you later, Dominic!" I called out to our guitarist. He waved without looking up and all but skipped out of the room.
As I was making my way to the class, my best friend, Kyo found me, "Hey, Aaralyn!" he smiled, wrapping his arm around my shoulder playfully.
"Kyo," I shook my head. He was no shy to show his affection towards me. I didn't really mind it; I actually kind of liked the attention.
"What?" he shrugged. "Can't I just walk with my best friend?" He hugged me with the one arm and we walked into the classroom together, taking our usual seat in the back of the room.
Kyo was a good guy. He went with me to the Doctor's office when I had to go back to get checked out. He knew everything about me, probably knew me better than I knew myself. Kyo wanted to be a detective, and so he promised me he'd find out what happened before my accident and learn the pieces of my memory I was blocking out.
I was nervous and excited for that day to come, but I knew it was going to be down the road, a long ways down. I wanted to know what I was forgetting, but then a part of me was scared. There had to be a reason my mind had blocked it all out.
Sighing inwardly, I turned my attention to the front of the class, where the professor was just beginning his lecture.
~.~
Stretching, Kyo and I stepped out into the sunlight. "Makes me want to sing all the time," I commented as we began our usual walk. "Oh, crap," I suddenly remembered I left my bag in the Music library.
"Your bag is in the Music department, isn't it?" Kyo gave me the I-know-everything look. He smiled and said, "I'll go get it. Just stay here, ok? I'll be right back." I watched him jog off to the Music building.
Taking a deep breath, I started walking. I was going to stay in the vicinity, but Kyo knew I wouldn't just be able to sit still and wait. I had a problem with staying in the same place for very long. I always needed to be moving. The sun was so warm, and I couldn't help but enjoy the moment.
Suddenly, I was thrown off kilter when I collided with somebody who wasn't watching where they were going. I heard him groaned as he rubbed his head, "You're that girl."
I glanced up at him, "And you're that boy," I mimicked his words, having no idea what he was talking about. Wait, he was the boy from earlier, one of the people who had been listening to me sing.
"Remember me?" he asked. "We had a not so normal talk on the bus a few years ago. What are the odds we ended up at the same college?"
A couple of years ago was when my accident happened, so it was no wonder I didn't recognize him. "Oh, I'm sorry, but I don't remember you." He frowned slightly, and I continued, "I had an accident a few years ago, and so now certain periods of my life are blocked out."
He gave me a skeptical look. "You didn't like talking to me then, how do I know you still don't like talking to me now?"
"I assure you that is not the case," I insisted. "I really did get into an accident." I stared up into his eyes, they were filled with pain. I had to fight the urge to want to reach out to him.
He chuckled slightly, a smirk crossing his lips, "Relax, I was giving you a hard time. I believe you."
"You do?" I asked; it was my turn to look at him skeptically. Most people scoffed at me, thinking I was making it up.
"Sure. I mean, no one would make up that kind of a story just to get out of talking to me. At least, I'd hope I'm not that repulsive," he joked. I noticed he didn't smile much. The smirk was as close as I was going to get. I wondered if he ever laughed.
I chuckled. "Right."
A silence fell between us, and I found myself staring into his eyes that held so much pain, the same eyes that seemed to have a void in them like mine did. He had endured much in his life, and I wondered what had happened, but I knew it wasn't my place to say anything.
Suddenly, I felt a hand snake around my shoulders. Glancing over, I knew it would be Kyo. "Here you go," he said, handing me my bag as he eyed the guy I had been talking to. "Who're you?" he asked. "I'm Kyo."
"Arata," the boy replied. I was glad I had a name now.
"Oh, I'm Aaralyn." I said, realizing I had yet to introduce myself.
