When We Were Still Human by Vaughn Foster (best ereader for textbooks .txt) 📕

to start the day, Avia finally dragged herself out of bed. Stepping into the living room, she looked around nervously. She went back and checked the bedrooms, then the bathroom. Where was he?

“Cheshire?” she called out.

“Yeah, I’m here,” he called back. A smoky outline slowly faded into existence. The lines of his body and clothes quickly followed with growing opacity until he was sitting on the couch. He was staring across the room, hand over mouth in deep thought. Turning his head in her direction, he seemed to finally register she was there.

“Good morning, Avi. How are you doing after, umm…”

“I’m fine, Ches.”

She walked over to the coffee table and started loading up her bookbag. She was about to ask why he had acted so strange around the Hatter, but stopped herself. He had allowed her six years of privacy, never once prying into her past. If he wanted to share, he would. Until then, she would just go on as if nothing had happened.

“You were right, the guy was completely useless. He’s a freaking lunatic.” She threw the bag over her shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. If staying means I’d end up as crazy as he is, then it’s not worth it. I actually do have a lesson. Were you coming? I think the cafeteria should have that chicken casserole thing you liked before.”

He shook his head and settled back into the cushions. “I think I’m just going to stay in today.”

“What a surprise,” Avia laughed.  She grabbed her wallet off the counter, felt to make sure she had everything, then headed out the door.

After suffering through what seemed like an endless day of reteaching twelve-year-olds the pentatonic scale, Avia locked herself away in the piano practice suite. The cello was her main instrument, but the grands called out to her. She could connect with a piano without the separation of a bow. Her fingers flawlessly sailed across the ocean of ivory keys, carrying her out to waters previously claimed by Chopin, Bach, and Beethoven. By the time she finally washed back to shore, it was nearly dusk.

She locked the practice room, put in her headphones, and made her way out of the empty building. Avia always forgot how early the campus seemed to wind down. The residents had retreated to their dorms, and the commuters had long since left the grounds. It was only a five-minute walk to Rachel’s room from where she was sitting. Maybe eight to Danna’s. Instead, she shoved off the good memories, and the pain they brought, and sat on the nearest bench. Chin perched in her hands, she tried to think of something to do that didn’t involve going home.

Avia jumped when a hand silently removed one of her earbuds. There was a guy about her age sitting next to her on the bench, headbanging as he listened to her music through the hijacked earbud. After a few seconds, she recognized him from one of the dorms. Noah. He was cute; about six-foot, chiseled jaw, wavy brown hair, and all muscle.

He just wasn’t her type. She preferred the quiet of her mind, while he was, well… a jock.

“Slow down there, mosh pit,” Avia remarked with a wary glance. “A little intense for classical, don’t you think?”

“Nah,” he laughed, taking out her earbud. “That’s cool though. Not many people are into that kind of stuff. You are a girl of many sides.”

“I guess you could say that. I don’t know why, but Beethoven calms me down. Stops me from hurting anyone, I guess.”

“Ohh, little Avi has a violent spark. I like that.”

She laughed; he joined in, the pair continuing to talk and joke around until the lampposts flickered on. Though Avia couldn’t remember even saying hello to him before, she found herself staying on the bench and actually enjoying his company.

“Okay,” she coughed, catching her breath after his last joke about human ashes and a Volkswagen Bug. “This is going to make me sound like a horrible person. Have we met before and I just don’t remember it? Cause I honestly don’t know you, but you seem like you know me pretty well.”

“Everyone knows you,” Noah said with a wicked grin. “You’re the quiet, straight-A student who dropped out to make mad dough teaching music to rich music. You also have the superpower to transform into the biggest party animal in existence.”

“That is quite a description,” she said, reflexively brushing back her hair and playing with the ends.

“I was at the spring break party Leo threw last year, and let me say, you made quite the impression. I mean one second, you were just chilling in the kitchen and talking to some chick. The next you’re dancing on the table, singing at the top of your lungs. Hell, you even got a little weird with Mason’s sister, Jen, for a bit.”

Avia laughed, and she could feel her cheeks growing bright red. “I barely remember anything from that night. My memory is pretty much just what my friends told me the next day.”

“Hey, I can’t blame you. I’ve never seen anyone do that many shots, especially a girl.”

She rolled her eyes. “Why, thank you,” she remarked sarcastically.

“No, not like in a sexist way,” he said, quickly trying to recover. “It’s just that you guys are a lot smaller than most of the dudes on the football team.”

“Oh, so now we’re guys? This is just like what I told my cousin last week. Every woman’s accomplishments are compared to a man’s. Well, ya know what? I am a strong independent black woman, I am my own person!”

Noah flushed, pleadingly waving his hands in front of him. “I’m sorry, no, that’s not what I meant! Wait.”  He looked at her again. “You’re black?”

“No!” she cried, dying from her own joke. “I’m an Israeli-Spanish cocktail.”

“Well then…