Convergence

Chapter One

Song- Teeth by The Japanese House

I woke up sweating, the dreams had been coming more frequently. I had woken up in the middle of the night every night that week, but I never could remember what my dreams were about. I had even kept a journal on my nightstand hoping to write down whatever I could remember, but only one thing filled the journal: the number eleven. I couldn't even find solace in my roommate Raven, who had been MIA for a week and a half.

It wasn't unheard of for Raven to disappear without notice, but this was the longest she had been gone. The looming threat of next month's rent was causing my anxiety to rise. My grocery store job wasn't near enough to cover the entire rent and pay for tuition, and I had more than enough student loans.

I picked up my outdated iPhone and squinted at the bright screen, it was 4:12 am and I had class at 8 am. I knew I needed the three more hours of precious sleep, but my mind was racing, and my body was sore. No matter how much I twisted and turned, I couldn't get comfortable, instead, opting to watch YouTube on my phone. I could barely concentrate on the mind-numbing content, I felt empty and lonely, more so than usual. I brushed off the thoughts, choosing to disregard the feelings as nothing more than increased stress.

It wasn't long before the sun filled my small bedroom and the screeching sound of my 7 am alarm filled my ears. Class wasn't going to wait for me. I quickly got ready, brushing my messy brown hair into a half-decent ponytail and brushing my teeth for far less than the recommended two minutes. I decided I would walk to class today, hoping the warm sun and slight breeze would wake me up enough before I could make it to my favorite coffee shop. I threw on my tattered Adidas sneakers, despite the fact that they didn't match the plaid skirt and tight sweater I had chosen for the day. I wasn't going to ruin a pair of good shoes for the sake of an outfit. I gathered my keys and wallet and headed out... only to run back in to fill my cat's food bowl.

--

I made it to the coffee shop by 7:30, silently hoping the line was short so I could spend some time enjoying my coffee before having to sit through an evolutionary psychology lecture. Those hopes were quickly dashed when I opened the door to find seven people waiting. I stepped behind a slightly balding middle-aged man. He looked back at me for a second, likely sensing a new presence behind him, and looked away. Not even a second later he looked at me again, his bored expression changing to a warm and light smile.

"Oh, please miss, why don't you go ahead of me." He gestured forward as he took a slight step back. I smiled tightly, not wanting to offend the stranger.

"Oh no, that's alright, you were here first." My voice raised an octave higher than normal, trying my hardest to come across as non-confrontational.

"Please, I insist- I have nowhere to be." Not wanting to risk offending this man who was at least six inches taller than me, I said a quiet thank you and stepped into the space he was gesturing towards. I half expected him to stand far too close to me and continue conversation, but instead, he took a step back and went back to his phone as if he forgot I existed. I let out the breath I was holding and silently thanked whatever was up there for the genuine act of kindness, incredibly relieved that I did not have to make random small talk for the duration of this wait.

The line was moving incredibly slow this morning. I remembered the barista saying their coffee grinder was 'on the fritz' yesterday, and by the loud grinding noises coming from the counter, it didn't seem like they had gotten it fixed. I settled down from my social interaction enough to relax and let my eyes wander, but my silence only lasted for a few seconds as the girl in front of me turned around, and similarly to the balding man, insisted I cut in front of her. I recognized this girl, her name was something generic... Emily maybe? She was in the same lecture at eight. I questioned why she would let me cut if we both needed to get to class soon,

"I'm always late, our prof knows that, but you aren't so you should go ahead of me." I went to argue, but she effectively silenced me by holding up her hand in protest and gesturing in front of her. She too went back to ignoring me as soon as I had stepped forward. I was already confused by their behavior and I wasn't going to further question it until two more people in front of me insisted I cut ahead. I then found myself at the front of the line.

"Hi, what can I get for you this morning?" The barista asked. She was new, another reason the line was moving slowly probably. I ordered my normal caramel iced coffee and left once I got my drink.

--

I stopped at a bench close to my lecture hall, having 15 minutes to spare. I pulled out my textbook and went over my notes from last lecture. I had a funny feeling we were going to have a pop quiz today. After 10 minutes had passed, I packed up my books and headed to the boring lecture I was about to endure. While I was walking, my eyes swept the campus, looking at some of the memorial bricks, the perfectly manicured trees made to look natural, a lone guy sitting on a bench across the green reading a book. It all looked like a movie scene, but so did most of Amherst.

I walked into the lecture hall with three minutes to spare, and settled into a comfortable middle-of-the-hall seat, hoping to avoid the professor's attention as much as possible. Students were filling in up to and past 8 am. I recognized maybe-Emily walk in at 8:02. I wondered how long the line took for her to be this late, and felt guilty about my 15-minute leisurely respite. Thankfully the professor didn't walk in until five after, which quelled my guilt a little. Somewhat unsurprisingly, she announced a pop quiz on our last lecture. Groans echoed throughout the room and I couldn't help but pat myself on the back for my foresight.

I quickly finished my pop quiz and then diligently took notes on the boring lecture about the evolutionary purpose of altruism, hoping that the old analog clock hanging above the chalkboard would tick faster. The class, thankfully, ended in the middle of a nursing major and sports marketing major arguing about whether altruism actually exists. I found myself silently agreeing with the sports marketing guy, who argued it couldn't, not truly. I quickly gathered my things, dropping my quiz on the formed pile on one of the front desks, and left. I didn't have another class for a few hours and figured I'd go back home and try to catch up on my sleep. As I left, I noticed the same guy reading, but this time he was on the bench I had been sitting on earlier. I passed him as I headed to my apartment. I couldn't see much of his face without making myself obvious, but he had curly brown hair. He didn't look up when I passed him, but he seemed remarkably familiar.