What's a life worth?

Chapter 6

            Isaac woke up alone in the dark room. He turned over to see the light from his phone vibrating and ringing. He turned off his alarm and sat up in bed. His room was dark and quiet but was suddenly filled with life as Aisha opened the door. Because of the bright light, Isaac turned away from the door, but Aisha spoke to him, "I cooked breakfast, so go get ready." She also turned on the light to see Isaac shirtless and sitting on his bed. With a click from the door shutting, Isaac sighed. However, this wasn't a sigh of annoyance or discomfort. This sigh was one of nervousness. Today was the day he started classes and the day his clock started ticking again.

            Isaac got up, showered, and walked out of his room. Kalee was sitting at the table while Aisha and Ain stood in the kitchen finishing preparing food. Kalee smiled brightly as Isaac walked out of his room, "Good morning! Did you sleep well?" Isaac wasn't one to talk much after waking up, but he's gotten used to this routine, "Yea, somewhat. You?" Kalee responded cheerfully, "I was pretty nervous, but I put on some rain sounds that made it easier to fall asleep." Isaac took a seat at the table across from Kalee. As he sat, Aisha and Ain started to bring out a plate of food for each person. Aisha set a plate in front of Isaac, and Ain set a plate in front of Kalee. It was a standard breakfast of eggs and sausage, but Kalee seemed happy as she dug in.

            Aisha started speaking as Isaac began to eat, "So, today's the first day, huh?" Isaac nodded quietly, but Kalee responded happily, "Yea! I can't wait to get to class!" Aisha noticed Isaac's hesitance and asked, "You're still nervous? Do you need me to go with you?" Before responding, Isaac took a deep breath, "I think I'll be alright." Isaac's mood seemed to be tearing down the happy atmosphere that was in the room before because Kalee seemed less cheerful and more awkward.

            However, Ain seemed to try to pump Isaac up, "Don't worry, you got this!" Isaac smiled softly at seeing the small girl try to cheer him up. Aisha latched on to this reaction, though, "Oh my, it seems that you two are close. Maybe I should call the program and tell them that you two should be paired together." Isaac didn't bother responding to the obvious tease, but Ain quickly started apologizing. This reaction made Aisha and Kalee start giggling, and even Isaac chuckled a little bit.

            Breakfast finished, and Kalee left first. Today she had three classes, whereas Isaac only had one. That meant that Isaac would be taking care of chores after his class. However, Isaac was extremely nervous about this class. The class itself wasn't challenging, but Isaac couldn't stop thinking about the past. Aisha looked over at Ain, and Ain nodded and went into Kalee's room. Aisha then sat next to Isaac as he was spaced out and spoke, "If you need to talk, I'm here to listen." Isaac relaxed his shoulders and sat back, "Just feeling pathetic." Aisha closed her eyes and responded, "Well, I can't lie. You have had a pretty pathetic look on your face since you woke up. But I think you have the right to feel that way." Isaac sighed despairingly, so Aisha continued, "You're doing a great job. You've come so far since I started living with you, so I think you'll be okay. Plus, I told the professors that you may be nervous for the first few classes, so they won't push you that hard." Isaac looked up a little bit and saw that it was almost time to leave. He was still pretty nervous, but he decided to lean on the words of Aisha and keep moving forward.

            Isaac left his dorm room, leaving Aisha and Ain behind, and walked to class. The campus was pretty big, so he had to walk a good distance to reach the building with his classroom. Throughout the entire walk, Isaac was stuck thinking about the past. In particular, he was thinking about Jessica. From meeting on a playground to thinking she was the most annoying person in the world to becoming the closest friends. From loving her and always wanting to be next to her to never being able to see her again. These thoughts and memories swirled around Isaac like a storm. Eventually, though, Isaac's memories reached the present as he reached the classroom.