Incubus Love

Back to School

  [ahhh..It's already 8:00 AM.]

Though Josey had not slept, her body and mind was full of vigor. Josey  saved her work and put on her favorite black outfit. Today she would camouflage her figure and her love for vibrant colors. Today she just wanted to be alone. Instead of wearing a big ponytail, she split the back of her hair into two sections and braided each section to the front so that they would lay on her chest. This look would allow her to wear her hood throughout the day. She wore a black over-sized long sleeve hoodie, black leggings, and black leather boots. 

Josey put her messenger bag across her chest, covered her head with the hoodie, and proceeded to the campus. The walk was filled with her watching the gray cobblestone buildings and the people, who seemed to walk in sync with each other down the streets. Their robotic mannerisms were pure. Josey desired that purity. She paused to look at the grey sky and take in the dull odor. Not a floral or fruity smell to be found. She continued her walk, staring at the ground counting the number of people who grunted when they passed her. [Just can't seem to blend in]

Josey finally arrived on campus. Like clockwork,  Leon caught up to her. [What exactly does he want?]

Josey’s glare prompted Leon to ask, "Are you feeling okay?"

"Is anything really okay?" she replied. Leon stopped in his tracks. He was clearly taken aback by her lack of enthusiasm.

"I'm sorry Leon. I haven't slept. Let's head to class." 

Leon and Josey walked in silence. She could feel him studying her face and movements.

They walked into the classroom, Collin started to belly out his normal antics but stopped. After she sat down next to him, he stared at her for a second.

"I didn't know your hair was so long. It's really pretty." Collin stated. 

His statement scared her. People would think he was bewitched if he spoke so openly like that.

Josey looked at him and curtly expressed her dismay. "Do not speak such nonsense. You don't know who may hear you."  She looked forward and waited for the lecture to begin.

Colin and Leon watched her with sad eyes for a few seconds before returning their attention to the teacher.

Unlike most days, class and time inched by.  Josey could feel time occurring. Every second, every millisecond, every nanosecond, was tearing at her soul. When they were finally dismissed,  Leon and Collin asked if they were going to head to the library.

Josey nodded in agreement. She refused to speed walk, though. She took her time. She looked at every disgruntled, hateful face. "Are you sure? If we take our time, we will need to walk in front of you." Collin said.

"That's fine. I don't have the energy to cower under this suffocating oppression."

Her words were harsh and exact. [Where did they come from? ] While she has always felt different, today she felt confident that she did not give a s**t.

Leon and Collin looked at each other and started to walk in front of her. They chatted and laughed at whatever was exciting them in their world. Josey watched their backs. She noticed that they stepped on the same foot, at the same time. Succinctly maneuvering around the other gray people. In the midst of her admiration, she could feel eyes watching her. She paused, turned, and looked up at the building where Cofer worked. [He's probably not watching me.]

She turned on her heels and continued her trudging to the library. The doors opened automatically. The smell of cleaning products on cold metal sat in the air. [Cold] The shelves were white and about 3 stories tall in the main section of the library. All the books were on the white to gray color spectrum. You could tell machines organized the books. No normal human would be able to decipher what went where. Further back in the library, stairs wound up to three more floors. Everything you need to know was there in digital or paper form.

When they finally made it around to their table on the fourth floor, Colin started with a theory about "physical existence". While they were advanced in creating realistic third dimensional technology, there seemed to be this simplistic notion that they themselves did not exist within a three dimensional world. “How redundant.”,

She said under her breath then rolled her eyes. Collin was always stuck on theory without basis. 

"Let's discuss what's real. Okay Collin?" Josey’s question made Leon giggle and Collin's mouth drop open. 

"Well I guess we can start with inter-dimensional nomenclature." Collin advised.

“Creating something from nothing has been ongoing and time consuming but we have made exceptional strides. “ Josey thought to herself.

"Thanks Collin," she said earnestly. Leon and Collins' faces lightened up, as if they saw the Josey that they knew peeping through.

They talked between each other, debating rigorously how to document and prove their theories. She loved their time in the library. While she wasn't able to spend time with Leon and Collin outside of school, she cherished what she could while with them. 

She took a deep breath and inhaled the extreme nerdiness at the table.

"Josey, your eyes seem to be glowing. Collin do you see this?" Both men stopped to stare.

She covered her face quickly and yelled, "I need to be excused for a moment!"

Josey ran as fast as she could to the woman's resting area.  In this room, you simply stated what you wanted. There was no toilet or mirrors readily available. The room was dark and cold. The walls were shiny empty awaiting the next command. 

In the darkness, Josey could see the purple rays of light on her hands.

She touched the bare wall and said, "Show me a mirror" . The mirror moved into her dimension. The purple and green light seemed to radiate through her pupils. [I am beautiful.]

“This energy must have come from my constant adoration of my geeky buddies.” She closed her eyes and thought of her favorite soup. When she re-opened her eyes, the gleam had dimmed. She closed her eyes again. She thought about the long hours that were left to finish their studies. This thought always made her palms sweaty. She opened her eyes again and the shimmer was gone. 

"Lights on." She commanded. [I can control it. I believe in myself.] She inhaled deeply and then exhaled slowly.

Josey quickly walked back to the table to join her friends.

"Is everything okay, Josey? That was a little weird, right?" Leon stated suspiciously.

"No worries Leon. Don't give it another thought." She proclaimed.

After a couple of hours, comparing notes and filling in gaps , two women approached their table.

"Hi Collin. I haven't seen you in while." the first woman said with a smile.

"Duchess Lizah of Priesham and Princess Crema of the Turshon House, it has been a while."

Since Leon, Collin and Josey  did not come from aristocratic families, they had to promptly address and bow to the ladies.

"I am Josey Manbosa De La Croix, how do you do?" She kept her eyes down and curtsied half way. Leon followed suit.

"You are Josey?" Duchess Lizah questioned. "I've always wanted to see one of your kind up close." She said looking into Josey’s eyes. "Your eyes are beautiful nonetheless." 

"Please Lizah, don't make this introduction uncomfortable." Princess Crema requested.

"How do you do Josey and Leon?" Princess Crema  afforded.

The two women promptly went back to catching up with Collin. Collin's parents were close friends with the Duchess and the Princess' fathers. After they completed their greeting, they asked Collin, if he would join them for afternoon tea tomorrow.

"Yes, my lady. That would be splendid." Collin replied.

"Please bring your 'companions'", The Duchess remarked snidely.

Leon and Josey looked at each other and rolled their eyes. [Why would we want to have tea with such an unpleasant woman?]

Once the aristocrats left, they decided to call it a day. Josey was tired but she didn't want to go home. She  thought about walking around the lab and office area where Cofer worked. Maybe she could "accidentally" see him.

Leon and Collin said their goodbyes before exiting the library. Josey walked around looking for books that would help her understand love and how to know if it's real. The library constantly doted on having everything but there was nothing to be found on such a simple subject. Society was so bent on just existing that many never worried about love. Everything was a twelve step process that didn't require feelings. Josey was pretty sure the only feelings the people of Nethersigh felt were of selfishness and pettifogging. 

After vocalizing her needs on the fifth floor, a guidance of acceptance appeared. The guidance module only appeared if your book was available. Josey followed the guide to a deep corner of the fifth floor where the books were red and some brown. The guide stated that the book was on shelf 856234 level 5-432.

"Uhm. What?" She was confused. Normally the guide materialized the book but the book was outside the scope of the guide.[Weird] She walked into dark crevices of the fifth floor. The area seemed cutoff from sound and life, in general.  

"More light" She commanded but there was no dimensional technology in the area. She continued her journey. Josey finally found shelf 856234. The books were skinny and smelled like mud or the garden after a spring rain. "5......5...5-43......2" she said to herself. She pulled the book off the shelf. It was covered with some sort of microorganisms.

"How to please your man in 10 steps?" She read the binder.

"The library will be closing in five minutes, please find your way to the nearest exit" The robotic voice blared.

She grabbed the book and headed to the guidance of acceptance dimension to check out. When she held the book out, the guide requested that she leave at once and not to return the book. Josey pushed the book into her bag and headed for the stairs.