by Zara Zenia
I inhaled deeply. “I don’t want to get the flu.”
Laurie scrunched up her nose and vigorously shook her head. “No. Me either.”
Just then, my phone began to ring. I glanced at it and felt my cheeks grow hot. I was sure that Laurie could see me blushing too and probably sensed my frazzled demeanor.
I glanced up at her. “It’s Tom. I should take it.”
I didn’t know why my voice sounded so apologetic toward Laurie. I glanced down at my phone but hesitated to answer it because I felt a little awkward with Laurie in the room.
As if on cue, Laurie hastily stood up, plucked her laptop from her desk table and grabbed her jacket. “I was just thinking about stretching my legs and taking a little walk. It’s a nice afternoon, not too cold right now. Perhaps I’ll end up in the library where I can concentrate on knocking out this difficult paper on the evolution of Cryptids.”
I gave her a grateful smile. “Good luck.”
That was one of the great things I loved about Laurie. She understood boundaries and respected them.
As soon as I heard the dorm room door close behind her, I pushed the answer button on my phone. My heart raced with anticipation and I felt impulsive all of the sudden. I didn’t know why I was so nervous, but it felt good, like an excited nervous.
“Hello?” I asked expectantly into the receiver.
“Hi, baby.” Tom’s voice sounded low and far away.
“Hi!” I exclaimed, probably a little too loudly. I cringed, but it was a good thing he wasn’t here to see that. I giggled a little. “How is it going?” I asked, starting up the conversation. “I miss you,” I murmured.
“I was just calling to ask you the same thing, and I miss you too.” The handsome and masculine chuckle of Tom chimed through my ears and danced through my soul.
“Everything’s going good over here, no major catastrophes or anything,” I laugh, “What about you? Did you make it back to Salem okay?”
“Yeah, no problems. Wish I didn’t have to be back here so quick, but I’m working with a specialist in my mental magic classes. They are structuring an emphasis of telepathy and illusions and I’m loving the experiments,” he replied.
“That’s wonderful.” I nodded and laid down on my bed. “So what are you up to now?”
I rested my head on my pillow and gazed up at the ceiling. It was difficult not to keep an enormous smile on my face. I loved talking to Tom on the phone. It was the next best thing to having him here with me, although I wished that was the case now.
“Well you know,” he began with a humble chuckle. “I have to find ways to try and keep up with my sweet little witch.”
I laughed. “Oh, please. You know you’re coasting right along beside me if not well in front of me.”
He chuckled. “Well, I don’t know about that, you give me a run for my money most days.”
Tom had lightened up a lot more since we’d gotten together. Don’t get me wrong, he was still stiff and proper at times, especially when he’d been around the rest of the students at Salem who were all from the upper classes, but he was working on it.
“I can’t wait to see you again, baby,” he said, “I miss you so much.”
I nibbled on my bottom lip, feeling exceptionally giddy. “I know, I can’t wait either, I don’t get to see you often enough.”
“I feel like I’m too far away from you,” he groaned with frustration.
“It’s not very fun to miss you and not be able to see your face or kiss you whenever I want,” I agreed with a slight pout.
“You’re telling me.” He gave me an agreeable scoff as if it was pure torture on him as well. “I bet you look really pretty today.”
My heart started beating faster and I suddenly felt hot. “Well if you were here you would find out.”
“I can probably get there next weekend,” he said. “I’ll have to check my schedule, but I don’t think I have anything going on that would prevent me coming to see you.”
“That’s great!” I chimed, maybe a little too animatedly. “I mean…if you are able to make it that is…” I trailed off, reminding myself not to set myself up for disappointment just in case it didn’t work out.
“I’ll be missing you every day,” he said.
“Me too. I am so glad you came up and surprised me last Saturday. Spending the night with you, Vlad, Daniel and Colin was the highlight of my weekend.”
“Thinking about that only makes me miss you more, baby,” he said with a sad chuckle.
“Hey,’ I said, getting distracted as I looked out the window. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” His voice sounded intrigued about an impending mystery. “What’s going on?”
I watched a couple of students drifting past the lawns outside of my dorm window. They were wearing masks and looked pale. They had a sluggish pace and their heads were hanging as if too heavy for their shoulders to keep lifted.
“So there are a lot of students sick here, I mean, they’re wearing masks and looking really pale. I thought most of us were immune to the common stuff that plagues regular humans. Do you know of any viruses that affect supernatural beings?” I asked.
I was baffled because the more I debated the concept in my mind, the more unlikely I thought it might be for a supernatural being to become susceptible to catching a virus such as the flu.
We were usually quite strong and sturdy and immune to diseases that regular humans might have been more vulnerable to obtaining, but now that I’d started witnessing more and more students and staff around the school wearing the masks, I was starting to become a little more unnerved by it.
I figured that Tom would be a good person to turn to because he was knowledgeable on a vast variety of subjects, and I respected his opinions.
“Diseases affecting supernatural beings?” he asked again for clarification.
“Yes,” I said.
“What do you mean? Can you be specific?”
“Well,” I said with a nervous chuckle. “Not really, but there’s something strange going on around the campus that has me a little rattled.”
“What is it?” Tom’s voice sounded genuinely concerned.
“Well, like I said, I keep noticing people walking around here with face masks, and their eyes look off,” I admitted.
“Face masks?” Tom sounded like he didn’t know what I was talking about. “Why would they be doing that?”
“Like I said, I think they’re sick…”
“Is it contagious?”
“I don’t know, that’s why I asked. I didn’t think that people like us got the flu or anything like it”
“Yeah, I’ve never heard of anything like that happening around here,” he said.
“Has anyone in your family ever gotten sick where you contracted it to?” I asked.
“Not really, but most of my family is supernatural too.”
“Oh. Right.” I gave him a sheepish chuckle. “That’s true.”
“Have you ever gotten a virus that your mom had?” he asked.
I thought back. “Well, she doesn’t really get sick very often. I’ve had a cold or two in my life, but never the flu or anything like that.”
“Me either,” he acknowledged.
“I wonder if I should be worried?” I asked it as a question, even though I wasn’t sure Tom would have an answer.
Sure enough, he didn’t seem to have a viable solution. “Maybe just stay away from those that you know are sick or have been exposed to the contamination until you figure out what it is?”
“That’s a good idea.” I nodded.
“I don’t want anything to happen to you,” he admitted.
I smiled, appreciating his concern. “Thanks. I’ll try to stay well.”
“Take care of yourself and do what humans do when they get sick.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Drink plenty of fluids and rest,” he said with a chuckle.
“That sounds like a good
plan to me.”
I heard a muffled voice in the background. “I’ll get to it now,” I heard Tom respond to whoever was in the room with him.
“Baby?”
“Yes?”
“I’m so sorry, but I’ve got to go now. Something came up in the telepathy room and they need me. Something about an experiment gone wrong and now they have to reverse the wavelengths in this guy’s brain…”
“No problem,” I said and gave him a polite chuckle. “There’s no need to explain. I actually have to go too. I miss you.”
“I miss you too, baby. I’ll call you again later, okay?” he asked.
“Sure.” I nodded. “That sounds great.”
“And if I have time, I’ll try to do some research on the communicable diseases of supernatural beings,” he added.
“Thank you.” I smiled. “Bye, Tom.”
“Bye, baby.”
I appreciated Tom because he was always willing to go the extra mile. He didn’t need to prove himself or his worth to me, I already respected him immensely.
I hung up feeling slightly more consoled, but it didn’t keep me from worrying that another gray cloud might be trying to push its way over our school once again.
5
Colin
I watched Marina happily eat the last helping of yogurt on her spoon. I loved watching her, but right at that moment, I was wishing I was that spoon. I rested my chin in my hand and continued to observe her, not in a creepy way of course, but in more of an adoring type of way.
I was trying to cling onto every minute I could with her. I knew that our lunch date was going to be coming to an end soon. If I had the skills to produce another mound of yogurt and scoop it into her bowl, I would have done it if it meant she would stay longer with me in the dining hall. I would have taken her off campus, but she still had classes after lunch.
I had to appreciate these moments between us because I valued the special time with her. Being in a polyamorous relationship, it wasn’t often that I got her all to myself.
She smiled at me as she licked the spoon. She was so pretty. I loved the way her chocolate brown eyes dazzled.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked.
“You.” I exhaled a long sigh. “I just don’t this lunch date to end.” I gave her a dreamy smile.
She grinned and leaned in closer to me. “That’s so sweet. I wish I didn’t have to go to class in an hour.” She sighed. “Maybe I can stay with you for a couple of more minutes,” she offered and placed her spoon back down on her tray.
“Really?” I gave her a smoldering look. I knew I was beautiful, I was Fae, after all, and I used it to my advantage whenever I could. I knew for her, I was her peace. The quiet calm in our unusual relationship. Sometimes I was jealous of the others and the attention they grabbed with her, but I knew she needed them as much as she needed me. She showed it in her every gesture.
She let out a breezy laugh, a sound that was music to my ears. “Just for a few minutes.”
“I’ll take whatever I can get.” I grinned, leaning in and stealing a kiss.
“You’re so cute.” She looked at me with fondness.
“What a coincidence, so are you,” I said with a chortle.
I took a sip from my water bottle and continued to gaze at her as if she was a mystically ethereal creature who had just presented her beauty to the world. I didn’t mean to ogle her. I knew she wasn’t just a piece of meat, but she was so gorgeous that sometimes I couldn’t help but stare at her as if I wanted to freeze frame her features and imbed them into my memory forever. It wasn’t always this way. When I first met her, I had been head-over-heels for another girl who’d dumped me. And then, Marina had slowly crept into my heart and stolen it without me even realizing it. Being with her was amazing.
“I wouldn’t mind going for a stroll around the campus since there is an hour before class,” Marina suggested.
I gave her a mischievous smile. “Is Ms. Marina saying she’s willing to put off studying?”
She laughed. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, babe. Maybe for an hour or so, though.” She bit her lip, teasing me.
“I like this new, laid back and relaxed Marina,” I said, teasing her right back.
She rolled her eyes and scoffed, albeit spiritedly. “You’re funny. I’m just the same ole’ me.”
“I like you either way,” I said and took her hand and kissed the top of it.
She beamed. “Why thank you, kind gentleman.”
“Shall we?” I asked as I grabbed my tray and stood up.
Marina followed suit with a nod. “Absolutely.”
I walked across the room to the trash receptacle. I dumped the remainder of food from the tray into the container and then placed the tray on top. I waited for Marina to do the same, admiring her cute and sassy ponytail.
Her chocolate eyes were practically intoxicating, and her smile was infectious. It was damn near impossible to resist her. She was tempting and mysterious. I couldn’t stand to be apart from her, and I had to thank my lucky stars that she was willing to put her schoolwork on hold to spend some extra time to take a walk with me, though I wish we had a more private activity in mind.
I saw Boris, the head chef, behind the counter. I noticed him acting bizarrely through the corner of my eye. I turned to look at him, suddenly distracted by his odd behavior.
“What’s wrong?” Marina asked as she took my hand.
“Boris…” I trailed off.
Marina looked at him. “What about him?” She shrugged.
“Don’t you think he looks… I don’t know, off?” I looked between her and him.
“Maybe a little.” Marina seemed to ponder as she continued to inspect Boris. “He’s not wearing the face mask anymore.”
“No, he’s not,” I observed.
“Do you think that means he’s better now?” Marina peered up at me with curious hope.
I was doubtful as I frowned. “He doesn’t look any better to me.”
“Maybe he should put his face mask back on then,” Marina said in a worried tone.
I chuckled. “Yeah. Especially since he’s handling our food.”
Marina made a sour face and then grimaced. “Yuck. That makes me think that its contaminated in some way.”
I cupped my hand over her shoulder. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to freak you out or paint a gross picture in your head, but if it makes you feel better, your food was sealed, and he didn’t touch it.”
Marina looked up at me with fondness. “It’s okay, you didn’t. And you’re right, it was.” She smiled and then looked back across the room. “I feel bad for the guy.”
“Who, Boris?” I pointed at him.
He looked anxious and sweaty. He was pacing behind the counter as a lull in student/customer foot traffic offered a little opportunity for him to take a breather. Most of the students were beginning to disperse back to classes and studies. The food production would inevitably wan as the staff would soon begin to clean up and start prepping food for the next meal.
“Yes.” Marina nodded.
“He’s an odd fellow by nature,” I said and gave her a casual shrug in an attempt to reverse the unsettled expression on her face.
She looked a little rattled as she watched Boris behind the counter, wringing his hands together. He was breathing hard now, almost panting. His eyes scanned the room nervously as if he feared something terrible was about to happen.
“Maybe we should ask him if he needs help? Perhaps a trip to the infirmary might be a good idea for him?”
I scoffed but gave her a gentle smile. “If only a hardheaded brute like Boris was the type to take advice or listen to reason. He would go to the grave before he would seek medical attention.”
“Why?” Marina looked perplexed.
“He’s just a tough as nails kind of guy. He’s too proud. He is a bear shifter, so, naturally he wants to behave like one.”
“That doesn’t mean he is immune to sickness…�
�� Marina said and trailed off.
“Shifters are supposed to be relatively resistant to most illnesses,” I reminded her as a way to get her mind distracted and restore her faith that everything was going to be alright. “Maybe he was told to wear the mask as a precautionary measure.”
“I suppose you’re right,” she said with a resigned sigh.
“Should we get back to that walk we were looking forward to?” I asked and cast her a grin that I hoped she would find charming and appealing.
“Sure.” Marina smiled and her eyes lit up with excitement. “I would love that actually. I’ve been dying for a break. My classes are crushing me.”
“Do you need some help?” I frowned in concern.
She smiled. “It’s not that bad. Well, not as bad as last semester.”
“Now you are more familiar with the way things roll around here,” I said.
“Yeah.” She chuckled. “I guess you could say that.”
We turned to walk away, but before we could even tread a few steps in the direction of the dining hall’s exit, we heard another female student scream from behind us.
I whipped around and at the same time, Marina spun on a heel with a look of terror on her face. I had to admit, the girl’s piercing scream erupted and echoed through the cafeteria and had startled me too.
“What the hell?” I muttered under my breath, feeling gnawing annoyance at the disturbance.
That was, until Marina exclaimed, “Boris!” She pointed at him with a shaking finger and began to jog in the direction of the counter where he had been standing.
I followed her, noticing that Boris had collapsed onto the floor. He started convulsing. His eyes were bloodshot, wide and full of terror. His chef hat had fallen off his head and his apron had come undone and was situated loosely and haphazardly over his body.
He started foaming at the mouth. His body rocked with shaking, uncontrollable tremors.
“What is wrong with him?” Another male student cried with distress from behind me.