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When she woke up, Lucy found herself in a strange pose on her empty bed as her blankets, sheets, and pillows were carelessly thrown around the room. She felt dazed as she got up to her feet and balanced herself on the wall. "So I did manage to fall asleep," she said. "But I still don't feel better. Ah, Mom!"

She kicked away the mess around her and nearly stumbled on a blanket before reaching the door. "Mom, are you home?" Going into the kitchen, the dining room, the living room, and finally into the bedroom, her mother was nowhere to be found.

A defeated sigh escaped Lucy.

--

The bell rang and all the students ran out for recess. Lucy held on to her bag as she proceeded to the library, avoiding contact along the way. As much as she tried, her nerves would simply not calm down. Her anxiety felt so great, getting on the bus and making it all the way to school felt like an accomplishment, but participating in classes felt like a nightmare. 'Maybe I shouldn't go to school like this. Maybe I should tell the office I'm sick and go home.'

As she arrived at the front steps of the main building, a familiar face pops out. "Yo, Lucy."

Lucy jumps in place from fright. "Jenny, don't scare me like that!"

"Whoa! You're kind of jumpy today. What's going on?"

"Nothing."

"Don't give me 'nothing'. Did you meet up with him or not?"

"Leave me alone. I never want to speak to you again!"

"Huh?"

Lucy walked past Jenny who wasn't going to let it go as she gets in front of her. "Lucy, what's wrong?"

Lucy shoved Jenny out of the way and started climbing the staircase to the third floor.

"Lucy!" Jenny says loudly but that only made her climb faster.

--

It felt uncomfortable to keep his eyes open but closing them gave him a slight headache. Seeing as the few hours he had of sleep was the limit, Johan got up to his feet and rubbed his temples. "So it wasn't a nightmare," he commented to himself.

He grabbed a plastic case containing his hygenic necessities, his towel, and a fresh set of clothes.

When he opened the door, "Johan!" his name being said loudly spooked him enough to cause him to stagger back into his room. "You're still alive!" said Wendy as they approach him.

"Wendy, what are doing?"

"What am I doing? What about you? You came in here looking like you died. Or maybe you got drunk. Do you have a hangover?"

"I don't drink."

"Well, something must have happened to you last night."

"What are you recalling?"

"I tried saying hello but you were out of it. It was like your soul was sucked right out of your body. You were so lifeless."

"You're being too vague, and stop saying things so loudly."

"So are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I just need to take a shower."

"Alright, good. Go ahead and I'll make you a nice breakfast."

"Okay, okay. Fine." He leaves his room to head toward the bathroom.

Inside, he removed his wrinkled suit as the water heats up to his liking. Once he entered the shower, 'I had two dreams, right? No, the former actually happened.' He raised his head and stared at the frosted window above. 'I guess she lives in this city, but not only did I run into her on Sunday I was also chatting with her this whole time. Is this all just a strange coincidence? Am I being set up? No, I don't think so. Even if she somehow found out about my dreams, her reaction upon the meet-up was genuine fright.'

He lowered his head to shampoo his hair. 'But what's done is done. She's never going to talk to me again, not after that. Even if we share the same dreams, she's just a kid. She doesn't know anything about romance. She probably finds the idea deplorable. Now that I think about it, we never actually talked about anything romantic during our chats either. I should've known. Did I miss something? How could I not know she was that young? Well, she seems to be quite educated enough. I'd figure an average kid her age would be using slang and would find punctuation marks to be a nuisance. But then again, most adults don't seem to be capable of typing properly either. I guess I should've inquired more into her personal life... except that would've been inappropriate. But I didn't know she was a kid back then. Agh! This is so frustrating!'

He turns off the water and starts drying himself. 'But at the end of all this, it's over. I'm never going to speak to her again. She will never contact me in a million years after I scared her away. Reincarnation? This is just a coincidence. The fact that she's a decade younger than me proves that this was all a misunderstanding on my part. It has to be. I don't know how she knew about my dreams but there's a logical explanation out there. There has to.'

He set the towel on the rack and proceeded to put on his clothes. 'I have to accept the fact that I can't fall in love. I don't find anyone attractive. No girl has ever made me feel... well... I have no idea how it feels like to fall in love, so what am I looking for anyway?” He paused momentarily before heading to the mirror. Taking out a comb from the shelf, he begins to groom his hair. “And as for the girl in my dreams, I'm going to forget about her. Falling in love with someone that doesn't exist? How childish am I to rationalize such a thing. I'm not a little kid, I'm an adult, and it's time I start acting like it. No, it's time that I became an adult. Once I leave this bathroom, I am a new man.'

Fully dressed and groomed, with a smile on his face, Johan steps out of the restroom "Good morning, Wendy. I'm sure am feeling refreshed. Nothing like a good shower, huh?" Wendy looked confused as they sat at the table eating their breakfast. Johan eyes his plate, "Ah, bacon and eggs. A classic, huh?"

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"Uhh... yeah. I didn't had any ideas."

"Well, this doesn't provide all the necessary nutrients a healthy body needs. I'll add some toast to it. Would you like one?"

"Uh... yeah, sure. That'd be nice."

He headed toward the kitchen and pops in two slices of oatmeal bread into the toaster.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay?" Wendy asked.

"Yes, of course," he said gleefully.

"But yesterday..."

"That's water under the bridge."

"But what exactly happened?"

"It was just one of those days. You know, when nothing goes right? It's as simple as that."

"Really? Well, I'm glad you got that out of your system then. In that case, you'll be fresh and ready for tonight, right?"

"Tonight?"

"Francesca is coming over." A jolt goes through his body, causing him to stiffen. "What's wrong?

Calming himself down, "Nothing. I thought I felt a bug."

"Oh, I see. So you're going to join us tonight?"

"I'll think about it," he said as the toast popped.

--

Though he wrote down notes, surveying them after class made him confused. 'But I was paying attention, right?' Johan thought to himself as he inspected what he wrote. 'Everything was just as the professor said, but why can't I understand any of it?' As he kept surveying his notebook, he found a doodle of a heart with an arrow on it, a silhouette of a girl next to it, and the word 'dream' written underneath. A pang of discomfort hit him as he ripped the small portion of the paper and disposed of it in the nearest trash can. 'Just a relapse. I'll get over this. I just got to concentrate on my studies and I'm sure it will go away.'

He stepped into the parking lot and was a few yards from his car when, “Johaaaaaaan!”

Scrunching his face with dissatisfaction, he started walking faster. “Joooooohaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!” He increased his speed, striving to reach his car before the clicking of high-heels would reach him first. “Johan! Hello?” A hand was on his shoulder with manicured nails clutching him.

His doleful nature now soured even further. 'Just be courteous,' he thought to himself.

He turned around with a smile on his face, "Hi Margaret."

"Don't just 'Hi Margaret' me, Mr. I'm-too-good-for-you. You ignored me."

"I'm sorry. I was contemplating things right now. I'm just thinking about the upcoming exams."

"Yeah, we get it. You're a real nerd. But what about last time? You shoved me very rudely. You're lucky I'm still talking to you."

"Lucky?" he said under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Oh, I'm sorry about that. I had somewhere to go in a rush. I'll admit that I was being very inconsiderate."

"I have a funny suspicion that you are making up that excuse, but I'll accept your apology."

"What apology?" he said quietly.

"What was that?"

"As I said, I take responsibility for my actions. When I shoved, I take responsibility for it happening."

"It's nice to hear a man taking accountability for their actions, but what's up with you. It's as if you don't want to talk to me anymore."

"As if?" he said under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing can be further from the truth. The real reason is that I'm quite busy, Margaret. I take my education seriously. I also have my job to attend to so there's not much time in my day to squander."

"But you work from home."

"Uhh... yes, I do, which I never told you about."

"Don't worry. Wendy told me that a long time ago. She's not gossiping about your life anymore."

"As if that makes it any better," he said as he clenched his teeth.

"What was that?"

"In any case, I apologize for being rude. That was wrong of me. I promise to better behave myself."

"You call that an apology?"

"Yes. That's exactly what it is."

"Booo. Not good enough. If you really want to make it up to me, you have to do better than that."

"Well, if my apology will not do, what would you consider in its place?"

"If you really want to make it up to me, then how about you take me out on a date. Say, tomorrow night?"

"Oh... no, Margaret. I believe I made myself clear that I'm not interested in you."

"That's a lousy excuse."

"As I've stated before, I'm not attracted to you. I think that's a fairly reasonable excuse."

She snickers, "Yeah, you've proven that time and time again. But come on, why not just be honest."

"But I am being honest."

Margaret looked to her left and then her right. With smile, she returns her attention to Johan, "Listen, I don't know what you told her but apparently you're keeping her a secret."

"And who are you referring to?"

"Lucy."

A shock to his spine hits him. "Lucy!? What!?"

“Are you ready to let me know who this mysterious woman is?”

“What are you talking about? There is no mysterious woman, or any woman, especially a young girl. I have no interest in young girls.”

“Johan, this game you're playing, I don't know what the rules are, but make me an exception and let me play.”

“Margaret, you got to understand that whatever Wendy told you is false.”

“I guess, except that you told her to keep her mouth shut. Besides you told me about Lucy.”

“I thought I made it clear that it was for a story I'm writing.”

“You're not fooling anyone. You just made that whole brainstorming session up. The truth is that there's a girl you fell in love with.”

“Margaret, please...”

“I'm not mad, okay? She won, I get it. Lucy won your heart, something that feels impossible to do as all the women on campus have failed to do so. So why all the secrecy?”

“Margaret, for goodness sake, will you stop already?”

“Oh Johan, why not just let it out? Why not just let us know who Lucy is. I mean, you do love her, right?”

“This is all hearsay, and I don't want to be a part of this conversation. Will you please-” Johan calmed himself down after realizing his voice was raising. Taking a deep breath, “I don't want to talk about this anymore. I'm sorry I brought it up but it's yesterday's news.”

“Yesterday's news? What do you mean?”

“It means nothing, okay. There's nothing going on. Absolutely nothing." He sighed. "I must take my leave. Excuse my sudden departure.”

Johan turned around and headed back to his car. The infernal clacking of her high-heel shoes made him feel like turning around and shout right into her face, but he kept his cool as she was now walking along side him. “Johan, don't tell me that she broke up with you.”

“No, Margaret. You are nowhere close to-”

"I can't believe she did this. After all that trouble, she went through to crack the secret to winning your heart and she just dumps you? What kind of stuck-up girl is she, to throw away such a rare gem? Oh Johan, I'm so sorry that she dumped you, but it doesn't have to remain that way. What do you say? Let's go out this weekend or even tonight? Let's forget about the cruel witch Lucy. I know a great bar we can go to. Let's head there tonight even. I bet that Lucy girl scarred your heart for years to come, but stick with me and I'll make you feel all better. Do you want to cry? Do you want to rest your head on my shoulders? How about we get to my car and I'll drive you to my place and you can tell me all about it. All night long. I'll bring out some expensive wine just for you. Just let out all your frustration. You don't have to put up with that selfish, good-for-nothing, childish woman. You probably don't deserve her and she definitely doesn't deserve you. I'm still so mad, after everything you've probably done for her, and she just ditches you like a piece of gum. By the way, for reference, what did you do for her. You know, just so I can make you feel better. But take your time, if you want. Just drop by my home, alright? I'll give you my address. But I'll need your phone number. Oh wait, I can ask Wendy. Oh wait, you told her not to share anything. Well, she'll make an exception for this, right? I mean, look at how sad you are right now. I feel sad too. I feel like crying for you. But it's okay. I'll just pamper you and make feel loved, unlike that dog that used you like a chew toy. I bet that if she was right here right now, I would-"

"WILL YOU SHUT UP ALREADY!?" Johan was so loud and Margaret so startled that she froze in place. "I said no and I keep saying no, okay? I'm not interested in you at all! I have no romantic feelings for you! In fact, I already have someone I like but I can't be with her! Don't tell me about your escapades with different guys and girls when I can't be with the one I truly love! So why don't you go ahead and be a harlot to everyone you meet because unlike you, I'm in love, something I can never have! EVER!"

Unlocking his car and starting its engine, without even closing the door, drives out of the driveway, leaving behind a completely shocked Margaret standing in the empty parking spot.

As the car exited the compound and disappeared into the street, all she could comment was, “What's a harlot?”