A Blissed Dream

School has begun.

Work out room, 10 am.

Jennifer and Lizzy are standing beside me. Despite her supposedly hating me in the real world, we make small talk and apparently are enjoying ourselves.

Nathan and Malakye walk by the doorway and stop when they see me. “Sup Hoare.” I casually say as I raise my palm as a gesture of greeting.

“Yo Josh, what the ***k are you doing here right now? Come with me if you want to live. All joking aside there’s going to be a blackout drill soon so come with us to the house.” he says as he gestures me to go with them.

“The house? What house?” I ask in confusion.

“The only place to avoid anything annoying, you idiot,” he says as if it was obvious.

Just then the PA comes on. “Ladies and Gentlemen there will now be a schoolwide blackout drill so if you would please make your way outside of the building…”

“Oop there it goes,” I say as I signal going out.

On our way to the door, I notice that Lizzy’s shoelace is untied. I decide to tell her when we get outside.

“Hey Lizzy your shoelace is untied,” I say as I think to myself. She should know how to tie her shoes. No need for the incredibly sharp and clever Josh to intervene. But this dream is a cliché even on its own. She ties her shoes. Excruciatingly slowly. Step by step, but in the end, she messes up and the bow comes undone. I sigh.

“Haah… 칠칠맞게 진짜.” I say as I tie her laces with incredible skill and accuracy, since chivalry must be cool, or it doesn’t really hold any relevance. However, I mustn’t let her think this is because I hold her in any regard other than a person with poor tying skills. “Don’t get this wrong, I did not do this because I have feelings for you or anything like that. I simply hate untidy shoes.”

“Heheh thanks.” She says as she blushes. Why is she blushing? Does this gesture of intentionally tangling strings hold any emotional value to her? But just as the situation has reached its nadir, I open my eyes.

It was truly, a perfect dream. For some reason, it was very bliss, yet satisfying.

It was a world where the ones who hated me, are my friends.