Phrase III: Strangers and Dreams
The door to clicked open under his palm.
Kai stepped inside.
The overhead lights were bright.
Too bright for how early it felt—even if the clock disagreed.
Rows of long tables stretched out in gentle arcs.
As if the room expected more people than it had.
Maybe they were still coming.
He let the door ease closed behind him and took it all in.
Kai felt a soft pull in his stomach.
His eyes looked down, like it was too much effort to look forward.
A few students were already scattered throughout the room.
They were spaced too far apart for any real atmosphere to build.
A girl with a pink tumbler was watching TikToks at quarter volume.
Two guys near the front traded textbook prices under their breath.
That was it.
No hum.
No buzz.
Kai lingered near the entrance a moment too long.
He turned and pretended to study the seating chart taped to the whiteboard.
No marks.
No assigned seats.
Then he made his way up the side aisle and claimed a seat near the back.
He slid his backpack down, propped his elbows on the table, and rested his chin on one hand.
Someone else walked in, quickly walking to the front row.
Not tall.
Not interesting.
He didn’t expect a friend.
Not really.
But still.
The professor arrived a minute later, adjusted her glasses, and launched directly into expectations and late policies without warning.
No icebreakers. No partner introductions.
Just "Syllabus is online. Click the link I emailed you last night."
Kai pulled out his phone.
He found the email.
He opened it.
He clicked the link.
Then he stared at it.
And let his eyes drift.
The room was still too quiet.
A sharp quiet, where you can hear someone's sleeve drag across a laptop.
Kai exhaled softly through his nose.
He was already bored...
And more alone than he planned for.
So—he imagined.
Someone walking in late.
Someone's footsteps echoing awkwardly.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Unbothered.
Maybe his skin looked like it caught a little bit of sun.
Not from effort.
Just…
Naturally.
Maybe his black hair was—
Kai blinked.
The fantasy lingered like condensation on glass.
Soft. Fogged.
Real...
But only for a second.
Then it was gone.
The professor cleared her throat, mid-sentence about the attendance policy.
Kai glanced toward the front again.
Still no one late.
Still no one sitting by him.
He turned his pen slowly between his fingers, and let his gaze fall out the window.
Biology was colder.
Not metaphorically—just the A/C.
Blasting.
Aggressive.
Kai rubbed his arms as he stepped inside.
The hum of fluorescent lights already crawling into his head.
This lecture hall was nearly full.
But only in the technical sense.
Empty seats were scattered just wide enough to keep people from brushing elbows.
He sat near the middle.
No one looked his way.
The lecture was a blur of cell structures and paper handouts.
He imagined someone passing him a note.
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A doodle.
A little frog with sparkles around it.
And a number scrawled underneath.
He smiled—
Quietly.
—but didn’t realize.
Philosophy was worse.
A circle of desks.
Too intimate.
Too distant.
The TA asked a question about ethics.
Someone mentioned trolley problems.
Someone else tried to be edgy.
Kai’s eyes wandered.
He imagined someone raising their hand and saying something so sincere it made everyone quiet.
After class, they'd walk out together.
Talk about meaning... or nothing.
Maybe they’d go for coffee...
Argue about milk frothing techniques...
And end up at a park without planning to.
Kai blinked back into the present.
The TA had moved on.
Sociology.
A loud professor.
No one took notes.
One kid was drawing a sword with abs.
He imagined holding someone's hand under the desk.
Their thumb brushing knuckles.
No reason why.
Just… there.
By the time lunch rolled around, the quad was swarming.
Kai sat under a tree with a sandwich he didn’t remember buying.
He watched people walk past in pairs.
Groups.
Laughter.
Elbows bumping.
Phones shared.
He imagined someone dropping down beside him with their own sandwich.
They wouldn’t ask if the spot was taken.
They’d just sit.
He imagined them splitting chips.
Arguing about flavors.
Stealing each other’s drinks.
A breeze passed through the leaves.
Kai tilted his head back against the bark.
He let his eyes fall shut.
Just for a second.
It was quiet.
Kai's eyes crept open again.
His sandwich was gone.
He must’ve finished it.
But the taste hadn’t stayed.
Crumbs clung to his hoodie sleeve.
And the juice box—
He blinked up through the tree branches.
The wind had settled.
The sky stayed, undecided between blue and gray.
He stood, brushing off his jeans with the flat of his palms.
His bag slung over one shoulder.
His earbuds in, but silent.
He merged into the loose stream of students trickling toward the north buildings.
His next class was across campus.
He didn’t mind the walk.
It gave him something to do with his legs while his thoughts wandered.
He passed a statue.
Bronze.
Important, probably.
He didn’t recognize the name.
Then—
Kai slowed.
Not fully.
But half a step off-pace.
—someone was walking on the path ahead.
Tall.
His head hung low.
With his eyes fixed on the sidewalk.
And his hood, it was up, but not enough to hide his mess of black hair catching the wind by the edges.
His hands were tucked in his jacket pockets, like he was trying to shrink from a frame that wouldn’t cooperate.
There was something quiet about him.
He clearly didn't want to be noticed.
And yet—Kai had.
Kai blinked, hard.
He felt his chest jolt in surprise.
"Jesus," he muttered, low. Not a prayer, but a reflex.
The guy turned a corner.
He slipped through the entrance of one of the language halls.
No glance back.
No pause.
He was gone.
Kai stood still longer than he meant to.
Then he realized—
His face was warm.
He rubbed the side of his neck with his sleeve.
It didn’t help.
"…Okay," he said under his breath. "Weird."
Kai kept walking.
Without looking back.
