“I’ll see you” the most gentle voice of a man told me as he turned away from me and walked down his own path.

I woke up in the bustling library, one passer –by looking at me funny. As the feeling returned to my hands, which I used as makeshift pillows, I felt those familiar pin-prick sensations that are caused by blood flow going back to my arms. Bit by bit, I moved both of them until the pin-pricks were gone.

I wasn’t much of a library person to be honest. Personally, I would rather read or study alone in my room, or outside the classroom while waiting for the next class to finish. I was in the library in the first place because calculus is disrupting my streak of what are deemed ‘average’ grades. Newsflash, that’s what you need to pass in college. Well, in any school-level, really. Now that the midterm exams were nearing, suddenly everyone is a good student.

I stood and quickly collected my things. I’ve realized I was asleep for almost thirty minutes and did absolutely nothing. Those thirty minutes I spent on that table would have been more productive had a more motivated student used it. I shoved my most hated calculus book into the bag and got out of the library. As I sped past the clusters of students, I heard someone call my name, making me pause in my tracks. Looking around, I can’t help but feel like I should be socializing more. Are these cliques making me feel guilty for not being good at socializing or is it just me?

“Hey!”

Someone tapped my shoulder and I looked over. “Laura! Hi!” I spun on my heel and gave her a quick hug, “Are you heading to the library as well?”

“Yeah,” she nodded as she brushed stray hair to the back of her ears and smoothed the wrinkles of her jeans and shirt. “I have to study for the calculus exam.”

“Wing it,” I laughed (probably too loud), “Just kidding. I tried to, but nothing just gets drilled into my noggin.”

“Drilled into- okay,” she chuckled, “I think you should relax for today.”

“That’s exactly what I’ll be doing!”

"Isabella, we've been best friends since the start of college and I've never seen you this serious about a subject aside from Trigonometry."

"Unlike you, I'm no good in math. "

"I wouldn't say that!" She flipped her short bobbed hair as she turned to the stairs leading up to the library, “Well, I have to go. Good luck! Nice seeing you, Isabella!”

I waved goodbye as Laura turned and ran towards the library door. Once she was out of sight, I resumed walking at a slower pace. Usually, my mind would go into autopilot but I flashed back on that dream. I would usually get attached to my dreams so I just shook my head and brushed it off, now focused on crossing the road.

On my way home, I decided to stop by for a treat. I know I didn’t study much but I tried, right? Once I got home, I went to my room and went to sleep. Yes, that is my day-to-day routine… aside from the library part. Calculus and Trigonometry were the only subjects so far that made me go there. That is how unconfident I am of my mathematical capabilities.

As I lay on my bed, I was awakened by a loud knock on the door. Not wanting to keep the person behind the door waiting, I quickly got out of bed and opened it, only to realize that no one was there. The hallway was surprisingly dark since my apartment-mates have always left the lights open.

“What in the world?” I muttered to myself, very slightly irritated.

I closed the door and was about to turn back to my bed when something suddenly grabbed my feet and dragged me out of the now open door. I noticed that a man was sitting on my bed, seemingly unaware of what was happening. His face was blurry but I could tell that he couldn’t see me.

“Please help me!” I called out to him.

The man suddenly looked around, almost as if he heard me. The one who grabbed my feet dragged me across the floor as I screamed. The man probably saw me since I saw him run out of the room and chase me, holding out his hand, and calling out to me. I got dragged into another room at the end of the hallway and the door closed on its own, locking the man out. I was thrown onto the wall and I felt pressure radiate from my back. From where I was, I could see the silhouette of the person who dragged me. It was a short person, just a little shorter than me.

The silhouette walked to me and I started hearing whispers. At first, there was only one; it was loud and sounded aggressive. One by one, more voices broke through, each one louder than the last. I looked up at the figure that was now standing only a foot away from me. It was looking down at me, and slowly, I saw a smile tug on its face. I wasn’t sure but I could almost see it smiling, finding entertainment in my auditory torture. I wailed and groaned in pain, cupping my ears in an attempt to block out the whispers but it didn’t work. I curled up on the floor, my hands still cupping my ears. Everything persisted for a few seconds; the whispers, the fear for the figure looming over me, and the crippling pain I felt from all of it.

I woke up gasping on my bed. Realizing it was already dark, I rushed to the light switch by the door. I felt watched, all of a sudden. Beads of sweat started going down the side of my face and I wiped them off with the back of my hand.

I sighed in relief. “It’s just a nightmare, Isabella,” I told myself, “It’s just a horrible nightmare.”