Tuesday August 8th, 2056 - III

As the hours and episodes pass, Mei gradually leans in closer to Andrew, until she finally rests her head on his shoulder. Andrew moves himself to the side, and Mei quickly jumps back to her original position.

[I get the feeling she's trying something, even though we only just met.]

Andrew glances at Mei, and meets her eyes. She immediately evades them afterwards.

[She's been doing that for the past minutes… hours… what time is it?]

He checks his phone and looks at the time.

[Two p.m.? Have we seriously been sitting here for over four hours, watching this one series?]

"Don't you get bored from watching tv all day?" Andrew asks.

[Not entirely what I wanted to say, but it goes.]

"Nah, I'm used to it." Mei replies. "But, wanna do something else?

""Well, lunch would be nice." Andrew says, as he steps out of the bed. He heads to the kitchen and opens the refrigerator.

[Let's see, what does she have?]

It is filled with ready made salads and soda cans. He closes it and looks through the cabinets.

[All ready made stuff and cereals. Does she really have nothing else? There's a cabinet just for candy, chips and cookies too. She must snack a lot. Anyway…]

"You can have anything you want." Mei tells him. "As long as you buy it again, from your own money."

"Sure. Do you want anything?" Andrew responds. He opens the refrigerator again.

[Guess a salad will do for now, let's see… hey, a walnut salad. I had that the other day.]

"Uhm… a chicken sandwich will do, with a cola. Oh! And can you get the chocolate chips too?" Mei sums up. "Please?"

[Adding please won't make it sound any less rude, but I digress. Chicken sandwich… cola…]

After picking out all the supplies for Mei, he brings the to the bed. "Thanks!" Mei says cheerfully, while giving Andrew a pleased smile. Andrew fills a glass with water and returns to the bed, sitting down next to Mei again.

[Well, doing nothing for once isn't too bad either. Though, I shouldn't keep this up for long. There are still some things I must do after all.]

By the time the sun starts setting, Mei is laying on Andrew's shoulder again. The final episode of the series has just ended. Mei stretches her arms high into the sky, and steps out of bed. She takes the empty chocolate chip cookies wrapper and throws it in the bin.

"I'm hungry." Mei states. "What do I have… what do I have…" She checks the refrigerator and all the cabinets. "Nothing, so it seems." She turns around and faces Andrew.

[I don't remember there being nothing in that kitchen.]

"Hey, wanna head out for dinner?" Mei asks."Where?" Andrew replies."I don't know, McDonald's or Subway or something… I want McDonald's more, personally."

Andrew gets out of bed and walks towards the kitchen. He fills up another glass with water. "Sure." He replies.

"Yay!" Mei reacts in a burst of joy.

[You're the one who suggested it, why give that reaction?]

"I'll put on some clothes and then we can go right after." Mei says, as she walks to the closet. Andrew agrees without saying anything, and heads for the toilet in the bathroom. He locks the door behind him and sits down.

[Is this acceptable? Would May accept this? Do I accept this? Mei is so carefree, she probably doesn't even notice how weird she is. May, Mei… their names, the way I pronounce them myself, even in my thoughts, I can't separate the two by pronunciation… why did she have to be called Mei? Or May? I just can't… hear their names without feeling… agitated. Stressed.]

"Andrew are you done?" Mei says as she knocks on the door. "I gotta pee too before we go."

[Saying 'go' instead of 'pee' would sound a lot… well, I don't know.]

Andrew wipes and flushes the toilet. He washes his hands and exits the bathroom, where Mei is standing directly in front of him.

"Took you long enough. Coming through!" She says. Mei passes him, brushing almost fully against him because of the little space in the doorway. Andrew walks out after she passes and closes the door behind him. She doesn't lock it.

Andrew puts on his shoes and jacket, and heads out the dorm building, together with Mei.

[A few pieces of her personality come from Lin, the joyous and girlish ones. This is the first time I've seen someone as open as her, though.]

Mei is wearing denim shorts with a black pantyhose underneath. On her feet a pair of sneakers, and a white shirt mostly covering her chest and leaving her belly button out in the open. With a denim jacket on her shoulders and her brushed hair let loose, she walks besides Andrew, who is just wearing jeans, brown shoes and a jacket with a simple shirt underneath. He did brush his hair before leaving, to be a little more publicly appealing.

[Also, she's the shortest person of my age I've met, like, more than a heads-length shorter. Shorter than May too, I think. She isn't lacking in size anywhere else.]

"Hey, hey." Mei pulls on Andrew's jacket, and he meets her eyes. "What're you gonna get? I'm thinking of a large fries, a ten pack of nuggets, McFlurry and an ice cream afterwards, the caramel one. Or chocolate. I'll see when we get there. And you?"

Andrew takes a quick glance at her exposed belly.

[I guess that's how that came to be.]

"I'll probably take some fries and a drink. Sprite maybe." Andrew replies.

"Sprite? What's Sprite?" Mei asks in response.

"Oh, it's… something I have at home. I found it in multiple bars there too."

"Hmm, I see. I've never heard of it. But now that you've said that, I might take a cola too if I'm still thirsty. A McFlurry isn't really a drink."

"I'll take a cola too then."

[Some things come and go, in forty years. I haven't told her yet, but I don't think it matters that much. I'll tell her if it's ever necessary.]

In the busiest part of the city, they arrive at a gargantuan building. Within it reside multiple shops and restaurants, including McDonald's. Mei takes her order from the waitress, which now includes both a large cola and a mug of caramel ice cream. Andrew also takes his order consisting of a medium fries and a medium cola. They sit down next to each other on an empty clothed bench outside.

"You sure you don't want anything else?" Mei asks, right before stuffing fries in her mouth.

"I'm fine, I don't need more." Andrew replies, while gently putting three fries between his lips. The orange light of the setting sun shines upon them, tingling their faces.

"Why did you switch schools?" Mei asks, after a brief moment of silence.

"It's… hard to explain." Andrew replies.

"That's fine, I'm not that dumb." Andrew lets out a sigh, and Mei takes a bite off a chicken nugget.

"I actually went to Clifftell High before, when it was still named Clifftell College." Andrew starts. Mei lets out a confused noise.

"Wasn't that like, twenty years ago? What do you mean? Are you… like thirty years old?"

[Stop with the questions.]

"I'm seventeen. And, well… that's the thing."

[Do I really tell her, someone I've just met? There's no reason for her to know my past, my goals, and everything else. Do I make up a story? A 37 year long coma doesn't sound too realistic, but she might not even know what cryogenics is?]

"Oh! Wait…" Mei suddenly exclaims. "Are you one of those people that got frozen? I heard they're waking up more and more of them each year."

[She… actually knows about it.]

Andrew stuffs a few fries in his mouth, chews them and swallows them. "Well, yeah, I am."

[Why does it feel like I'm confessing something? It just, sounded that way, I guess.]

"Wait are you for real? That's awesome! So you're from the past, like, the far far past? What was it like? You gotta tell me your stories when we get back, 'cause I understand if you don't want to do that in public." Mei's eccentricity is overwhelming. She puts her hand firmly on Andrew's shoulder and leans in as she speaks.

"I… died, in 2019." Andrew starts. "I'll tell you in more detail later…"

[If I feel like it.]

"…but I'll give you a brief summary now. So, after that I woke up in Hulive, a rehab center for cryogenics patients. After only a month I was expelled, so I moved in with my sister, who is now in her fifties." Andrew explains. Mei's eyes are shining with intrigue. "Then, some… things happened between us, and she sent me to the dorms, where I met you. That's all that has happened so far." Andrew turns her head to Mei, and gets startled by her face, which is now less that a football's length away from his. Mei distances herself, but keeps staring at him.

"Wow… that's amazing. I never expected to meet someone who went through all that, not like this, at least. You gotta tell me more when we get… wait." Mei abruptly stops. "Wait I didn't think it through. No I'm sorry! I might've just brought up awful memories you have of that time. I didn't mean to…"

"Stop it." Andrew interrupts. "It's fine, no need to apologize."

Mei breaks a short silence by wrapping her arms around Andrew's waist and hugging him, firmly.

"I'm sorry…" She cries. Andrew doesn't give a response, and let's her hug him.

[I don't know why I told her all that. I hardly even know her. She shouldn't be involved in this.]

They arrive at their dorm room, at around nine.

"What time do you usually go to bed?" Andrew asks.

"Around two, sometimes three. I get up late, though, to make up for it." Mei replies. She heads to the closet and pulls out a pair of underwear and a t-shirt.

"I'm taking a shower, you can go after me if you want."

"Will do."

Mei heads into the bathroom and closes the door behind her. Andrew notices she doesn't lock it, again.

[Unusual for most people, but not for her I guess.]

He heads to the bed and lays down, looking at the ceiling.

[If I explain everything, would she care? If I'm being honest, she doesn't seem like she would. Her reaction back there was… off. It didn't feel real… more like, an act, to make me feel better. Though she might just have a hard time showing empathy, which is understandable looking at her personality. Ugh, I don't know… What would May think if she saw me like this, being this close with another girl? I remember her getting jealous whenever I talked with Sarah or Lin, but only in the first few months. Now that I think about it…I don't remember what expression she made, whenever she was jealous. Or sad. Or happy. But, finding and seeing her will revive those dormant memories. That's what should happen.]

Half an hour passes, and Andrew hears the shower being turned off.

[That took you long enough, I almost drifted away completely. A shower will be refreshing after the entirety of today.]

Andrew pulls out fresh underwear from his side of the closet, and Mei exits the bathroom right after.

"Do you mind if I sleep in just underwear?" Andrew asks. Mei looks at him, surprised, while adjusting the towel on her head, wrapped around her hair.

"Uh… I don't mind if you don't mind. I sleep in these clothes almost every night, unless they're being washed." She replies. Mei is wearing black underwear and a grey t-shirt. The grey is contrasted by a circular picture of a white unicorn with a magenta and pink horn, walking on a rainbow in a blue sky. Andrew nods and passes her, heading for the bathroom. He closes the door and locks it behind him.

Mere seconds after that, Mei knocks on the door.

"What is it?" Andrew replies.

"It might sound a bit strange, but… could you please not lock the door?" Mei asks.

[Not lock the door? The bathroom door?]

"Uhm… why?" Andrew and Mei are standing in front of each other, and, if the door were not in the way, they would have been making eye contact.

"I… well… something happened… some time ago…" Mei hesitantly explains. "Something happened… to a friend of mine while she was in the bathroom. I… wasn't able to help her in time. Yeah… that."

After a moment of contemplation, Andrew unlocks the door. He hears Mei letting out a sigh on the other side.

"Thank you. I'll be watching tv now." She says on a relieved tone. Andrew undresses and steps into the shower. He turns the shower handle to lukewarm, and steps under the gentle stream of water.

[Her friend might've fallen and hurt herself badly in the bathroom one time. What a stressful situation that would be, not being able to reach… someone who is still alive. Would… they have had the same thought about me? Could be, at least I would have that thought. Most of them gave up, Sarah being the sole exception who still wanted to meet me… I have to find her too, somehow, maybe the school has some leads. That might also be a way to find May. The only way. No one I've seen or spoken to knows her, except for Rajib, who I probably won't meet again anytime soon, and Melissa… who doesn't want to meet me.]

[I haven't read her letter yet. It could have some useful info as well.]

Andrew steps out of the shower and dries himself off. He thoroughly dries his hair, and puts on his underwear before turning off the lights and exiting the bathroom. In the kitchen he fills a glass with water, and places it on the bedside table before joining Mei under the covers. Mei sniffs up the air, and gradually moves her face and nose to Andrew's hair.

"You're hair smells nice, what shampoo did you use?" She asks.

"One my sister put in one of…" Andrew pauses for a moment. "Those boxes."

"Boxes? Oh! Those boxes!" Mei realises, before pointing next to the closet.

"Yeah… those boxes."

[I don't remember getting the shampoo out, the bottle was already in the bathroom.]

"They arrived yesterday, with a letter telling me they were from my roommate who would come the next day." Mei explains. "There was a lot of random stuff inside, so I didn't want to spend my time searching them. It also would have been rude if I did, rummaging through other people's stuff."

"So, how did my shampoo end up in the bathroom?" Andrew replies. Mei jolts and makes a squeaky noise within her throat.

"I… uh… thought it would be nice if I put it in the bathroom before you came! So you wouldn't have to get it out yourself." Mei says with a smile.

[She used it. And, it wouldn't have been any effort to get it out myself.]

"Well, I don't really care if you used it." Andrew says. Mei nods with shame and lays back on her pillow, while keeping her eyes on the television. Andrew feels his eyelids coming together from exhaustion. His arms feel heavy and his face is tingling.

[Going to sleep… might be a good idea.]

"If you want to sleep, just tell me. I'll turn off the tv and close my own eyes as well." Mei tells Andrew.

"That's just what I wanted…" Andrew yawns. "… to ask." Mei giggles quietly at his reaction, and turns off the television. Andrew lays on his side, facing away from her.

"That's okay. Goodnight." Mei whispers. She wraps her arms around his waist.

[Her boobs are pressing against my back. They're… calming. And, soft... But how calming it may be…]

Andrew closes his eyes, and quickly falls asleep.

[It doesn't interest me anymore.]