Exciting Opportunities

Another day done. Zero work, five hours spent in the library just to keep up appearances. He'd gone to lunch, only to find out Jess had already eaten and left in a hurry.

Tomorrow at least there were lectures, a seminar, something where work would actually get done.

Robbie slumped in his stiff chair, the only chair in the flat, and opened his laptop. First, he checked his emails like he always did. A voucher for 20% off takeaways, but only on a Thursday and before 5p.m. Brilliant.

A well-dressed lad, perhaps two years older than Robbie, was reaching out with an 'exciting opportunity'. This opportunity seemed exactly like every other one Robbie received. A recruitment company in London, freshly started, with a 'true meritocracy at the heart of the business.' They were like hyenas, these recruiters, surrounding students, waiting for them to graduate so they could pick them apart for scraps.

Nothing of interest. Nothing worth opening his emails for. If he didn't check them daily though, they'd pile up with so much shite Robbie would never be able to see anything decent lurking beneath.

He closed his emails, officially ending the productive hours of the day. Now to deal with the thought that had stayed at the back of his mind all day. Robbie found Mr. Wonder's page once more, clicking on a video at random.

Again, the video began with an open shot of the stage. Robbie jumped again as Mr. Wonder approached the camera rapidly, his steel toed shoes clacking against the laminated wooden floor.

"Well, well," Mr. Wonder said. His tone was lower, more serious. "Look who's come back."

Okay, that was strange. Not entirely inexplicable though. That was Mr. Wonder's style. Conversational, personal.

"Tell me," Mr. Wonder continued, making a sweeping gesture with his arms. "Is this what interests you?"

Robbie squinted at the stage, though he couldn't really see anything. The camera was unfocused.

"If not, would you tell me what does?"

Again, there was the awkward pause, the silent staring between Robbie and the man on his screen.

"Are you sure I can't interest you in anything?"

Fuck it, Robbie thought. What's the worst that could happen?

"Baking," Robbie muttered to himself. Despite their quietness, the word seemed to echo in the empty space of his flat.

Baking was his safe choice. It was the hobby he used for his CV or whenever he met new people. It wasn't nerdy like gaming, or generic like film. It sounded like he was actually interested in something that didn't just require sitting down and consuming, though that did often come after the act of baking.

Mr. Wonder's head cocked suddenly. It turned so far, so unnaturally it looked like it might snap off. A wide smile, like a Cheshire cat, formed on Mr. Wonder's face.

"How exciting," the magician giggled. "How good for you. What a start. Speaking of, let's get started, shall we?"

Robbie nodded. It was an unconscious, instinctive movement.

"Today," Mr. Wonder said, pulling out a tall stool from behind the stage's curtain. "I thought we could have a little discussion. I've some things I think I need to get off my chest." He tutted. "The world, the people in it, they've become artificial, don't you think? So many friends, so little truth from them."

Robbie couldn't recall what Mr. Wonder said after that. The video was twenty minutes long, but it felt like it had passed in seconds. As soon as it ended Robbie clicked on another, and another after that. Time evaporated as Mr. Wonder took every ounce of attention Robbie had. He didn't want to move, he couldn't. It was as if Robbie's body had disappeared, leaving only his eyes and ears to see and hear Mr. Wonder.

In his movements, his voice, Mr. Wonder was mesmerising. He was someone that had true charisma; that ability to walk into a room and draw all eyes on him. There was something strangely familiar about him, and yet something also entirely alien. Minutes passed as Robbie examined the man in his screen, barely hearing anything he said, or caring about what he did. The live audience laughed, cheered, even cried as the minutes passed into hours, and the hours became so many that the pale light of the sun pierced through Robbie's half-closed curtains.

Shit.

He checked the time. 7:48AM. No time for sleep, no time for much except to brush teeth, have something to eat and dash into Uni for his 9AM.

"Thank you so much for spending your time with me," Mr. Wonder said. Robbie had almost forgotten about him in his panic.

Robbie closed the browser tab. Had he really spent an entire night watching whatever crap this magician pulled out of his hat?

"I'll be here," Mr. Wonder said, just before his pale, smiling face was removed from Robbie's screen. "Whenever you want a little bit of anything, anytime."

Stale toast and toothpaste combined in Robbie's mouth in a horrible concoction. At first it seemed like a good idea to save time – eating breakfast while brushing his teeth – but it had soon proven to be one of the worst ideas of Robbie's life. He washed it all down with a gulp of orange juice, only adding to the disgusting cocktail.

Robbie ended up being early for his lecture, only by five minutes. He resented the fact that could have been five minutes in bed.

There were three other people waiting outside the lecture theatre. The fourth arrival was the one brave enough to see if the doors were open. They were.

This lad – in his baggy hoodie and shorts far too thin for winter – entered the empty lecture hall, a leader of a pilgrimage into the unknown. Robbie let the other three go first before he too found himself in the grand open hall. Like ants walking along a picnic blanket, the four students meandered their way through what was far too much space for them. Each found a seat, just far enough away from the others so that they would have no chance of anyone speaking to them. Robbie sat right up at the back, the only place he might be able to fall asleep unnoticed.

The rest slowly poured in over the remaining five minutes before the lecture began. No one sat next to Robbie. No one sat next to anyone, actually. 9AM was far too early for most to be awake, and too early for anyone to want conversation. The only person Robbie ever willingly sat near was Reuben. He never showed up to anything that didn't start past twelve though. Anything before that he just rewatched online.

A flash of orange entered the door. Robbie squinted as he saw the man enter. His heart thumped heavily. He hoped that he was hallucinating in his fatigue.

Robbie wasn't hallucinating, but his suspicion was proven false. Mr. Wonder did not enter Fernkirk University's lecture hall at 9AM on a Tuesday. Instead, Prof. Green had merely decided to wear an orange blazer today. While not as odd as a magician entering the hall, the orange jacket was an odd choice by all accounts. Robbie looked to see confused, judgemental faces all around him.

"Greetings, all," said Green. That was his classic hello. He was one of those men who once they reach middle-age decided to embrace a staggering amount of quirkiness. 'Greetings' instead of hello, orange blazers, no PowerPoints alongside his lectures. The last one was annoying; it meant you had to actually listen to the man rather than just copy what he'd written on a slide.

Robbie didn't listen today. He could barely keep his eyes focused on the projected random images Green needed to keep his audience engaged. After a few minutes, Robbie's eyes began to wander. To the ceiling; the lights bright and heavy against his sleep deprived eyes. To the students. His peers, colleagues, Robbie never knew what to call them. They certainly weren't his friends He wasn't even sure if his friends were his friends. No, with each of their backs facing Robbie, they were barely people. For all he knew, each person could have been replaced by a mannequin with a wig. Replaceable, anonymous, they looked like the audience of Wonder's shows.

Yes. Green as Wonder, his podium as the stage, the projector screen as the curtain. If only Green were half as charming, if only his audience were half as responsive. Robbie basked in the clinical lights of the lecture hall now, enjoying his fantasy of being at Mr. Wonder's show. If he closed his eyes for long enough, he could even hear the magician, revelling in the caramel smoothness of his voice.

Robbie survived the lecture, and the seminars that came after. He dodged all but the necessary questions by keeping his hood up and his head down. The occasional sniffle led to most believing he was sick, not merely tired of his own fault.

He'd never been someone to draw the eye. Small and skinny, it was easy for Robbie to dodge the eyes of those who weren't looking for him. He wasn't sure if most of the lecturers he had knew that he was on their course. When he went to visit Prof. Schlaghellen in her office, she'd searched thoroughly through her computer to ensure Robbie wasn't some impostor come to study Psychology without permission. He'd always thought that was stupid. If he wasn't who he said he was, but was still paying the university, who cared?

Robbie was about to head home, excited to catch up on sleep, and check for any new Mr. Wonder content, when something, or someone, tugged at his arm. It was a forceful thing, pinching on the skin of his elbow as much as the cloth of his hoodie.

He turned, immediately regretting the foulness of his face as he saw Jess' beaming grin. No matter the day, Robbie had never seen Jess without that smile.

"Alright mate," she said. "Looks like someone's shat in your cornflakes."

"I wouldn't know. I had toast."

"Funny," Jess said sarcastically. "What's up?"

"Just tired."

"Oh, so you're not coming now?"

"What's now?"

Robbie answered his own question before it had even finished escaping his mouth. Cakesoc. Shit, shit, shit. He'd entirely forgotten.

"I, uh…" Robbie stuttered.

"You forgot, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

Despite his pretending, baking wasn't exactly a passion of Robbie's. The cakes were nice enough, only not the ones he made. What he had really grown to enjoy about it was for two hours a week, he had time with Tara. Time without Reuben.

"Got your ingredients?" Jess asked.

"No," Robbie mewled. It was only one week, but still, with the Christmas break coming up, exams too, this could be his last chance for time with Tara.

"Alright," Jess sighed. "Do you still want to go?"

"Yeah."

"Well, you're lucky I'm the best person God put on this earth, because I always bring double. In case I want to make more of what we make at home, or in case of idiots like you forgetting something they have a week to prepare for."

"Thanks," Robbie said. "I'll owe you."

"Yeah you will, but we'll sort that out another time. For now, you can walk there with me, I hate the idea of being the first and only one showing up. Awkward, you know?"

Robbie nodded.

"Oh, I watched that fella. The weird one."

"Yeah?" Robbie itched his neck. "I don't really follow him too much. You know, a friend showed it to me."

"At first," Jess said, ignoring Robbie's protests. "He was a bit weird yeah, but you've got to sort of admire the man. It's like watching a car crash. You want to look away. But you can't."

Jess smiled, then got a distant look in her eye. She wouldn't look at Robbie, instead vacantly staring at the floor. She looked so distant, as if her soul had just stepped from her body.

She was like that for no more than a moment, just enough for Robbie to notice.

"Shall we get going?" Robbie asked.

"Yeah, sure" Jess said. She shook her head slightly, as if she had just woken up.