Alfia walked down the road towards her school, Ospierone University-the college that predominated a large portion of the city she lived in. The city had a mix of both old and new technology. In the underground, the trains were sleek, shiny, and fast. On the surface, old fashioned red trolleys roamed around, following the tracks and being hailed when someone scanned their IdentityChip. She had been many places in her relatively short life, but this city was by far her favorite place. Downtown was mostly reflective glass skyscrapers that could be seen miles away. Mostly it was for businesses and the homes of the people who worked for them, but there were grand entertainment halls that had been built hundreds of years ago. The only reason they hadn't been torn down was because there had been a law created that outlawed the tearing down of the treasured beauties that were the old buildings unless their structural integrity was compromised beyond repair. Midtown was a happy medium. A nice blend of old and new, allowing those who enjoyed the aesthetic of both timelines to be content with their dwelling. Uptown was almost entirely old fasioned. This area was by far the cheapest, but it wasn't poor. Most of the people in Uptown were artisans in some fashion or students at the university. Alfia lived in Midtown. She loved the mix of almost ancient and modern. It made everything almost seem like some strange fairy tale.
She walked along the path towards the building that her professor's lecture was in, ignoring the stares from the same people who would-for a reason she hadn’t worked out yet, though she guessed it was because of her hair- stare at her whenever she was in their line of sight. She was used to this. It happened every day. However, the frequency of the event didn’t make it any less nerve-racking. It was strange to have her classmates - and even her teachers - seemingly unable to keep their eyes off of her, even if it had been happening as long as she could remember. It made her uncomfortable. As though she were a cell in a petri dish that everyone wanted to get a close look at all at the same time. Of course, not everyone stared at her all the time, but that didn't stop the feeling that creeped up her spine when she felt like everyone in the room had their eyes on her.
Despite having a large, but small as far as the percentage of the university's student body went, group of people vying for her attention and trying to be her friend all the time, she didn’t have very many friends. In fact, she only had one. Another outcast. He was like her: orphaned when he was young and under the constant gaze of everyone he came across. They were both infused with the mechanical and biological wonder that was CyberTech, and even though they shared many similarities, they were almost polar opposites. While Alfia’s hair was an unnatural color, Ben’s was blacker than engine grease- a thing they both knew well. While Alfia’s eyes were the dark brown of tree bark, Ben’s were bluer than the winter sky when someone had let out a breath of hot air to watch it materialize before their eyes and disapear less than a second later. While Alfia was a little under the average height for someone her age, Ben was a little over. While Alfia was shy and reserved and stuttered when she got nervous or flustered, Ben was open and friendly and a smooth talker under pressure. While Alfia was cool and calculative, Ben was impulsive and short-tempered. While Alfia usually dressed on the nicer side, Ben was always casual, usually wearing a pair of joggers and a well-fitting shirt to match. While Alfia was a dancer for the school’s dance company and at a private studio, Ben played club basketball, somehow always finding ways to either talk his way out of the fees or make the coaches think he had already paid them. In short, they were almost complete opposites.
“Come on, Alfie,” Ben whined, “Let’s go. Just this once. We never go to these things.”
“No, Ben,” she answered firmly, “Please don’t ask me again.”
“Okay okay, but I’ll only stop asking if you agree to go with me.”
“Benny!” she snapped, “You know I don’t like to go to school stuff.”
He sighed in defeat, “Fine. But I won’t take you to go see the new movie you won’t shut up about,” he bribed.
She gasped, “Rangers in Disguise?”
“Yep. That’s the one.”
She huffed, “Fine, I’ll go to this stupid dance with you.”
“Good. Wear something pretty.” He kissed her temple and broke away from her to go to his first class, leaving her to meander her way to hers.
She didn’t like the fact that she had allowed herself to be goaded into this, but she saw how much he wanted to go to homecoming. “Wear something pretty,” she scoffed to herself. The dance wasn’t for a couple months anyways, and it wasn’t as if she was going to say yes to every boy in the school who asked her to go (which would be more than she cared to admit). But she also really wanted to see “Rangers in Disguise.” She had read all the books and had been dying to see the movie since it was announced that there would be one. She walked through the door that opened to her English class and went to the back left corner where she always sat in every class. If she sat in the back, no one would stare at her and she could actually focus on her work. She pulled out her notebook and pen and pulled the cap of the pen off with her teeth as her teacher got ready for that day’s lecture at the front of the room, wondering why Benny wanted to go to the stupid dance so much anyways. She had already asked him why he didn’t go with someone else, reminding him that there was literally a line of girls that would go with him, but he had laughed and asked why he would want to go with anyone who wasn’t her-his best friend. That had earned him a look that was often given in his direction that said “you’re -the -biggest -idiot -I’ve -ever -seen -in -my -life -and -if -you -don’t -shut -up -I’ll -kill -you”, but he only laughed again and resumed bugging her about going to homecoming.
She blew a strand of her hair off of her face in annoyance and looked around the room as students slowly walked in in two’s and three’s with the occasional group of four. Everyone at her school had friends in every one of their classes except for her. Everyone even made sure to sit at least one seat away from her so that they could concentrate on the lessons and not get distracted by her when they could control their weird attraction to her. Alfia didn’t understand what was so interesting about her, but she had given up trying to find out after several years of digging.
That was when something strange happened. A new student walked into the lecture hall. Not just any new student, but a boy. One that didn’t automatically stare at her like she was the holy grail as soon as she came into view. One that sat directly beside her and didn’t spare her a second glance. She stared practically bug-eyed at him as Professor Rogers started his lecture, not even acknowledging the newcomer. He was tall and blonde and dressed as though he were back from a vacation in hell- at least, in her opinion. Every article of clothing on his body was black except for the tank top he wore under his black jacket that had silver fastenings. He even wore black boots- Doc Martens.
“You’re staring,” the boy said three minutes into the lecture without even looking over at her.
Alfia snapped out of her daze and looked at the chalkboard where her teacher was talking about something that held no interest for her, but she took notes on anyways. “N-n-no I’m not.”
“But you were,” he stated, leaving no room for argument.
“So what if-f-f I was?” she whispered, trying to have it go unnoticed by their teacher.
The boy leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest and looking up at the front of the classroom as though they weren’t even having any sort of conversation, “I just figured you’d be used to being on the other side of a stare.”
She blinked and cut a glance at him, “What do you m-mean?”
“Well I just figured a girl pretty as you would be used to being looked at all the time, by both guys and girls.” He gave her an easy smile, looking at her sideways.
She turned her head away from him, feeling her cheeks heat warm up, “Why would you s-s-say that?”
His smile spread and he tapped the side of his nose conspiratorially, as though he knew something secret. Something he shouldn’t have known. She had a hunch as to what it was and she didn’t want to be right. Because if she knew about her, he knew about Benny. And she couldn’t let anything happen to him.
“Name’s Nathaniel, by the way,” he said offhandedly.
“A-al-” she was about to return the formality, but he interrupted.
“Alfia. I know.” he stretched his arms behind his head, making the grey shirt that he wore ride up his stomach enough to show off a bit off his midriff, confirming that he wasn’t in bad shape. Not that she cared. He brought his arms back down and laced his hands behind his head. “And your bestest friend in the whole wide world is Benjamin.”
She heard her blood rush in her ears and snapped to attention as Professor Rogers called her name, “Miss May, am I boring you?”
“No, sir,” she said quickly, “My apologies, I suppose I got a little distracted.”
“Let’s try to keep focus,” he nodded at her with a meaningful look and continued with his lecture.
She glanced over at Nathan, “Why didn’t he yell at you, too?”
Nathan smirked, “Because he can’t see me, sweetheart.”
She choked, “What?”
“You’ve got me all to your little self,” he said, grinning at her.
And she did. She didn’t like it, but the strange boy in dark clothes wouldn’t stop following her around. No one else seemed to be able to see him, either. He just stepped out of their way. He wouldn’t shut up either, constantly trying to get her to “play” with him and always trying to be the center of her attention. It didn’t help her focus in her classes at all and it made her anxiety go sky high. She hadn’t had an anxiety attack in a few months and she would have prefered it to stay that way, but Nathaniel’s presence- along with his knowledge of things he shouldn’t have known about- set her on edge and she felt pressured by him to do something. She didn’t know what, but at the time the only thing she was concerned with was getting out of her classroom and away from Nathaniel. Of course, when Alfia went to the bathroom and locked herself in the biggest stall, he followed her. She pushed her back against the cool tiled wall and slid down until she was sitting on the floor and put her head in her hands, gripping her hair in her fists and taking what she thought were deep breaths, trying to calm down.
“What’s wrong?” Nathaniel asked, hitched to the blue plastic wall opposite her.
“Just, shut up!” She yelled.
He raised an eyebrow at her in surprise, but didn’t say anything else.
A few minutes later, the door to the girl’s bathroom opened and Benny’s familiar voice echoed through the space, “Alfie?”
She didn’t answer. She was muttering to herself, trying to anchor herself to something to calm herself down. There were footsteps that approached the stall she was in and then a few knocks. She still didn’t move or do anything to indicate she was there at all. A head appeared under the door with familiar blue eyes and messy black hair. Still, Alfia did nothing. Benny laid himself out on the floor of the bathroom and slid himself under the door. She was aware of his actions, but didn’t react to them until he sat beside her and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her to his chest. She gripped the front of his shirt tightly in one hand and the back of it in the other and listened to his strong, steady, and familiar heartbeat as Benny took slow deep breaths and combed his fingers through her hair to get her to calm down, not saying anything, just letting her drink in his presence and the safety he knew she felt from him being there. Nathaniel had sat down on the tiled floor in front of Alfia soon after she had screamed at him. He remained there the whole time. Alfia felt Benny look up and sensed his confusion at the presence of another male in the bathroom stall his best friend was having a mental breakdown in. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t have the mental strength to care about his confusion over the strange blond-haired boy.
Alfia suddenly looked up in realization and asked in a shaky voice, “Can you see him?”
“Blondie?” he asked, “Yeah, of course I can. Why do you ask?” He looked down at the small girl in his arms in confusion.
“No one else has been able to,” she confided, “All day, I’ve been forced to listen to his incessant talking and unable to yell at him to leave me alone without looking insane. It just kept pushing my anxiety higher and higher, until I eventually just lost it.”
Benny glared at Nathaniel, who held up his hands defensively, “In my defense, I didn’t know she had anxiety.”
The glare didn’t go away, “But you were bothering her all day when you knew she didn’t want you around. I think that’s good enough reason to break a bone or two.”
Alfia protested, “Benny, you can’t resort to v-violence all the time!”
At the same time, Nathaniel chuckled, “Good luck with that.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Benny asked, almost in a growl.
“You can’t touch me. Not physically, anyway.”
Alfia frowned, “Why not?”
“I’m an A.I. That’s why the only people who can see me are you two.”
Benny growled, “Who sent you, then?”
“Myself.” Nathaniel got to his feet and leaned against the wall of the bathroom stall, crossing his arms across his chest and kicking a foot up against the wall he was leaning against and deciding that would be its momentary home, “I’m in a bit of a pickle with the CyberNet Support, so I started looking around for someone who might be able to help me out.”
“Good luck with that,” Benny scoffed, mimicking the newcomer in a mocking tone, screwing up his face in a ridiculous manner that made his friend fight a laugh.
Alfia scolded him and looked back to the A.I. who had been pestering her all day long, “What did you do?”
“I was a very bad boy,” Nathaniel grinned at her and winked a jade-green eye, making her blush and duck her head.
Benny rolled his eyes, and Alfia could tell he was holding back a groan and refraining from getting up and trying to throw a punch at him even though it would have no purpose or effect, except maybe a broken hand, “Could you be a little more specific?”
“To tell you the truth? I can’t. Not right now, at least. I have to know I can trust you before I can tell you,” Nathaniel told them, suddenly serious and with no joking to be seen anywhere in his face.
“That serious, huh? Well, sorry, buddy. We can’t help you. Buh-bye!” Benny got to his feet and helped Alfia to hers before grabbing her hand and leading her out of the bathroom, practically throwing the stall door off its hinges and almost kicking down the door that led from the bathroom to the outside world of the college campus’ pre-med hallway.
She let him drag her a ways before digging her heels in and making him stop, “Benny, you’re hurting me.”
That made him stop dead in his tracks. He turned to look at her, confused as to how, when he saw his white-knuckled grip on her arm. He immediately released it, “I’m sorry.”
She refrained from rubbing at it, instead tugging at the sleeve of her knitted white sweater, “It’s okay. We should probably get to class.”
He nodded numbly, but stopped her as she turned and walked away, “Hey, Alfie?”
She turned back to face him, “Yeah?”
“You don’t… like him--do you?” he asked awkwardly.
She shook her head a little, the parts of her soft mint hair that weren’t up in a small messy bun moving with her head as she did, “He hasn’t given me a reason to.”
Benny nodded, “Agreed… but you don’t think he’s... attractive?”
She gave a delicate shrug, “I wouldn’t know. I haven’t checked.”
Benny gave a single nod and turned to return to his class. Alfia did the same, tugging her sleeve up a little to inspect her wrist for bruising or any other damage. Benny had a strong grip that sometimes got away from him when he was upset.
Nathan continued to follow her around everywhere she went, but he didn’t torment her as much as before. She wasn’t about to complain about the sudden change, but she did wonder why. Why he had begun to follow her, why he had bugged her, and why he had stopped. After school got out, Benny walked Alfia to the trolley station that would take her practice. Nathan stayed within constant eyeshot of her, but Benny didn’t seem to notice the A.I. She was a little wary of him, but she didn’t worry too much about it. As long as he didn’t bother her anymore, she didn’t care.
“Meet up at our spot after you get out of practice?” Benny asked as Alfia stepped onto the trolley steps.
She looked back and nodded as the trolley started moving away, “Yeah. Have a cup of tea waiting for me?”
He smirked, “Do you even know me?”
She held her hand up, her thumb and forefinger not even a half-inch apart, “Maybe a little.”
She saw more than heard him chuckle, his chest moving up and down and his head dipping a little the way it always did when he was laughing at her, “Have fun, Alfie May.”
“Don’t do anything stupid without me, Benny Walker.”
“How can I? You’re takin’ all the stupid with you.”
She stuck her tongue out at him and climbed the rest of the way into the trolley as it picked up speed, taking her towards her practice. She looked out the window as Benny waved at her and smiled to herself. Benny was a good friend to have around.
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