The Next Leviathan

"Oh..."I immediately sit up and stare at my alarm clock.In bright green, my alarm clock gleams in the darkness of my room: 8:30 AM."OH!" I jump out of bed and toss aside my blanket.I grab the black jeans I hung on the office chair in my room last night. From what I see, the jeans still look presentable for a pair that I've only worn once this week."Okay... Okay...." I mumble to myself as I put on the pair of pants.My mind erratically thinks about how I put myself in this situation again as I put on a new red long sleeve shirt from my bedroom drawer.If walking to class takes up to 15 minutes and getting ready takes like 20 minutes, that's like 35 minutes. 8:30 + 35 minutes... 9:05...I'm gonna be late!But how did this happen? I only hit the snooze button, one extra time...Right... I forgot I have a tendency of hitting the snooze button.I think I hit it like 5 times...I leave my room, bag in hand. I close the door behind me and see that my floormate's door ahead is also closed.From below I hear the front door close with a firm slam.They left without me...I descend the stairs of the apartment by twos and make it to the second floor.The first door I walk past is open."Morning Rider!" I say, recognizing the resident of that room as I pass it."Heya!" Rider's respond from the floor below me.I swing around the railings and begin to descend the last flight of stairs.Rider comes into view.His dark brown hair, parted and reaching just up to his eyes, turns almost blond in the faint morning light. The empty white kitchen table that he sits at acts as a backdrop that contours his modest build and complements his pale ivory complexion.Rider corrects his posture. "They left already." Rider adjusts his black frames and lowers his phone. His bright green eyes meet mine. He curiously waits to see my response.I land on the ground floor and hoist my bag onto the kitchen table. "Oh yeah..." I glance at the wall-mounted coat rack.The usual bright red coat is missing.The coat with the black fur trim is absent too. I pivot to find the room belonging to that jacket's owner securely shut."Looks like it..." I lift my baggy black jacket off the coat rack and slide my arms in with one fluid motion. I drop down and slide my feet into my red and white sneakers. "Later!" I open the front door and proceed to leave.Am I forgetting something?My bag! The answer appears in my mind.Before I close the door behind me, I swing it wide open again. I quickly make my way over to the kitchen table and slide my bag off the surface. As the bag falls, I use the momentum to sling my bag around myself and place my arms behind the straps.Rider smirks gingerly. "I was gonna say..."I chuckle in response and meet his gaze, "Whoops!" I close the door behind me.I pull the door handle up to find some resistance. "Check..." I pull the handle down and it resists again. "Check!" Letting go of the door handle, I head towards Simcoe Street.Walking up to the sidewalk, I find the morning traffic populating Simcoe Street. Numerous cars and commercial trucks quickly travel up and down the road. In the intersection ahead of me, I see various vehicles turn into the university campus positioned ahead of me.I focus my attention towards the RISC building to my right; the tall, dark grey building in the distance on the outskirts of campus.On the lone path to the building, I can make out two people walking alongside each other.The one with the familiar red coat hunches over, as if bracing against the cold. The one in the black coat steps with long, swift strides.That's them, I note to myself. If I jog, I'll probably reach them before the next intersection...The walk signal in the intersection in front of me changes. Many students begin to cross the street and a few cars now wait in anticipation. With a hop in my step, I quickly approach the crosswalk. I weave in and out of the pedestrians without much effort.I glance ahead to see where my roommates are.Their silhouettes are distinctively positioned in front of me under the grey overcast sky. Normally, I wouldn't be running around campus, but seeing how it's just the three of us, why not?My bag bounces on and off my back.I can definitely run—fast even. However, long distances are a different story. Already, my jeans are burning my thighs as they rub against my leg. I breathe the cold air in through my nose and out through my mouth, even as my throat starts to feel coarse.Cardio... Yeah, this will be my cardio for today! That's what I'ma tell Brydan and Kevin when I catch up to them.Kevin's voice slowly becomes audible as I approach my roommates from behind. "Maybe next time I'll play Beepo when I..." Kevin stops and turns around to greet me.Brydan stops and follows Kevin's gaze to me."Hello there..." I double over, planting my hands on my knees and trying to catch my breath. "Sup?" I push off my knees to stand upright."Nothin much," Kevin says with a subtle smile and pursed lips, contrasting with his sharp heterochromatic eyes: his right eye is bold blue, while his left is a soft green. "Just talkin' about DTA." He nods, clearly pleased with himself and his tan tone flushes at his cheeks. Kevin places his hands in the pockets of his black jacket. His dark curly hair and the light fur lining of his hood flutters in the wind. I turn to Brydan who furrows his brows at Kevin.Brydan's bright, expectant teal eyes meet mine. "You ready for the presentation?" His usual rosy complexion has reddened from the wind.I lower my voice. "Oh yeahhh!""Yeah?" Brydan raises his eyebrows. He turns around and begins to walk.Kevin turns and begins to walk beside Brydan.I start to walk behind them.Brydan ambles forward, the red hood of his jacket obscuring parts of his face, yet allowing glimpses of his short, brown hair styled upwards at the front. As he moves, his head swivels slightly to the right, "Kevin and I added some stuff to our game last night and we're going to use my laptop to present.""Okie dokie!" I readjust my backpack so it sits over my shoulders. "I practiced the presentation last night. So, if you or Kevin want to show more, go for it."Kevin nods again with approval....I sit down with a thud in my seat.Brydan sits down to my left and places his laptop on the table in front of him. "Good stuff Max!" He holds out a fist.I fist bump. "Yeeeeeee!""Gym today?" Brydan slumps back in his seat, his eyes following the next set of students approaching the front of the class for their presentation.I open my own laptop. "Yup! Well..."Brydan opens a window on his laptop, waiting for a positive reply."I gotta head back home to eat something before the gym.""The apartment?"I nod, "Oh yeah."Brydan shrugs. "You're wasting a lot of time in the day, man..."I point at him. "But if I go later, I'll see that girl in the gym."Brydan's eyes narrow slightly at me and he freezes in place. "Bro...""Hey guys!" a student greets the class, indicating that the next presentation is starting.Everyone settles down and the presentation begins.Brydan hunches forward and begins to type on his laptop keyboard.I look at my laptop screen.+++++Have you even talked to her yet?? Brydan texts.---Hahaahahaha I reply.No...---WaitWut about the other one?Ur elective?---I don't think soShe doesn't seem to be interested---Have you asked her out at least?---Who do u think ur talkin to?---???---Nah i didn'tI let you down---Still?+++++Brydan shakes his head in disbelief.The presentation in the background continues. "...so basically, we are at a point where like..."+++++You gotta bring it up man. Brydan insists.---Ikik im trying I defend.Just wanna ease into it you know?---You should watch that guy I talked about---The one with dating advice?---YeahHe has some good stuffTrust---Hby?Do you have a gf yet?---No---Hmmmmmmmmmm+++++"and like, we really wanted to implement..."+++++Semester is almost over dood Brydan warns.You may not get another chance to askEither of them*You miss 100% of the shots you don't take---OKOK i got it I say.You keep saying that saying+++++"So basically, it's a rogue-like..." the presenter continues in the background of our conversations.Kevin in the seat to my right, leans over to look at my screen. He turns his head to look at me, then looks over at Brydan. Kevin shakes his head as if in disappointment before he turns his attention back to his own laptop.Looks like Kevin is scrolling through some patch notes for DTA again.I look back at my messages with Brydan.+++++Idiom Brydan states.It's called an idiom---U only know that cause Jared said that I note.---Semester's almost doneAt lest ask one of them today---Least*+++++Brydan pulls his attention away from his computer and looks at me. He shakes his head and points at me."So like, yeah! That's basically our updates for the game!" the presenter at the front of the class announces.The class starts to clap.I start to clap.Brydan claps without breaking eye contact with me.The class clapping settles down.I stop.Brydan stops.I quickly clap with little to no sound.Brydan also claps too.I clap again....The spot next to Diana is open!"Sorry..." I shuffle behind some students in the lecture hall and continue to walk to my seat. "Excuse me."While I lift my gym bag above the students to my right, I try to keep myself as straight as possible. In the dimly lit lecture hall, I keep in mind the students sitting on elevated seats to my left.Carefully, I place my school and gym bag on the ground behind a chair. I pull out both my laptop and laptop charger from my school bag and set up for the lecture. I carefully sit down on the chair and take off my jacket. I place my jacket behind myself with the inside of the jacket towards my back."Hey, hey! How's it goin'?" I look over to my left, meeting the curious gaze of Diana."I'm doing well," Diana says in monotone. "How are you today?"Illuminated by the projector screen, Diana's scarlet-red hair shimmers in an ambient glow. Sitting upright with her hands on her lap, her hair cascades to her hips resting beautifully on her light lavender cardigan layered over her white shirt. Her fingers hold a notebook with a pen tucked in the spiral binding. "It's going well so far, thanks!" I lean back in my chair. "Just had a presentation and I think it went well.""You have presentations in your program?" Diana's expression doesn't change, but the way her blue eyes gleam and her porcelain skin catches the light conveys a sense of curiosity. "I thought you mentioned your program revolves around creating games?""We do make games, but we also have to present our development process for the workshop," I open my laptop.The first screen that pops up is the last conversation I had with Brydan.Oops..."Here's the slides we used..." I quickly use a key bind to swap to my presentation slides.Diana leans forward."Basic introductions..." I begin to go through the slideshow. "Before and afters; progress for our professor to look over...""Hey Diana!" a familiar voice calls in the distance.Diana and I look over to our left and see Violet approaching Diana.As Violet gracefully strides towards Diana, Violet's long raven-dark hair; pulled into a loosely tied back high ponytail, bounces from side to side. Her fair complexion is framed by the locks that hang at the front of her face and is further accentuated by her black winter dress coat that elegantly sweeps below her."Good afternoon Violet," Diana greets and then turns her attention back to my laptop.I wave at Violet for a brief moment.Or was it too long? Maybe I should've just given her a head nod.I open my mouth, only to smoothly turn my attention back to my laptop. I don't recall what reaction I garnered from Violet."That's a lot of updates you listed here..." Diana's eyes scan my screen. "Why is there such a huge emphasis in the presentation?"I look at Diana.Diana's deep blue eyes meet mine.She looks interested... I note to myself: it's hard to tell with Diana's minute expressions."Well, uh..." I reflexively look at the bridge of her nose, I find myself struggling to retain my articulation skills. "It's 'cause the game we are making for the semester is worth a lot of marks for all of our classes."Diana turns back to my screen.In the corner of my eye, I can see Violet peering over at us.Violet's dark eyes meet mine.I nod this time.She raises her chin and smiles with pursed lips."For example, our programming class has certain requirements," I quickly look back at my laptop, my face feels hotter. "All of those requirements are worth like forty percent of our grade.""And if you don't complete them..." Diana leans back in her chair, "then you can potentially lose up to forty percent for that class..."I place my elbow beside my laptop and lean on it. "You got it!"Diana flicks the pen with her slender fingers from side to side, "And this is the same for your other classes?""Basically!" I nod my head to prevent myself from over explaining."Look!" Violet swings her phone in front of Diana.Diana's eyes lower to look at the screen. "Isn't that...?"I slowly turn my attention back to my laptop."I had to try on the coat!" Violet's pitch goes higher. "It looks so funny!"Welp. Looks like she's in a different conversation now.I lean harder into my arm as I fixate my gaze onto my screen. A very slow, heavy and quiet exhale leaves my lips.Maybe I talked about myself too much? I didn't get a chance to ask about her day..."Good morning!" a voice greets the room over the lecture hall microphone.I turn to see my professor with both hands grasping the sides of the podium at the front of the hall and the microphone is pressed onto my professor's lips."Continuing off from last week..." the projector that hangs at the front of the lecture hall flickers to a title slide of a slideshow that states both week of the semester and the week's topic.The excitement from my conversation settles down. A wave of lethargy washes over me.Is it from the large brunch I made for myself before this class? Is it because I'm frustrated that I can't socialize properly? Or am I easily demoralized because I get jealous easily?Probably all three.The lights of the lecture slowly dim until the projector is the only source of light in the room.The professor starts to read through her slides on moon phases.For a class related to introductory astronomy in university, the pace of this class is surprisingly slow. Compared to other classes my friends have taken and the ones I've taken, the course content delivery feels reluctant to expand beyond the basics.To be fair, it was my idea to take an elective that is not related to my program. It's also 'introductory' as well.I got to download and open the lecture slides for this week's class.Whenever the professor says something interesting or potentially testable, I write notes on the slide my professor is currently on.If the professor goes off on a tangent unrelated to the slides or class, I try to keep myself occupied by flying through miscellaneous tabs and windows.Is there anything due for another class? Maybe I should work on something for my other classes? What am I working out today? What am I eating tonight? Thoughts like these help keep my mind occupied.Violet continues to share what's on her phone screen with Diana throughout the lecture at a reasonable volume.Little by little, my consciousness starts to slip from me.I try to play some small games in class to keep my mind alert; online competitive Tetris? Practice my typing skills with an online browser typing program?The rush I got from the games to starve off drowsiness eventually begins to lose its initial charm. My head starts to feel heavy, and my eyes feel sticky. I struggle to keep my head upright.The table I'm leaning on feels attractive to sleep on.A gentle clang of something metallic registers in my ears to my left.I rotate my head off my arm and peer towards the sound.Diana lets go of a canned energy drink she places beside me."Heh..." A sudden smile stretches across my face.Long story short, Diana and I first became acquainted because of an energy drink."Thanks!" my voice cracks. I pause.In the dark, I think I see a small, yet subtle smile dawn on Diana's face.I pop open the can and begin to the contents with fervor, relishing every gulp as if it were the most refreshing drink on earth. I look back at Diana and give her a wholehearted thumbs up.Diana tilts her head. She responds with a calm thumbs up of her own.I place the can down gently back on the table and look back at my screen. My ears start to warm up. My index fingers scratch at my thumbs.This is a good time as any, right?I lean a little to my left.I hope this is an appropriate amount..."Hey, Diana..." I whisper with a little shakiness.She leans towards me."How was your da–" I pause myself for a moment. "By any chance, are you planning to do anything later?""Later? Like after class or this week?"I need to be more specific!"Oh, I mean this week. Are you, perhaps, busy this week?"Diana softly shakes her head. "Just classes and helping out my father with his research.""Oh right, your dad is a professor here at the university..."Diana continues to look at me, waiting for my response. Her deep eyes that usually pull me in, now feel sharp as a knife."Oh right, oh right! His research must be fascinating..." I mutter a little too quickly. "That's pretty cool! Almost like a movie plot..."Diana nods in acknowledgement.I find myself lost for words. I don't know how to continue the conversation.A certain softness returns to Diana's eyes. "It's certainly intricate. He's quite passionate about his profession.""Aside from research, I've heard some professors have to lecture too. He lectures, right?""My father teaches physics."Memories of my time in high school flash through my mind when I took physics. Then I recall my close relations with my professors and my TAs in my program."Does he often have students assisting him with his work? Like, has he ever hired students for jobs or contracts?"Diana nods. "Once in a while. Sometimes I assist."Oh, she helps out her dad..."Why?" she follows up.An opportunity?"Well..." My heart starts to pound against my chest.Now or never!"I was wondering... Um, if you're not busy that is... M-maybe we could hang out sometime?"Diana doesn't respond."Like, maybe for a study session or something this week?" I force the words out."Sorry," Diana's expression surprisingly softens. "I have a lot of things scheduled this week. Additionally, I am also helping my father with his research study."Oh." My body freezes, but I can feel my heart sinking. "No problem, no problem. I-it's alright," I smile trying to hide my disappointment. "What kind of study is it?""It's some sort of collaboration between the psychology department and himself. I believe it has something to do with photons and memories; how the two are former can affect the later."I sit up in my seat. "That's actually really cool," I say, genuinely intrigued. "Like I said before, it sounds like a perfect movie plot. Perhaps a video game idea in the making."A certain game that deals with assassins comes to mind.The plot deals with memories, but does it involve light as well?Diana shifts in her chair. "While I am going to be busy this upcoming week, maybe we can meet during my father's research study for a study session, uh tonight?"My head cocks a bit to the side. An opportunity?"How so?" I play coy.Diana fidgets with the spine of her notebook. "My task doesn't actually require me to have me in the room with the other student attendees.""Huh..." I lead on."W-we can meet and have a study session there?"HUH? Did her voice just waver?"Yeah, I'm down," I hold back a creeping smile."I'll be at the UP building at eight tonight.""The Onion?" my head tilts. "The large tent thing by the gym?"Diana smiles.My body takes a literal screenshot.I have never seen her smile before. I will ingrain this into memory!"Yeah," Diana regains her poker face, "the Onion.""Um... Uh..." I find myself tongue tied. "Could I perhaps get..."Get what?! Am I asking for her number? If I am, STOP HESITATING!Diana turns a page in her notebook and starts to scribble something at the bottom of the page. She then neatly tears a piece off and hands it to me.Study session in 1502 "The Onion" @ 8pm, the note read.Below the appointment details, a ten-digit number is written below.I stare at the page, unsure how to respond. 

1. Visual cue that a text message is being sent.
2. Indicator that the author of the following texts is switching to a different author.