Lady Reiki/Interlude II

From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe

((Fiction, crazy grammar, blah blah blah - Please see the disclaimer for Interlude I. Feedback welcome in the discussion section.))

Part 1: Friday 12/13/02

Bam bam bam!

It was close behind her.

Bam bam bam!

The walls would not keep it out any longer. She began running. Escape. Get away. In the air behind her. The sharp prickles – the claws grazed her shoulders.

Tomorrow will be soon enough…

The familiar song. The gentle voice. Running to safety. Running from danger.

BAM BAM BAM!

Running…

BAM BAM BAM!

“Kina, you gonna go running today or not?”

She awoke with a start, the pounding of heart matching the pounding on her door.

“Kina, you’ve got five minutes before I come in and haul you out of there!”

“I’m up, ‘m up…”

A glance at the clock informed her that it was the ungodly hour of 6am. She groaned and made her daily gripe at the injustice of it all; as always, she got no reprieve from her energetic roommate. Kina flopped back in bed once the other girl seemed satisfied that Kina was indeed among the waking. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths as the nightmare faded from memory. She tried to hum a few notes of the melody from the dream, but that, too, had already left her. With a sigh, she gave up and staggered out of bed to face another morning.

Rita was already dressed and waiting for her in the commons area of the freshman dorm. Kina was pretty certain that it should be a crime to be as enthusiastic as her roomie was that early in the morning. Tall, lean, and muscular, Rita was the model of perfect health. Her curly red hair bounced as she hopped in place and her green eyes sparkled mischievously when she pointed to the semi-awake Kina and cried in mock horror “It lives!”

Kina grumbled back at her, but joined Rita in a series of stretches before they hit the pavement for their morning run. The routine had started soon after they had begun rooming together. The perky pre-med major - athlete extraordinaire in high school and on a track scholarship for the university - had been completely aghast by her quiet roommate’s constant fatigue and apparent poor health. Deciding that a regular regimen of exercise would be good for her, Rita had convinced the reluctant Kina to join her for a series of morning workouts. Kina was less then thrilled with the idea, but Rita was the type of person who could not be dissuaded from her objective once she had set her mind to it. In short order, she had a schedule where the two girls were jogging in the morning six days a week, and alternating between swimming and free-weights strength training in the evening. Saturdays were Kina’s only reprieve as Rita usually had track meets then.

A bit of a mist hung in the air as the early morning light filtered through the trees lining the sleepy row of dorm complexes. The overnight chill stung in Kina’s lungs as they began jogging, but the smell of the humid south wind promised of warmer temperatures in the hours to come; the unseasonably warm weather was not planning to let up any time soon. At least a few more days o' good weather, she decided. Traffic was non-existent on the U Town streets this early in the morning. This college town supposedly had a ‘real’ name at one time, but since everyone just used the nickname it ended up being adopted as the official name. The girls jogged in comfortable silence through the familiar streets and walkways both around and through the university. Though Kina constantly needed prodded and cajoled into following her self-appointed personal fitness instructor’s program, she had to admit that it seemed to be doing her some good. In truth, the whole atmosphere and lifestyle at the university had been a balm for her spirit; one that she had not even realized she needed.

Here at U Town, Kina could be just another college student in a sea of faces. As a student in the Undeclared program, Kina was free from the pressure of trying to distinguish herself to any particular professor, at least until the end of Sophomore year when she would have to choose a major. The diversity of the populace attending this large state university meant that her looks alone no longer distinguished her from the crowd. She still wore her tinted glasses – partly because the intensity of the blue in her eyes still invited comments from others, but mostly because they allowed her to place a barrier between herself and the world without seeming as though she was hiding. Kina found that by projecting a cheery and carefree nature she could get along with most everyone she met while preventing anyone from getting too close. People felt less compelled to pry if there did not seem to be anything juicy worth investigating. Her advisor was the only one who had some idea of Kina’s background, but since Kina had not caused any problems and was keeping her grades up, he assumed she was doing fine. In any case, he had a number of students who had come from cities affected by the invasion and was focused on working with them.

Kina also came to the realization that she no longer had to worry about winning approval from anyone. At the end of the day, the only person she had to worry about pleasing was herself. Her clothes, her behavior, her choices – they were all her own. And so, in this freeing environment, Kina began to allow herself to live in the moment, and even enjoy it.

Several blocks from the end of their jogging route, the girls slowed down to a quick walk, then a slow stroll so that they were cooled down by the time they reached the university’s freshmen dining hall. Kina and Rita finished the routine with a few stretches on the lawn outside the cafeteria, punctuating the stretch counts with shouted greetings to classmates who were just stumbling in for breakfast. There were not very many freshmen coming to breakfast today – winter break was kicking off and all campus dorms had to be emptied by 2:00pm today. Many students had finished classes, tests, and papers earlier in the week and were already home. Kina was just grateful that there was not a line for the coffee this morning. She added a bowl of fruit and a helping of something that looked like bacon (there is just something about cafeterias that brings the authenticity of any meat product into question), and joined Rita at a table with two other girls.

Mia and Tammy moved backpacks and trays to make room for Kina and Rita. Kina set her tray at the table, then headed back to the coffee dispenser to refill the cup she had drained as she had made her way from the cashier’s to the table. She could hear them laughing as usual at the morning ritual.

“You know, if they stop offering free refills on the coffee next semester, I’m totally sure it’s ‘cause of all the money they’re losing to Kina’s caffeine habit.”

“Wha? No more free coffee?!” Kina looked up from her drink in a panic as the other girls burst into laughter. Her brain replayed what Tammy had said and she turned to the blonde girl with a mock sigh.

“Jeez, ya tryin’ t’ give me heart failure here?”

“No worries,” Mia chipped in, “we’ll just have our doctor-in-training practice her reviving skills on you.”

Rita grinned at Mia as she joined in the teasing.

“I need a caffeine I.V., stat!”

Kina rolled her eyes, but grinned at the others and resumed working away at her breakfast. The conversation turned to other topics and Kina let it drift over her as she ate and considered the other girls sitting with her. They were a somewhat odd assortment – Tammy had once joked that they were one ethnic group short of being a crime fighting team on Saturday morning TV – but they suited Kina just fine.

Rita and Mia had been childhood friends; both were raised near U Town, though Rita’s family had moved about an hour away when she was in junior high. They had maintained their friendship, though, and were delighted to find they were attending the same college. Unlike her goal-oriented friend, Mia had no real plans and was currently in the Undeclared program at the university. Thus, Kina and the chic Italian beauty ended up sharing a majority of their classes. Mia lived close enough to the university that she could have just commuted, but she had wanted to get the full college experience, away from the over-protective eye of her father. As the only daughter, Mia was quite doted upon by her parents and five older brothers. Kina had met Mia’s family at Thanksgiving and could see where Mia was coming from. Her overall impression of them boiled down to three adjectives: boisterous, many, and enthusiastic. On the plus side, thanks to her dad’s desire to provide for his little girl, the girls had a free apartment waiting for them after they finished their required year in the freshman dorms. Mia’s dad was a businessman whose holdings included a number of off-campus apartments surrounding the university. This was huge relief for Kina, especially, who was already carrying some hefty loans just to pay for tuition. Her windfall of money had shrunk quicker than expected with tuition, dorm fees, and the unholy cost of books, plus the incidentals of pizza, late night cookie dough binges, and new clothes. Oh, and that car...

Mia’s roommate made up the fourth member of their quartet. Tammy could pass for the poster child of the classic California girl with her shoulder-length blonde hair and her eyes of a baby blue that was far less intense than Kina’s. Add in her choice of being a vegen and fondness for activities like yoga and pilates, and it was no surprise that people were constantly assuming she was a local. However, Tammy had been born and raised in Maryland. With the East Coast still in such disarray from the aftermath of the invasion, though, she had come to the less affected West Coast to pursue her business degree.

“… then, Kina?”

Tammy’s voice cut through Kina’s musings. With a start, Kina realized that conversation had reached a point that required her input.

“Er, sorry, didn’t catch that…”

“Good grief, there’s no way you can still be asleep after that much coffee! We’re gonna finish loading the stuff we’re having kept in storage for us, then we’re gonna bring the truck by to you guys’ dorm, probably about noonish. Think you’ll be ready by then?”

“Oh, yeah, no problem. I don’t have too much left t’ do, packin’wise. Ya need help movin’ anythin’ from yer rooms?”

“Nope. My dad and a couple of my bros are coming to move all the heavy stuff.”

“It’s good to be the princess, eh?”

The conversation finished amidst a flurry of teasing, and then the four girls split to finish the various preparations each needed to complete for the end of the semester. Kina and Rita took a more direct route back to their dorm. The streets were sleepy no more as all around the campus there was a sense of busy excitement. Cars, vans, and moving trucks jostled for position on narrow streets and the delightfully warm air filled with the chattering of both students and, in many cases, the family members that had come to pick them up.

Back at the dorm, Kina quickly stripped out of the clothes she had worn for the morning workout and tossed them into her laundry bag. She pulled on a pair of cut-offs and a faded red T-shirt that she had sat out the previous night then surveyed her room. Most everything she was taking with her had been packed the previous night and was sitting in a pile in the corner of her room. The dorm had come with the standard bed, floor lamp, desk, mini fridge, and dresser, so she had not needed to add much else to the little room. The flimsy bookcase, computer chair, beanbag chair, and floor fan would go into storage. Let’s see, all the books, DVDs, and most of these CDs (she pulled a few to play in the car), and that TV tray – shouldn’t need any of this over break. She pulled off the bedding and added that to her laundry bag then headed down to the Laundromat.

An hour later, she had packed away her bedding and over half her clothes into another a box and added it all to her ‘to stay’ pile. Her laundry bag was added to the ‘to take’ stack. Kina checked and double-checked all drawers, the closet, and under all the furniture to make sure she was not leaving anything behind. Her efforts were rewarded with a $1.35 in change and a stray headband. She pocketed the change and stowed the headband in the box of clothes she was storing then began moving the items she was taking to her car.

She had acquired the car shortly after she had begun her life at U Town. Although the campus and surrounding town provided most everything a student could want, Kina decided she needed the freedom to travel where and when she wanted. Her debt from tuition and the like severely limited her choices for what she could buy, but after several weeks of scouring the classifieds, she found a car she could afford. Granted, the ’97 Chevette was temperamental in damp weather and had some major rust spots on its tan exterior; however, she was able to buy it with the cash from her meager savings and she was now free to explore as she wished.

She let the other girls use it for quick trips to the grocery store or the mall and got an unexpected benefit, courtesy once again of Mia’s family. The youngest of her older brothers was a huge car nut and he hoped to open his own garage someday. A few not-so-subtle hints from Mia, who seemed to have the most trouble with the car’s finicky nature, and he was fixing the car for free as ‘practice’ for his future career. As a result, Kina ended up possessing what had to be the most over-powered Chevette in the country. Tammy joked that she would never get any speeding tickets because nobody would believe that her dinky Chevette could obtain such speeds. Kina did have to put her foot down when he wanted to add a speaker system that would have eliminated room for anything but the driver of the vehicle, although she was thrilled with the CD player he installed in place of the old tape deck.

And then there was the car’s, well, unique paint job that it had acquired. Several ambitious senior art students decided to turn the campus into a giant art project. Recruiting most of the art department, along with a number of other students, they set about transforming the university. The Campus Beautification by Art, as they dubbed their project, sought to “unify and beautify the campus by replacing eyesores with themes of beauty depicted in the university’s colors,” according to the student leading the project. They had created some pretty good murals on both the inside and outside of various campus buildings, all done in the school’s dark blue and gold. Benches, trash cans, dorm entrances – anything that was submitted by faculty or students as in need of beautification, they would paint with stars, flowers, geometric shapes, landscapes, and more. Some student had jokingly nominated Kina’s car as an eyesore, and the next thing she knew her car was covered in dark blue paint with golden butterflies sweeping across it. Several other vehicles suffered a similar fate in what the school paper reported as the Beauty Vandal Scandal before university officials stepped in and warned the art students that they were not to alter personal property or else the project would be shut down. One of the project leaders approached Kina with the offer to remove the paint, but after her initial shock she decided she rather liked it. In any case, she had to concede it was an improvement over how it had looked before and she could always find it in a parking lot with ease.

The Chevette was currently crammed full of everything that Kina had decided she might need over break. She planned on making use of the extensive state and national parks that dotted the California map for cheap lodging. Between her work-study job and her part-time hours at one of the convenience stores, Kina figured she had more then enough saved up for any non-emergency incidentals that would come up. She mentally reviewed her belongings, trying to determine if there was anything she had overlooked. A sampling of clothes, from swimwear to heavy sweats, along with socks, underwear, windbreakers, etc.; several pairs of shoes and sandals; a sleeping bag, a couple old blankets from the surplus store, a folding beach chair, and a one person pop-up tent; two canteens, a cast-iron skillet, bowl, and coffee pot; a stack of cereals, breakfast bars, and other non-perishables that could be consumed with no prep, coffee, and a case of bottled water; a couple of fire starter logs and a box of matches. A cooler sat on the floor of the front passenger seat – she would fill that with ice and maybe some hotdogs or something for her first night out, and replenish it as needed. Several pairs of her glasses, some reading material, a couple of road maps, a pillow, and her cell phone charger were sitting in the passenger seat – she tossed the CDs she had chosen on this stack, too.

A shout and a honk behind her announced the arrival of Mia and her family. With all the help, it did not take long for Rita’s and Kina’s belongings to get packed into the truck. Rita and Kina both made one last check through their rooms, then turned in their dorm keys to the RA before rejoining the others outside.

“Here. I know you’re pretty full, but you should have enough room for these.”

Rita held out a pair of 8 lb. dumbbells to Kina, who accepted them with a quizzical smile.

“I don’t want to have to start from scratch with you next semester. No lazing in bed all break, got it?”

Kina quirked a grin then snapped off a salute.

“Aye aye, Ma’am!”

“You better, or else I’ll get you up an hour earlier every day next semester.”

“Yeep! Tammy, Mia – either o’ ya wanna switch roommates next year?”

With this final bit of joking, the girls made their good-byes to each other, wishing each other the usual happy holidays, safe travel, and cracking the same old 'see you next year' lines that were being repeated around the campus. Kina watched as the other girls left. Rita went with Mia – she was staying with her friend a few days before taking the bus home. Tammy headed off to catch the shuttle bus to the airport, excited to be heading back home after so long. Kina stood by her car for a long moment until a muscle spasmed in protest to holding the weights for so long. Kina quickly set the weights down on the floor in the back of her car, then took a deep breath. She could swear that the scent of the ocean was in the air.

“Hmmm, th’ ocean, huh?”

Half an hour later, Kina’s cooler was packed, her gas tank filled, and the stereo was blasting. From above, it looked as though a small flight of golden butterflies were winging their way west.

Continued in Metamorphosis: Svadhisthana.