nine | are you human?
It was nine o'clock at night and the world outside her window was dark and silent. Eleanor sat at her desk with a music assignment in front of her, trying to direct her thoughts towards the task at hand but failing miserably in the process.
Her dorm room was small and only held the real necessities. There were two single beds pushed against opposite walls, a window, two desks with chairs, a small wardrobe and two bedside tables accustomed with a small lamp. Since the absence of her roommate, Eleanor had allowed miscellaneous items to be discarded onto the extra bed. Presently, however, a small black cat was curled up in the centre of the duvet, head tucked up to meet its paws as it lay sleeping on the bed.
Technically, pets weren't allowed in the school building. But the cat wasn't exactly Eleanor's, and it was smart enough to never be around upon the event of a room inspection. It had shown up the very night of her roommate's abrupt absence, climbing through the half-open window at around seven on a Sunday evening. And, from that night forwards, the cat had stationed itself on the bed the minute the sky had turned dark and disappeared by the time Eleanor had woken up. It had seemed a little odd at first, especially in a place that was known for having tight security. But, seeing as her room was on the first floor, she could see how it was reasonably easy for a cat to climb through the window...after somehow getting over the gate, of course. Eleanor had come to find her new roommate quite amicable and had named the cat Sarah after her mother.
Eleanor prided herself in being a good student. After all, being a scholar was what had provided her with a place at the academy in the first place. She worked hard, attempting to prove that she had as much right to be at the school as anyone else. That she was just as hardworking. That she had the same potential even though she wasn't of the same class as the others. It was hard work, particularly with the more difficult subjects such as art but she pushed through. She had to push through. Her father had sacrificed so much for her, even paying for her to board at the school so that she wouldn't have to travel miles to receive an education.
Eleanor had always dreamed of a career in music, as unlikely and as ridiculous as that dream was. She would sing in her room, using a hairbrush as a microphone and keeping all her song lyrics in a diary stuffed under her bed. It was the ultimate fantasy. Nothing more than that. And she had always daydreamed of the Royal Academy, envied the talented and successful students that came out as a result of the school. It has fascinated her, excited her, even. And, growing older, it had become a little more than a dream. An aspiration, no matter how far out of reach it was. She had scrolled through the school webpage for days on end, taking notes on all the courses she would take even though she knew she could never afford to go. But her dad wasn't stupid. And he was far too loving for his own good. So he had saved up over half of his paychecks to pay for her to go, settling her protests with the statement that he only wanted the best for his daughter. But even the scholarship wasn't enough to prevent the financial strain. She refused to consider how he was struggling back home. How she needed to be the best student she could possibly be so that she could come out of this with something to give back to her incredible father.
With this thought in mind, she turned back to the sheet of music, pen in hand as she began to compose a few notes. She never had been the best at writing music, and it had taken her a while to truly grasp the idea of notes. She had always been one to listen by ear and things such as sightreading had not been something that had come easily to her. But Nate had always been there, guiding her through and warding off any person who dared make fun of her seeming lack of ability. Which had seemed a little odd at first, particularly as he appeared to be on close terms with two of her worst tormentors.
Eleanor hadn't received any contact from the death caller since the night before. And it was odd, really, because she didn't exactly feel relieved. Or, at least, not as much as she should be. As ridiculous as it was, she had actually begun to enjoy their conversations. Perhaps it had been the fiery banter that resided between them, a sort of connection that left her both frustrated and smiling at the same time. Which was odd, because she had similar arguments with Liam on a daily basis and he hardly ever left her smiling. But it was something that she couldn't explain and something that she had no desire to look further into. It was utterly absurd that she should be entertained by conversations with a complete stranger, let alone one who predicted her death. Perhaps all the work was beginning to stress her out. Getting to her head. Perhaps she was going insane. But she couldn't shake the emotion that she harboured towards him, particularly the sick feeling in her stomach as she considered the sudden termination of their last conversation. She couldn't help it. She was worried about him. Worried about a stranger's welfare. He had signed off so abruptly, in such a panicked way that she couldn't help but worry for his safety. But why the hell did she care? She shouldn't care. She should just move on with her life. Forget about it. Put it behind her as some really, really weird prank. But it wasn't a prank. Was it? No. She was convinced that he was telling the truth. But, then again, why was she so convinced? She had no reason to be. No reason to trust him. Just some weird gut feeling that was telling her to put her faith in him. And her gut feeling wasn't exactly reliable, either. After all, it was the gut feeling that had constructed the whole mess with Brendan. She had trusted him. And look how well that turned out.
Sighing, she ran a hand through her long, dark hair. Eleanor was sitting in her pyjamas, really considering going to bed so that she wouldn't be bothered by all the perilous thoughts in her mind. But, deep down, she knew the absence of a task to do would only allow her head to run wild. She could already picture herself staring at the wall in desperation, willing for anything to make her fall asleep and make her stop thinking. To stop being so ridiculous and just let this whole thing go. It was ludicrous. Incredulous. Her thoughts had no merit to them. Was it the fact that she knew him? Was that why she felt a connection with the caller? Was that why she was so desperate to check up on him?
To check up on him.
Maybe her thoughts would be put to rest if she just made one...one little call. Just a quick one. A few words to assure herself that he was okay. Just to tie up the loose ends in her mind so that they would cease to tickle at her consciousness. Or was she just being incredibly dense? Was she now so deprived of friendly relationships that she felt desperate to latch on to any kind of companionship that was offered to her? But...surely it was only human, right? Her inbuilt sense of compassion to feel empathy for a fellow human being. Right? Right. Only natural. Mundane. Normal. The right thing to do. She should call him to question his welfare and then resolve to never come into contact with him ever again.
Taking a deep breath, she snatched up the phone and dialled the number before she could have a chance to think twice.
"Hello?"
"Eleanor?"
"Yeah...hi...I...um...I...uh...I...I wanted to see if you were okay."
"Me? Why? I wasn't the one running for my life down a dark, creepy alleyway in the middle of the night."
"I...you just...you sounded so scared when you hung up and I...I wanted to see if you were okay because...uh...you made sure I was okay last night so I...I'm just returning the favour, I guess."
There was a laugh from the other end of the line.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. I just saw someone I wasn't expecting to see. I'm touched that you care about me though."
"What? No! I don't care about you! I...I just...it would be wrong not to check up on you."
"Uh-huh."
"No! It would! I'm sure you would have done it too. It's only nice. I mean, you sounded really scared and if...if I hadn't called you back then who...who knows what could have happened? You could have been dead in a ditch."
"Well, I'm not dead in a ditch. Thanks for making sure that I'm still breathing though, it's much appreciated."
"You sure you're okay, though? I mean...you sounded really terrified."
"I told you, I just saw someone I wasn't expecting to see."
"And that terrified you?"
Eleanor heard a scoff from his end of the phone conversation.
"I wasn't terrified."
She leaned back in the chair, an unconscious smile pulling at her lips as she did so.
"Really now? Because you sounded really scared to me."
"Trust me, I've been much more afraid then when I was then."
"Really? When? Was there a spider in the shower?"
"I'm not scared of spiders."
"What are you afraid of then?"
"The people I love getting hurt. Nightmares."
"You get nightmares?"
"Sort of. They're not really nightmares?"
"How can a nightmare not be a nightmare?"
"They...you know how I said that I could see the future?"
"...yeah."
"Well...the visions I get, I usually get them through dreams."
"Are all your visions bad then?"
"...not all the time."
"Do you ever get any funny ones?"
Another laugh.
"Yeah, I've had some pretty weird ones."
"Like what?"
"Well...I think the weirdest one I had was sometime last year. I had this really odd one where I saw one of my mates screaming in the kitchen as he attempted to put out the bacon he had accidentally set on fire."
"It's possible to set bacon on fire?"
A chuckle.
"He is really, really bad at cooking."
She laughed. "Did you warn him then?"
"Nope. It was way more fun to watch it unfold with him completely none the wiser."
"Do you only ever get visions in dreams?"
"Most of the time. I guess that's because a person has less control over their mind when they're asleep. I do get them randomly sometimes though...like, during the day, a vision will just suddenly slam into my head."
"Does it...does it hurt?"
"Like hell. They always leave me with a massive headache afterwards."
"Can you...can you like...summon a vision?"
"What do you mean?"
"Like...can you just think of a person or an event and see what's going to happen?"
"If I really try, yeah. But I try not to do that."
"Why?"
"It's a law. It states that without permission from the local official, purposeful visions are forbidden. Which I guess makes sense. It invades someone's privacy to do that and provides an unfair advantage to us seers. Like...in a test, for example, I'm not allowed to stretch my visions to see what the answers are going to look like. Which sucks. But it's only fair."
"You have...laws?"
"Something like that."
"So you're not...you're not the only..."
"Seer?"
"Is that what you call someone who can see the future?"
"It's the informal term. And, no, I am most certainly not the only one."
"Are you...are you human?"
There was a big laugh at that one.
"Sort of. I'm human in pretty much every way apart from seeing the future and being a little bit stronger and faster than normal people. It's got something to do with blood. It's been passed down through my ancestors and down to me."
"So your abilities are genetically inherited?"
"Something along those lines."
"This is like some really weird fantasy novel. How did the first person get their abilities then?"
"There's a theory."
"So you don't actually know?"
"Not really."
"What's the theory then?"
"There are a few but...I think the most accepted one is that there is a higher being."
"Like God?"
"Sort of. The theory is that there a quite a few higher beings. A bit like Greek mythology. Most people think there are ones like Love, Death, Hatred and...Fate. If I can remember correctly, I think that most people think Fate came down and um...hooked up with a few humans and...well...the babies of those...intercourses were gifted with the sight of the future."
"Have you been reading Percy Jackson recently?"
He laughed again.
"Not particularly."
"Don't you think that sounds a bit far fetched?"
"Eleanor, you're talking to a guy who can quite literally see the future."
She smiled again, nodding her head to the side in agreement.
"Fair point."
"There are weirder theories, trust me."
"Like?"
"Some weird Egyptian dude drank from a special river."
"What do you think?"
"I don't know...I don't like to waste time thinking about it. I don't see the point, I mean, I'm here. I can see the future. No point wasting time thinking about how I became who I am."
"So...in theory...if your parents can see the future, you can too."
"Sort of. That's what usually happens. Although...the gift is usually only passed onto one person."
"What do you mean?"
"Like...siblings for example. Like...both my parents had the ability to see the future and, usually, only the firstborn child will get the gift, leaving the younger child to just be completely human. But things work weirdly sometimes...like me...me and my older brother. He was born first and didn't get the gift but I did."
"Oh...well...did your parents' mind that he couldn't see the future."
"Not at all. I think they were kind of relieved in a way, that he wouldn't have to go through the kind of pain knowing too much can have."
"Do you find it painful?"
"With some things."
"Like...like seeing me die?"
"...yeah. That was a tough one to see."
"I'm sorry."
"There's nothing to be sorry for."
"..."
"Does it scare you...that you're going to die?"
"I...I don't know. I...I mean...I...I haven't given it the time to sink in yet."
"That's smart."
"It is?"
"Yeah...that way you can just keep living your life without worrying all the time."
"I...I guess. I...I mean....we...we all die at some point, right?"
"Right. But you...you don't deserve to die so young, Eleanor."
"I think I'll be off to bed now."
"Goodnight, Eleanor."
"Night."
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