Chapter Text
The state of the mind depends on the feelings of the user, neurons working overtime, sending the fastest of electrical currents to the patient all for a simple thought. Pathways and messages so quick the patient can't feel it. Can't feel it at all. Just a thought.
But those patients are plain idiots.
The smarter you are, the more you feel it. The energy, the electrical current running straight through your body like adrenaline. An intellect is in control of their feelings, their state of mind, their thoughts, the electrical current.
My electrical current reached all the way through me to glory.
"Thomas? THOMAS! You're going to be late for Modern Physics for goodness sake!"
As I sat there smug in my silk, satin sheets a rock hard pillow crashed down on my face, wiping off my smile and peeling my eyes open. I launched straight up on my mattress and I could still feel the weight of my eyebags after pulling two all-nighters 3 days ago. In front of me was my one roommate who knew how to immediately absorb all the light and energy out of me like an insulator; Henry Ford.
Henry Ford was a curly blonde, with sharp facial features and charming, yet cunning grey eyes. When I first met him, my first impression was that he was going to be another pathetic, worthless dumb blonde like all the others I've met in my life. I mean, no other person I've had ever met was smart enough to match my level of raw IQ anyhow, but I was quite impressed with Henry.
He wasn't into electrical energy like I was, no, he liked general mechanical engineering. Machinery. In the beginning, his works were hopeless, his first inventions looked like a metal tissue box with a random scramble of wires around it. But the man sure is ambitious. Eventually he made his first engine, powerful enough to make a wheel spin at crazy kilometers an hour.
Great, before it spun off it's hook and raced straight for our professor.
He's stubborn in his work, however I couldn't fault him for it because us high-end, American, inventor folk are always stubborn and pride in our work. It's our motto what can I say?
Maybe one day he'll think of something great. Like one of those car things he talked about.
"Henry, my gentlemen, you don't need to be throwing pillows at me. We aren't toddlers," I groaned once I flung the pillow off my face.
"A grown man would know when to set an alarm on time and also wake up once said alarm rings," Henry snapped back, "I waited long enough. Now get dressed into your damn clothes and pull yourself together."
Henry left my room with an outrageous shut of the door, and I was left to my messy, scattered floor and crinkled pillow fallen. This part needs no explanation. I pushed myself off my bed, pulled my shirt off, and began to get into my garments. Most normal attendees wear casual clothes, "freedom of expression," they say while wearing the blandest polo top and loafers.
Unlike them, I'm not "normal"
I put on a white button-up top, a fruit embroidered blue vest, and nice beige trousers. I pin the back of the vest to tighten it up more, it's a more homey feeling. Ever since he tried on his older sister's (Harriet's) corset when he was around 13 he liked the tight feeling, made him a better competitor. Made him more on edge and quick. And as much as he'd like to buy at least one corset for himself the last time he tried even browsing through corsets the store clerk gave him the strangest narrow-eyed look.
So the pins have to do.
After I was well-dressed, Henry pulled me through our dorm's front door before I could even eat breakfast. He stated I wasn't fast enough waking up that morning so I didn't earn the time to eat breakfast, even get a tea. Fine.
It took us exactly 12 minutes and 47 seconds to get from our dormitory to the Physics building across campus, and thankfully the lesson we interrupted wasn't one I cared much for anyhow. Henry went to go sit with his other 3rd-year friends and I went to go sit at the front of the room to take my highly planned, efficient, organized notes at the front of the class. Someone was snoring at precisely the 4th seat in the 5th row and it somewhat bothered me that day but I still managed to push through and pay my electrical mind to the class.
We were eventually given time to dig at our assigned work from the day before, with different equations and scenarios based off our current lesson.
Current.
Once again, I thought of the mind. But not the mind. The workings of the mind. The electrical energy, passion of the mind. It's how I worked. Electricity was all around us, but it surrounded me. Electrical energy is what the mind runs off of, signals. And those very signals keep our minds, buildings working. It gets inventions working!
I had those intellectual, electrical currents. A few equations would be fine. Easy even.
And yet they weren't.
The current was off. It wasn't direct enough, the equations didn't make sense. I hesitated. I tried to make sense of it, but my brain was off track, nothing was fitting right. I couldn't think.
I didn't know what was wrong with me.
I knew I was wasting time, but I found myself only looking around. Something was wrong, something was out of place. Then it came to me. Yes, yes, that's right there were just two days that I hadn't slept at all that week that was why. My brain was just a little fuzzy was all.
I could barely keep my eyes open, and it was only my first course and I had so much to do that day. I settled in my seat, but still needed a break from the demanding sheet of equations. I decided to glance around just a bit more. When doing so, I finally noticed something new. Stand-out yet discreet kind of new. Not predicted new.
John always sat 8th seat 4th row. Marie 1st seat 5th row. Empty chairs filled half of 7th row in a somewhat checkerboard pattern. But the corner seat of the 3rd row, the one that would always lay empty because of the raw darkness that filled that corner, yet it wasn't empty anymore.
There was a man there, young-looking. He was short, with black hair that curled in the front, a soft growing mustache, a long nose and kind blue eyes. I couldn't tell what he was, Turkish maybe, but a part of the program for a while? Certainly not. He was new. And I didn't like new.
As I watched him from my seat in the front row something within me sparked, I had to hold back a choke from me as even looking at the strange new student got my head all messed up. What was that? He hadn't even looked at me. I brushed one of my hands through my hair, startled that a man so basic and yet intriguing as him caused such a reaction out of me. I was curious to look back, as after spotting him I realized most of my current headache came from that very spot where he was sitting. However the thought terrified me as well, and I altogether decided not to come to it.
The rest of the class consisted of me having to stare down at my sheet with wide-eyes, completely avoiding the man in the corner. Once the course was finished I didn't wait for Henry to walk out with me, I grabbed my materials and completely bolted out of the room; my headache severely amplified.
I rushed past the halls of the Physics building, bumping left and right into other people, one who cursed my name. I couldn't have cared less, I just needed to get out of there, to get my head into the right, neutral space again. I came to a stop at the men's washroom. I dropped my leather bag and immediately pushed open the doors to hover over the sink and have a moment to myself.
I already was a mess, my grey eyes sagged and the tips of my sandy brown were wet with sweat. The layer of my skin was as if I had taken a deep dive into a pond full of algae and clams. I was completely at a lost for words.
Henry came after one or two minutes, his nose was scrunched up as if in distaste for me, eyes confused. "Want to explain why I just spotted you running through the halls like a mad man?" he said with assertiveness, "And if your excuse is simply 'I needed to use the restroom badly,' I will fight you."
"Fight me? Don't be silly Henry, you don't have the balls," I snapped back
"Maybe, maybe not. Either way, your mannered enough to not run if you need to piss."
"It's," I thought for a moment, then decided, "none of your concern. You're right. I shouldn't have been running, just thought something was wrong with my vest. Heavens forbid my attire is down when strolling through the halls..."
It took Henry a bit, he stared at me for a few with a skeptical gaze. And at one he sighed and sported a cheeky smirk, "Amen to that. We all know you need those clothes to pull anyone, because your natural looks ain't doing it."
I stood up straighter, hit straight to the heart by his unasked for comment. I did a double take, glancing at the mirror and then back to Henry. I stuttered in trying to throw an insult back, but damn it was hard to when Henry was a one-to-one replica of the perfect American man. "You- I- How dare you?"
"Ah, don't work yourself up, you priss. But hey, I came to talk to you about something a bit more important," Henry said with a glint in his eye.
I sighed, calming myself and patting down my sleeves. "Hit me."
"So, you know I'm a part of the Orientation leaders. And of course we have to welcome new kids to the campus, show them around, help them get the gist of things, am I right?"
"Your point being?"
"Well I'm doing that today. New kid, heard he's some type of European or whatever. However, no one else wanted to come with so I'm kind of alone at the moment. I know, I know, you're not an orientation leader. But I'm bored, and I do want some company other then new European kid so.."
"Henry..." I gave him a stern look, "your reason is dumb."
"Come with and I'll buy dinner."
"You don't need to-!?" I rubbed my finger and thumb against my nose. "Fine. Why not? When do we get going?"
Henry lifted up with a cheeky smile, heading straight for the doorway. "Right now! We're probably late so, let's hope new kid is patient, cause I certainly am not!"
"I know from this morning," I spat through my teeth, and followed him out the door. A new kid. I had a bad feeling, the same one from earlier. My current was all off. There was someone new from Physics earlier...but that kid was already going to class so it certainly couldn't be him. Still, he had to get past his anxiety and just welcome the new kid. For Henry's sake. How fun.