Stitch by Samantha Durante

economics or physics or history was just more than she could bear at the moment.  The reading would have to wait.
    Alessa grabbed a hair tie off the desk and pulled her locks into a low ponytail.  She slid open her closet and dug into a dresser drawer, fishing out a comfortable pair of old sweatpants and a cozy long sleeve tee.  Changing out of her jeans and sweater, she tossed the discarded clothes in the laundry bag then headed for the bathroom.
    In the hallway she passed by a sophomore housemate that she’d barely traded ten words with all year.  Sara, was it?  Alessa wasn’t positive.  She forced a quiet smile, a gesture that maybe-Sara returned with a quick wave.  She seemed relieved not to have to make conversation, so Alessa continued on without breaking her stride.
    Reaching the bathroom, Alessa was grateful to find that it was empty.  She washed her face in the second of the triple sinks, splashing cool water over her skin until it flushed with pink.  As the water dripped off her chin, she looked up at the mirror, locking sight with her own green and gold eyes.  Janie was right – she looked like shit.  She was glad she’d decided to get some rest tonight instead of trying to force the reading, which would surely have been an exercise in futility.
    Alessa dried her face and hands on the fluffy towel she kept hung on a hook by the door and returned to the sink.  As she reached for her toothbrush, she heard footsteps approaching.  She considered forsaking dental hygiene for one night if it would allow her to avoid another awkward exchange with one of her sorority sisters.
    It was Janie.  “Hey, Less.”
    Alessa breathed a sigh of relief.  “Hey.”
    Janie was wrapped in a towel and headed towards one of the shower stalls.  She closed the curtain behind her and flung her towel over the top of the stall as Alessa began brushing her teeth.  A moment after the shower started pattering against the floor, Janie let out a yelp.
    Alessa spat a mouthful of foam into the sink basin.  “You okay in there?” she asked, glancing in the mirror toward the shower.
    “I always forget how cold it is when you first turn it on.”
    Alessa knew the feeling.  She finished brushing her teeth and rinsed her toothbrush.
    After a short pause, Janie continued.  “So did you get a chance yet to look into my projection theory?”
    Putting her toothbrush back in its holder, Alessa turned to face the shower curtain.  “I did actually.  It wasn’t very successful.”  Just thinking about her failed research attempt caused the frustration to well up in her stomach again.  “None of the stories I found involved anything as intense as what I’ve been experiencing.”
    “No?” Janie prompted.
    “Nah.  There were some people who said they would be overcome with feelings of loneliness or grief, but there was no mention of anyone simultaneously feeling…” Alessa hesitated.  She knew Janie was going to goad her for this.  “… attracted.”
    Janie snorted.  “Figures.”  She thought for a moment.  “I don’t know what to tell you, Less.”  Alessa could hear the concern in her friend’s voice.  More playfully Janie added, “Well, maybe your loins know something you don’t.  Maybe this ghost was your lover in a past life or something, and just like muscle memory you’re longing for him with every cell in your body.  Except the ones in your brain, of course.”
    Alessa shook her head and laughed, out of frustration as much as amusement.  Now that she was seeing ghosts, how could she just dismiss other possibilities?  Even reincarnation wasn’t out of the question.  “You know what, Janie?  At this point, I’m not ruling anything out.”

8. Expectation
     
    Alessa had expected to be up half the night reliving her most recent encounter and mulling over the assortment of potential explanations.  But she surprised herself by slipping into the cool dark peace of slumber almost the instant her