I woke up screaming. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead. It was just a nightmare. I was relieved it was not real. But it was a terrifying nightmare nonetheless. Why did I dream of that? This could be a premonition. I routinely prepared myself for school. I ate breakfast, brushed my teeth, took a quick shower, and put on my uniform. I routinely applied my gothic makeup and combed my hair. Today, I wouldn’t curl it. I decided to let my long, straight black hair rest on my shoulders. I said goodbye to my family and went to the university.
Classes were a painful blur. I was worried because Amelie wasn’t here. I asked my friends over lunch if they knew why Amelie was absent. They told me that they had no clue. Glimpses of my nightmare assailed my mind. The blood-tainted glass room. Amelie's bloodstained hands. Her wrist slit with a knife. The powerful earthquake. Our bodies being buried alive in the ground.
"Hello? Earth to Imogen?" Nadine snapped her fingers at me. I was back to reality.
“We were discussing our surprise gifts to Miss Virginia since it’s her birthday today,” Katherine informed me. “Do you think lilies, a mocha cake, and a dozen pizzas are good enough?”
“Yeah, sure.” I nodded and forced a smile.
“Are you okay? You were spacing out,” Nadine commented with a concerned expression and voice.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I replied. But I hoped Amelie was fine.
We attended the General Psychology subject of Miss Virginia. The lights were off in the classroom. She entered it and turned on the lights.
“Happy birthday, Miss Virginia!” We greeted her and gave her our gifts. She held her heart in surprise and thanked us emotionally.
“You’re the best section I ever taught,” she remarked. She was smiling. It was obvious she was touched by our gifts and gestures.
“And you really wrote ‘Happy Birthday, Miss Virginia’ on the blackboard,” she said joyfully. “Who did the calligraphy?”
“I did, ma'am,” Andrew, my glasses-wearing and short-haired classmate, answered.
“That’s beautifully done! I love it!” Miss Virginia exclaimed happily.
“Thank you, ma’am,” Andrew responded. “I am glad you like it. Please enjoy your day.”
On that day, we were supposed to have a quiz. But instead, the professor simply discussed, and us her students listened and took notes while eating slices of cake and pizzas.
Later on, after the class, I attended the rest of my classes. I waited rather impatiently. I realized I was tapping my foot during the last subject, music history. The professor noticed it, so I stopped my behavior. I was deeply worried about Amelie because of my stupid nightmare. Thankfully, the professor didn’t reprimand me. When the class was finished, we were dismissed. I immediately put my things inside my bag, grabbed it, and stood up.
“I’m going to pay a visit to Amelie to see if she is okay,” I informed my friends.
“We’re coming with you,” Katherine stated.
Nadine nodded. “We’re worried about her, too.”
My friends and I were in Amelie’s grand house. We were greeted by her housekeeper, and she let us in to visit Amelie. We were in the living room. A maid gave us cups of caramel coffee and chocolate cookies. We waited for Amelie. After five minutes, Amelie walked downstairs from her room to the living room. She was dressed in a white crop top, beige skirt, and nude sandals. She wasn’t wearing any makeup. It was understandable since this was her home and she wanted to be comfortable. She looked younger without makeup. However, it was obvious that she just finished crying. Her face had a tinge of red, and her eyes were swollen.
“How are you?” Katherine asked her.
“Are you okay?” Nadine asked.
“Why are you absent?” I asked.
We looked and talked to Amelie with concerned expressions and voices.
“I broke up with Iverson,” she revealed to us. She cried again.
“Hush,” I calmly said to her as I comforted her by gently patting her shoulders. The three of us hugged our dear, sad friend.
“What did Iverson do to you?” I asked her.
“I...” She paused for a while. “I saw him having sex with another girl when I visited him in his house last Friday night!”
“What?” Katherine exclaimed in shock. She covered her mouth with two hands in disgust.
“Motherfucker!” Nadine shouted in anger. “What a man-whore!”
“Oh no!” I uttered in disbelief. I couldn’t believe that Iverson would cheat on my friend. But then again, I remembered what he did to me in high school. So, cheating his girlfriend shouldn’t come as a surprise to me since it was easier to do for him.
“I was so depressed that I didn’t eat food or drink water or anything for two days,” Amelie divulged to us. Her voice was shaking as she shared this information. “When I was walking home and saw a bridge, I was tempted to jump over it. But a kind man with long hair and wearing a guitar stopped me from jumping and told me that life is beautiful to waste on a problem no matter how huge it is.”
“We’re glad that the man saved your life,” Katherine told her.
“But you shouldn’t skip your meals and you lose sleep over a guy,” Nadine advised. “There are a billion guys in the world. You can replace Iverson with one guy who will love you and never cheat on you.”
So, my nightmare was indeed a premonition. Even though it was a bad dream, I was grateful for receiving that message. But I hoped I wouldn’t have nightmares anymore. I hoped everyone would be okay from now on.
“I’m going to talk to Iverson tomorrow,” I said with determination. “I’m going to confront him about this.”
Amelie dissuaded me, but my mind was made up. We ate our cookies and drank our coffee.
The next morning at the university, I went to Iverson’s classroom. He was in front of it. I punched his back hard.

"Ow!” He yelled in pain. “What gives?”
“I thought you had changed,” I responded as I glared at him. “You told me you were going to change.”
“What are you talking about?” He asked me with a confused look.
My friends Amelie, Katherine, and Nadine were with me. “You cheated on Amelie.”
“So?” He challenged me. “Did I cheat on you? ”
“No, but you did something worse to me,” I reminded him. My friends looked at each other. They were puzzled.
“So what? Cheating on a girlfriend is not a crime,” he answered.
“Hey, everyone,” I announced to his classmates. The professor was not around. “Look at my friend, Iverson. Isn’t he handsome? I bet most of the girls and gays here have a crush on him. He is smart, charming, and almost nice. But did you know that he did something to me in high school that wasn’t exactly nice?”
Iverson covered my mouth instantly. His classmates were all in ears. “What are you doing?” He asked me angrily. “I already did my time. Can you be quiet?”He hissed at me.
“Sure,” I nodded. “But first, kneel at Amelie and ask for her forgiveness for cheating on her.”
“No way!” He yelled vehemently.
“He—” I continued talking, but he covered my mouth again.
“Alright!” He hissed at me again. Then he reluctantly kneeled and apologized to Amelie. Amelie forgave him.
“Don’t contact me and my friends again, or else I will tell the entire university what you did to me,” I warned Iverson. He nodded and entered the classroom. My friends and I turned on our heels.
Of course, my friends asked me what Iverson did to me in high school. I didn’t reveal right away at school. I divulged it a week later in my room while they were visiting my humble dormitory. They were utterly shocked, and they vowed never to talk to him again. They also promised me that they would not say a word about it to anyone.