For a moment, she debated on ignoring the ping of the work email being delivered. It was Friday afternoon and although she was sitting in her office at work, Wendy had come to learn that most American work weeks seemed to end Friday morning. Still, she sighed and placing her book on the end table beside the small loveseat, she went over to her computer to investigate. It was an email from the administration at her college announcing a new hire. Normally, Wendy ignored these emails as they didn't generally pertain to her. This one however, quickly caught her attention.
Mr. J. Hook has accepted the position of Head of the English Department and will begin classes at the beginning of the term on the following Monday. Please be sure to give a warm welcome.
For a moment, Wendy couldn't breathe. It wasn't possible, could not be possible. It had to be a mistake. Yet, there it was. She slowly lowered herself into her chair, continuing to stare at the screen, attempting to process this new information. After a moment, once her heart returned to beating at a semi-regular rhythm, she snapped into action. A man who is hired into a position such as Head of the Department, obviously had some work history that could be tracked. At bare minimum, he had to have taught somewhere before he was hired. Her school wasn't Ivy League or anything but, the head of a department wasn't a job you simply waltzed into.
The results displayed about a dozen different links to Facebook, Linkdin, even Instagram. Wendy shook her head. Obviously, J Hook was a common enough name. She double checked the email and made sure they didn't specify a first name. Odd that the new employee was introduced to the college without a first name. It could be anything, Jane, Jack, Jazz… Wendy shook her head, again and closed her eyes. Breath in, breath out. She decided it was best to put this minor anxiety attack behind her for the day and begin her weekend.
Stretching from her chair, she turned off her computer and began putting her books, notes, and lecture materials into a tote bag. Her classes started first thing Monday morning, and the weekend was sure to pass quickly. It always did just before the terms started. She shouldered her purse and the tote bag, turned off the lights and stepped out into the hallway of her building.
She paused a moment, closing the door behind her as she watched the groups of students milling around the foyer between classrooms and faculty offices. Freshman orientation was in progress. Older students showing groups of new students where they could find specific classes, offices, resources. Wendy stood at her door watching for a moment, before turning to lock her office and making her way slowly through the crowd, in no real hurry. New students were her favorite part of teaching college. Every three months, she had a group of new faces that were eager to learn, to prove themselves as studious adults. She paused for a moment, allowing a particularly large group pass, smiling as some of them made eye contact with "one of our esteemed professors" as the tour guides pointed her out.
"Professor Darling!" A voice called from behind her, she turned quickly to answer. Looking past the groups of students, she happened to see a man walking into the office across from hers. He had also looked up at the call of her name. Her breath whooshed from her body as she was met with blue eyes she hadn't seen in almost twenty years.
The man across the lobby was standing with one hand on the door knob of the office across from hers. In the space of a heartbeat, he was standing proud in his black boots, dark pants, and the red brocade vest atop the white tunic. His thin, angular face was framed by the thick black curls that hung to just below his shoulders, and was only partially shadowed by the ostentatious pirate hat with several large, red feathers hanging down the right side of his back. Captain Hook smiled at her with the cold blue eyes the color of forget-me-nots. And the small curve of his lips sent a chill down her spine, trapped in his predatory gaze. Wendy blinked her eyes, and the pirate was gone. In his place, stood the man in a red three pieced suit, black curls loosely tied back over his shoulders, but his eyes, his eyes caught her in their stare. She had never seen eyes of that forget-me-not blue, except in Neverland. As his smirk deepend, he winked his dark eyelashes, and let himself into the office.
"Professor Darling, are you alright?" A young man was trying to put her tote bag back into her hands. She hadn't realized she had dropped it. She blinked, again, forcing herself to look away from the closed door and focus on the student in front of her.
"What? Yes- yes Marcus. What do you need?" She could hear the sharp tone in her voice and hoped the poor guy didn't.
"I'm sorry to bother you, I just had a question about the homework." Marcus was a student she had taught in several classes. She took a steadying breath.
"So sorry, I was lost somewhere else." They quickly discussed the reading materials he didn't understand and with a smile he left her standing in the large hallway. Wendy slowly made her way back towards the offices at the far end of the corridor. All the faculty office doors were closed. Swallowing the feeling of trepidation, she went towards the closed door opposite hers. There was a shadow of the man moving about through the frosted glass of the door. Holding her breath, she dared to step closer and look at the office name plate.
'Room 205
James Hook
Head of English Department'
There was a rushing of noise in her ears, she backed away slowly before turning on her heel and hurrying out of the building. Students practically jumped out of her way, afraid of the look on her face. Wendy didn't breathe again until she was sitting in her car with the doors locked and the engine running. She pulled out her phone and texted her younger brother before driving directly home as fast as the law would allow.
'Call me when you can'.
It was later in the evening when her younger brother, John did call her.
"Sorry, only just got the girls to bed. What's going on?' He asked, a strain of worry in his quiet voice. Wendy poured herself a third glass of wine before answering.
"I think I'm going crazy, John." She heard him exhale.
"Again?"
"It's not a joke." She sipped her wine, closing her eyes.
"Okay… any particular reason?" She took a full breath, preparing herself for what she was about to say.
"Captain Hook was hired to teach at my school." There was a heavy silence. She almost thought he had hung up.
"Hang on." She heard sounds of John moving around, the soft closing of a door, and sitting down in a squeaky chair before he continued. She assumed he had gone into his home office. "Try that, again." He asked, speaking quieter this time. He obviously did not want his wife Jennifer to hear this conversation. Wendy didn't blame him.
"Captain Hook was hired to teach at my school, today." She spoke slowly, deliberately.
"Wendy…. Wendy that is not funny."
"Do you hear me laughing?"
"Wen, it's been almost twenty years. Why would you bring this up, again?" His voice was pained, as if he was trying to remain calm with her.
"I know, John. I know how it sounds. That's why I called you. You have always been my voice of reason, talk me out of this." John had calmed her nerves countless times in their lives.
"I can't believe after everything, we're here again." She bristled, forcing the overwhelming feelings of guilt away.
"Don't make me feel any worse, John, please." She took another drink of her wine, feeling so small in her own home. Although her entire house was dark, save for a single table lamp on the other side of her sitting room, Wendy couldn't see the stars from her window. She tried to forcibly relax, realizing she had been clutching her cell phone like a raft in the dark.
"I'm sorry, you're right. But it's not Captain Hook, you know that. There is no Captain Hook. There's no Peter Pan, there's no Neverland. We didn't fly away and have adventures in a tree with a bunch of little boys and a fairy that didn't like you. It was just a game, Wendy. A childhood game that got out of hand." He spoke quietly but firmly, allowing no space for arguments. The same words he had been telling her for years.
"Who did I see in the building?" Her voice was small, hopeful of his confident answer to erase her fears.
"I wasn't there, I have no idea."
"He looked just like I remembered. It was like a dream; he was standing there as we left him on his ship. Only wearing a suit, clothes like ours. It was like he was trying to fit in, but he didn't. He didn't look quite right."
"Do you hear yourself? There are several flaws, right there." John spoke with a renewed confidence. "We didn't leave him on his ship, he was being chased by the crocodile in the story. And, there is no way he would look exactly the same. Wen, we're talking about almost twenty years. People grow and it shows. He was an adult twenty years ago, he would be a senior citizen, now. Did he have both of his hands? A man with an actual hook for a hand would draw attention." She was silent for a moment, thinking.
"Yes…yes, he did. He was holding a briefcase and unlocking the door to the office."
"There, see Wendy? It is positively not Captain Hook." He sounded relieved, himself.
"But his name John…"
"Wendy, the odds of a man having the same name and living near you is astronomical, but not impossible." She didn't say anything, processing his words, slowly. "More likely, you're stressed about something completely unrelated, and your brain filled in some extra information. A new supervisor is never easy to adjust to, and this did happen very quickly. No one would blame you for struggling with it."
"I've been expecting a new supervisor for months, John." Wendy defended, slightly embarrassed.
"I know you have, I'm only saying. Take your meds, take a break from work through the weekend, and don't over stress yourself. I don't want to lose you, too." His voice was strained, working through the painful memory that had surfaced. Wendy swallowed the lump in her throat.
"I'm here, John. I'm here." John quickly cleared his throat and Wendy felt a pang of guilt for bringing him back into this conversation, once again.
"We're going to see you tomorrow, right?" She was relieved at the quick change of conversation. Everything had suddenly become very heavy.
"Of course, I wouldn't miss their first game. I'll be over to make the girls an excellent breakfast." She smiled warmly, thinking of her nieces and their budding soccer futures.
"Good. I love you, Wendy. Keep yourself here. All of that was a long time, ago."
"I love you, John. Thanks" She hung up the phone, looked at her glass of wine and decided against finishing it. For a moment, Wendy simply sat there and breathed. She closed her eyes and gave herself the little pep talk she had to give herself often throughout her life.
"I'm an adult. I'm in control of my life. I own a house, a car, I have a career, I pay bills. My parents did not pay attention to us, so I created that world, for us. It's all imaginary, it always has been imaginary." She opened her eyes to the dark sitting room. "This is real." She sighed, fighting off the sadness that always seemed to settle on her shoulders when she would recite the mantra given to her by a series of mental health professionals.
Turning off the light, Wendy made her way in the darkness to the stairs and eventually, her bedroom. She knew her home, as she was the only one who lived there, it was easy to simply walk around in the darkness. Brushing her teeth in her ensuite, Wendy noticed she had indeed forgotten to take her meds, that morning. It further solidified what John had said. She was exhausted and stressed. Simple as that.
Changing into her nightgown, she opened the window and sat on the window seat beside her bed, breathing in the crisp night air. The clouds appeared to have shifted and Wendy could finally see the stars. But they weren't the stars of her childhood. They weren't the stars that shone over London, so she didn't pay them mind. She didn't notice, as she climbed into her bed and drifted asleep, two new stars having made an appearance in the inky black sky. Instead, she fell into a troubled sleep filled with pirates, crocodiles, and the tick tock of a pocket watch.