NOTE* This is the second upload of the day (4-19-25)...
Eight months before Safi dies.
On the first of April, Vinh's phone began to ring. Mark waited on bated breath, the offer letter should have arrived by now. Man he needed a hobby- the problem was the fate of that hobby relied heavily on Max accepting the university's offer.
"Caledon University's Administrative Assistant, ruler of all things paper and policy, Vinh Lang speaking? How may I help you?" There was a light cough on the other end.
"Hi…I'm calling about the artist in residence program." Her voice came through timid and a little unsure, just like he remembered.
He came forward and took control. "You've reached the right place." He was dying to know her answer so he waited. There was an awkward pause, oops he should probably continue…
But after a moment, she took the lead. "May I speak to Yasmin?"
He needed to know. "Sure…um…just a second, it looks like she needs a minute." He said while looking at the closed door of the office that he knew contained a very unbusy Yasmin. "So…are you accepting the offer?"
"No, I'm calling to refuse." She delivered flatly. His stomach sank.
She continued. "Refuse to say no that is! April Fooools!"
She laughed, he'd never heard it before. He felt very confused about what had just happened. That was a bold joke to make about something so prestigious. Maybe his humor needed work too.
"Let me get Yasmin for you." Was all he could muster and transferred her call over.
Regardless, it was time to get someone to go to class.
He dialed Safi. "Hey! I scored some dope from an underclassmen in Abraxis. I'll trade you some in exchange for helping me with my student tours today."
…..
Later that day.
Spring was the preferred time for prospective students to tour the campus so there was a plethora of people to choose from. With Vinh's degree in theater and control of the lists, Mark had been able to secure the arts and literature groups for him and Safi.
Vinh was known for giving 'theatrical' tours so Mark leaned back and let him run with it. Some things you just couldn't duplicate. Vinh was all about hyping up Abraxis so he'd told Safi to walk the groups over to the Abraxis house for a little promotional 'show'.
Vinh was checking himself in the mirror and Mark caught himself holding back a chuckle at the crown resting on his head. The vintage handle on the front door began to clatter and the chatter of the college hopefuls poured in. Vinh nearly glided across the floor, running with surprising stealth to the couch that ran parallel to the group streaming in.
Everyone was looking at an ostentatious painting on the wall in awed silence as Vinh posed with one leg up on the back of the sofa, pointing out and up into some great imaginary beyond. Mark didn't listen to his monologue with full attention but what he did hear made Abraxis sound like the greatest thing since sliced bread- what a showman.
He waited to step in until they got to the fine arts department where he could talk about the upcoming photography program. Thankfully, like Vinh, he had a charm of his own and tapped into his skill for weaving intrigue into the practice of photography.
He didn't hold back his deep passion for the subject because he knew passion was sexy. And being sexy got you what you wanted.
"Sometimes too much." His internal voice jumped through and made him stutter, he surveyed the crowd and hoped it had come off as endearing. His eyes met those of a young man's in the front row before they shifted their feet and cast their eyes away with a blush. His nametag read 'REGGIE'.
He'd seen this look many times before, it was the look of someone crushing hard. He'd grown used to that sort of thing. His looks and charm were what Sean used to draw in young women like ants to honey. "Or like flies to shit."
He steeled himself. "Reggie." His voice came out in the breezy manner Vinh was known for. Reggie's shoulders stiffened a bit when his arm wrapped around them. Mark continued, if he had any chance to sell the photography class it was now. "You look like someone that would love photography. What do you think?"
Reggie let out a small giggle. "It sounds like it would be a great time."
Mark tapped into Vinh's showmanship and lightly dug a knuckle into Reggie's side. "Stay for the photography, come for me." He winced at his own wordplay but it was a pickup line in Vinh's wheelhouse. Reggie was entranced.
"How about we start early on your Caledon experience? Photo op?" He was already pulling out Vinh's phone. "Hey Safi! Come pose with the first Abraxis recruit of the semester!"
Safi was talking with a group of future literary students. "Busy Vinh!"
He couldn't take the photo unless she was in it. His patience was growing thin. "No desert later then!"
She knew exactly what he meant, unfortunately the offer to get high would make some people do anything. "UGH! Fine!"
She stomped her way over and posed for the three person selfie. "I heard the new artist in residence loves these things!" They side-eyed the absurdity of that statement.
Reggie was safely in his collection. He let out the breath he'd been holding.
…
After the tours.
Vinh, Safi, and Mark's awareness were all lying in the grass by the lake trading a blunt back and forth. The sky was a crisp blue and white fluffy clouds dotted the sky.
This was the giggly kind of weed, the kind that brought joy to every cell in your body. And Mark could have put some effort into figuring Safi out right now, after all,he wasn't getting the same level of high. But he just wanted to relax and bask in the silence for once.
Luckily, she was like a running tap right now. "I'm still so fucking pissed about Maya."
Okay…So we're doing this…What have you got for me Vinh? "Seriously, Safi? You can't just sit and get lost in this feeling? This very gooood feeling?" Vinh drew out.
"No! Maya is dead because of Lucas!" Safi shouted like she didn't care who heard it.
Holy hell! A murder?! That wasn't on his Caledon bingo sheet.
Ahhhh craaaap! He still hadn't read Safi's draft and it had been a month already. He had been so preoccupied with getting Max here.
And then the weed finally got through to him. And he just started laughing.
He meant to go back to the cellar but instead veered into the direction of Vinh's full conscience. Vinh's body lurched up off the grass with deep belly laughter. Oh god this is awkward!
He just couldn't control it, he turned and looked at Safi, who had propped up on one elbow and was glaring at him. He was laughing so hard that his stomach hurt and tears filled his eyes, this was powerful stuff!
And if it wasn't weird enough, Safi also started laughing, her serious exterior slipping. They rolled around in weeded bliss for a good five minutes before some sobriety kicked in and an awkward silence fell over them.
Safi spoke first. "I think I need some space for a while." And she just got up and left.
Ah crap, Sean won't be happy about this.
He could at least be proactive though and went straight to Lucas. Mark was pretty pissed that the one place he felt safe, the place he felt most like his true self, had been ruined.
"Kindred Spirits." His inner thoughts taunted. The rudeness of it caused his arm to bump over the coffee cup on the desk. "Fuck!"
He grabbed the pile of napkins sitting under a nearby croissant and wiped furiously at the desk, the rug would be Lucas's problem. Spitefully, he shoved the family photo aside to get the last bit and as he picked it back up he felt the uneven lump underneath. It was a key taped to the underside.
He took the key into his hands. What could this possibly go to?
He felt exhausted, today was an emotional rollercoaster and he just wanted to sleep. It was 4pm. The thought of it wanted to make him cry. I'm falling apart.
HIs eyes scanned every possible lock he could see from the soft leather chair. There were so many drawers and filing cabinets. Mark let the key drop with a clunk onto the desk's surface and put his head into his hands.
Then he remembered that he could go partially back to his own body and let Lucas do the work. After a moment of Lucas regaining focus he spotted the key in the mess on the desk. Mark thought it a little bizarre that he paid no mind to the disarray his desk was in but instead appeared mesmerized by the key. He took it in his hands and ran his fingers over the bumpy end, like this was a normal mindless occurrence for him
Part of Mark didn't want to know Lucas's secret but he had to give Sean something after a month of nothing and it wouldn't be long before he found out about the ending of Safi and Vinh's sexcapades.
Lucas was moving toward the far wall of his office now, reaching toward the golden typewriter on the shelf. Mark had thought that was just a gaudy trophy but it seemed to hold a secret compartment that Lucas unlocked now with the key. He pulled out a clipped stack of paper.
It looked like a rough draft full of red pen marks, and at the top it read…Maya Okada!
Lucas moved his hands in a forlorn manner across the paper. "I'm sorry Maya."
Mark drifted forward in Lucas's psyche and focused on the words before him. It took him only a moment to recognize what he was reading. What kind of IDIOT copies something word for word!? Mark yelled in his mind as if he were yelling it at Lucas.
So that was it then. Lucas murdered a student to steal her work. Of fucking course! What the FUCK! Mark's anger was boiling up with more fervor the longer he thought about the situation. It's not that he was mad for Maya or anything like that, he wasn't really registering that right now. It was more of a final straw moment.
He was so strained, physically and mentally, with all of the manipulation and sneaking Sean had him doing. There was hardly any time to take care of himself, no time to rest, Sean made sure of it. At least before he'd been imprisoned he had a life, he was able to exist outside of what Sean demanded. He'd had an identity!
And here, in the shadow of Lucas, he'd gotten to feel that again. Mark had taken a liking to playing pretend. Pretending that Sean had never found him, that he was someone living a good and normal life. But it was just more lies…
Frustrated, he took Lucas's hand and held it parallel to the thick bind of paper. He whisked his hand up the side as fast as he could, and a series of deep paper cuts were left behind. Mark felt them too. You deserve that.
Lucas winced, and came out of his trance as Mark let him take control. He quickly locked up the paper and clutched his hand, only now noticing the coffee stains on his suit coat. "Ah CRAP!"
Mark simply sat and watched as Lucas made a beeline for the staff bathrooms. He bumped elbows with someone in his haste and Mark felt a wave of panic overtake Lucas as he looked into Safi's eyes. She still appeared to be fuming with both anger and the scent of the blunt from earlier. I guess that wasn't 'happy weed' for her.
"Loser Lucas out for a stroll!" Safi giggled and gave a theatrical bow as she waved him by.
Lucas moved closer, still clutching his hand and said in a hushed voice. "Safi! What are you doing? I was promised that you would back off."
Safi glared but still seemed to be beaming with unbridled energy. Okay then. That's what the weed gave her.
"I'll get you Lucas." She smiled. "How is Robbie these days?"
Lucas scoffed and walked away, the absence of his previous anxiety indicated that he felt Safi was bluffing.
Mark went back to his own body now where a pang of hunger stabbed at him. It was so bizarre that he could get contact highs and feel tipsy in his vessels but never nourished. He couldn't eat within them and reap the benefits. He could only feel what their nervous system felt and how their awareness was affected. Meaning he could drink all night long in Vinh's body, feel drunk, and then jump to someone else and feel just fine.
It was quite disorienting and often made him lose track of his own body's queues. He stood up and rang the bell for food- which unfortunately came with an appetizer debrief with Sean. At least the food arrived quickly and he picked away at it as Sean asked his usual questions, ones that didn't have answers yet.
"No, I don't have more information about Safi...ya's powers." When did he start using her nickname? I'm really losing myself…
Mark unveiled his special treat. "There seems to be a secret regarding Lucas and a former student named Maya Okada. She was possibly murdered by him.
Sean began to clap and the sharp echo of it in the small room made Mark jump. "Now we're getting somewhere."
Sean called down a full sized ribeye steak and placed it before him. "Keep at it and you'll be that much closer to freedom.
Sean left him alone now and he gave into the beast that had become his stomach. He clutched the steak between his hands and tore into it like a wild animal, lost in its divine taste.