Chapter

Four

November 26, 2390

More than two weeks passed before Joseph saw Amanda again. Then, one day at lunch, he was sitting there in the mess hall minding his own business when he heard a small commotion behind him. There she was—​the girl of his dreams—​her long brown hair flowing around her shoulders like a robe, her blue eyes glistening in the light like a distant star. And there he was—​Mark Mitchell—​every girl’s dream and every guy’s nightmare... and he was hitting on Amanda.

Joseph shook that thought off. It shouldn’t matter that he’s hitting on her. After all, she wouldn’t even know that I exist save for the dent in the wall. As far as he could tell, there was only one way she would ever notice him.

He walked into a wall. Not just any wall, though. This time, he picked a short wall that would catch him just a little above the knees. What he didn’t count on was the table on the other side slamming him in the chin, but somehow, he managed to maintain consciousness.

“Wow. What’s that, twice in a row?” he heard her say.

And there she was again, standing over him, helping him to his feet. “Amanda, right?” he asked.

“Yeah, that’s right. Amanda Jenkins. You?”

“I’m Joseph. Joseph Kurtz,” he stuttered. “Would you care to join me for dinner?”

“Don’t tell me you tripped over the planter on my account,” she mused.

“I’d be lying if I said I noticed it was a planter,” he replied. “A wall’s a wall to me.”

She laughed. “Sure, I’d love to.”

With that, Mark’s eyes narrowed to a slit, the whites barely visible from across the room. Suddenly, the room grew eerily quiet, not like the calm before a storm so much as like housepets before an earthquake.... Joseph only hoped the date he was going on tonight was worth the pummeling he would likely get tomorrow.