A thing a week - 49
Snow was standing in front of a lecture hall. Behind him a series of dry-erase boards were packed with diagrams he'd scrawled throughout the class. He could feel himself answering a question, looking at the student, gesticulating wildly at different parts of the board.
But he couldn't hear it. He felt as he mouthed the words, and watched as a student mouthed another question, but no sound exchanged. The lights in the hall came up as he realized this. The hall was packed, with several students standing in the back. Paul called out an assignment to them, each of them taking quick notes before filing out. Those sitting finally stood.
He felt a sense of peace there. He watched as the last of the students filtered out, then turned and looked at the board. Something warm settled in him.
The warmth came from Jessica's hand against his chest. "Paul?" she whispered.
He awoke on his new couch, blinking the sleep from his eyes before fixing them to her face. "Hey there, beautiful."
"You were out. You didn't even hear your phone."
Paul shuffled through a pocket before finding his phone. He'd two missed calls. One from Jessica, the other from the delivery boy.
"Hungry?" she asked.
"I remember I ordered."
"Thai?"
"Yeah, how did you--"
She held up a sack holding two wax paper boxes. "I met him at the main entrance."
Paul sat up on the couch and shoved the wrinkles out of his clothes. "Sorry, I was going to get that. What do I owe you?"
"You paid with your card when you made the order."
He looked at the floor near the couch. His credit card bookmarked a page in the phone book there. "Did you want something else instead? I shouldn't assume you'd want what I order, you have your own tastes."
"Actually, I overheard you ordering. You left the prototype on during your nap, so I remoted in. That's how I knew the catch the delivery guy."
Paul groaned as he opened a box. Steam rolled up past his nose and into the ceiling. "Sorry. I guess that means you were watching me sleep. That's not creepy at all."
"Well, I wasn't watching so much as listening. You teach in your sleep." She sat down on the couch next to him.
Paul shook his head. He spoke around a piece of chicken in his cheek. "The lecture was packed. Some kids couldn't even sit down. I remember I had a load of stuff on the board."
"You were demonstrating a circuit for introductory adder from the sounds of it." Jessica began to dig into the other box.
Paul swallowed. "Jeez. I'm surprised it fit. I can't imagine that many people being interested in circuits though."
"How'd it feel?"
Paul thought for a moment, setting his plastic fork down and resting his palms on his knees. "Like...home. I don't mean like the home I grew up in. But, like how home should feel. That peaceful and secure feeling you should get from being where you want to be."
"Mm-hmm," she hummed. "I know what that's like."
"Where's that for you?" he asked.
Jessica shifted over closer to Paul and slung his left arm over her shoulders. She leaned in and laughed, "This'll do."