Day Dream

    She gripped the worn edges of the textbook harder, as if tightening her grip would muster an iota of concentration. Inhaling deeply, she released a sigh that mingled with the light breeze that drifted past her face. Concentrate, concentrate…endings in cir…producir in the yo form...a perfectly formed pair of peep toe pumps clicked-clacked past, and her eyes followed, wandering off the page unto the walkway, keeping time with the owner’s feet. As the shoes click-clacked out of view, she quickly shook her head and directed her gaze to the text. Maybe if she held the book at arms’ length? With another sigh of conviction, she elevated the book off her lap and affixed it in front of her determined face. Verbs that end in gir…dirigir…dirijo…the soft huh sound of the j tickled her mouth and made a strange whurr sound inside her ear. She tried it again: diri-ho, diri- suddenly, she became aware of a different whurr, located outside the recesses of her left ear. Listening closely, she realized there was no whurr, only a zzz-zzz…a bee. Swiftly she swatted the confused creature away from her purple sneakers. If only she could buzz about. Simultaneously, a second zzzz echoed in her ear and her focus drifted…

    Janice hovered lightly above her head, multifaceted eyes taking herself in: an olive-skinned girl sat cross-legged on a weather-beaten bench, hunched over a book and draped in a plump –colored tank-top, silky black tresses covering her neck and reaching for the median of her back. She batted her wings twice, and dove slightly, stopping in midair to hover near her face. She saw a round face with eyes perpetuated in a blank stare, followed by a perky nose and stout jaw. The hand she buzzed around once absentmindedly curled a free hair, coiling and recoiling, trapping and releasing the index finger. She held her position a few seconds longer to admire the finger; below the knuckle the finger was wrapped in a promise ring given to her by her current beau, Jeff. She was about to zoom past her ears to explore the plaza further, when she jerked away from her daydream, awoken by a tiny zzzzzz in her ear. Janice swatted the bee with her left, and used her free right hand to plop her book shut. With a renewed concentration she slid the book off her lap and into the open compartment of her backpack. She then zipped her backpack slipped into its handles, straightened her jean skirt, and started toward the exiting archway. Maybe she would go visit Jeff…today was not the day for studying anyway. It was sunny and warm with a hint of wind that rustled trees…she liked the way he made her feel: a warm buzz of happiness filed her gut with his image and sunlight lit her smile as she crossed the arch’s threshold.