3 Chapter 3: Vivian

Vivian eyes shot open and she jerked up, only to crash her head into an unyielding surface above her.

"Ouch!" She winced and laid back down. "Wait." she realized that besides her forehead, everything else on her body felt fine. Vivian patted her body and moved her limbs. "What happened?"

She squinted at the darkness surrounding her, and slowly, her eyes began to adjust. She could make out the outlines of furniture around the room, and she was laying on a bunk bed, hence the smashing her face into the ceiling.

Vivian climbed down gingerly, fumbling for the light switch. She blinked at the bright light that pierced her vision and waited for her vision to adjust. When she could see again, her jaw dropped.

"What the fuck?" she stood in the middle of her college dorm. Vivian sank down onto the floor, "Oh my god! Did I die and this is my afterlife?"

She rubbed her forehead, only to pull away at the rough sensation. "What—?" Vivian touched her palms, coarse. Decorated with calluses that only came from years of hard work and dedication. "What the hell is going on?"

"What are you freaking out about?" the person in the other bunk bed sat up and glared at Vivian.

"Emma?" Vivian's eyes widened, "Did you die too?"

"What?" Emma looked at Vivian skeptically, "Dude, are you okay?"

Vivian sniffed, "I don't know? I got hit by a car and then I woke up here completely fine and—" she cut off, overwhelmed.

Emma hopped out of bed, dragging the blanket with her and draping it over Vivian. She knelt in front of Vivian and hugged her, letting her cry into her shoulder.

"It'll be fine." she said soothingly, patting her shoulder, "We can figure this out. Just breathe."

"I don't know where I am or what I'm going to do." Vivian hiccuped.

"Are you scared of not knowing what to do after we graduate?" Emma asked. "It is our last year after all, and we're officially moving out in a couple weeks."

"What do you mean?" Vivian's mind was a hurricane of confusion.

Emma tilted her head, "Wait, you got hit by a car?"

Vivian nodded.

"But we were together all day yesterday, studying for finals. Now I'm confused too."

"What year is it?"

"20XX. Why?"

"Do you believe in time travel?" Vivian stared at Emma, brown eyes searching her grey ones.

"Well, it hasn't been done yet so I can't say I do, but I don't think it's impossible."

Vivian leaned back against the wall, "I think you better start believing now, Emma."

Emma gaped at Vivian. Then reached for her forehead, "No fever." she muttered and patted Vivian's head, "You don't seem to have any external head injuries either."

Vivian swatted Emma's hands, "I'm fine. Physically."

"That's what I was worried about." Emma mumbled, rubbing her chin. "Tell me what happened."

Vivian started to recount her past life.

"You got married to Marcus?!" Emma shrieked, "You're dating him now..." She narrowed her eyes, "Was he nice to you? You can never tell with their pretty faces."

Vivian shrugged, "It's complicated. He was good at first and then.." she trailed off and rubbed her forehead, "It's not something I would like to go into now."

"Of course." Emma sat back and listened patiently as Vivian detailed her experiences.

"...and then I woke up and here we are."

Emma leaned back on her hands, "That is definitely a lot to take in." she tilted her head at Vivian and winked, "I forgive you for waking me up."

Vivian laughed, "I've missed you."

Emma hugged her and brought Vivian up to speed on what happened recently in the past.

"Oh so I'm done with finals?" Vivian let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, I probably wouldn't pass them now."

"Lucky you." Emma grumbled, "I got one this afternoon." she got up and yanked aside the blackout curtains covering the window. "Well," She gazed out at the brightening sky. "I guess this is a good opportunity to get some last minute studying done." Emma turned to Vivian, "What are you planning on doing?"

"Well I think the first order of business is to find Marcus and break up with him." Vivian said.

Emma nodded slowly, applying moisturizing sunscreen to her face, "That makes sense." she rubbed the lotion into her skin, "But you two were genuinely happy together from what I've seen in this time." she glanced at Vivian's reflection in the mirror, "I'm not dissuading you by the way, this is all your choice and you should do what you feel comfortable with."

"I know," Vivian stood up and folded Emma's blanket back onto her bed, "I was happy. But I want to do what I want first, unrestricted. And I still need to mature as a person before entering a serious relationship."

"More power to you." Emma patted blush onto her fair skin, "If only my parents would understand." she whispered.

"I can't exactly say everything will be alright." Vivian let out a self-deprecating laugh, "Look what happened to me."

"Vivi…" Emma set down her makeup brush and turned to Vivian.

"But you have to fight, okay?" Vivian's eyes glowed with newfound resolve. "Use my experiences as a lesson. Don't become like me from before."

Emma smiled brightly, "Yes, ma'am!"

After Emma left for a study room, Vivian got dressed in simple clothing and texted Marcus, asking to meet up. While waiting for a response, she headed for the library to use their computer. Vivian wasn't going to commit the same mistakes as before and put someone else's happiness above her own.

Knowing that opening her own restaurant was impossible now, Vivian's current goal was to get hired as a chef for learning experience. She sent online applications to available positions and made note of places that only took in person resumes. Vivian printed the list of addresses and tucked it away. She opened her phone and saw no new messages, even though a couple hours had passed.

She stuck her phone in the back pocket of her jeans and exited the library. It had been a long time since she had been to college, so she took the scenic route around campus. There wasn't much more for her to do besides making plans to move out and figure out what to do in life.

Vivian tilted her face up and let the sun shine on her face. She still couldn't believe that everything was real. That she was getting another chance to amend her future and determine her own path.

Vivian stopped at the willow tree planted by the lake. It was a famous spot on campus for romance. She stepped through the billowing branches towards the trunk, where generations of students have carved their names onto the wood, hoping their love will last. Vivian's eyes drifted to a spot near an exposed root. Kneeling down, her fingers brushed over the slightly weathered engraving.

She remembered when Marcus and her snuck out in the middle of the night to inscribe their names onto the tree. It had been around a year since they started dating and Marcus wanted to do something special for their anniversary. Vivian was initially against sneaking out, having a test coming up, but he eventually convinced her to leave her dorm for a little while.

Bundling up in a warm hoodie, she crept out the door so as to not disturb Emma, and waited outside for Marcus. It didn't take long for him to show up, carrying a bag on his back.

"What's that?" she asked.

"You'll see in a minute." Marcus smiled impishly and held out his hand for her to take. "Come with me?"

Vivian reached for his outstretched hand and took it, "I'm already out here."

It was late but their surroundings were illuminated by the glowing street lamps and the bright full moon that watched them from above.

"We're here." Marcus said after they had walked for a couple minutes.

Vivian looked at the reflection of the moon on the lake's surface and felt the slight breeze that made the willow branches dance and sway in the wind. "It feels different being here in the dark."

"Doesn't it?" Marcus had set his bag on the ground and was rummaging in it, phone light in hand. "Got it!"

"What is it?" Vivian knelt down next to him on the grass and peered curiously at the box in his hand.

Marcus cracked it open and tilted it for her to see.

"Chisels?"

"Yup!" he grinned, "I borrowed them from the Art Department. We are going to carve our names on this tree." Marcus patted the trunk of the willow tree they were under.

"Do you know how to use them?" Vivian arched her brow skeptically.

"First time for everything." He studied the chisels before selecting a small one. "Okay so I looked it up online and basically you just hit the chisel with a mallet." Marcus peeked in his bag and pulled one out. "Wanna go first?" he asked, holding the tools out to her.

Vivian wrinkled her nose at him, "You asked me to sneak out so we can commit vandalism and you want me to go first?" She grabbed the tools from his hands. "Just this once then, for you."

Marcus grinned and she smiled back, then both of them giggling like little kids about to commit mischief.

"Where should we put it?" Vivian glanced at the tree towering above them, surface littered with little marks.

Marcus shone his flashlight on the tree above, looking for an unmarked area. "Well most of the area up there is covered, and you won't be able to reach the areas above the majority of the other carvings." he threw her a teasing glance.

Vivian pinched his arm lightly, "Oh, what about here?" she pointed to a clear spot by the base of the tree, slightly obscured by a protruding root.

"That looks good, let's do it."

Marcus held the flashlight while Vivian tapped out a crooked V onto the wood.

"...well, it's a V." Marcus tilted his head and examined the letter.

"Let's see you do better." Vivian switched her tools with his flashlight.

"Bet." Marcus said confidently. He began chiseling with the utmost care, biting his tongue in concentration.

"..I think it's fair to say that I win." Vivian laughed, looking at the deformed M sitting next to her V which appeared almost perfect in comparison.

"Must be the knife skills." Marcus grumbled.

They both sat under the tree and Vivian patted Marcus's hair, running her fingers through the dark, silky strands. He leaned his head on her shoulder, peacefully quiet.

"You still owe me for the bet though." Vivian spoke up, tugging on a lock of his hair.

Marcus sighed, "Alright, I'll buy you whatever you want to eat this weekend."

Vivian smiled and kissed the corner of his mouth , "Love you."

He reached around and gently pinched her cheek, "I think you might like food more than me."

"Maybe." she smiled cheekily. "Happy one year anniversary."

"Happy one year anniversary."

Vivian whispered. It seemed like such a long time ago to her, but for her now, it should have occurred roughly six months ago. She stood, brushing the grass sticking to her knees. There was hardly anyone nearby, everyone was either cramming for finals or had already moved away for the summer. She was about to leave herself, but a loud splash made her head whip towards the lake.

Not far from the water edge, a hand briefly appeared before sinking under. Vivian didn't know which idiot decided to go into the lake without knowing how to swim but she tossed off her shoes and dove in.

When she got to the spot where the person went under, Vivian gulped in a breath of air and went under. She squinted in the murky water and flailed around, feeling for any part of the person she could grab onto.

Her hand smacked into his wrist and she gripped it before they could slip away. Hauling them up, she hooked her elbows under their armpits and began swimming up. She swam on her back, dragging them to the edge of the water and pulling them ashore.

They began coughing and Vivian let out a sigh of relief. She helped them sit up and patted their back.

"Thanks." the person said as their coughing subsided and turned towards Vivian.

"Marcus?"