It takes two to make a thing go right...

***

CHAPTER 9:

SOULMATE

Contrary to what I expected, there was no response from anyone. They were looking at me with vacant eyes and lips slightly parted. Their strange reactions made me doubt myself. Was I mixing up names, perhaps? I reached into my bag and pulled out the envelope, double-checking what was written on the paper.

"Yes, Mars," I said confidently. "Here, you can check yourself."

Ursa didn't even glance at the paper I handed her. Instead, her gaze was locked onto my face, her eyes brimming with concern. "Mars..." she repeated, and for the first time, her usual bubbly demeanor was nowhere to be found.

"Do you know him?" I asked.

Diego, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else, took a massive bite of his meal; Lark buried her head in her cards, and Helene stared blankly into her milk. Naturally, it was up to Ursa to spill the tea.

"Yes, we know him," she said, forcing a smile. "In fact... few souls in the Dorm haven't crossed paths with him. He's, uh, kind of a big deal around here."

"Kind of?" Diego scoffed. He quickly crammed another forkful into his mouth, hoping to avoid Ursa's withering glare.

"So?" I said, trying to understand why this was a problem. Mars's popularity was probably because of his talent as an artist. As long as he aced his classes, why should I care about his social life? But... Ursa's face was morphing into a tension ball.

"So..." she began, fishing for the right words. "Mars marches to the beat of his own drum, you could say. And that doesn't exactly make him a great team player with his soulmates."

"In simpler terms," Helene cut in, "He's the poster child for selfishness. That's why not a single soulmate of his has made it back to the land of the living."

"What?" I gasped, practically launching out of my seat. "What does that even mean?"

This time, Ursa shot Helene a glare that could melt icebergs. Then, she gently guided me back into my chair as if she was afraid I might pass out from the bomb she was about to drop. She coughed. Took a sip of her milk. Cleared her throat. Took another sip. But when she noticed I was about to scream, she began to explain.

"Mars is one of the OG souls in the Dorm. Nobody knows exactly when he rolled up here. Or why, for that matter... He's super tight-lipped about his past life. As far as we know, he was the only child of a very wealthy family. He had a good life. But for whatever reason, he's not interested in returning to the land of the living. Maybe he's just vibing so hard here that he has no reason to leave."

She tried to lighten the mood with a chuckle, but it fell flatter than day-old soda. She coughed again and soldiered on.

"Since he's not chasing that 'return to life' dream, he's not exactly hitting the books either. He spends most of his time strumming his guitar and... well, doing other things... that mostly involve beautiful girls. So... he's not exactly a model study buddy for his soulmates."

"In other words," Helene butted in once more, "He'd rather serenade to every possible girl around him and jam out than crack open a textbook. That's why his soulmates eventually give up and stop trying. Then..." She traced an imaginary airplane in the air. "Off they go to the great beyond."

I felt the blood drain from my dead body. Judging by Diego and Ursa's worried faces, I must have been as pale as a ghost. "So you are saying..." I burst out. "Just because some guy thought this place was a holiday resort, people don't get to clock back into their lives?"

Ursa's face was pitiful. "The situation isn't as dire as it seems, actually. I mean, yes, Mars's previous soulmates didn't have much luck, but there must be a reason why the Dorm matched them. They probably would have chosen the other side anyway." She glanced around, hoping for some backup from her crew, but it was more like a solidarity eye-roll fest.

"I highly doubt Alice would endorse that theory," Lark remarked, all cool and collected. "Especially considering she got to a point where she couldn't take it anymore and decided to leap into the Void..." She slapped a card down from the deck, almost shoving it in our faces. It was the Tower. A tower in shambles... and I felt like one of the little figures plummeting from it in the illustration.

"Who's Alice?" I asked in horror. "And what's the Void?"

Instead of giving me a straight answer, Ursa let out a little yelp, "Lark! Don't confuse the girl on her first day!" Then, she sucked in a deep breath and turned to me. "Forget what they're saying, Olive. Why stress about Mars's ex-soulmates? Their journey was theirs; yours is totally different. You'll carve out your own path. Plus, think about it," She flashed me a big grin. "You'll have the coolest mate ever. Right, Diego?"

Diego nodded like his life depended on it. "Coolest by far!"

"And crazy talented," Ursa chimed in. "If you saw him on stage..."

"Please don't," Lark said wearily. "We don't need another girl falling for him."

Ignoring her once again, Ursa took my hand. "You'll see. Everything will be fine. Yes, Mars is a bit of a maverick and a bit indulgent in his pleasures, but everyone loves him."

"Except his soulmates," Helene corrected.

"Most souls!" Ursa emphasized, leaning toward me as if shielding Helene's remark. "Most souls love him! I'm sure you'll be one of them. Once your blood gets pumping, the rest will follow. You won't even notice how time flies here!"

"No doubt you'll have fun," Lark chuckled under her breath.

My nostrils flared. My fists were clenched on the table. "No," I said, shaking my head vigorously, enough to hurt my neck. "I refuse. They need to find me another mate. Who do I need to talk to? Administrative affairs were on the seventh floor, right? Or do I need to go straight to the Principal?"

As I leaped to my feet, a bunch of things happened simultaneously. Ursa jumped from her seat, Diego reached out as if to soothe me, the squirrel and the meerkat rose on their hind legs, the chameleon stuck out its tongue, and the owl swiveled its head one hundred eighty degrees towards me, cocking it to the side. Lark's hand, holding the card, remained suspended mid-air while Helene's wide-open eyes remained fixated on mine.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Ursa's voice pitched up in panic. "Soulmates don't just switch up like that. This is unheard of! It'd throw the whole Dorm into chaos. Picture this... if everyone who's not vibing with their match just trooped up to the Principal's office. What would happen to this place then?"

The answer was mayhem, and I couldn't care less. After all, I wasn't here to stay forever. "I'm not becoming soulmates with that boy," I insisted. "I need someone to help me return to life, not some smooth operator. The Principal will understand that."

Ursa shrank before me, overwhelmed with stress. "Olive, honey..." she softened her voice even more. "I understand you're scared. But you haven't even met Mars yet. Why not give him a shot before making a wrong decision?"

Arms crossed, I lifted my chin defiantly. "A wrong decision? What's worse than signing up for something doomed from the get-go?"

Ursa sighed in frustration. As she closed the gap between us, her expression turned dead serious, her words meant for my ears only. "Think about it, Olive," she urged. "How many souls are kicking it here? How many came and went before you? We're all looking for a second chance, just like you. Do you really think they'd mess it all up because one soul is acting up?"

I pondered. Despite my upright stance, Ursa's question had rattled my determination. Sensing this, Ursa pressed on.

"And what happens to the one who messes up the order, Olive? What if they see you as a problem and boot you out of the Dorm? Is it better to roll the dice with Mars or to lose your second chance altogether?"

My heart raced. There was no way they'd kick me out. They couldn't, right? But then again, how could I be sure of anything in this crazy realm? I scanned the table, hoping for someone to rally behind me. This was the moment I expected Helene to drop a truth bomb and Lark to share some wisdom. But now, no one, not even the animals, met my gaze. Ursa's words hung heavy in the air, silencing us all.

Ursa's smile softened. "Trust in the Dorm," she said gently. "Give Mars a chance. You never know how it might play out."

I knew exactly how it would play out. If I didn't do something about it... Ursa was right; I couldn't afford to lose my second shot. I wasn't in a position to fight alone against a divine administrative team. But this cocky Mars dude? He was fair game. I didn't know what his past partners had been through, but with me, things would be different. Since I couldn't rewrite the Dorm's rules, I'd rewrite him.

"Where can I find Mars?" I asked.

My question brought back Ursa's familiar chirpiness. Her face lit up; her hair sparkled, her cheeks turned rosy. She was oblivious to the dark plans I had in mind regarding Mars.

"Mars... he must be around here somewhere," she said with a wide grin, showing all her teeth. "I saw him this morning. Where, oh where, where?"

Even though I had no clue who we were hunting for, I spun around with her as she scanned the area.

"Outside, third table on the right, by the fishpond," Lark chimed in. She didn't even glance back. It was as if her owl had eyes everywhere, surveying for her.

We all followed her direction. Despite standing on tiptoes like Meer and Lola, I still couldn't catch sight of the pond Lark was talking about. With me leading the way and Ursa tagging along, we made our way to the glass doors that opened to the garden. With most of the souls done with their breakfast and milling about, it was like navigating through a crowded concert venue.

We were almost at the exit when Ursa screamed, "There!"

I followed her pointing finger. That's when I spotted the pond adorned with three marble fish statues suspended in the air. And then, my eyes landed on the cat, lounging at the fountain's base, lapping up water flowing from the fish's mouths. Its sleek black fur gleamed against the pink sky. And it looked all too familiar...

Before I could even ponder how many black cats roamed the Dorm, it lifted its head, groomed its paw, and simultaneously locked its yellow gaze onto mine. I didn't know the black cat headcount in the Dorm, but this one was the library's resident feline. I half-expected it to pounce at me like last time, but it couldn't care less about my existence today. It turned its head, swished its tail, and hopped onto the table beside the statue.

I couldn't summon a surprise. I couldn't muster joy. I couldn't even begin to ask why or why not. Because the cat was now nestled in the arms of a boy. That boy had blond hair, blue eyes, a handsome nose, and full lips. No doubt there were plenty of souls in the Dorm who'd kill to be in the cat's place. No doubt I wasn't one of them. Because that boy was none other than the one I had a run-in with in the library. And apparently, he was also my oh-so-arrogant soulmate, Mars.

***

I wish I could say Olive's life would be easy, and everything would go just fine with Mars. Unfortunately, I can't 🥲  As you can imagine, things will only worsen after this lovely encounter. 

So, here's a question for you: Let's say you ended up in the Dorm and had the chance to choose your soulmate. What kind of person would you want? Be creative, surprise me :D

Take care of yourselves until the next chapter!

Kises, EC.