Portia

State College, PA

The Fall of 1993...

Kenneth Paxton was a plain and rather boring twenty-one-year-old young man. Young Ken had never, in his short life, dared to do anything considered "stepping out of line." Nor had he done any action that a fellow peer would deem wild, crazy, or even mildly outlandish. Where some his age would see this as horrifically depressing, Ken thought the opposite. He had never felt the need to fill his youth with acts of social proclivity, especially ones more deviant in nature. To himself, Ken chose to fill his days with old-fashioned, honest-to-good, goal-orientated behavior. Although he had never found himself yearning for life's darker delights, this would soon take a sharp turn for young Ken. An event was about to transpire that would alter the fate of this one boorish bookworm—an event spurred on by his wildly known and equally joked-about goal-orientated behavior.

These goals were modest in size. Lacking any splendor and grandeur. The young man only wished to graduate from college with a business accounting and finance degree. After this, he would pass the certified public accountant exams, and finally, he would join his father's lucrative accounting firm back in his hometown. With his degree and occupation now achieved, Ken hoped to find a nice girl to settle down with and start a moderately sized family. Until then, Ken had no time to develop meaningless friendships or pursue frivolous relationships with girls who would drift away the closer they neared graduation. He believed it was pointless, as friends and lovers would be nothing more than a roadblock to success. In silent paranoia, Ken would even see these potential persons taking jabs at him for his lack of social fun like the various others had done when he was in high school. Those were hard times for the bookish boy, times he had not forgotten, but those times had passed. Now, Ken was a focused young man.

His labors had paid off despite the turmoil faced by the bullies and braggarts. He had earned a full-ride academic scholarship to State College after a perfect straight-A run in high school. A prize he accepted with pride. His achievement even earned him a front-page article in the local paper of his hometown. Upon starting his freshman year, he continued his streak of perfect grades. Course after course, class after class. Nothing seemed to bring the studious Kenneth Paxton to a halt. After his freshman year, he was inducted into the college honor's program. His sophomore year was much like the first, with more straight A's and not a single friend made. This was his sixth year in a row where Ken reached perfection. But the grind was starting to take its toll on him. But he pushed through it, citing references to perseverance for motivational strength. As he was going into his junior year, It appeared that everything was lining up for the young Kenneth Paxton. The bright college youth from Ephretum, Pennsylvania. It was at this apex of academic achievement that we find Ken nearing a crossroads in his life.

It all started with the fall semester of his junior year. His course load was intense and full of rigorous material to tackle. Each lecture attended compounded this hardship, leading to a point of critical mass. This boiling point would be the week of mid-term examinations. Long and arduous did Kenneth study for his mid-terms. Each subsequent test edged him closer to the brink of madness. First, there was his microeconomics test, then one test in business tax law own the following day after. An exam and presentation would follow these in his global trading course. Finally, Thursday would be his last mid-term. A written and oral exam in business psychology. Due to his fear of public speaking, Ken was dreading this exam the most. Ken spent the entire week before his exams in the college library. He ate, slept, and worked in a cramped cubicle. He was barely moving except to nearly crawl toward the college's student gym, where he would shower and change before grabbing food and returning to his studies. Each hour seemed to creep slowly while also rapidly rushing past him at the same time. Ken started to feel the grip of metempsychosis quickly broil within his skull as he frantically tried to memorize every detail within the pages of the textbooks that lay before him.

As Ken was sitting back in his library chair, a sudden sensation came over him. It was like a dream state had consumed his stressed and fragile mind. Fragmented images began to flood into his consciousness. These dream-like memories were of a woman. A woman Ken had never seen before in his life. She was scantily clad in red lingerie and lace. Like cars passing on the highway, each image passed his gaze before he could truly identify this fantastical dream woman. His mind's eye caught glimpses of her curvature. First her backside, then her bare abdomen, then finally her breast. As he soaked in each seductive pass of her captivating frame, Ken began to feel a deep gnawing sensation in the back of his mind. It was like a fire had been lit within his brain. The longer he stayed in the dream trance, the more intense the pain grew. Suddenly, he could hear himself shout out in the silent library. A scream that was both equal parts agonizing as it was orgasmic. As Ken let out the echoing wail, he thought he could hear the woman's voice. She was calling out through the dream-like ether that encompassed them both. "Ken," she was whispering. "Ken..."

"Come to me, Ken."

The words cut through the fog, which shrouded his mind like a sharp-edged dagger. It sounded real as if the woman was next to him whispering those very words right into his ear. Ken could feel the hot breath leave her lips and tickle the inner skin of his ear. The shock was enough to snap him from his dream-like trance. Ken wiped the sweat from his brow and sides of his face. He was embarrassed and could not hide the fact from the few students staring at him in shock after his sudden and crazed outburst. Ken packed his things and left the college library as quickly as possible. The week of his exams rapidly passed him by. Though a portion of his mind was consumed with fear and doubt over his performance, a more significant portion could not shake the anxiety over the bizarre and sudden dream state that had come over him in the library the week before exams had started. The lucid state consumed Ken he experienced that night. Was it a stroke? Was it a short triggered episode of psychosis spurred on by sleep deprivation? Ken even called home and woke his mother one night. He questioned her endlessly about any family history of mental illness. It was in vain, as both his mother and father denied any claims of mental illness on both sides of his family. When his parents tried to question him as to why he was calling so late inquiring about a topic as morbid as mental illness, Ken quickly dropped the subject and wished them both goodnight. The investigation was getting him nowhere. The only thing remotely positive to come from the entire affair was that it seemed to make the potentially worst week of his college career, a little more easier to bare. Every night, he could not help but lay in bed and wonder who the mysterious woman was that plagued his dreams that day in the library. It haunted Ken.

It finally came to an end. On Friday, the most challenging week of Kenneth’s college career had finally ended. Friday afternoon had finally arrived, and with it came rest and contemplation. Ken spent most of the morning in bed. He tried resting, but to no avail. His thoughts were consumed with the memories of his hyper-sexual and mysterious psychosis. He tossed and turned in bed, wanting nothing more than to forget the entire event and move on with his life. The woman had become a plague on his brain. He both desired to know who she was, and at the same time never wanted to see her haunting face agAt this time, Ken was approached by his closest friend and roommate, Johnathan Jackson, whom he nicknamed ‘Jay’ for short. Jay had approached Ken’s room and inquired about his week and exams. To Jay’s surprise, Ken told him about the entire affair. He talked about stress and academic performance. Ken even went as far as proclaiming that he would like nothing more than to go on a vacation outside of state college. This final remark shocked Jay the most. Smiling, Jay leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms.

“Well, my friend, you are in luck. Because the others and I plan on heading out of town for the weekend. And we would love for you to join us!”

Ken shot upright in bed and gave Jay a glowing smile. Without hesitation, he agreed to go.

Ken would have turned this opportunity down the moment it presented itself. But this was not a normal circumstance. This time, Kenneth shut out the thoughts about his mother’s concern, his father’s stern lectures, and his own personal fears of failure. Deep down, he felt he had earned this vacation after his week of hard work. Ken took no time to pack his things for the weekend. Once a few bags were filled with shirts, socks, and other necessities, Ken hurried down the stairs in haste to pack the vehicle and join his roommates. When Ken appeared in the driveway, the others were shocked to see him. Ken helped the others in packing Jay’s old black SUV. Then, after they loaded into the vehicle, they shared a conversation about the week they had all experienced. Soon, all four men were on the open road and heading to their destination.

To be continued...