2. The New AI Jesus!

Dakota Black

Song in the background

🎵‘Ain’t no sunshine when she is gone..’🎵

🎵‘It’s not warm when she is away..’🎵

My fingers softly strum on the steering wheel as I drive through the highway. Music flows through me and I instinctively run a hand through my hair as I think of her..

Emara.

Her name alone makes my chest tighten and stomach flip in a way that shouldn’t be legal. Only God knows how much I miss her!

🎵‘Ain’t no sunshine when she is gone..’🎵

🎵‘Only darkness every day..’🎵

How long has it been since I last saw her?

Too damn long to forget how short she was, how she had to tilt her head up just to meet my eyes. And honestly,  I am scared..

Like really scared that I will forget the sound of her giggles, the way she laughed like a complete crack-head at her own jokes.

I long to hear the sound of her voice, how she murmured in her sleep. I am shit-scared I will never get to hear it again.

My fingers tighten around the steering wheel in a steel grip. I am fucking terrified of the thought that I will never get to see her again. That she is already gone.. And I have lost her forever.

🎵‘And this house just ain’t no home..’🎵

🎵‘Anytime she goes away..’🎵

The song drifts on, each word nudging those memories of the Seven Nights I spent with her.

Like her crazy fan, I have been replaying the clips of when she was still living with me. I am addicted to those videos, to her laugh, her curses, her dances, and her.

Always her.

“Wonder this time where she is gone.. Wonder if she is gone to stay.” I sing along, slowing down and taking a right turn while entering into the university campus.

Having a good connection with the Director, I asked him to let me honour the felicitation ceremony, just so I could sneak in and catch a glimpse of her.

And if Emara doesn’t try to murder me on the spot, I’ll get to talk to her too.

Hell! I’ll drop to my knees if I have to for another chance, or I don’t know kidnap her maybe. She hardly weighs anything anyway.

🎵’I know.. I know.. I know.. I know.. I know..’🎵

I pull into the parking lot and the car rolls into a flawless stop. Memories of my own college days flood back in and I smile at the flashback of bunking, pulling off stupid dares, playing around, getting test-papers leaked..

But no matter how beautiful the day is, the Sun eventually sets.

Stepping out of the car,I glance around, only to notice numerous eyes and cameras locking on me. Well.. Not actually me, but my car!

With a single click, the glass roof of the convertible Roadster activates and in the most smoothest way it slides up like a ribbon through air, as if performing just for them.

It’s hard not to grin as the roof finally settles into the place, causing ‘Woo’ from the crowd.

Only if it was that easy to impress her too!

I walk into the familiar hall of my old college, with every step I stride forward it feels like a trip down the memory lane.

“There comes my favorite student!” The Director, Roger Williams calls me out, his eyes lightning up like a proud father seeing his son return.

“Dakota! Oh, what a surprise!” My former professors greet me almost instantly by a wave of handshakes and warm smiles welcoming me as if I had never left.

“It’s great to see you all again. It feels refreshing.” I say with a smile, trying to mask this rare surge of emotions that I don’t typically indulge in.

“But we see you every day! You are all over the internet. You are like AI Jesus now. ” Professor Elvis Precisely jokes, patting my back with pride.

“We believed in you from the start, Dakota.” One of them adds, “And look at you now.. A CEO!”

I couldn’t help but smile in return, feeling utterly proud and lucky at the same time.

It feels good, the attention, the admiration.. But deep down, what I truly crave is something more. Like affection.

I glance around as we head to the backstage, from where I can see the hall packed with fresh graduates smiling, some sneaking in late, others recording on their phones.

“Kudos, my students! You have made it to the finish line.” Director’s voice booms as he delivers his speech, but my mind is too distracted to process his words.

My gaze keeps sweeping across the sea of faces in the shadow, searching for that one particular cute face that never left my mind.

Where is she?

I know she is sitting somewhere out there, blending in between faces, and eventually, I am going to see her.

Just the thought of seeing her makes my chest pound heavily. I am excited and nervous all at once. I can feel my heart thrashing against my ribs, beating at the same speed as the growing tension inside me.

Fuck! This is too much.

I need to pull it together. I can’t lose my shit now, not when she is about to see me.

I pull out a Xanax and pop it into my mouth, hoping to calm the nervous energy buzzing through me. Just as the pill hits my tongue, I hear my name.

“Co-founder and CEO of HighBars System, also my personal favorite student, Dakota Black!”