One Must Imagine Sisyphus Happy

Another very long DILD saga with lucidity fading in and out. Whenever I'm in these long dreams and my lucidity peaks, I make mental notes about what has happened so far, so that I can recall it all when I wake. I think that's why I can remember so much. Its also why the narrative still seems to flow continuously, with callbacks to previous elements, even as the scenes tend to morph abruptly in their superficial features.

School of Orwell

I am in my childhood bedroom. I intuit that it is before school on a Tuesday morning, and that I missed school on Monday so I will need to catch up. My mother enters and scolds me about missing school. She puts a delivery box on my desk. I argue with her a bit, trying to assure her that it's no big deal. Really, I just want her out of my room. She leaves.

I open the box. Inside I find the parts for an electronic device that needs to be assembled. I skip the instructions and just start fastening pieces of plastic with the nuts and bolts. When I complete the thing, it looks a bit like the head of a guitar. It is tapered at one end with two rows of adjustment knobs along the sides. On the flat face, I spot four buttons. Looking at the instructions, I learn that this thing was provided by and required for school. It's a pedometer, but it also tracks how you use your time. That's what the four buttons are for. Each student is to push the button to correspond to their current school activity and it all gets tracked and analyzed by the school. (I think of how terribly Orwellian this idea is; and then immediately lament how close our reality is to that Orwellian dystopia.)

Reluctantly, I push the button labeled "Channel 6: Normal school activities" and put the device in my pocket. I start filling my pockets with other things. When I pick up a pair of pliers and a kitchen knife, I realize I shouldn't be bringing those to school. I stumble out the door awkwardly, my pockets overflowing with trinkets. I trip and fall. Hello, carpet.

Before the Goddess

I look up. I'm no longer in my house. I'm in a college dorm hallway and right in front of me is the neighboring room. The door is open and inside I see The Girl Next Door In Red. She is a sort of proto-Goddess character from long ago, although I don't make that connection in this moment. She is getting dressed. Her girl parts are covered by matching red underwear, but I can see everything else. I must have a goofy stare on my face. Her eyes catch mine, but she isn't upset. She acts a little embarrassed but then she starts teasing me, posing as she slowly pulls on her jeans.

Still on the floor, I notice the school tracking device has spilled out of my pocket and broken in front of me. The Girl Next Door steps over me and continues on down the hallway. She looks back at me over her book bag and gives me a look like: You'd better hurry up if you're going to catch me. I fumble with the device, trying to re-assemble it quickly. As I work at it, a cat wanders in from the left and sits right in front of me. He (or she?) has a dark coat with a few flecks of brown and orange. The cat looks at me and raises his paw.

Amused, I address the cat: "Do you have a question?"

The cat doesn't speak, but I understand his communication. From his body posture, I sense that he is concerned about something. I sense him say: "Will there not be any cheating, this time?"

"No. No cheating." I don't know what the cat might mean, but my reflex was to say whatever to relieve his concern. The cat looks down the hallway and that reminds me that I was going somewhere. I follow his eyes down the hallway, but the scene has changed again.

I Never Bluff

I am in the living room of one of my adult friends, Benjamin. Well, now the presence of the cat makes a little more sense. I intuit that I was invited along with some others to have dinner with Ben and his wife. I'm still holding the school device though. It seems now that it belongs to Ben and he is asking me to assemble it for him to save time.

I start to have some fun with him: "I would gladly put this together... if you can compensate me for my time."

"You want to get paid?" He thinks a moment. "How about a free dinner..."

I retort: "No, you already offered me a free dinner and I accepted. This is a separate deal. I get paid, or I walk."

Ben gives me a bizarre look, like I'm taking the joke too far. What he doesn't know is that I'm not joking. I don't want to be here so I'm looking for clever way to leave. "Alright," he says, calling my bluff. "There's the door."

I pick up and leave without a second thought. Now then, where was I going... oh right, school.

Back to School

I cross the street away from Ben's place, enter a building, and I find my way onto the elevator. Scanning the faces, I don't spot The Girl Next Door but I do recognize some people from high school. We are riding this elevator up to our first period math class. The elevator stops a few times and more students enter. It's quite crowded now. They are complaining about math. One of the people to enter is Anne, who is also based on a real person, but not from high school. What is Anne doing here... I conjure some false memories. Yes, Anne would have had math first period, but I wasn't in her class.

I groan to my friends that I'm going to the wrong class. And I missed school the previous day and don't remember my schedule. I make eye contact with Anne and she smiles at me. Ah! How I wish I was in Anne's class so I could talk to her more.

I ask a question toward the whole group, but I'm hoping Anne will answer. "What did I miss yesterday?"

Anne doesn't reply. Instead, in the crowd I detect the voice of The Girl Next Door In Red. She is on the elevator after all. She explains that class was interrupted by a group of guys setting off the fire alarms. Other people chime in to fill in the details. Apparently, a group of "999's" had climbed up the fire escape and entered the building. "999" means they may be mentally ill. I remark how strange that is. But the conversation returns to the fact that I'm not in their same class this period, and I don't remember which class I should be in.

"Don't you take German first period?" suggests one guy on the elevator.

"No, I don't take German but everyone thinks that. If I did take a language it would be Danish..." I trail off. Oh, I remember what class I should be in: History. I push the button to stop the elevator on the next floor. I give one last glance toward Anne. To my surprise, she has pushed through the crowd to stand next to me.

She speaks: "Hey, I wanted to ask you a question." But before she can continue, she becomes aware of the crowd gawking at us. Everybody knows Anne has a boyfriend, so it doesn't look too good that she's whispering with me. She loses her nerve and turns away.

The elevator stops and I exit onto a fire escape. It's a rickety metal staircase that doesn't feel very safe. I have to go down about 10 stories. It's only wide enough for one person, but there are a few guys climbing up. So we have to be very careful passing each other. Then I remember my classmates talking about people sneaking in via the fire escape. I get nervous. Maybe these guys are the 999's. I even have a heated exchange with one of them. I forget the exact words, but he was upset and I tried to be nonchalant so just get past him. This succeeds and I am happy that I avoided the situation without fighting.

"Maybe"

I am nearing the ground floor, just a couple stories to go. I look out and see that the area in front of me looks like a circus tent and inside I see rows of metal railings, like the zig-zag lines at an amusement park to wait for a ride. I spot Anne down below, just about to enter the tent. Huh, maybe we are in the same class after all. I call to her. "Anne! Hey! Hey, what did you want to ask me?!"

Anne turns and spots me. She seems puzzled at why I am on the fire escape. And she's a bit embarrassed at the situation. But she shouts back: "I -- I wanted to ask if you wanted to go see a movie tonight!"

Oh, nice. But, no. Anne has a boyfriend. Or maybe that's over? I'm conflicted. I yell "Maybe!" This is not well received. She seems hurt because it sounds like I'm rejecting her. I am begin honest though. I want to go with her, but I don't know if I can considering that this dream has been so topsy-turvy already. To reassure her, I adjust my response: "I mean: Definitely maybe!" I try to detect if her reaction improves, but I can't tell as she turns away and into the circus tent. Damn. I might have messed that up.

History

I hurry down the rest of the stairs. I enter the tent. It is indeed my History class. I recognize my teacher. Instead of desks, there's rows for standing, separated by metal rails. I scan the room for Anne but don't find her. Class is about to begin, so I choose a spot near the middle and front. To my pleasant surprise, just as the bell rings, Anne takes the last available spot, which is right in front of me. The cat is here too, wandering between the students and rubbing against their legs.

The teacher starts lecturing. He begins by explaining the tracking devices that we were given. He checks that everyone assembled theirs. He then distributes a new textbook, which is received with groans. He also circulates a roll of clear plastic, like Saran wrap. The students tear off a sheet and adhere it to the front of the textbook to protect it. The roll doesn't get to me. Instead, to my left I recognize another familiar face from my waking past, Justin. He tears off a sheet and hands it to me. I put it on my book crooked. I tear off the stray corners and roll them into a ball. Like a basketball, I shoot this ball of trash toward a trashcan next to the teacher's desk. But it looks like a toilet seat. My ball lands and sticks on the rim. Damn. Another near miss.

Justin and I spend the next few minutes trying to get the trash to fall into the bowl. As the teacher paces back and forth, we have a few opportunities to act behind his back. In fact, the whole class is goofing off whenever the teacher's back is turned. We try a few different things. Blowing. Throwing more trash to try to tip it in. Finally, Justin pulls out a yardstick and extends it to reach. Just in time before the teacher notices.

Phew. With that little secret mission a success, I am now emboldened. I turn my attention back to Anne in front of me. I don't see her face, but I move closer to her and put my hands on her waist. Then I slide them down to her hips. I pull her body closer to me. I smell her hair. I breathe down her neck. I can feel her arousal trembling through her body.

Happy Endings

My revery is broken when the teacher slams his textbook shut. I am startled, but it seems that class is over and nothing more. The teacher walks into a back room and gone for good. The lights dim and the students relax. But we all remain in our rows. It seems the next class is beginning. The lighting turns to stage lights in many colors. They start flashing and music starts playing like we're in a dance club. The new teacher walks in. It's an attractive young woman, but older than the students. She wears a low-cut sequin dress that ends above her knee. I try to determine the color of her dress and of her hair, like I always do for dream characters, but the flashing colored lights make it impossible.

This new teacher starts lecturing but we can hardly understand with the loud music. Anne is no longer in front of me. I look around and see her a couple rows behind and to my right. Why did she move? We make eye contact but she doesn't smile or indicate anything. Hmm. There's a new group of people in front of me. The class has almost doubled in size. I don't recognize any of these new students.

More time passes. I don't remember it all; it was a blur of light and pounding music. I recall the cat returned yet again. And now there's a second cat, although it looks more like a sock puppet. I pet them both. Then a second teacher enters under the spotlights at the front of the class. It's another young woman. She is completely naked. She has fair, but not pale skin and blonde hair. There lecture is something about "happy endings." I am amused that they might either be talking about narrative structure or "massage therapy."

The nude and the other sexy teacher start dancing. It's sort of a jig as they face each other. Their bodies bounce in all the right places and I savor the view, but it is only in glimpses through the crowd in front of me. Now they turn to the class, still dancing. It seems they want everyone to join in, but no one is brave enough to be the first. I recall my intention to act rather than watch. I fly up over the crowd and descend onto the dance floor. I get a very good look at these two beauties. I look them up and down, trying to decide whether I prefer the nude or the dress. I notice their legs and watch for a while, trying to learn the dance steps. I start imitating their steps. They both smile at me, proud that I've caught on. They both approach closer to me and our dance becomes very sexy. The rest of the crowd follows and it's quickly a mob of bodies, pairing off and dancing this odd jig. I reach my hand for the nude's buttocks and give a squeeze. But just as I do, she pairs off with someone else and dissolves into the crowd.

I am left with the girl in the sequin dress. She gets in really close to me and now we're feeling each other up instead of dancing. She whispers seductively to me, recalling the lecture: "Is it time I taught you about happy endings?" We stumble through the dance mob to the edge and find a corner of the room. I pin her back against the wall and kiss her deeply. I feel her body and she moans. I lift the skirt of her dress and thrust into her. Her eyes roll back in pleasure. I am also overwhelmed with pleasure, but I feel most glad that she feel good too. I thrust more and we both look down. It's not the center of my attention but in my peripheral vision, I finally determine the color of her dress. It's orange.

I wake. Wow, that was long. And indeed a happy ending. Quickly though, as I try to organize my recall I remember that I was supposed to meet Anne for a movie. Could I DEILD back and finish that too? I consult my body. No, it's too late. So I just try to sort out the order of events. I feel some tinges of nostalgia and remorse. Before that I was looking for The Girl Next Door In Red. And I was kind of a jerk with Ben. And how long has it been since I saw Justin? Or had any dream that took place in a school? I take it all in and let it just be wonderful in all its complexity.