Fourth Place (1)

The sounds of excitement fill the Ewelock Creamery. Classes are over for today, so the small shop is packed with the academy's students. They sit and indulge in the various ice cream flavors, even making videos to suggest different flavors to the other students. In a small pocket of the shop, two boys are eating peacefully.

The bigger of the two, Jacob munches on a double decker ice cream sandwich. His broad frame is awkwardly cramped around the small round table between them. His sleeves are rolled to his elbows as he leans forward, trying to keep ice cream from dripping on his sweater vest. Although splotches of chocolate have already smeared his face.

In contrast, the other boy, Rocco, wears a standard-issue Shepard Academy uniform. The blazer is embroidered with an insignia displaying a sheep on a white field. His shirt and tie are neatly pressed. His dark brown hair has crisp peaks on top, while the back falls to his shoulders. Rocco idly eats from a bowl of coffee ice cream when Jacob suddenly speaks up.

"Have you ever heard of a Third Place?"

Jacob’s question comes out faintly between his chews. Rocco doesn't answer immediately. Instead, he pauses digging into his ice cream, letting the spoon clink against the metal bowl.

"No? Don't think I have. What's that?"

Jacob takes an aggressive bite of his sandwich. He finishes chewing this time, one hand reaching up to tug at his crooked collar before answering.

"It's like a place you go to hang out with people. Besides work and home."

Rocco looks around the creamery, taking in the sight. He takes a listless spoonful of ice cream, then spins it in slow circles.

"Like here?"

Jacob surveys the creamery too, a grin spreading across his face.

"Exactly!"

Jacob takes one last bite, shoving the rest of the sandwich in his mouth.

"Now have you heard of a Fourth Place?"

The question comes out as a muffled blur around a mouth full of melting ice cream. Rocco narrows his eyes, trying to decipher what Jacob asked. He gives up after a while and just shakes his head in surrender. Jacob wipes his sticky hands on a napkin before fishing in his messenger bag. He pulls out a square piece of paper. He unrolls it on the table to reveal a printed-out map of a mall.

After finishing the last of his ice cream, Rocco leans over. He looks at it, but it's a standard mall map, the kind you'd stare at after getting lost in the perfume department haze. He then looks back at Jacob.

"A mall?"

Jacob shakes his head, rubbing his palm over the paper like he's polishing a treasure map.

"No, not just any mall. Mall World!"

Rocco retains a mask of confusion. Without making a sound, he stands up and checks his blazer for stains. After seeing that he is clean, he picks up the metal dish and heads for the counter. Jacob scrambles to refold the map, nearly tripping over his chair to catch up to Rocco.

"Okay, the conversation got a bit lost at the end."

Rocco hands the bowl to the cashier. He grabs a handful of napkins and gives them to Jacob. Jacob is puzzled as he looks and sees no chocolate marks on his vest. Rocco motions around his mouth.

"Maybe you should finish chewing before engaging in a conversation."

A group of girls stop making their video to giggle at Jacob. Red tints his face, highlighting the chocolate stains even more. Jacob snatches the napkins to clean himself.

"Well, you should have asked me to repeat...hey! Wait up!"

Jacob throws the dirty napkins away and rushes to Rocco, who is already heading out the door.

Shepherd Academy, the school that guides the next generation of the elite. A boarding school roughly a fifteen-minute drive from the city. It's where the brightest go before they're dropped off at the lucky Ivy League school their parents donate to. Rocco exits the creamery located in the southeast section of the campus.

He takes in the bleak scene around him. Gray skies mirror the slick, moist pathways, and the grass is sodden. It's normally a beautiful place with clear skies; however, it's the middle of the rainy season. Jacob joins him soon after taking a bit to catch his breath.

"So that's what I was trying to say. Mall World is a fourth place."

Rocco scratches his head trying to figure out what Jacob is trying to say.

"Where were you getting all this place stuff from anyway?"

He pulls out his phone and opens a PDF.

"From a paper Mimi wrote."

Rocco shoves Jacob; the action barely does anything to move him but makes Jacob scramble to not drop his phone.

"You should have started with that! Just read from the paper."

The two make their way across campus, heading towards the west corner, where the library is located. Along the way, they make various stops Rocco needs to make. He hands his forgotten homework to Professor Riel, who accepts it with a pleased nod. The professor continues to walk towards the main building when another student nearly clips him. Rocco smoothly hands off a game key card without breaking stride as the student escapes from punishment. The duo comes across Ashlyn, their friend, confirming their library plans. Rocco mentions that they might be a few minutes late. All while this is happening, Jacob reads from Mimi's paper.

"While it's commonly known that there are three places in our social environment. The first place is the home, the second place is work or school, and the third is a communal space where you don't have to worry about the problems of the first and second. I believe there are two additional ones: a fourth place and a fifth place. The fourth place is the subconscious area we visit in our dreams, and the fifth place is the afterlife."

Their final stop is Sanja, who waits patiently by a coffee cart. She wears a soft smile upon seeing Rocco, revealing her braces that are styled like stars. Her black hair is styled into Dutch waterfall braids, eyes that shine like liquid mercury, and a face that would attract anyone if it weren't marked with a large scar on the right side of her face. The scar resembles an X and could easily just be a birthmark or not.

She joins them without a word, falling into step as they veer toward a small, hidden corner behind the library. Rocco lifts Sanja up against the walls still damp from the morning showers. He holds her sweater vest down at her waist so her blouse doesn't become wet and begins to make out with her. Jacob positions himself in a way to conceal them with his wide frame. Clearing his throat, he raises his voice just a tad. Not loud enough to draw attention to them but just enough so it doesn't get drowned out by the sounds of kissing.

"Mall World seems to be the fourth place. The only one of its kind so far. A mall where dreamers can meet and socialize without worrying about time or reality. A place where people can really connect on a deep psychological level. Without being bound by the constraints of the first three spaces. Its liminal appearance with rows and rows of empty space gives a quiet, peaceful atmosphere. Unlike the withering dread of societal decay like malls in reality."

Now that he understands what Jacob has been talking about, Rocco stops kissing Sanja.

"Wouldn't the afterlife make more sense as the fourth place?"

Jacob pockets his phone. He keeps his eyes focused on the water fountain just in front of the library. Watching as the people around it slowly leave.

"No, if there's another place where we can hang out before the afterlife, then it should count."

"If it's real."

Sanja pulls Rocco back in, kissing him before he can finish responding. He lets her for a moment before continuing.

"I assume you want to go there?"

Jacob turns to face Rocco after the last person leaves the fountain.

"It's the rainy season. There's nothing else to do on the weekends."

Rocco nods in agreement. During the rainy season, Shepherd Academy students tended to spend more time on campus. If too many of them went out, it was hard to find reliable drivers to take them to the city.

Rocco returns to kissing Sanja. The passion is a lot more audible as it clashes with the low rumble of thunder overhead. He takes this time to assess the information. A realm that only exists in dreams. It doesn't have any logic to its existence or how it's sustainable when the dreamer leaves. Doubts swirl in Rocco's head while his tongue intertwines with Sanja's.

Rocco remembers his father’s words: Never take a bet you don’t fully believe in. He doesn’t understand how Mall World can exist, but he trusts Jacob and Mimi. Mostly Mimi. If she’s done the research, the odds are over seventy-five percent. He pulls away from Sanja and turns back to Jacob.
"But is it really feasible for us to enter a dream world?"

"Absolutely!"

Sanja interjects, her words broken as she tries to catch her breath.

"Although the logistics are rather complicated. You two would need to synchronize REM sleep in a matter of a decasecond. Especially if you have no prior training in lucid dreaming."

Neither Rocco nor Jacob expected Sanja to be paying attention to their discussion. Rocco tries to free himself but she tightens her legs around his waist. Realizing escape would be pointless, Rocco settles on top of her. He stares into her shimmery eyes before asking.

"Would that be difficult to pull off?"

Using her grip on him, Sanja lifts herself off the wall while she explains:

"The outcome with the highest possibility would be to induce sleep for both of you. Pharmaceutically, just to be safe. However given the differences in your statures, finding the right dosage would take..."

"Beartime Gummies!"

Jacob and Rocco interrupt her. Sanja is so dazed by their excitement that her hold weakens slightly. Rocco slips free and joins Jacob, who’s digging through his messenger bag. He only realizes his mistake when he hears the hard thud of Sanja landing on the stone pathway.

While Rocco is distracted, Jacob pulls out a crumpled bag of gummies. On the front, a cartoon bear in a nightcap and polka dot pajamas smiles sleepily.

"These still look good. No meltage here!"

Jacob inspects the bag while Rocco helps Sanja off the floor. He helps adjust her knee socks, pulling them right up to the absolute territory while Sanja fixes her sweater vest.

"Perfect. Sounds like we're set."

Rocco steals one last kiss before reaching for a couple of gummies. He stops when he feels her tugging on his blazer sleeve. She wears a tight smile while wiping the back of her pleated skirt.

"How quaint. Are we still on for Saturday?"

Rocco looks to Jacob, waiting for him to interject. However, he's too busy looking at the gummy bag. It takes him a moment to realize Rocco is staring at him, waiting for a reply.

"Well, we're going at night."

At that, Rocco turns to Sanja, who awaits his confirmation.

"Sure."

She leaps on him to give a quick hug.

"Splendid! Have fun in Mall World!"

She takes off, leaving the boys by themselves. They watch her scamper off, nearly colliding with a passing teacher. Jacob shoves the gummies in his bag and hunches over to whisper to Rocco.

"I didn't know you were dating Sanja."

Rocco gives him a puzzled look.

"I'm not. She helped me finish a paper, so I returned the favor."

They walk out of the hiding spot and make their way to the library entrance. For a brief moment, Jacob stands aside as Rocco climbs the stairs. Only after recalling one of the earlier stops does Jacob catch up.

"Professor Riel?"

"Yup."

Rocco briefly opens the door before quickly shutting it. His hair gets disheveled as he rubs the back of his head.

"Shit. That was rude of me."

He turns to face Jacob, looking regretfully.

"Did you want a turn making out with her?"

Jacob considers the late proposal. After some time he shakes his head.

"It feels like I would be in negative debt if I did."

Rocco shrugs as they enter the library.