by Stacy Borel
I raised my brow. “You make it sound very rustic.”
Aurora shook her head, the blush deepening. “No, not like that.” She seemed flustered.
“Hey, I’m just giving you a hard time.” I smiled to make my words light.
“Next!” We both took a step up to the counter since it was our turn. I couldn’t wait to bite into a juicy burger after the long day I’d had. “What can I get for you girls?” an overweight woman wearing a Louisiana crawfish t-shirt asked impatiently.
I glanced at Aurora and indicated for her to order first. While she was speaking, I was practically drooling watching fries coming out of the deep fryer. Then my entire day came to a halt when I heard a deep, all too familiar voice say my name. “Hadley?”
Every synapse in my brain started rapid firing, and my heart kicked into a full gallop. No, this couldn’t be happening! Of all the times, all the places, and on this massive campus. I’d recognize that voice anywhere. I knew it inside and out like it had been etched in my DNA when I was a little girl. I squeezed my eyes shut as tight as I could, as if I could will the voice to disappear. I blamed my lack of food and sleep on my brain imagining things.
“Hadley.” The voice said it as a statement this time.
My feet felt like they were trapped in wet cement, sinking deeper until I couldn’t move. Definitely not my imagination. More like my past coming to taunt me.
“You gonna order, Honey? Or do you plan on standing there?” Apparently the woman, covered in stains, had had a day as well judging by her rude demeanor.
I had no clue what I was supposed to do, but my appetite was suddenly gone. It had taken off with the horse that had my heart. I sheepishly smiled at the woman and said, “I’m good, thank you.” I looked at Aurora, who was thoroughly confused and handed the teller a twenty-dollar bill.
As much as I didn’t want to, I needed to turn around. I could physically feel Wrigley’s presence looming behind me. Poor Aurora could only focus enough to hand the cashier the money without even looking at her. I turned, and looked up—the guy must’ve grown another five inches in the few short months since I’d seen him at graduation.
I sputtered. “H-hey, Wrigley…nice to see you.” I literally sounded like a chick from a cheesy b-movie.
His brow raised. “Nice to see ya, too,” he replied, looking at me strangely. “I didn’t know you were coming to LSU. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Did I need to? I thought your mom would’ve told you.”
“She didn’t but, I didn’t hear from you all summer.”.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“Doing?”
“Things.”
“Like?”
I felt my anger bristle at his questioning—I was getting the fifth degree. “Getting things ready for college.” I drew out the words in a sarcastic tone.
“Ahem.” I heard next to me. Aurora was looking expectantly at me.
I stared at her, unsure of what she wanted.
A hand shot out in front of me, and she took it. “Hi, I’m Wrigley Brooks,” he offered.
Oh, right. I should’ve introduced them. My bad. I guess my brain had taken a hike along with my appetite. Truly, I’m not a rude person, but I was definitely in a state of shock. Introductions weren’t at the forefront of issues at the moment, however. What was was why on earth, out of the hundreds of thousands of colleges the guy in front of me could have attended, he’d picked my school.
“I’m Aurora, Hadley’s roommate.” She fluttered her lashes and glanced at the group of boys behind him. They were all watching like Wrigley had sprouted two heads. Probably wondering why someone like him was talking to someone like me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked too sharply.
His head jerked back. “I go here.” He took a step forward. “Hadley, are you okay? You seem upset.”
My shoulders dropped. I was being rude and I didn’t like the way I was feeling. “I’m sorry. I’m just...I’m surprised to see you is all.”
“This is where my scholarship is. I got a full ride to attend here.”
I didn’t want to keep up the pretense of irritation. “That’s great. I had no idea.”
“Really? I would’ve thought maybe your mom would’ve mentioned it to you. Our parents ran into each other in the middle of the summer at a BBQ.”
“Nope, they didn’t say anything to me.”
His tone and demeanor changed and the playful Wrigley I’d grown up with came out. He grinned at me. “Well, regardless, I’m here, you’re here, we should get together and have lunch or something.”
That oddly sounded like him asking me on a date, except I knew better. I told myself to say something to pacify him so I could get out of here. “Sure, that would be fun.”
Aurora took a step forward to get our attention. “I’m eating, you’re eating, and I’m assuming you all came here to eat.” What in the hell was she doing? Did she really want us to...what...sit down and have a meal like one, big, happy family? She couldn’t stop looking at the guys Wrigley came in with. I realized that, maybe, my roommate wasn’t as shy as I’d thought she was.
Wrigley reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. He looked back at his group of friends and said, “We are, but we were just heading to a thing one of the guys is having at his apartment.”
The way he said ‘thing’ sounded like a party. The very sort of ‘thing’ I was never invited to, and I certainly wasn’t interested now. “Actually, I still have some unpacking to do, so we will have to catch up another time.”
“But you’re already fin—” Aurora tried to say before I shot around to glare at her. “I can help you when we get back to the room.” She corrected.
Wrigley looked between us skeptically.
“Chili cheese fries, and a plain hot dog; your order is up!” Saved by the grumpy woman at the window. I’d be sure to reward her with a decent tip the next time I came in. Aurora went to snag her food. When she came back, she looked at me, waiting for guidance on what I planned to do next. Good, at least she picked up on the fact that I wasn’t happy and would be ready to go.
I dug deep in the trenches of my soul to pull out a fake smile to flash at Wrigley. “It’s time for us to start heading back. It was nice seeing you.”
He chuckled. “Hadley, you’re always so formal. I have your number. I’ll text you to hang out sometime, okay?”
“Mhmm.” Grabbing Aurora by the wrist, I made my trek outside. I knew Wrigley was watching me leave. As we walked past the three guys, Aurora purposefully shifted so she would lightly bump into one of them. Her paper bag full of food, made a crunching sound.
“Oops, I’m sorry.” She said. “That was very clumsy of me.”
A guy with long, blond hair that went down to his chin, and a tan so dark, it made his blue eyes almost appear white said, “No worries.” He flashed her a grin with a mouth full of perfectly straight white teeth. Her smile grew so big it spanned across her small face. Her batting her lashes at him did me in.
I huffed. “Let’s go.” She walked backwards, maintaining eye contact with him. He winked before the door shut.
When we got outside, I flung my arms up at her. “What was that?”
“What was what?” She looked at me.
“You just bumped into that guy on purpose, then flirted with him.”
“Yeah, so?”
“So… I thought you were shy. Then you go whipping out this sex appeal that apparently you keep locked away like a secret weapon until you find someone worth letting it out on.”
She laughed. “Okay, first of all, I’m not shy, and I’ve never been shy. What on earth gave you that impression?”
I ran my fingers through my hair, frustrated with everything. I suppose her feet shuffling shouldn’t have been my sign that she was weird and emotionally unstable around attractive men. She was likely trying read me with her lack of conversation those first few hours in the room. I didn’t know what to think of this new found knowledge but she
didn’t deserve my anger or confusion to be taken out on her. My assumptions were unfounded. My anger misplaced. Seeing Wrigley had landed me in territory I’d never wanted to be in again.
“It was a mistake on my part. Sorry for being so snippy.”
She started walking in the direction of our dorm. “What happened in there? Aren’t you excited that you know someone from home? Dear Lord, he was a cutie. What was his name again?”
Her enthusiasm made me grin. “Wrigley.”
“Sooo… you know Wrigley. And you went to school with Wrigley. And your parents know Wrigley.”
They were statements, not questions. I nodded. She took a few extra steps and twisted to walk backwards so she could see me as we spoke. Neither one of us were paying the least bit attention to the stifling heat. Or the fact that the sun was dropping lower in the sky and it would be dark in the next hour. I wasn’t sure what she wanted to know. Nor did I know what I wanted to tell her.
It wasn’t that I didn’t have goals. I did but the point of this school was to escape the stigma that was put on me at a young age in Athens, the one I lived with till I came here this morning. It had felt like a burden had been lifted from my shoulders. There was a glorious feeling behind reinventing yourself with strangers. If I told her that I was the nerd with very few friends, and I’d never had a boyfriend, would that dark cloud hang over me here? Would she tell people about me as the year progressed, and I would once again be left out of everything I really wanted to experience? Minimal information would probably be best. And if she questioned it further, I would either ignore it, or I would tell her I didn’t want to talk about it.
“I grew up few houses down from him. I’ve known him most of my life.”
Her bubbly attitude had her nearly bouncing on her toes. “Has he always been that hot?”
I shrugged. “I guess so.”
“Does he have a girlfriend? Guys like that always have girls back home.”
Oh, I’m certain that he had ‘girls’ back home. However, I didn’t think he had anyone serious. Last I’d heard, he’d broken up with Claire after graduation. She was captain of the cheerleading squad, and someone I hated more than anything. Not just because of what she did to me in elementary school, but because she was all around a mean person and didn’t associate with anyone outside of her circle.
“I don’t know, maybe?”
She turned her head to the side curiously. “You like him right?”
“Why on earth would you think that?” I tried to remain aloof.
“Hadley.” She said my name like my mother. “I may not know you all that well, but even a blind person could pick up on how you reacted to him.”
Was I really that obvious? It wasn’t like I actually liked Wrigley. It was just a crush sort of thing. The type of thing happens when a girl likes a guy for so long that it’s just automatic that you act like a complete idiot when they are around and can’t function like a normal human being. It’s how I’d act if I ever saw a unicorn in real life. Wrigley was like my mythological unicorn I was never going to experience in a relationship. I had my imagination and that was good enough.
“Blind people should probably stop trying to see things that aren’t there then. Wrigley was simply the kid down the street and that’s it.”
The side of her mouth tipped up in a smirk. “If you say so.”
I rolled my eyes and kept walking. I honestly had nothing else to say. This whole evening was a mess. My appetite was shot, my head was fuzzy; my new bed and some rest sounded like a great idea.
“Any chance you might want to hang out with him sometime so I can meet his friends?”
“No way.”
“Awe come on. Pretty please.”
I laughed. “Let’s just see how the semester goes. For all we know, we may end up hating each other and hanging out together would be nonexistent.”
“Wow,” she said, elbowing me. “You’re such a positive person.”
I laughed. “I’m a positive person, but I’m also a realist.”
“A real Negative Nancy.”
We both giggled and stepped into our building. I liked Aurora. I really did. She had a lightness to her that I’d not really found in anyone else before. That could have been because people had never really given me a chance to be known. I enjoyed the fact that she knew nothing of me and I knew nothing or her. We were like a batch of cookies being created from scratch. You mixed the sugar, and vanilla, crack the eggs and stir. We were just starting and I wanted to keep on a positive track. I wasn’t Hadley the nerd, or Hadley the loser, or Hadley that was ignored. I was simply Hadley and she seemed to like me.
In order for me to keep this spin, I’d have to drop the mindset that I needed to be skeptical of everyone I let close to me. She was my roommate and my new friend. I liked that word. She was my new college friend. The first of many, I hoped. This being away from home and nobody knowing me thing was going to be great. Even with the boy who used to live down the street on campus.
Chapter Two
IF THIS WAS HOW my mornings would begin, I’d gladly take it for the rest of the semester. First I woke up at eight-thirty, leisurely got myself ready with a shower, light make-up and gloss and headed to my very first college class. Sleeping in did me wonders. I felt bright eyed and bushy-tailed, if that was even a thing. This wasn’t like casual summer days. There was a vigor in the air, and I wanted to conquer the world. I was certain how I started this day off would set the tone for the semester. I was looking forward to this class. It was political science. Typically not everyone’s favorite, but it was one I felt confident about. It was subjective and full of debate. My major was business, and I was knocking out all of my core classes.
The poli-sci building wasn’t very far from my dorm. On the way was a small coffee cart that sat beneath a large oak tree. The deep earthy scents lured me in. Stopping to get a small coffee, I was tempted by a blueberry muffin that looked homemade and delicious. While I was slightly hungry, I decided to wait. Coffee was filling and I didn’t feel comfortable eating during my first class. Pouring a little sugar in my cup, I secured the lid and headed to class. I loved this feeling. No bell to remind you that you were late. No slamming lockers closed indicating that everyone was heading to the same room. There was a sense of freedom in all of this.
I held my class schedule in my hand to double check that I had the correct room as I approached the door. Two students filed in in front of me. Room 102, it was the right one. I took a step inside, and felt a sense of disappointment at the small classroom, which was similar to the ones in high school. I’d thought all classes would be in lecture halls with stadium seating and filled with one hundred or more people. In front of me were desks and chairs. They formed a circle so we would all be facing one another. I felt slightly out of place as I slid into the first empty seat I could find.
I kept my class schedule on my desk, and placed my coffee down beside it. I hung my purse on the edge of the chair and sat in anticipation. Every person who came in, my head jerked up as I wondered which was the teacher. But, oddly, everyone was a little different. Some were dressed casual and were obviously young, like myself. But I was surprised to see a few older people in here as well. It made me wonder if they were continuing education, or if they got on later in their lives and decided that they wanted more for themselves and signed up for some college classes. The room was nearly full. Tall, short, skinny, fat, well dressed, dressed in pajamas, Brainiac looking, and one I was certain was stoned off his ass—all filling the room.
“Welcome to Political Science 101. I’m your instructor, Robert Adams. You all can call me Rob, no Professor Adams in this class. As I’m sure you are all thrilled to be here, I am very excited that you chose this class.” One of the men gathered in the room spoke up and smiled at us welcoming. My heart jumped...my first college teacher was quite attractive. I had been anticipating an older teacher with seasoned salt and peppery hair, but, instead, Rob was no older than thirty a
nd had blonde hair, cut short and was styled with gel. He had brown eyes full of joviality and it made me even more ready to learn. “Since I prefer my lecture rooms to be small and intimate, let’s start the day out by getting to know each other a little-”
The door swung open and Rob’s words were cut off as another student, running late, entered the room. I glanced up after putting my schedule in my purse and was struck stupid.
“Please come in. I was just telling the class that we are going to spend a little time getting to know each other before I hand out the syllabus. Please, have a seat wherever there is an empty spot and we’ll get started.”
Wrigley strutted in, full of confidence and wearing a cocky grin. He had on a pair of torn cargo shorts, and a simple, black, fitted, v-neck shirt. His messy brown hair, as usual looked like he’d run his fingers through it when he’d woken up. I dropped my head, refusing eye contact and knowing the desk next to me was wide open. It was one of two left. Not here, not here, not here, not here. I repeated in my head. If I didn’t look up, maybe Wrigley wouldn’t see me and choose to sit next to the dude who was high as a kite.
Luck wasn’t on my side.
“Hey Hadley!” he exclaimed enthusiastically. He dropped his bag and slid into the seat with grace.
Crap. I scowled. “Hey.” Was all I could muster. What did I say a few nights ago to myself about the possibility of seeing him, again? Oh, apparently I didn’t take into account that these were core classes and every new student was trying to knock them out. I’m an idiot.
I peered up through my lashes and looked around me. All eyes were on us, waiting for the stranger who’d interrupted class get settled. God I hated being the center of attention.
“You two already know each other?” Rob asked curiously.
“Erm,” I tucked a lock of hair behind my ear—a nervous habit I’d developed around sixth grade.
“Sure do.” Wrigley answered confidently. “We’ve been friends since we were kids.”
Rob smiled. “A familiar face is always nice. Helps those first day jitters.” He was speaking to me. Clearly, I looked a little awkward and out of place. I nodded to get him to move on or change the subject. Instead, it only got worse.
