Yeah, I had a lot on my mind, the least of all was Ash, my best friend, someone who, by all accounts, stopped talking to me because I fucked one of the guys she liked. It wasn’t like I did it on purpose, and I hated doing it while I was stuck in the bathroom with him, but those weren’t excuses.
Ash would probably hate me for a long time, and Mel…she was right not to trust me when I talked about Levi. I’d already kept him a secret from her, so who knew what else I’d keep from her?
When morning finally came, I rolled out of bed, getting dressed. I’d head to the union early, grab some late breakfast, and then get my phone—hopefully not seeing Dean or Levi—and, lastly, go to the library, where I’d spend the remainder of my day, researching and outlining.
My two least favorite things to do.
Mel was already up by the time I was getting ready, and she gave me a tiny smile as I took her raincoat. The skies were dark and grey; you’d never know it was morning if you looked outside. Needless to say, it was raining pretty damn hard.
I was about to walk out the door, Mel’s raincoat in my hand—I would wait until I reached the lobby to put it on, feeling like a dweeb merely carrying it—when Mel called out to me, “Do you want to borrow my boots, too?”
No, the raincoat was already dorky enough. No calf-high rubber boots for me.
“That’s okay,” I said. “I’ll make do.”
She said nothing else, and I left the room, heading down the hall to the elevators. I hit the down button, fingers tapping against the smooth surface of the raincoat. I was the chick who refused to wear a winter coat in the wintertime, even when it was negative degrees outside. My parents hated it, but no matter what they did, I refused to keep any of those huge, puffy coats on for long. This raincoat was…almost as bad as the puffy ones, but sitting in the library while soaking wet did not sound like my idea of a fun day.
By the time the elevator doors slid open, I was a bundle of nerves. Seeing Levi would be the worst thing ever, followed shortly by Dean, who probably would refuse to give my phone back unless I either brought Mel with me or agreed to help him get back with her.
Which I would never, ever do. I’d just have to explain to my parents that I lost my phone, have to do without one for a while. It wasn’t like they had the money to go out and buy one right away. They’d have to save up—or maybe I’d have to look into getting a job somewhere around here and buy it outright myself.
I got onto the elevator, ignoring the other SCC students on it. Making friends hadn’t really been on my list of things to do while I was here. I didn’t want to make new friends. My personality wasn’t the overly-friendly type, and truly, it took a certain kind of person to deal with me constantly.
The elevator took us to the ground level, and I was the first one off. I watched as the other people headed right out into the rain, already wearing their coats, the hoods up. They didn’t look too dorky, so maybe I was overexaggerating how stupid raincoats and winter jackets were.
Or maybe they just didn’t look good on me.
I stood near the glass vestibule, staring at the terrible weather outside as I shrugged on Mel’s raincoat. Once the zipper was up and the hood covered my head, I headed out. The rain pounded on the almost plastic-y material, drumming noise into my ears. Not many people were out and about in weather like this; not only was it a Saturday, but the weather was also shit. The sidewalks were mostly empty.
The walk to the union was a long one. Or maybe it just felt long because of the rain, the dark, ominous grey skies above me, and the way I felt. Nervous. Somehow, somehow I had the feeling the person who had my phone would be one of the two guys I did not want to see. My luck was shitty, this much I knew already. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that my luck was absolutely abysmal.
Turned out, I probably should’ve taken Mel’s rainboots, too. I managed to step in a pretty deep puddle and completely soak my right foot, sock included. And anyone who’s lived knew there was hardly anything worse out there than a wet sock, except maybe stepping on a Lego.
I made it to the union, miraculously keeping my other foot pretty dry. My right foot squished every single time I took a step on it, which was annoying. My hands flipped the hood down, and I unzipped the jacket and folded it over my arms as I headed to the area where the food places were.
Honestly, the last thing I wanted to do was eat, but I hadn’t eaten much all week. It was time to snap out of my funk and return to the old me.
Pancakes and some bacon were mine, after swiping my meal card, and I headed into the cafeteria-like area, where rows and rows of tables were. During the week, the tables were packed, hardly an open chair, which was why I usually took my food back to the dorm, if the weather permitted.
Now?
There was hardly a soul in sight. It was kind of
