Second Chances

Chapter 9

I wake up to an alarm going off. Groaning, I burry my face in my pillow and cover my ears. After a few minutes, it stops. I hear my door open.

"Wake up, Aubrey." Drew says.

"Fuck off." I grumble.

"Um. We have company." He says nervously. I lift my head. Staring at me is Drew and some guy.

"Um. Who is this?" I ask.

"This is Jackson. He's one of my friends." Drew explains.

"You actually have friends? Wow." I say. Jackson laughs.

"Not a morning person, I guess." Drew mumbles.

"Yeah. You guessed right." I snap, sitting up. Sighing, I get out of bed. Drew hands me my crutches. Both guys are staring at me. That's when I realize I'm in a bra and booty shorts.

"Hey. My face is up here." I say. Jackson looks uncomfortable.

"Remind me again why you had to come into MY room and wake me up just to meet some friend of yours." I say, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Well, I thought you'd like to know that he was here before you came out looking like that." He starts.

"Too late." I comment.

"And because I felt like waking you up. It's like 11." He finishes.

"1) That was totally unimportant.
2) Never wake me up just because you feel like it. Ever." I say, dead serious.

"Got it. Well, uh, we'll be out there. Come out when you're ready." He says. Then they go out, shutting my door. Sighing, I hobble over to my dresser and pull out a T shirt and some longer shorts. I put them on and go out.

"It's freezing." Jackson says.

"I realize that." I reply.

"So why are you wearing shorts?" He asks.

"Because I can't wear much else." I say, waving one of my crutches. I go over to the cupboard and take out Lucky Charms and some milk out of the fridge. I pour myself a bowl and Drew brings it over to the couch for me.

"Thanks." I say. He nods.

"Sooooo. Do you live in this dorm?" I ask Jackson.

"Yeah. Right down the hall. I could show you, if you want." He says.

"Uh. Sure. When I finish." I reply. Drew goes into my room and gets me a pair of flip flops. I finish a few minutes later and put them on while Jackson puts my bowl in the sink.

"Mind giving me a tour of the building? I didn't see much yesterday." I ask.

"Sure. This place is huge." Jackson says.

"But it's winter. So it's probably gonna be cold even though it's California. It's like 35 degrees outside." Drew says.

"I'll manage." I reply. We go out into the hallway. All around us, there are students. A lot of them stare. At me.

"Don't pay attention to them." Drew whispers. We go down the hall and take a left, stopping at 149. He unlocks the door and goes in. Drew holds the door for me then shuts it behind me.

"Hey Jackson. Whoa." Some shirtless guy says.

"Hey. This is Aubrey and well, you know Drew. Aubrey, this is Alex." Jackson explains.

"Uh hey." I say.

"Whoa. One, you're even more hot in person. Two, you're Aubrey Miller. Wow. Oh my god. I play basketball too. Do you think you could give me pointers sometime?" He gushes.

"One, I know who I am. Two, it's really nice to meet a fan or whatever you are. But I don't play anymore. I'm done with basketball." I say.

"Oh. Well you wouldn't be playing. Just like watching me shoot and watching my form. Stuff like that." Alex says.

"Listen-" I start.

"Um. Alex. Let's just drop that for now." Drew says, giving him a look. Alex nods.

"I really like your room." I say, changing the subject.

"Thanks. We both payed for some." Jackson says.

"We should probably continue your tour. Wanna come Alex?" Drew asks.

"Sure. If that's okay." Alex says, glancing at me. I nod. We go out of their room, stopping so they can lock the door. As we walk down the hall, all the girls stare.

"Um. Is there something I'm missing?" I whisper to Drew.

"Uhhhhh." He says, running a hand through his hair. I stare at him.

"We're the 'it' guys. Or so everyone says. So now that you, a girl, a pretty girl, is walking with us....they'll be jealous. And want to get back at you." He whispers.

"But I literally didn't do anything." I say.

"Welcome to the world of teenage girls." He says. We take the elevator down to the lobby because I can't go on stairs. Jackson pushes open the door and holds it for us.

"What do you want to see?" He asks.

"Um. Good food places, gym, pool, normal stuff." I say.

"Aren't you cold?" Alex asks.

"Yeah. Kinda." I say. He takes his coat off and gives it to me.

"Thanks." I smile. They take me to the pizza place, ice cream store, gym, and pool.

"There's a lot more, but we can show you another time. It's almost 3 and I'm starving." Jackson says.

"We should get food." I say.

"Where?" Alex says. We all look at each other.

"Is there a Chinese Buffet here by any chance?" I ask.

"There actually is." Drew laughs.

"Why did you not show me? We are eating lunch there." I laugh. I follow them to the buffet. We put in our ID numbers when we get there so they charge our food to our meal accounts. They show us to a table and ask us what we want to drink.

"I'll have a Sprite." I say. Alex and Jackson order Pepsi. And Drew orders a Mountain Dew. Then we go over to the buffet and get our plates. Drew stays with me and carries my plate. I put lomein, sweet and sour chicken, pork egg rolls, and fried dumplings on my plate.

Drew carries both of our plates to the booth. I let him get in first then I slide in next to him. Alex and Jackson meet us at the table a few minutes later.

"So what classes do you have?" Alex asks.

"Umm. Algebra 2, then chemistry, then wood shop. And I'm not sure what else." I say.

"You're taking wood shop?" Drew asks.

"Yeah. I took it at my old school. I liked it." I say.

"Well we have chemistry and wood shop together. Maybe more, but since neither of of know what other classes we have..." Alex says.

"We have math together." Jackson says.

"Um. I don't have any of those during the same times." Drew says.

"Well that sucks." I say. Then we talk about random stuff. Old schools, old friends, classes, anything. And for once, I'm glad to forget about Cole and my injury.