What's Forbidden

001 - Off on the wrong foot.

DESIRÉE || OFF ON THE WRONG FOOT.

Pick up. Pick up. Pick up.

"Desirée..."

"Abigail! Where the hell are you? Why didn't you wake me up?" I grumbled, grabbing my to-go coffee from Jacqueline. Stuffing my file folder under my arm, I fumbled for my purse to pay.

"You know I try my best Desirée, but you could sleep through five natural disasters."

"And I keep saying to try harder."

As I grabbed my change from the counter, my gaze met Jacqueline's furrowed eyebrows. "Hold on a sec, Abigail."

To address Jacqueline: "What?"

"I'm not missing even the very first milliseconds of my afternoon lectures for anyone. Especially not for you, Desirée. Be on time for your shift today," Jacqueline warned.

I snatched my change. "All this last-minute scrambling won't erase the fact that you've been partying all semester," I told her.

"Oh go fuck yourself."

"And taking your frustration out on me won't boost your GPA either," I added as I disappeared through the doorway, her cusses still raining from inside the café.

"Desirée, Mr. Evans just walked in!" Abigail's panicked voice echoed through the phone.

"Oh, shit!" I yelped, struggling to gain composure. The coffee burned my hand, the file folder still dug into my armpit, and my side bag which was already full with two heavy textbooks and my laptop was weighing me down. "I just left the café. I'll be there in a minute. Save me a seat, Abigail."

"A seat?"

"Yes, Abigail. Find me a seat. That's what you're supposed to do when you fail as my alarm clock and I'm late for class. And don't even think about putting me in the back."

"Don't worry, I've got you a seat right in front of me. I'm in the middle aisle."

"Perfect."

I was a few sprints away from the lecture hall when I paused to take the lid off my coffee and blow on the hot liquid to cool it off a bit.

As I raised the cup to my lips, ready to take a big gulp, someone bumped into me with enough force that it sent my file folder flying to the floor.

The hot coffee spilled and stinged my hand as I dropped the whole cup altogether, completely soaking the contents of my folder. My heart sank. "No, no, no, no, no! My assignment!" Ten pages of stress and sweat! With time running out, reprinting everything at the library wasn't a viable option.

"Hey! You!" I yelled after the culprit, who mumbled a quick "sorry" without even turning around. It was useless to try and salvage the drenched papers. I had no choice but to leave it behind.

"Hey! Come back here! Don't you dare walk away like I'm not yelling after you! Hey!"

I followed the tall guy desperately, his long legs and giant strides making it impossible for me to catch up.

As he rounded the corner, I saw him head towards the same destination as me, and then finally, same lecture hall.

My pulse quickened as I rushed to intercept him, seizing his arm and then jerking him backward. The soft hairs on his arm tickled my fingers. "Didn't you see what happened when you bumped into me like that? You ruined my assignment. I spent a week and a half on those stupid papers."

"Stupid?" a voice sneered. I turned to see Mr. Evans, his arms crossed behind his back as he watched us.

Oh, great. Just what I needed. No chance of redeeming myself.