Little Green Apples (Ivan×OC)

Chapter 2

The next morning, Jessica woke up to a very bright sunrise. Today was Saturday, a day that she would typically have caught a movie with her friends or gone to the mall. This one however would be calm and peaceful. A nice change. She looked at her watch; seven in the morning. Just in time to hopefully beat the others to the kitchen.

She tiptoed through the dorms and down to the kitchen, where she managed to find eggs, bread, and coffee. She put the coffee on to brew, when she suddenly heard footsteps. She braced herself for an awkward conversation with either Khalid or Gunnar, but thankfully it was only Ivan. Ever the optimist, he strode in with a smile and bright eyes.

"Good morning, Jessica."

"Good morning."

"How did you sleep?"

"Well enough. You?"

"I always sleep soundly, thankfully. After breakfast, I would like to have a small meeting with you to get to know you a little better if that's alright."

"Certainly."

They ate their breakfasts in comfortable silence. Then as the others showed up, she excused herself to get dressed for the day.

She hurried back up to her room and changed into her jeans, a green sweater, and her sneakers. She then threw her hair up into a ponytail and headed for Ivan's office. She knocked on the door softly.

"Come in," she heard.

She saw that Ivan was sitting at his desk. She approached quietly and took a seat in front of him.

"First of all, let me say I'm sorry about your parents."

"It's alright. The last update I had on them before being dropped off with you yesterday was that they were pretty much in a coma, and they're chances were about fifty-fifty."

Ivan gave her an empathetic nod.

"It says in your file that you're half Danish and half English, an "A" student in school, part of the school orchestra, and are knowledgeable in a couple languages... That's an impressive résume."

"Thank you. My parents had high ambitions for me, and they did what they could. I believe the only reason that accident happened was because my mom got overly involved with work friends who were pretty sketchy and she dragged my dad along to one of their parties. They hadn't even thought about drinking since before I was born as far as I know."

"Makes sense to me. But, we're here for me to get to know you, not your parents. What are some interests you have?"

Jessica didn't quite like the feeling of being in the spotlight like this...

"Well, my world centers on music; my song collection on my mp3 player has well over three thousand songs on it. You can go from hearing Disney songs to Dean Martin to Aerosmith. I was also involved in performing arts, so broadway musicals are a genre I favor as well. As far as interests outside of music, I enjoy reading, watching movies, travelling, art, crafting, and I was an office assistant in school. Nothing too exciting."

"You seem well-rounded in hobbies anyway. What kind of books do you like?"

"I like to collect classic literature. My bookshelves at home are full of nineteenth and twentieth century authors; Tolstoy, Jane Austen, Brönte novels, Louisa May Alcott, the like. I also love obscure gothic novels. Dragonwyck is a particular favorite of mine."

"Fascinating! Maybe having you around for group activities will help to bring out some of the other's more refined tastes if they have any."

"I don't want to appear impolite or antisocial, but so far you're the only person here I feel comfortable around so if it's okay with you, I would like to spend most of my time here in your vicinity. I'd feel much safer..."