Through her Ribcage

4

My alarm wakes me at 5:30am the next morning. I rub my eyes trying to clear the sleep from them. When I look over at Bethan's bed I find it still neatly made and not slept in. I wonder where she got to last night?

Once I am out of my bed I remake it. Tucking in the sheets and smoothing my hand over the linen, removing any bumps or creases.

I gather my robe, shower caddy and towel before leaving my room, locking the door behind me.

As I approach the shower block I pray I've got here early enough for it to be empty. I really do despise the idea of having communal bathrooms but I guess it's part of college life that I have to get used to. I push open the door and walk in looking around cautiously.

I thank god it's empty for the time being and make myself comfortable in one of the shower stalls. I hang my robe and towel on the hook and place my caddy on the tiled floor. Pulling the thin curtain across I begin to undress. As the water begins to heat I put my hand under until it reaches a comfortable temperature. Once under the gentle stream I let the water cascade over my body for a few minutes. The gentle rhythm of the shower beats down on my neck and back slowly releasing the nervous tension built up in my muscles. When I've relaxed a little I begin to wash myself and my hair.

The sound of the bathroom door swinging open and a group of people entering startles me. Is that boys voices? I freeze. Standing under the water that is slowly going cold, soap suds wash off of my body and down the drain and I can feel my heart beginning to pound in my chest. There is only one piece of thin curtaining between my naked body and that group of college boys. "This can not be happening", I whisper to myself.

I thank god that they're not in the bathroom for long and I wait to hear them leave before quickly turning off the shower. I wrap my body in my towel, pull my robe over my shoulders, tying it tightly around myself then exit the bathroom as quickly as possible. In my half asleep state I mustn't have noticed the sign on the door that reads 'MALE' when I entered. Thank goodness the hallway is still empty and no one sees me leave the men's bathroom.

Moving quickly down to my room, I unlock the door and enter. I release a huge sigh of relief that I had been holding once inside the safety of my dorm. It's still empty and Bethan hasn't arrived back yet. I wonder to myself if she's going to miss her first day of classes.

I dress quickly, pulling on a bra and panties followed by a white tank top and light blue jeans. It's a chilly September morning and my weather app tells me it's only 55° and will only be a top of 68° today. I pull on a pastel yellow coloured sweater to keep myself warm throughout the day.

I blow dry and curl my hair then pull it back into a sleek ponytail, leaving 2 loose curls out to frame my face. I add my favourite pink scrunchy to finish it off. I apply a quick swipe of mascara to each eye and dab a light amount of iridescent pink gloss to my plump lips before picking up my white canvas sneakers and putting them on.

I check the time and notice I am at least 45 minutes ahead of my morning schedule and I feel a sense of pride wash over me. "If I can keep this up all year I'll be happy", I think to myself. I double check everything is situated in my backpack before pulling out my planner and reading over my timetable again.

Engrossed in my planner I'm startled when the door flys open and Bethan bursts in. "Morning Adeline!", she chimes.

"Morning", I say smiling as I look up at her from my desk.

In behind her walks an older gentleman. I assume he is the same man from the car yesterday. He's wearing tight black jeans with rips in them, a white v neck t-shirt and a black leather jacket. He clears his throat, making his presence known and leans up against the door frame.

"Oh this is Spencer by the way", Bethan announces while fluttering around the room getting her backpack ready.

"Hello, I'm Adeline", I almost whisper, suddenly feeling very intimidated by the dark haired stranger. He looks up at me, racks his eyes over my body and then turns away again without saying a word. I feel more exposed than I like, even though the leather wearing stranger showed no interest in speaking to me. So I turn my attention back to my planner. Flicking through this weeks pages for what feels like the 100th time, continuing to memorise my schedule.

"Excuse my big brother", Bethan says rolling her eyes, breaking my concentration to look back up at them. "He clearly lost his matters when he moved away", she continues, her voice draped in sarcasm.

"Lost my manners?", Spencer says scoffing. "Oh I'm sorry. Hello there, Adeline", he continues, bowing sarcastically. "How do you do?", he says, before standing up straight and rolling his eyes dramatically.

I stay silent. Not wanting to encage in such childish behaviour even though his smart mouth and cocky attitude has stricken a nerve in me and made my blood begin to boil unexpectedly.

"Stop being such a child Spence!", Bethan yells over her shoulder at her brother while she continues to fill her backpack with the text books and stationary she had sprawled across her desk.

"It's fine Bethan", I say standing from my desk. I place my planner back in my backpack and zip it, "I'm used to it. I volunteer in the kindergarten at the local elementary school back in my home town". My rude comment tumbles from my lips before I can stop it. Bethan giggles and by the astonished look on Spencer's face, my words had the desired affect.

Spencer scoffs but doesn't come back with anything. I look over at Bethan who is giving him a look as if to say 'keep any further comments to yourself'. He leans against the door frame once more, crossing his arms tight across his chest.

"Have a good day", I squeak to her as I approach the exit of our room past Spencer. He shuffles on his feet stopping me momentarily. He looks me up and down once again causing me to lose all the confidence I had only seconds ago. I breathe in a deep breath, hoping to regain my confident facade, only to have his rich and almost delicious cologne fill my nostrils, threatening for it to waver. I lower my head and press off on my heel to make my escape down the hallway.

I honestly thought Bethan was a nice girl and I really do want to get to know her better. Maybe even become her friend but if her older brother is anything to go off, maybe it would be better off if I didn't.