What was left behind

2.Unlucky ball

Having a roommate had its advantages, but sometimes I wondered if there were more disadvantages. The advantage was the lower costs of renting a room, and the prices in the dormitory went up a lot this year, while the disadvantage was the personality of the person you lived with. Olivia was so friendly and open, much more open than I was, and always wanted me to accompany her on various outings in her free time, while I preferred to surround myself with books and didn't complain every time I had to spend more time working on something or even doing something extra. Moreover, Olivia was much more surrounded by boys, while I was more of a gray mouse, although I could give them a hard time during classes.

However, sometimes something good came out of even Olivia's persuasion. At first I wanted to go in a shirt and jeans, but she insisted that for such an occasion it would be appropriate for even a skeptic like me to pay a little more attention to my image than, as she put it, I do every day. Unable to bear her constant complaining any longer as we walked down the hallway, I turned around and put on my simplest navy blue dress. In fact, it was the only dress I took with me when I left home to study. I didn't think I would need other dresses then, and I still do, but sometimes you have to make sacrifices. I managed to catch up with Olivia before Justin and his friend Fabian joined us.

I smiled at them in greeting, while Olivia immediately started talking to Fabian. Fabian was a relatively shy boy who tended to avoid other people's company rather than invite himself in. Or at least that's what I thought until I got to know him better. He turned out to be relatively loud and liked to laugh, but, as he himself claimed, only in the company of people he already knew well. And on top of that, I had the impression that Olivia was attracted to him. After her last breakup with a man named Felix, she decided to look for a more worthy person. I didn't quite understand what she meant, but she and Fabian didn't match at all, at least to my eye.
Our little pack consisted of the four of us, although it was expanding to include Olivia's new boyfriend. I found myself in this group rather by accident, more because I lived in the same room with Olivia than because I somehow wanted to belong to it. However, I had nothing to complain about because after years spent alone, even I needed some company sometimes.

While Olivia stayed behind a bit, trying to convince Fabian that it wasn't appropriate for a boy like him to be wandering the halls alone, I stayed at the front with Justin. I could never deny that I liked him and felt more than intimidated in his presence. A tall, handsome brunette with green eyes, and one of the best of our year. I knew that apart from me, he attracted the attention of the other girls from the Academy, both younger and older girls looked after him, but he tended to avoid closer contact with them. Just like me, knowing that my chances were doubtful if not zero, I didn't open up to him, and only Olivia managed to see my face when I was studying until very late one evening and in the morning, out of exhaustion, something must have slipped out by accident about my hidden feeling.
I didn't know if it was just infatuation or something more, after all, it had been going on since the beginning of the Academy. Studying helped me focus my thoughts away from him, but recently I noticed that Justin started spending extra time with us. Not that I'm complaining, but it didn't help me collect my thoughts and determine what I was really feeling.

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice the doorstep and tripped over it. I fell forward, leaning on my hands. Justin immediately knelt down next to me and, placing his hand on mine, asked:
"Are you okay, Penny?"

I smiled gratefully as he helped me up. I brushed off my dress and looked at him shyly.

"Yes" I shook my head.

"Little clumsy," Olivia grabbed my forearm gently and then whispered into my ear. "Take advantage of the opportunity. Justin hasn't invited anyone," she said before we rejoined the guys.