Here Comes the Sun

02 | earth to mars

        AFTER BREAKFAST, I WAS SILENT along the twenty-minute drive to the campus. It didn't dawn on me that I would have to face a dilemma of whether it is worth pressing charges and having my voice heard or not.

        If I'm being honest right now, of course, I want to make this fucker pay for what he did to me. I want him to face some sort of consequences for his actions. I want him to feel the pain that I've felt. If there were ever a world with immediate justice, I'd gladly want to live in that world.

        A world that seems women like me were seen as more than a baby-making machine or a walking dishwasher. But that's just wishful thinking for me.

        I hadn't realized how hard my grip had tightened around my steering wheel.

        Five years ago, when I was close to peaking in high school I took my first driver's test and passed with flying colors. The red 1976 Mustang was more like a hand-me-down from one of my cousins in Michigan. He was a big fan of the classics. I'm a bit surprised that this thing is still kicking, I better thank my lucky stars for that.

        I turn the notch on the radio, increasing the volume before checking the time on my watch. An hour before class starts, I could grab a cup of coffee from the campus cafe to get an extra shot of energy. I'm not a big fan when it comes to taking tests in the morning, let alone having class this early. And what's more unfortunate for me is that I haven't done a lot of studying like I planned to with Laurie yesterday.

        I park in my usual spot in the barely vacant parking lot. Lot 15 is kind of a popular spot especially for people to hang out during their lunch hour. Also for couples to make out for some reason and the campus police just don't seem to care about it that much.

        I keep my head down for most of the walk to the science building for my botany class, hoping and discretely crossing my fingers that I don't run into him. The worst thing that could happen is he could lay a finger on me...like he did to me before. Though, I was told to keep a level head and not focus on the bad stuff at the moment. Then again, the last thing that I need is for the whole school to know about what happened between me and him. I already know whose story the students will believe.

        And I'll end up being the town's girl who cried wolf or the campus slut.

        "Immy!" a soft feminine voice shouted from nearly across the campus. I look up to see Laurie running towards me.

        Her long curly brunette hair blew softly in the wind, swaying from side to side. Her pink highlight stood out more than her grey blazer. She must've taken inspiration from Madonna this morning, meaning that a guy has caught her attention. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I'm proud of her. At least she has something to be proud of that's worth keeping.

        The girl stops right in front of me, placing her hands on her knees as she pants. "You know you were only a few feet away from me, right?" I tease.

        "Don't remind me," she replies as she finally catches her breath.

        I look around for a second to make sure that he wasn't nearby before turning my attention back to Laurie.

        "So who's the lucky guy?"

        Laurie then stares down at the ground, smiling playfully as she bites her bottom lip. She giggles like a schoolgirl when the rosy pink starts to rise in her cheeks. Whoever this guy is must be a big deal if she is this excited. She takes a step closer to me and places both of her hands on her chest.

        "Brian Shepherd," she answers.

        "Who?" I raise an eyebrow at her.

        "He's in my anatomy class. Incredibly smart and super good-looking too," Laurie explains, putting a massive emphasis on "super".