R U S S O 18+

R U S S O 6

R U S S O 6

Anastasia stood in line with her headphones on, waiting patiently behind two people to order a cup of coffee. It was test day, and because she stayed up late to study, she was going to need a double shot of expresso. She despised the bitter taste, but it was the only thing that was going to keep her awake, especially for Professor Quinn's class.

Even though Anastasia went over numerous times what could be on the exam, she still felt unprepared. She was uneasy about the course, and because of that, she's been talking to a tutor to figure out their availability. It's been difficult to get confirmation since so many students were already getting tutored by the woman she was in contact with. Hours were booked, and it didn't coincide with either of their schedules.

The semester could go by in a blink of an eye, so Anastasia only hoped that something would work out in her favor.

"Next!" the person at the register announced, causing feet to move forward.
Anastasia had one more person ahead of her, so she looked at the menu to decide what type of flavor she wanted for her latte. Vanilla seemed good, but hazelnut was something she got on the regular.

While searching the list of options, she felt someone brush by her. If the person hadn't gently bumped into her bag, she wouldn't have looked up with this furrow-brow look on her face. But with her eyes landing on the person who squeezed past her, her intense look faded, seeing that it was Austin getting through to grab a gatorade from the fridge.

"Sorry, Anastasia," Austin said over his shoulder before grabbing the cool blue raspberry bottle.

She nodded and said, "you're good," going to look back at the board, but her eyes landed on another face as he also made his way to grab his own drink. There was a sense of familiarity when she looked at him, and she tried to pull his name from her memory.

His name was at the tip of her tongue, but she was more perplexed as to why he was avoiding her gaze, like he hadn't seen her before. I mean, the man approached her last week like he was trying to talk to her, and then all of a sudden, he's walking past her without sparing her a second glance.

Anastasia decides to speak up, pointing at him briefly before he could move past her, "Cody, right?"

He didn't want to ignore her, so he speaks with a light smirk, "it's Cole," Anastasia hissing lightly that she said his name wrong, "Cody would've been real off for a black guy."

"Nah, I don't think so," she answers with a smile. She wanted to ask because the only time they ever spoke, she discovered that he was a transfer, even though it was obvious as a fresh face was added to the group, "liking it here so far? Is Cambridge giving you the right experience?"

"Somewhat," Cole said as he waved his hand, "I haven't hit a party yet, so I'm just waiting to see how that goes. Once I experience that, then I could rate it."

Anastasia notices something as Cole moves to stand in line. She watched him suddenly find interest in his phone, and it seemed as though he was trying to end the conversation with her. She also observed the look on Austin's face, watching him tuck his lips like he knew something that she didn't.

"What about the football team?" she questions Cole, getting him to look back at her, "I know a lot of the guys like to bother the new guys. It's shitty, but sometimes they go overboard."

Austin gasps, "hey, we take pride in breaking in the newbies."

Anastasia smirks at him, "it's awful of you to do that," looking at Cole, awaiting an answer.

"A little banter. But, I- uh, I had my clothes stolen after a shower," her brows raised at his response, "I never experienced that until I got here."

She nods, "where'd you go before coming here?"