Serpentine Desires

The prey

I was tired, so tired I couldn't even lift a finger. My back was screaming at me for being a superwoman last night and my buttocks were sore. God damnit! Not even a week and I already wanted to go back.

Lord knew why I decided to be a saviour when I knew I was a blind owl. Couldn't even see without those four-eyes enhancers aka glasses, and now, not only was I left with a broken elbow and sprained foot, but broken glasses too. I got them fixed before moving to Russia, and now it'd take another sum of money to repair them. Great. Looks like my clumsy heroics come with a price tag – and not the discounted kind. Brilliant. Now I'm not just Seraphina, I'm Seraphina, the Walking Disaster.

"You up, Dorogaya?" She walked through the bathroom door wearing nothing but a towel. I quickly averted my eyes, feeling my cheeks warming. Despite the Russian cold, Alina preferred wearing less clothes than a sunbathing lizard. "Had breakfast?"

I continued packing my bag in a hurry, realizing I had less than twenty minutes left for class. "I don't have enough time to rush to the cafeteria," I muttered to myself, grabbing the assignments before stuffing them into the bag with the finesse of a squirrel cramming nuts into its cheeks.

Pens? Check. Identity card? Check. Why do I feel like I was missing something? Maybe it's my invisible cloak for those embarrassing moments. Oh wait, that's just wishful thinking. But seriously, what else could it be? Did I forget to pack my pet rock? My lucky underwear? My emergency stash of chocolate? Nope, they'd stay in here.

Ah well, if I was missing something, it'd just have to join the ranks of the lost socks in the laundry basket.

"Have some coffee before you leave, okay?" I looked over my shoulder as she extended the coffee mug, our eyes meeting.

"Thanks," I muttered grabbing the cup, her fingers brushed against mine and I couldn't help but notice how beautiful and soft her hands were.

"No problem," she winked, sauntering away to blow dry her hair, leaving me standing there like a startled flamingo. "You can help me with assignments later though," she added over her shoulder.

I took gulps of the coffee, twisting my mouth at the strong taste, feeling like I'd just ingested a liquid form of rocket fuel. Well, at least it matched the intensity of my impending panic attack at the thought of helping her with assignments. Great, just what I needed – a double shot of caffeine and anxiety. Cheers to my glamorous life!

Even without makeup, she looked beautiful. Her dark charcoal eyes looked at me through the mirror as she blow-dried her hair. "...Of course..." Why did she have to look like a goddess while I resembled a potato caught in a rainstorm? Life really wasn't fair sometimes.

"Are you free this Friday; we can hit the club or go to a bar, what are your thoughts?"

Trust me, nothing was more blissful than hitting the club, getting drunk, forgetting all the problems even if it was for just one night, and being the cool girl. Having a group of friends to chill around, having cute coffee dates, going on shopping sprees, falling in love, having my heart broken, then finding another boy, being the girl everyone desired to be.

But I neither had time nor money to be that girl.

"No, I need to get this assignment ready by this week."