The Dating Deal

Ch. 6: Psychology 101

Ashley

Excitement thrummed through my veins as I arranged my pens and highlighters on my desk beside my notebook.

Psychology 101 was in the bag for me.

Maybe it was a little bit nerdy of me, but I'd done extensive research on the course syllabus ahead of time, color coded the topics based on what I already knew or would need to read more about, and had also made a list of reference books I'd need to borrow from the library.

I was going to ace this class, and nothing made me as happy as acing a class.

The class was about to start in fifteen minutes and yet, the room was half empty with only a few other students scattered around. Though this was an easy elective, the course wasn't full.

According to the college grapevine, Prof. Moore was a hard ass. So much so that students would rather forfeit easy credit than sit in his class. Only freshmen who didn't know of his reputation and those who were desperate for credits enrolled.

It made me a tad nervous. I haven't had any issues with any of my professors so far, but with the past year I'd had, I couldn't shake off the feeling that I would somehow mess things up and get on Prof. Moore's bad side.

I glanced at my watch again, counting down the minutes until the class would begin. Thanks to my insomnia, I was up before dawn again today. I would have gone to the café to kill time, but I was afraid of running into Shane and Juliette there.

Although I'd made myself clear that I didn't want to have anything to do with them, I wouldn't put it past them to approach me again. Kris had saved me the other day, but he wouldn't always be there to help me.

I whipped out my phone to search for other cafés I could go to instead. A part of me was against changing my schedule, but the larger, more self-conscious part wanted to avoid further conflicts. If staying away from places they visited would give me peace of mind, it was worth it.

You still like Shane.

No, I didn't like him. Not anymore. But I couldn't deny that I was still hurt by how things had turned out.

A loud thump jerked me out of my thoughts.

When I looked up, the chatter of other students around me faded and all air got sucked out of me as I met familiar dark eyes. My nightmares must have somehow materialized into the real world because Shane was standing two rows away from me.

He glared at me as he pushed his chair back with more force than necessary before sitting down. I stared at his back, my heart thumping erratically in my chest.

This couldn't be happening right now.

Out of all the worst possible consequences of attending the same university as Shane, this was in the top three. Sharing a class with him meant seeing him twice a week. Way more often than I would have preferred. Shit.

No matter how badly I wanted to avoid Shane, I couldn't stop going to class. And the time to switch classes had passed, so I was stuck with him.

Maybe I could drop out. I could take this class again next semester. Or maybe next year. It was cowardly of me to throw away my plans for Shane, but at that moment, I felt suffocated. I couldn't imagine sitting with him in the same class for the rest of the semester.

I was about to start packing my stuff to get out of here, when a man—seemingly in his forties—climbed up on the platform and turned to face the class. His dark eyes scanned everyone from behind his dark framed glasses, noting every face present.