𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐬𝐭, charlie conway

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄

Chapter Three
Shimmering

     THE library was slowly becoming my second home, as I seemed to spend seemingly every minute outside of class, swim practice, and my activities with the exchange student cohort studying among the books and computers. I hadn't quite tackled those yet; we didn't have computers like these in Australia—these had color screens like in TV shows!

I was slowly but surely becoming more versed in U.S. history, but boy was there a lot to learn. Thankfully our class was starting from the beginning, but it was so daunting, especially knowing this was mostly review for everyone else.

I'd write notes and make flashcards until my hands were sore pretty much every day now, but I was loving Eden Hall and America so much, I was having no regrets about it. That was, at least, until I ran into Charlie while studying in the library one day. I wished I could have sprinted back on a plane to Brisbane.

"Verona!" I don't know why he seemed so happy to see me, considering he thought my views on mermaids were so childish.
"Hi." I looked up at him for just a moment before continuing to study.
"How are things?"
"Busy." I clicked my pen, hoping he'd take the hint. He didn't, of course, and sat down beside me.
"I didn't know you'd be going here. I thought you were going back to Golden Coast."
"Gold Coast. That was my original plan, but I decided I wanted to stay."
"Wow, that's crazy. Who would have thought we'd both be here, right?"
I was running out of patience with him being slow. Why did he think I was here if it wasn't because I decided to stay? Like no duh.

"...Charlie, I'm busy. I don't have time to chat."
"Oh, can I help? Is that U.S. history? I got a 4 on the AP, it's easy."
"Some of us didn't grow up in the United States, Charlie." I scoffed. "It's not easy learning the history of the complete opposite side of the world... even if we were colonized by the same country."
"Right." He was quiet for a moment; I thought he was going to leave but I should have known better than that.

"I offended you when we were talking about the mermaids, didn't I?" Only took him two weeks to realize, apparently.
"...Yes, you did. It's one thing to disagree but it's another to tell all your friends that I'm a loon."
"I'm sorry."
"Are you really?" I started to pack up my things. I didn't want to sit by him any longer if he was going to be like this.

"Yeah, I am. I didn't realize it meant so much to you."
"It's fine."
"It really isn't." He ran his hand back through his hair and tried to find the right words. "I just get all flustered and... weird when I talk to pretty girls."
I'd never been called pretty before until that moment. Well, by anyone but my parents. It made my heart sing, but it also made me irrationally angry, because I knew he was using it to deflect from his behavior.

"Sure, that's why."
"No, really, it is. I was lucky I didn't lose my swim trunks or something that day at the beach. I have such bad luck with those things."
"Mhm..." I sat back and crossed my arms.
"So do you want to hang out sometime?"
"I'm busy."
"All the time?"
"Kinda. I'm either at swim or with the exchange students or studying, so yeah."
"Hm, too bad. I just liked getting to know you." He stood. "You have a sort of shimmer about 'ya."
He walked away, and my goodness, I was weak.
I had a shimmer about me. Hm.

I didn't feel like I could study anymore, but I had time until my father was going to pick me up, so I took a walk to Beck's dorm to see if I could talk to her. I hadn't had much downtime to catch up with her outside of our cohort activities and occasional locker-side interactions.

I knocked on her door and she called a simple "come in" over a boombox playing music. Inside, her room was all pink—pink carpet, bedding, an inflatable chair. I wasn't a fan of pink but in her room it looked so cool.