Mr.Darcy?

Chapter 3

I laugh out loud at the scene on my screen, my eyes tearing up. I feel Marcus's eyes on me. I turn to him and ask him while wiping my eyes, "What?"

"I think this is the first time I've heard you laugh. Why don't you laugh often?" Marcus asks.

"What do you mean?"

"Your laugh sounds nice. If you do it often, it's enough to make people stay with you for longer. I know you feel lonely a lot, but you don't say anything."

I stare at him, speechless. "You think my laugh sounds good?"

"Hmm. I would like to hear more of it, if you will let me," he says, looking into my eyes.

"If you like it so much, then why don't you make me laugh more?" I challenge him, hoping he wouldn't notice how nervous he got me.

Marcus nods,"Ok, I'll do that." He opens Chrome and searches for jokes.

"Seriously?" I let out a small laugh. "I was just kidding."

"I wasn't. I don't have the best sense of humour, but I am sure I can improve it," he replies while his eyes still on his phone.

My phone's ringtone breaks me out of my daydream and brings me back to reality. I really need to stop with these fake scenarios.

I open my phone and read the texts from Zaira and Susanna.

Zaira:
Idts that guy barely posts anything on insta
Why tho?

Susan:
Yeah even idt he posted anything about it

Me:
I just saw someone very similar to him yesterday
Ik it's not him but he looked very similar

Zaira:
WTF!!!!!!
Where did you see him????

Me:
We were going to SU and I saw him get down from a bus
I could only see the side of his face so I am not even sure if it is even him
It's probably not

Zaira:
How can u be so sure that its not him
What if it is omg
What if he takes admission in the same college as you!!!!!!!

Me:
Calm down, Z
I haven't even decided on a college yet
And we ending up in the same college is too romantic for my boring life :(

Zaira:
Whatevs
We are your besties and it's our job to feed your delusions

Susan:
🫡

I roll my eyes and close the chat. If there is anyone who is more hopeless romantic than me, it is Zaira. Susan and Fiona have completely given up on her. The girl has such unrealistic expectations from her love life that we sometimes wonder if she will ever get a guy that will match her standards. It seems almost impossible at this point.

My friend's texts only give me slight comfort because Zaira is right, Marcus doesn't often post about his life, same as me. So there is a thirty percent chance that he moved to the same place as me, but I will hold on to the seventy percent and continue my life pretending I didn’t see anyone yesterday.

Yesterday, Tabitha and I were able to visit all four universities, thankfully,  they were all in the same area. Tabitha said that she liked San Joaquin the best out of all the others. She and my mom left the final decision in my hands. I was leaning more towards SU, but I still wanted to wait one more day before filling out the form.

I decided to go through the websites and brochures of all the four universities. I paid special attention to the student reviews to know what kind of experience they hand in each college. I love watching 'a day in my life' videos on YouTube, so I watched the videos of the students who went to these universities. I focused more on the videos from students who had taken the same courses as me, English Lit, Business Administration, and Philosophy.

I want to do a double major in English Lit and Business and a minor in Philosophy. I want to work as a part of the editorial team in a renowned publishing company. I love reading books, and everything related to literature instantly becomes my favourite, so I want a career where I can work with books and literature. That is plan A. From the numerous posts that I have read on Reddit, I know that breaking into this industry is not very easy. So, to be on the safer side, I want to opt for content and technical writing for my elective courses. The jobs for these are comparatively easier to get.

Since I had already almost made my decision to get into Stockton, I decided to go through the admission procedure and check if I had all the necessary documents ready. I had already taken multiple photocopies of all the documents, just as Margaret asked me to.

I went through the fee structure for my courses and sent the screenshot to my dad. He did not shift with me and mom since his work needed him to stay in New York itself. Our financial condition had improved from last year and he could now pay the fee for my college. Thankfully, my mom also got a job as a fashion designer here in Stockton, so both of my parents can now divide the fees among them. I insisted that I would like to  pay my own fees by finding a job, but my parents wanted me to focus on my studies and assured me that they can take care of the expenditure.

But I still wanted to work and earn some money, so I decided to do internships. Doing internships during your higher studies makes your resume look good and gives you more experience. Initially, I only wanted to do content writing/editorial internships, but when they proved hard to find, I decided to look into other fields as well. After applying for around  thirty to fifty internships, I finally got a role for HR intern. It is a one month part-time internship to hire people for a finance internship. It's fun and keeps me busy.

At least busy enough to not think too much about him.

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