One Way Out

Chapter 1

I frantically shove my legs into my dirty gray sweatpants and throw on my navy blue v-neck and swing my backpack over my shoulders. I slip out of my dorm with a granola bar stuffed in my mouth, making me look like a bunny. I sprint out of the building to the science and health building. On my way, I run into an average college guy. I can feel my face getting red-hot as I try not to make eye contact with him.

"What's your name?" I hear his deep voice break the silence.

"Christina. Yours?" I respond, finally looking into his deep brown eyes. They are much more dazzling than I thought they would be.

"Jackson." He says handing me my granola bar wrapper. His face is crinkles when he grins at me, and I flash a smile back forgetting the granola in my teeth was so obvious. He giggles at me and proceeds in his direction, as I head to room 957 for my psych final.

I walk into the class right on time and flop down into my seat and get my pencil out. Just as the professor is handing out the the exam, Jackson walks in breathing heavily. He manages to gasp out, "Sorry, sir... I...got lost. I'm new." Mr. Molica looks at him understandingly, and sits him in the desk next to me. Great. He receives a test like everyone else and we begin the exam. I shift my eyes over to him and see him flying through the test like he has already passed this class. In just 30 minutes he's done with his exam and walks out of the room. I look at the back of his head as he exits, wishing I were going with him.

I glance over on his desk to see a note: my name, an address, and a time. I copy it down on my hand and continue on with my final, which is pretty easy since I haven't missed a class at all this year. 

I answer each question and go over my selections before I hand it in. I get up and walk forward to the basket of tests and realize that I only took 10 minutes longer than Jackson. I smile at the professor and exit the classroom.

I see Jackson sitting in the lounge reading a novel on my way to the dorm and he smiles at me with his straight, white teeth. I decide that I need a snack and enter the lounge. I sit in the chair next to him and we just look at each other for what feels like an hour. Finally I ask him about the note on the desk to which he replies with a smile and says nothing else. I finish my snack and start to leave when I hear him say, "Hey, do you want to get coffee tomorrow before class?" I think for a second and nod, bearing a smile. He beams into his book as I walk away.

As I leave I can't help but tell everything to my roommate, Naomi. I fumble with my keys to get into my dorm room, for about three minutes, only to find out that it was unlocked the whole time. I bustle in bearing a huge grin on my face. I set my stuff down in my room and look over to the bunks in the corner to see Naomi fast asleep. I chuckle and start preparing her an egg with bacon. There's nothing like microwaved bacon and eggs in the morning.

Naomi wakes slowly when she smells the meal. I smile at her and bring a plate over to her bed. She sits up and takes the plate of breakfast and stuffs her mouth and she looks at me, wide-eyed, her cheeks puffed. I tell her about Jackson and every detail that happened, as well as our date tomorrow morning before class.

"So you're telling me," she says, as if she is surprised. "that you met a hot, new student and you are going on a date with him after meeting him for an  hour?"

"Yeah," I say, nodding. "that's exactly what I'm telling you."

I grab my science textbook and my purse and walk to my class, looking a bit more presentable in my light wash skinny jeans and a clean gray v-neck. On my way to the science building, I run into a guy named Jinyoung.

"Hey," he says. "you're Christina right? I'm Jinyoung; I friend of Jackson's."

"Oh, yeah, that's me," I reply. "Nice to meet you."

"Are you headed to the science building?"

"Yeah, are you?"

"Yeah, I can walk you!"

"Oh, um, sure. I guess."

"Oh, sorry. Only if you want me to."

We talk about how Jackson transferred from China and how they were in a band with six other people. Strangely, I have never seen them around or in any of my classes. As we arrive at the science building we walk into lab 109 and sit next to each other, not by choice, but because he was assigned to be there.

Professor Binkley walks into the lab, sets his stuff down and begins class, "Today," he says, already boring me. "we will be testing factors of indestructibility in a few different substances." He sits on his stool at the front of the lab and points his sausage fingers at the screen behind him.

"Hey," Jinyoung leans in towards me, grinning. "Wanna ditch?"

I smile and nod back and reach for my bag and textbook. We sneak out of the almost empty lab while Mr. Binkley is crouching behind his table. I can guarantee that his ass crack is showing.

We continue to run around campus until we stop for lunch. I order a buffalo wrap, Jinyoung orders a sandwhich. We sit down and talk about our lives. I now know that Jackson is Chinese, and his band is 'world famous'...

"Maybe you've heard of it?" He says. "We're called GOT7."

"Oh so there are five more of you guys here?" I ask.

"Yeah," he chuckles. "You should come watch our performance backstage!"

"Oh, yeah for sure," I say, smiling. "So who are the other members?"

"There's Jaebum, the leader and singer, Mark rap and flips, Jackson does rapping and flips too, Yugyeom vocals and dance, Youngjae lead vocals, and Bambam raps."

"So what's your role?" I ask, leaning back into my chair.

"Oh, I just sing and dance." He replies, getting red.

"Well, what do you wanna do now?" I ask, attempting to change the awkward subject.