First of Two

First of Two - Chapter Six

First of Two – Chapter 6

 

R I L E Y

Her dad called that Friday night.

She was walking back to her dorm from school when her phone rang and she talked to him all about her so-far college experience for an hour. Considering that she wasn’t happy with the new living arrangements when her dad remarried a year ago, her dad was glad she was having fun and doing well.

Riley’s life had always revolved around school and her academic goals. Even back at home she used to study or read inside her room all the time. Clarissa, her stepmother, was such a klutz. She was terribly disorganized, noisy and irritating. Not mean. No, not at all.

Just really not the type of person Riley would prefer to live with.

But speaking of klutzy, Becca wasn’t being the best roommate either. There was not a time when her bed was spotless of clothes. She would sometimes talk on the phone in the terrace until midnight and once used Riley’s novel as a drink coaster.

Her novel. A book. As a DRINK COASTER!

Luckily, there was a small library in the first floor of the dormitory that Riley found two days ago. She would spend time studying there until she was sure Becca was asleep. The mess wasn’t as bothering as Clarissa’s though. At least.

After speaking with her father, she headed downstairs to study. Even if Becca wasn’t home yet. She just felt more comfortable at the library. As she opened her book, she noticed a small note sticking out from a random page. She pulled it out and unfolded it.

“Hey, Ri! :)I was bored at Phil, but enjoy this piece of boring paper. Call me if you found this. I’ll  probably be bored again. – A”

She smiled at the note. Below it was a set of numbers. Regarding Adrian, she was really glad they met and became friends just like that. Becca too, but since they were roommates, it almost didn’t count. And she wouldn’t have minded if Adrian didn’t appear in her life. He was like an unexpected birthday present.

But there was something about him she couldn’t identify yet. It made her feel like she was drowning every time she imagined how things could have turned out if he never decided to encourage her to be friends with him. Riley has always felt like she shut people off. It was also one of the reasons why she thought she never made friends; because she wasn’t approachable.

And now that Adrian was there—always there—she wondered what she did that made Adrian think that she was worth it. For more than ten minutes, she stared at the words on her book, but nothing was entering her mind. It was too fogged by thoughts about him.

It had been her recent habit to allow herself to stray away from her book and think about him until she would realize that minutes had passed and she hadn’t read anything yet. She shook her head and sighed with a small smile.

Riley gave up and shut her book. She walked out of the library, dialing the number on the note. Before she could stop herself from clicking on call, she worried that she wouldn’t be able to say anything, wouldn’t think of appropriate responses.

But maybe, just maybe, she would.

A D R I A N

He wasn’t expecting Riley to call at all, that Friday night.

It has only been a week, but he felt like he’s been at Hampton for months now. At the same time, days passed too fast. He was lying on bed, his Philosophy book opened and resting on his stomach. Running on his mind was her silence, her withdrawal from almost the things that didn’t matter and wasn’t relevant from academics, the way she only stared at him as a response to a lot of things he would say… and everything else about her—her eyes, her ponytail, her smile.

He was thinking about how he would miss that during the weekend. Because the days passed too fast and he hasn’t had enough time to memorize her.

But she called. She actually called, it was almost funny.

“Hello?” he asked sketchily, sitting up. The number that appeared wasn’t registered on his phone. It took ten long seconds before the person on the other end finally responded.

“Hey.” The voice was soft and tiny. Almost cracking. Almost Riley. Only over the phone, people’s voices were somehow always modified.

“Ri—Riley?” he asked, laughing. “You found the note, didn’t you?” He knew she would nod instead of saying yes. Maybe she did, because she didn’t answer immediately. He laughed again.

“What’s so funny?” Everything. Everything was funny, like all of his nerves were being tickled. He felt his smile reach the middle of his cheeks as he slumped back on his bed and stared at the ceiling.

“You,” he replied. “I was just thinking about you.” He listened to her breathe. Of course she wouldn’t say anything about that. Just give him a smile. Maybe he had memorized her after all. Still. It didn’t feel enough. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I’m still wondering what’s so funny,” she said, sort of laughing. He wished he could watch her laugh.

“To be honest, I’m wondering the same thing.” Another giggle.

“Are you bored?” she asked.

“Why?”

“I called because you said on your note that you would probably be bored the moment I find it.” Adrian chuckled. “So, are you?”

“You called to amuse me?” She would probably punch his arm if they were next to each other. “Well, Ri. You’re not amusing me.”

“I’m not?”

“You’re more than amusing me. It’s like you’re electrifying every nerve in my body right now.” He shut his eyes and pictured her reading in the cafeteria table. “I guess I knew what was so funny after all.”

She didn’t respond. But he knew she was still there, probably clutching on her phone, staring at the air.

“Riley?” he said after a while.

“Yeah,” she whispered.

“I like it when we’re on the phone.”

“And what makes you say that?”

“You talk… I don’t have to read you. You say stuff. And I get to hear your voice.”

“I’m sorry that I don’t talk a lot.”

Adrian smiled. He wished he could tell her that he would like her anyway if they weren’t on the phone. That the reason why he liked being around her a lot was because she made him feel okay to act happy even if people weren’t around. That he only smiled genuinely when she was there. And not because he wanted to hide his painful past.

But maybe, just maybe, he could.