The Guardian Wars: Part One #Wattys2016

Chapter Nine

The next day was a blur of tests, classrooms and professors. I woke up and, after a quick breakfast, Rowan rushed me to The University. I made it just in time for my history exam. It took me nearly three hours to complete, and then I was on to my next one. My Latin exam came next, which I completed in just two hours. I had a small break after my geology exam for lunch, and then I was almost late to my fourth exam, which was advanced trigonometry. Three hours later, I stumbled my way to my last exam. Upon arriving for my psychology exam, I was told that showing up was the test, and I had passed. As I walked dazedly back across the large campus to the parking lot where Rowan would be waiting, I spotted a familiar face. Mabel, the makeup artist, was leaving the cosmetology building.

"Mabel!" I shouted, waving my arm above my head. She turned when she heard my voice, and waved back before heading in my direction.

"Hey!" she exclaimed as she approached.

"I didn't know you were a student here," I said as she wrapped her arms around my neck. The gesture was odd to me considering how very little we knew one another, but it made me smile nonetheless. I didn't know why, but I desperately wanted to know more about Mabel.

"Yea, I'm in my third year. By the looks of it, you must have just finished your exams," she laughed pointing to my mussed up hair. I hadn't noticed before then, but it was falling out of the ponytail it had been in that morning and sticking out all over the place.

"Yeah, I'm glad they're over. Now I get to wait for the results," I said with a laugh.

"Well, you definitely deserve a break. I was about to head to the coffee shop right now, do you want to come with me? It's my treat," she offered, adjusting the book bag hanging from her shoulder. I looked toward the parking lot, nervously. I had never gone off anywhere without Rowan.

"We'll only be a minute! Come on," she grabbed my arm and led me to the other side of the campus. Rowan would never know. He was expecting me to be at least another hour taking my psychology exam. Plus, it was extremely hard not to mirror Mabel's enthusiasm. I laughed as we bumbled through a group of students walking in front of us. I had all but forgotten about Rowan when we approached a small secluded parking lot. It was full of motorcycles. She walked up to a small black two seater and tossed me a helmet. My enthusiasm fizzled instantly. Rowan was going to find out and he was going to kill me.

"I-I've never ridden a motorcycle," I admitted nervously.

"That's fine," she said as she put the helmet on my head and fastened the buckle under my chin. "I figured this would be new for you."

She straddled the bike, and patted the seat behind her signaling for me to do the same. I very awkwardly climbed on and tried find a comfortable position.

"Just hold on to me, ok?" she yelled back at me as she started the motorcycle. The vibration of the bike made my ears buzz.

"Ok!" I shouted back, wrapping my arms around her waist. Then we were off. At first it was horrifying. I felt like every turn was going to knock us on our side. It wasn't long before I could feel my fear turning into something else. It was exhilarating. It took us about ten minutes to get to the coffee shop. Once we were parked, I climbed off the motorcycle with wobbly legs.

"What did you think?" she asked, flashing me a huge grin while she helped me take my helmet off.

"It was awesome!" I almost shouted with glee. Mabel stowed the helmet under one of the seats and guided me inside. I had never been to a coffee shop, but as soon as I was through the door, I loved it. The whole place smelled like fresh roasted coffee and baked goods. People were scattered around with laptops or headphones. Everyone seemed to be in deep thought but at the same time they all seemed extremely relaxed.