Dream Come True

4

THE golden autumn sun spread across my room like eagles wings, stretching out across the carpet in the fresh morning and across my closed eyelids. I scrubbed at my eyes, still feeling groggy and dehydrated from the previous night. As I looked into the mirror in the bathroom, I surveyed the damage. My eyes were slightly red and puffy and my smile had dropped into a chapped frown. I watched the pitiful reflection and scowled back. Grabbing a hair tie, I raked my hair back harshly. With frustrated determination I dressed and set off to my classes again.

* * *

I watched the trees sway in the breeze outside the window of my Classic Lit tutorial room, five minutes before the class began. I didn't move when students started filing in, one by one taking a seat. I vaguely felt someone tentatively sit down next to me. I could almost smell the freshness of outside.

"Thia?" I slowly pulled myself from my internal solitude and turned to face him. The same soothing strength radiated off Xander from last night like a sigh. My grim expression softened enough to give a gentle smile as I tried to cover my weakness.
"Hey. How's it going?" I said. His expression of didn't change as he opened his mouth to speak again.
"Thia, I- I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to talk to you about last night." I turned away to look out the window
"What about it?" I replied numbly.
"Thia? Can you look at me?" My gaze met his again. By this time Mr Sullivan had stomped in shouting orders at the students to quiet down.
"Can I take you out tomorrow? I'll meet you at your place, around noon?" He asked in a loud hush. I nodded in reply just as Mr Sullivan barked that the next person to talk would recieve the assignment of a 1500 word essay due on his desk on Monday.

* * *

I sat in my Journalism tutorial later that day, flicking through my notes. I jumped hearing a thud next to me. 'Hello Pippa.' I turned to scowl at Drey.

Emotions went thorough me. I pushed the feelings of annoyance, anger, confusion, fear and worry all into a box and covered my uneasiness with hostility.
"What are you doing here?" I snapped. He slumped in his seat carelessly.
"Thought I'd move classes just to be with you." He replied with a wink. I turned back to the front and groaned silently. Great.

Class moved through the hour at what seemed to be a snail's pace. The professor began to summarize the last of the PowerPoint slides and I sighed with relief.
"Alright, that's the end of the tutorial. Don't forget to collect your partner slips for the upcoming ancestral journalism assignment due after the break. Research one of your ancestors. Tell me all about what they did and what was special about them. I want you to use all the skills you've been though throughout this term."

I slung my bag over my shoulder and collected my slip as I left the room. I scanned the sheet and groaned as I saw the name of my allocated assessment partner. I turned to Drey, an annoying grin already on his face.
"See you later this afternoon Pippa!" he said, giving me a piece of paper with his address and phone number scribbled on it and walked out of the room.

Gee. Can't wait.