Hailey
Sometimes, I wish college never existed.
I mean, who wants to go to college and fill themselves with anxiety everyday? That's right, everyone except me.
I'm already filled with anxiety, usually it's just a single bee buzzing around in my insides, today it is a family. Buzz buzz buzz.
I'm currently sitting in the back seat, behind Callum, in the Toyota. Dad is tapping his fingers on the steering wheel which I notice is a sign he's nervous.
When I'm nervous I keep my head down to avoid eye contact, otherwise I might burst into tears, and if I'm sitting down I always jiggle my legs. I'm doing it now.
"Stop jiggling your legs, Hailey! I can feel the vibrations" Callum barks over the stereo.
Callum and I used to be close, I guess we still are but not as much. We used to watch movies together, read our books together, we even had the same friends in elementary school but as the time for college got closer, Callum started going out with his new roommate, Jack and he became more of a man than a boy connected to his twin sister's hip.
Me on the other-hand. I'm still the same old me. I sit in my room, reading and writing all day and haven't met up with my roommate or even seen a picture of her. I can't even remember her name, is it Rebecca? I think to myself.
"Sorry" I mutter under my breath.
The car comes to a stop, the engine is killed and the stereo along with it.
"Okay kids, we're here" dad says loud enough for me to hear in the back.
Callum practically leaps out of the car and slams the door closed, I can't remember the last time I saw him so excited.
I hear the trunk open and the scraping of boxes being lifted out. One by one my anxiety builds and soon it's a hive buzzing around inside of me.
"You okay, sweetie?" Dad's voice startles me although it's gentle.
"Yeah...no...I don't know" I look at my clasped hands in my lap and sigh. "I'm just really nervous"
"Me too, I'm worried about you. You have barely eaten or spoken to Callum or I for the past week, we want to know what's wrong" dad reaches over and takes one of my clammy hands in his.
"I...what if I don't fit in? Or find the course too difficult?" I glance up at his face, there is stubble around his chin and jaw from not shaving for the past few days.
"It's a college filled with hundreds of students, you're going to find someone to get along with and if you find the course too difficult then I'm sure they'll let you change it as long as it's not too late into the semester" he gives my hand a reassuring squeeze and Callum closes the trunk door, a few seconds later he appears at my door. I roll down the window for him.
"Why are you just sitting there? Come on!" He leans over, his head inside the window and his hair tickling my forehead. He unclips my seatbelt and opens the door, grabbing me by my arm and pulling me out.
Alright, I'm coming...geez" I rub my wrist after he lets go and we start taking our boxes up to our rooms.
-
623 East Wing.
I look to my left and find Callum standing in front of the door beside 623.
622 East Wing.
"Here we are" He sighs and unlocks his door.
I can remember he told me his room was in the North Wing....so how is he here, in the East Wing?
"Cal?" I tilt my head to the side like a puppy hearing a truck drive past for the first time. "I thought you were in the North Wing?"
"We were but I...we...Jack and I asked to be beside your room" he shoulders the door open and I put the box I was holding down.
"You did what?" I storm into Callum's room and find a boy with black hair sweeping over his forehead standing beside a bed.
"I wanted to keep an eye on you. You're so nervous that I was worried and Jack didn't mind" the boy-Jack- gives me a little wave and I give him a small smile.
"This was your last chance to finally get rid of me and you decide to get a room beside mine? Who does that?" My voice is getting louder but I couldn't care.
"Callum Khan?" Callum puts his boxes onto the other bed and folds his arms over his chest.
I huff in frustration and storm out of his room and slam the door shut.
I open my door and see that no-one has been inside yet. Okay, good. I have time to settle in myself before my roommate comes.
One by one I carry in my boxes, one for my desk, two for my clothes, one for my books and one for my bathroom
products and a few cosmetics. I begin unpacking and putting things in their rightful places when I hear a key in the lock.
Here she come, a girl with brown hair like mines, glasses and freckles, I hope to myself.
Instead, a girl with waist-length blonde hair and large, emerald green eyes walks in. A Chanel purse in the crook of her arm and Gucci sunglasses in her hair.
"Hey, are you Hailey?" Her voice is thick like syrup and has a little bit of Californian in it.
I nod.
"I'm so excited to be here for my second year! Are you a Freshman?" She dumps her bag onto the other bed and goes straight into the bathroom to look in the mirror. We payed a little bit extra for an en suite, I did because I'll probably break down into tears if I had to share with half of East Wing and my roommate because she can probably afford to have ten en suites.
I nod again then realise she can't see me because she's in the bathroom.
I cough and tell her I'm a Freshman which she claims is great.
"All Freshmen do is go to parties, get drunk and mildly regret it the next day" she sighs dramatically "Sophomore's have to take college seriously" she changes her voice which makes me suspect she's imitating a professor or her parents.
After she finishes fixing her lipstick she starts telling me how she has hired 3 men to bring her belongings up to our room but before I can answer there's a knock on the door.
"That'll be them" she walks...no, sashays over to answer the door and I hear a familiar voice.
"Is Hailey here?" Callum asks my roommate. What's her name?
"Yeah, come in" She taps a manicured finger on his shoulder as he walks past and I look over it to find my roommate standing gawping at him.
"Hi" I feel awkward. Why do I feel awkward? Callum and I always bicker.
"Sorry" he ruffles his hair with both of his hands "I just wanted to make sure you were going to be okay"
"You don't need to be sorry. I understand but I just feel like I'm always holding you back, Callum, it's time for you to let go" my roommate is shuffling around behind Callum in her purse, discreetly eavesdropping...not discreet enough.
"Well that's never going to happen" he nudges me with his elbow, hard enough for me to fall back onto the bed and he laughs quietly. "We good?"
"Yeah, we're good" I smile at him and he waves as he walks out of the room.
"Who. Is. That?" My roommate is standing in the centre of the room with her hands on her hips.
"Callum" I shrug.
"Is he your boyfriend?" She raises one perfect eyebrow.
"Ugh, no! He's my twin brother" Can she not see our resemblance?
"Oh, well that's great because he's gorgeous" her green eyes are sparkling like a real emerald "I love his eyes, they're so...striking" She was right. Callum did have striking eyes.
Callum and I are both half Chinese-from dad- so we have the "Chinese" eyes except mine are hazel and Callum's are the color of the sky on a clear, sunny day.
"I'll let him know" I cough "that you think he has nice eyes"
"Really?" She sounds shocked.
"If you want me to" she nods so hard her sunglasses fall of her head "um, what's your name again?"
"Jessica...Jessica Woods" she picks up her sunglasses and puts them on her desk. Jessica's phone starts ringing so I awkwardly begin stacking all of the empty boxes in the hall. "Hello...yeah sure...that's great...you're downstairs?...okay...second floor and I'm in room 623" she hangs up and tells me that's the men here with her belongings and I take that as the cue to leave.
-
Here I am.
Sitting on a bench in the middle of the college gardens.
My laptop on my knees and my fingers moving swiftly over the keyboard.
Where I feel most at home.
I'm writing a new chapter of my second book. I've been writing it for the past month and so far it has went well. I'm at the part when it's the two character's first kiss when I feel someone approaching. I ignore them as they sit down and continue typing away.
"Hello?" It's a male's voice I don't recognise.
I glance up then back at my laptop and I have to do a double take.
Sitting beside me, only 2 inches away from me is the most beautiful male I have ever set eyes on.
"H..." I cough "Hi"
He has dark brown hair, almost black, styled into a quiff and his left ear has a black stud in it.
"Why are you sitting out here?" Sitting so close I notice his eyes are an espresso colour and he has long, thick eyelashes, the eyelashes boys don't deserve to have.
"I needed to get away" that sounded stupid, I think. "Anxiety. Felt like the walls were closing in, roommate was tal-...never mind" great, well done Hailey!
The boy lifts one eyebrow, it's thick and dark, the colour of his hair and shaped in a line with a small arch towards the end. "So you decided to come and sit out here in the cold with your laptop? Nice choice" he was right. It was cold, but I didn't mind it, I had my thick jacket on and brown boots.
"Um...thanks" he was silent for a few seconds so I turned back to my laptop and tried to concentrate on the first kiss.
"What are you writing?" He leans closer and I tense which I think he senses so he sits back.
"Nothing" this is so strange. Why is this beautiful male talking to me? He doesn't even know my name. It's my first day here and it's already crazy.
"Can't be nothing if you're clearly writing something" he raises his eyebrow again.
"It's a secret" as soon as the words leave my mouth I realise how childish I sound.
"Okay, secret-girl-sitting-on-a-bench-on-a-freezing-day, I think you are feeling very uncomfortable around me so I'm going to let you sit here by yourself" and with that he stands up and walks back the way he came.
What. Just. Happened?
A cute guy, a beautiful guy has just walked over to me and spoke to me. Me! Hailey Khan, the unsociable 17 year old who doesn't know to live and can't function properly around strangers.
One question that whizzes around my head is: Who is this mysterious, gorgeous male?
Author's Note
Hello and welcome to my new WattPad novel. I'm really excited by this and can't wait for you to read it. I'm going to try and not hint anything during my AN's because I want it to be all a surprise. I'm also going to stay anonymous because I want this to be all about the book. I will have Questions of the Chapter (QotC) every chapter which I hope you take the time to answer. Thank you so much for reading, I'll try and post as much as possible but it might be difficult with school and life but hopefully all goes well!
QotC: Who do you think this beautiful, mysterious guy is?
YOU ARE READING
Out Of Place
Ficção Adolescente"It wasn't a mistake. You were never a mistake. My actions were the mistake" Hailey is a reclusive, want-to-be author. Her twin brother, Callum is the complete opposite. It's their first year at college filled with parties, trouble and a whole lot o...
