Letters by Her [Book 2]

Chapter 5

Dusty awoke to find her head throbbing and her mouth as dry as sandpaper. Stretching out from beneath the covers, her entire body ached, each limb protesting every time she moved it. Groaning, she forced herself to sit up and try to get her bearings. Bright light filtered in beneath the curtains, and she could already feel that the air outside was hot and heavy.

Glancing round, she fixed on the alarm clock beside her bed and was shocked to find that it was eleven in the morning. As the fog of sleep began to clear, Dusty felt a panicked sensation rising up from the base of her spine.
She'd been due to attend her first class that morning. She tried to assure herself that she had gotten her days mixed up, that actually classes started the following day.

Rummaging frantically through her backpack, she found her class schedule, and as she read it, the panic intensified, joined by a sinking feeling in her stomach. Dusty's first class was that morning at ten. She was already an hour late for a two-hour class and had yet to shower and change.

Looking back at her bed, she wanted nothing more than to hide beneath her duvet and wish her day away. But then as she looked at her bed, she saw the picture of her father smiling proudly beside it. He'd want Dusty to do her best, not throw away such an amazing opportunity to study and learn. Begrudgingly, Dusty grabbed her shower kit and headed for the communal bathroom.

****

With her hair still damp Dusty pulled on some jeans and a T-shirt, hurriedly filling her backpack with anything she might need for her class. She noticed that Ashley still nestled within her bed, oblivious of the day she was sleeping through.

"Come on, lazybones," Dusty declared, her voice annoyingly loud and bright as she pulled the pink duvet off her roommate's bed. The moment the duvet had been moved, Dusty froze in shameful shock. Ashley was not alone in her bed.
Brad was curled up beside her, completely naked. Panicked, Dusty threw the cover back over them.

"Sorry," she mumbled, turning crimson.

"Is it morning?" Ashley asked, rubbing at her eyes. Brad hadn't stirred.

"Yeah, it's like eleven." Dusty sighed. "I'm late for class."

"Don't sweat it. First class doesn't count." Ashley smiled. Dusty wasn't sure if she agreed but didn't have the time to argue about it.

"Do you have class?" Dusty asked.

"Not 'til three."

"Lucky for you, then."

"Yep." Ashley yawned and stretched. Dusty hovered at the end of the bed. She didn't like the thought of entering her class so late. Everyone would look at her like she was some lazy, rebellious student. While that had been the persona she wanted to project at West, it certainly wasn't how she wanted to be seen at Princeton.

"Tell them you got lost," Ashley offered, noticing Dusty's troubled expression.

"For over an hour?" Dusty didn't sound convinced.

"Yeah, it's a big campus, you're new. I bet it happens loads."

"I hope you're right."

"I'm always right, don't worry," Ashley joked.
"Good luck with your class."

"Good luck with yours later." Dusty smiled.

"We'll regroup here this evening," Ashley declared. "First I need to sneak Brad out of here. We aren't supposed to have boys stay over, but where's the fun in that?"

"I wonder if he'd fit out the window?" Ashley mused while Dusty headed out the door and into the corridor.