Who Are You \\ Laucy

Chapter 5

A/N: Yay finally some Laucy drama :D

Everyone hastily shuffled out of the lecture hall after Professor Oakley dismissed us. It was my largest class, so I didn't bother rushing out because the bottleneck at the exits wouldn't permit me to leave anytime soon. It was Friday afternoon, so everyone was particularly eager to get out, but I had to do some additional studying at the student center anyway. First week in and I could already feel myself falling behind. If I thought biology was bad in high school, it didn't even compare to the complete lack of instruction they gave here. I really questioned why they charge so much for tuition if the professors don't even bother to teach, which was what they got paid for.

I shoved my laptop into my bag and started down the stairs toward the exit because the crowd started to clear out. I saw Robin frantically waving at me, so I had no choice but to approach him. I greeted him cheerily before our footsteps synchronized, our strides the same length.

"How do you like Fundamentals of Mass Communication so far?" he asked.

"Not as bad as Russian Lit, though nothing's as bad as that."

He let out a quiet laugh. We walked together to our dorm building talking about all of our classes so far. It turns out he's also majoring in Journalism. We both agreed that it was gonna be a rough semester before parting ways in the stairwell, my voice echoing off of the cold concrete walls. Climbing the stairs every day wasn't as bad as I made it out to be. Sure, I was pretty much out of breath by the time I cleared the top, but it wasn't a huge deal. Getting into shape had to start somehow.

I briefly scanned the dorm to look for my textbooks. They were ridiculously heavy, not to mention painstakingly hard to read a decipher, due to the tiny print. I guess carrying them around could qualify as a supplement for my new stair climbing workout routine.

Emery didn't get back from her last class until the evening. She opted for later classes because she wanted to sleep in. I couldn't blame her.

I made my way to the student center in the warm Miami sun. It was housed in a gorgeous stone building constructed of curves and columns. Its large walls of windows reflected the mid-afternoon sky, which served as the backdrop to the swaying palm trees that lined the front of the building.

I usually studied here, but it was always very busy on afternoons. Instead, I opted to go to the library. I figured that it'd be better: maybe those books could help explain what I didn't understand in my textbooks, which was everything.

My eyebrows furrowed as I tried to recall where the library was. I know me and Emery had passed it on the first day, but I had no idea what buildings were around it or what side of campus it was on. Whatever. I continued in the direction I was initially going, moving past the student center and other lecture halls. I recognized a couple of the buildings but was still kinda lost, so I slowed my pace.

"Lauren!"

I turned around to find the source of the voice.

Lucy.

I stopped walking as she hurried to catch up with me. Strands of her brown hair whipped around her face from the subtle breeze that had just begun. She wore a white tank with the name of some band I'd never heard of on it. It was coupled with ripped jeans and Converse. A battered canvas backpack hung off her slender shoulders. I smiled to myself. In some ways, she hadn't changed at all.

"Where you headed?" she inquired.

I explained to her that I was going to the library. But one small problem: I didn't actually know where it was. She laughed, finding my lack of common sense amusing. That was the one thing she just loved to point out. All. The. Time. Sure I was book smart, but I didn't have "street smarts" as she called it.