Scholars | c.s

5

The walk from Khayla and Cole's door to mine that should've been a couple of seconds felt painfully slower than that, mostly because I was ambling through the corridor just thinking about what a shambles my first full day here was.

I don't really know what I expected. I knew this whole thing wouldn't be perfect and I wasn't expecting to fall in love with the place as soon as I walked through the door... but I was just hoping for something more than this. I mean, this is Cambridge. And that fact is something I genuinely find myself forgetting because the people here are nothing like I expected. I wonder what my mother's reaction will be like when she finds out her dream school is pretty much my nightmare.

I sigh as I slowly push my key into the door and shove it open with effort.

The room is dark with nothing to help my eyes adjust but the strung up fairy lights decorating Fliss's headboard. She is slumped with her bright pink head sunken into her pillow and she was basically mute aside from the occasional deep, muffled breath and drunken guzzle. I'd forgotten exactly how much she'd had to drink before Raph made his grand entrance.

I make an attempt at stalling by taking off my makeup and throwing my hair into a bun as I try to think of the right thing to say.

"Fliss? Are you okay?" I ask sitting on my bed and opening up my laptop.

Obviously she's not.

"I'll take that as a yes. Do you wanna talk about it?" I ask her not really expecting a reply.

I sigh and sit down next to her on her bed.
"Fliss talk to me."

"What Val?!" She erupts. What exactly do you want me to say?"
"That's a good question. I don't really know Fliss. I'm not good at this but, I'm trying here. Tell me if you'd prefer I left you alone because I  really don't know what I'm meant to do here."
She sighs. "No." She says putting a hand on my arm.

"I'm sorry it's just.. That was so embarrassing you know? I never care about what anyone says about me, that's always been my strong point. But Raph.. He always says the exact things that he knows make me wanna throw up and cry all at the same time. And it's shit, because he's always right about me. Each and every time."

"He's clearly not. Everyone I met in that room clearly loves you. You and Raph obviously have some deeper issues but that's not a reflection of you, not at all. Whatever I'm saying probably doesn't mean anything to you because we've known each other like what, 48 hours? But you're great Fliss. Seriously."

Wow, really Val? 'You're great Fliss'! Sometimes I wonder if I can get anymore cringe. But my pep talk seems to have worked well enough because although Fliss's lashes are still clumped from where her mascara met her tears, I think she went to sleep feeling a little less shit then she would've if I didn't say anything at all.

Sleep was the prominent thought on my mind too, but I glanced at my open laptop and decided that I needed something to remind me that I'm not the biggest idiot in England. It would simply be cruel of me to strip Kimmy of that title.

I plug my headphones into my laptop so as not to wake Fliss and the facetime dial tone cuts abruptly and my screen was lights up with a hazy image of my bestfriend on the other side of the country.

"Hey Bitch. How are you?" She beams
"Not great. But let's not talk about it right now." I whisper looking over at Fliss.
"How are you? How is everyone?"
"Missing you."
I laugh, "I've been gone two days."
"That's enough time for Avery to have completely gone off the rails."
"Oh no," I say with a sigh. "You're meant to be looking after her."
"I'm trying but she's hard to handle."
"Well hopefully she'll be fine." I pause for a moment before deciding to ask. "How's Ethan?"
"Still single." She replies with a grin.
"That's not what I meant."
"Yeah yeah, I'll update you soon but it's kind of late and by the sounds of it you've had a long night. Maybe you should get some sleep?"
"Yeah you're right. I'll talk soon." I say ending the call and closing my laptop.