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Chapter Three

Lizzie called the next day, and asked if it was possible to start tomorrow. She owned and ran the only women's boutique in town, and after listening to Lizzie talk about it so passionately, I really wanted to visit it. Unfortunately, I had to go to campus to grab my last couple books, and I wanted to find my lab.

This semester, I was taking online classes for the last couple Gen Eds I had, but I also had a lab that I had to schedule time for each week. It was really nice because I could just schedule times that I wasn't watching Lucy, and Lizzie was totally cool with me doing school work while she was down for a nap.

As I drove to campus, my mind wondered back to Wulfric. I say "back to" because he had been reappearing in my mind each night before I went to bed. It was official, I had a developed a very impractical crush on him. The crazy part was that I had only seen him for about five minutes, max, and yet I couldn't get him out of my head. I hadn't felt this way since I was about thirteen. Usually, I developed feelings for someone over time; I was never overcome with a sudden strong attraction. It's one of the reasons I had convinced myself that I was meant to be alone. I didn't have very strong feelings for any of the men I had dated, and I eventually would lose contact with them one way or another. Maybe I did just need a change of location. Maybe I was like my parents after all.

I pulled into a parking spot close to the bookstore, which I figured wasn't going to happen once class started. If there's anything I've learned from college, it's that the worst parking in history can be found on a university's campus. My strange collections of keys swung from my lanyard as I strolled up and down each aisle of books. I slowed as I reached the biology lab manuals section, and my hand rotated my lanyard just a little harder than before.

"Ouch!"

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" I rushed toward the tiny hooded figure I had just slapped with my keys.

"Jesus, those are a freaking weapon." Bright green eyes glared at me from beneath her hood as a hand came up to rub her bicep through the gray hoodie she was wearing.

"I know, I know! I'm seriously so, so sorry!" I wrung my hands. "It's this new key. I just moved into this old house and the key is iron and it's super heavy. And, oh my God, of course the first person I meet here, I injure." I swear, I shouldn't be allowed to socialize.

The girl pushed back her hood, and a shock of vivid red hair was revealed. I would have thought that the girl was younger based on her small stature, but her perfectly formed pixie features made it obvious that she was around my age. And gorgeous. Like the natural type of beauty that made you wonder how someone could be that perfect. Her nose was dainty and slightly upturned. The almond shaped green eyes I had seen beneath the hood became even more intense in the light. Her full lips were perfectly proportioned to the rest of her features. Not to mention her hair. I've always been redheaded, and I loved meeting other redheads. I always joked that we had an instant connection with each other.

"So you're new around here?" A look that I couldn't quite read crossed her face.

"Yeah, I just moved here from California." I answered absentmindedly. "Wow, your hair is gorgeous."

She stared at me for a beat before almost grudgingly replying, "Thanks, yours is cool too." She reaches out a dainty hand, "I'm Layla."

I quickly shook it. Maybe this will be how I meet all my new friends. Just chuck my keys into a crowd of people, and hope they like me. "I'm Wynter."

"So you're in Dr. Bender's lab?" She nodded her head at the manual I had pulled from the shelf.
"Uh, yeah. Have you taken it?" Maybe I'll make a friend and a study buddy.

"I'm taking it this semester too. I have his introduction class on Thursday."

I bounced a little on my toes. "Oh my God! That's the one I'm going to too! Maybe we will see each other." I smiled brightly at the thought of a familiar face in my first class.

"Yeah, maybe." Layla gave me a slightly awkward smile, or more like a baring of teeth. It was almost like she hadn't done it in a while, and had forgotten how. Her tone was just a little off too, like she was imitating a happy, peppy tone, but not actually feeling it. "Well, I'll see ya around." And then she grabbed a manual from the shelf quickly and shuffled past me.

Okay, so not the most heartwarming encounter, and I definitely was rethinking my redheads-are-all-in-sync theory, but at least I had someone I'd know in my class. If that wasn't a victory, I don't know what was.
I quickly found my lab, and returned home feeling a little bit more excited to start my life here.

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A/N: Okay, so who's ready to meet Wulfric again? I know I'm ready to write him again. Next chapter, we get out of the introductions and more into the plot!