You Speak In Every Curling Wave (Cashby)

Chapter 4

ALAN'S POV

After sitting in my Political Science class for maybe 15 minutes, I sighed and slumped back into my seat. This is not what I wanted to be doing, but it was for the best. I guess. Of course Austin, being the picture of utter perfection, already knew what he wanted to do when he was my age. He found his calling, but I really wasn't sure what I wanted to do. My Spanish skills were pretty good, and I found the culture to be fascinating, and great. Teaching a Spanish class sounded really good to me, but for now I was getting my General Education classes out of the way. Maybe next year I'd work on getting a teaching degree. Who knows?

"Hey." A voice whispered behind me, making me drop my pencil. At first, I thought it was my head, which didn't make sense since I'd been fine all day, but I didn't want to risk it. Ignoring it, I tried to pay attention to the lecture, until I felt a tapping on my back. Apprehensively turning around, I looked upon my pursuer. A boy sitting one seat behind me stared back, a cheeky smile on his lips and a bunch of earrings lining his earlobes. They were beautiful, to me, like glittering little stones. Some were bullrings, even, with the little spikes on them. I found myself embarrassed under his bright blue-eyed gaze, as I did with most strangers. He flicked a spiky lock of black hair from his face.

"Are you getting any of this?" He asked, eyes flicking up to our Professor in the midst of a lecture. What do I say? Don't panic, Alan. Play it cool. Shrugging, I shook my head.

"No."

"Well that's just great; it looks like no one knows what she's talking about." He huffed, eyes glinting amusedly. My gaze traveled down to Dr. Warren, who had worked herself up into a fury of writing on the whiteboard. She was a plump woman, wearing a red blouse with black dots on it. Angrily flicking her hand, she accidentally dropped her marker, and then took up the arduous task of trying to pick it up.

"She looks like an angry ladybug trying to do a cartwheel." I blurted under my breath. Boy of Many Piercings laughed at my comment, earning glares from those around us.

"Hey, what's your name?" He asked, the confidence just dripping from him. Not in a douchey way, though. I secretly admired his forwardness. It was a comical foil to my awkwardness.

"A-Alan." Damn you, stutter. Damn you, and all your family, you wretched curse.

"Well, A-Alan," He made fun of me lightly, an amused smile playing his lips, "I'm having a dorm party tonight. Which floor do you live on?" He asked, implying an invitation.

"I commute." I said quietly, trying to listen to him and Dr. Warren at the same time. It became difficult, so I tuned the less interesting side out.

"You can still come, if you want." I began to decline, wanting to spend some time with Austin, but he cut me off. "Just think about it. Floor D, room 28." He said, and turned his attention back to the front of the class. I took that as the end of the conversation, and followed suit. By the end of the class, Dr. Warren had almost given up on trying to win our participation. Boy of Many Piercings floated around on my mind, still unnamed.

•••

After getting out of classes and my shift at the library, I took the bus back to our apartment. Paying for gas was fairly expensive, and although my parents had been very generous with helping pay for my tuition, taking the bus was cheaper. Also, it was a good time to people-watch. If that makes me weird, so be it. But people are interesting. They do many a strange thing when under the assumption that no one is watching, and I found that to be... intriguing.

Once I got dropped off, I made my way up to our cozy little apartment. Austin had let me put little glow-in-the-dark stars up everywhere, even in places like the kitchen and den. I loved our place, and although we were pretty new there, I called it home.