𝕚𝕣𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕓𝕝𝕖

chapter five

All my morning classes were done, so I decided to wander around campus. I really hadn't explored too much after classes had started a couple weeks ago. I had been to busy doing all my assignments ahead of time. It was a beautiful sunny day in Claremont today, so I was glad, it was the perfect day to roam around campus. I was hoping this weather would last forever. I was dreading the harsh winter to come.

The campus was beautiful, there was greenery everywhere. There were community gardens scattered across campus. They were run by an environmental group on campus and open to all the staff and the students. But my favorite spot I had come across, had to be this giant tree. It was a little ways from any big buildings, it was secluded and I liked that. It was a huge weeping willow, It was the perfect outdoor study spot, the long leaves made it cool enough to stay outside even if it was extremely hot and sunny.

I sat against the tree and grabbed the book I had brought along with me. This was the picture perfect day for me, reading under the sunny sky. I quickly found myself getting lost in my book, so much so I had missed three phone calls from my mother. Panic flooded me, she was surely going to kill me, she had instructed me to always pick up her calls. I hesitantly pressed her name and brought the phone up to my ear.

"THEADORA! WHY HAVE YOU NOT BEEN ANSWERING MY CALLS?" She yells immediately.

"I'm so sorry mom, I just got caught up in a book." I murmur.

"You what? What about your schoolwork Thea, you can't be slacking off. It's bad for you. You need to keep a perfect grade point average." She scolds.

"I know mom, I finished all my homework, I was just taking a break." I say.

"Don't let this happen again Thea, you can't afford to lose anything. I need you to be perfect, you are to take over my company after all." She says and I roll my eyes. I swear all she thinks about is that stupid record label.

"I know mom." I sigh.

"Good, now I wanted to call you to inform you that Josie will be coming down to visit you next weekend. Make sure she feels welcome and take her around." She informs me.

"Wait, when is Josie coming?" I ask.

"Next weekend, weren't you listening Thea?" She says. Of course this would happen to me, next weekend was the weekend that Riley, Max, and I were planning to go to Boston just for fun. Typical of my mother to ruin my plans.

"Mom, I already told you next weekend my new friends and I are going to Boston." I say.

"I don't care Thea, Josie's coming and you need to stay. She loved Claremont and I want you to show her around." Mom says and I feel a string of protests coming up my throat, but push them down.
"Fine mom, I would love to show Josie around." I say with clenched teeth.

"Perfect, I'll let her know, your free." She says before hanging up. I drop my hand from my ear and lean my head against the trunk of the tree. I seriously hated my life. Even when I'm away from my mother, she finds a way to make me feel inferior.

I was walking through the campus, my shoulders were slumped. I was still pissed at my mother, she never took my feelings into account. This always happened, she always put Josie ahead of me. She missed all of my school dances because she was out with Josie or one of her clients. It was like she forgot about my existence sometimes.

"Thea!" A voice calls out and I turn to see Abby waving at me. I smile and make my way towards her. She was sitting at a table outside of a cafe.

"Hey Abby." I smile.

"Do you want to sit?" She asks pointing to a chair.

"Sure." I say as I take a seat.

"So how have you been? I haven't seen you around." Abby asks.

"I've been good. I've been busy since classes started. That's probably why you haven't seen me around. I've been barricaded in my room studying with Riley and Max." I tell her.

"Oh, yeah. So, are you liking classes so far?" She asks, but before I could answer a tall shadow falls across the table and I look up to see Vince standing right next to the table.

"Hey Vince, this is Thea, the girl I was telling you about." Abby says. He narrows his eyes at me and mine do the same. I had no clue what his problem was with me.

"Hi." I mumble, not wanting to be rude like him. He remains silent as he takes a seat.

"Thea's a business major too Vince, maybe you guys have a class together." Abby says, glancing at the boy. I knew she could feel the awkwardness in the air.

"We actually do have a class together." I say.

"Oh, so you know each other?" Abby asks.

"No, just cause we have a class together, doesn't mean we know each other." Vince says and I take note of his delectable british accent. Abby seems taken aback by his rudeness, but I honestly expected it. From the classes that I have shared with Vince, the only thing I expected from his was rudeness. He always, without a doubt shows up late to class, barely takes any notes, stares at me, then leaves. It was the same cycle, every single class.

"Well, I should get going. I told Max I would meet up with him later tonight." I say as I get up, not wanting to be in this awkward situation longer.

"Oh, is Max your boyfriend?" Abby asks smiling.

"No." I laugh and she looks at me weirdly and further explain, "Sorry, Max is my best friend. I would never date him, plus he's more into guys."

"Oh, well we should definitely hang out sometime soon." Abby says.

"Definitely, I'll text you when I'm free." I say and she nods and smiles. I give her one more wave before heading back towards my dorm. I could feel a hard stare on my back, but refused to turn around, I knew whose stare it was. I always felt that stare whenever I was in Business class. 

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so thea and vince have had another interaction. i wonder where they're gonna see each other next. again thanks for reading!

--xoxo g