30 Days In Rome

Chapter 8

The thought of forbidden love is more exotic and adventurous, don't you think?

"Hello! Earth to Ruby!" Annabelle snapped her fingers in my face.

I blinked multiple times, slowly dragging myself back into reality. I didn't even realise I had zoned out.

"Sorry"  I told her

We were in the common room doing our homework. Even with the noise and the chattering of the other girls in the room, I still managed to get lost in my own thoughts.

"You okay?" she asked me

I rested my elbows on the table and stretched out

"Yeah"

I kept thinking about Mr Henderson.  Why did he look at me when he made a statement?

I've had a lot of experience with guys - even older guys, so I can tell when a man is giving me signals. Was he trying to imply something? 

I doubt it. He's a teacher and a seminarian. He couldn't possibly be interested in me. Could he? The thought seemed appealing.

Calm down Ruby. It's probably just a coincidence. I was right in front of him. He would obviously look my way, just the way he looks at everyone in class. 

I kept telling myself that it didn't mean anything even though, deep down I knew that it did.

I couldn't help but feel Goosebumps when we made eye contact. It was as if in that brief moment he could see through me.

I need to chill. I just met this man a few days ago.

I shook my head. In times like this, I would seek Rainer's advice. He would know what to do. He always knew what to do.

I need to feel close to him tonight.  I miss him so much. The only way to do that is to stare at the stars and pretend he's right beside me-  like he always was.

"Is there anyway I can go outside at night?"  I asked Annabelle

"Yeah. Seniors are allowed to"

"I mean later than the curfew"

"It's against the school rules"

"I know... I just wanna watch the stars outside" I took a deep breath "It's something my brother and I would always do"

She put my hand in hers and gave me a commiserative smile.

"I'll show you"  she said "I like to escape sometimes as well"

I smiled at her in  gratitude. I think we're all a little broken on Earth, only some people hide it better than others.  We all need a means of escape sometimes.

"Thank you"

"Awww so cute" a voice said

I looked up and saw a group of three girls standing in front of us.

"Let me guess, the president's daughter is a lesbian too?" the middle girl said

She was a pretty girl with blonde hair.  She looked confident and proud.  Doesn't take a genius to know that she's the 'it girl' of this school. In a way, she reminded me of myself. That was how I behaved in my old school, like I was better than everyone else. I was actually.

"If I didn't know you any better Cindy,  I'd say you were jealous"  Annabelle said

Cindy? That's her name

Cindy scoffed

"Don't be stupid Ann. Of course I'm not"

"What are you doing here?"