What Now

21. The Wrath of Lydia

"Wow, Lydia. This turnout is amazing! I mean, look how many people are looking at your paintings."

I continued to bite my fingernails as I turned to Maria. The art show was just starting and there were a lot of people here. The show was being held in a gallery on campus, so a good chunk of the attendees were fellow students.

The lighting in the gallery was dim, with spot lights hanging above the different pieces of art. When I first got here, I made my way around the gallery, admiring other students' work. I had to admit, I was very much impressed with a lot of the other paintings. In some ways, I felt like a lot of them were better than mine. I think that's a normal feeling, though. I did believe that my work deserved to be here, and I was excited about it.

I glanced back to Maria. "Thank you. I'm surprised this many people showed up to something like this."

I assumed an art gallery hosted by the University wouldn't bring in this big of a crowd. I figured that was only the big showings held in Manhattan.

"Where's Sean?" She asked as she scanned the crowd. I had to be here early since I was in the showcase, and Sean said he would be here as soon as he could. He was finishing up some last minute details with his new project. Maria showed up right on time.

"He texted me a few minutes ago and said he was almost here. Ellie should be around here somewhere," I added.

Ellie decided to come early with me and had been hanging out among our fellow classmates. I glanced to the right and saw her hugging someone over by the entrance. Ah, yes. Physics Guy.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him in my direction with a giant smile on her face. She really had it bad for this guy. I was happy for her. After catching the two of them going at it in my bed, Sean and I decided to take our food to-go and went to his place. Ellie still refused to tell me his name.

"Lydia!" She exclaimed as she and Physics Guy approached me and Maria. "This is so great. By the way," she said shyly as she glanced to the man on her arm. "I think it's time you guys officially met. This is Chris. Chris, this is my best friend, Lydia."

So, Physics Guy had a name afterall. I bit back my laugh as he held out his hand with a smile. "It's nice to officially meet you, Lydia." He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Sorry about...you know."

This time, I didn't hold back my laugh. I shot Ellie a faux angry glare. "It's okay. Ellie already groveled for forgiveness. I'm just glad that you two are hitting it off."

Ellie blushed as Chris wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her against him. "Yeah, she's pretty amazing. I'm very lucky."

"Yes, you are," I said with a serious expression. "And remember, if you hurt her..." I drew my finger across my throat.

He laughed and placed his hand over his heart. "On my honor, I won't hurt her. Believe me, I wouldn't want to risk The Wrath of Lydia."

His words sank in and my eyes went wide. I looked to Ellie. "You told him about that!"

Ellie's face turned bright red and she rushed her words. "We had some wine and we were talking about funny stories. It wasn't a big deal. Besides," she said as she tried and failed to contain her laughter, "it was hilarious!"

I groaned and threw my head back. "It was not hilarious! It was embarrassing!"

Maria finally chimed in, "Okay, I have to know what you guys are talking about."

"Let me tell it!" Ellie said way to cheerfully. God, sometimes I really hated my best friend. She promised she would never tell this story. "Okay, so back in the beginning of the semester, there was this guy in my Sociology class. He showed interest in me, but I wasn't feeling it and I let him down easy. But he didn't stop there. He kept calling, showing up at our dorm...pretty much being a stalker." Ellie glanced to me as she tried to keep her laughter at bay. "Well, Lydia and I hadn't been friends long, but we were connecting. She came to my defense and found out which dorm room the guy was in. So one night while everyone was at a party, she went to his dorm and basically bobby trapped it. She toilet papered his dorm, put saran wrap on the toilet seat, and loosened the bolts on the chair at his desk. Then she left a letter demanding that he leave me alone."