Accessory Wars

Chapter 36-Felisa

            Mid-week arrived and I found myself exhausted from my exams. Looking at the stack of notes I still needed to study, it seemed impossible to retain so much information. It was going to get harder every year too. Flopping down onto my bed, I released a heavy sigh into my sheets. My limbs wanted to sink into the fabric and take a nap. My brain reminded them I needed to meet up for Garreld and Seline for more close combat training. The limbs whined in protest, throbbing at the prospect of getting flipped onto the mat again.

My phone gave the e-mail alert ping and I laid there for a moment before reaching for it. My head craned upwards as I peered at the screen. A personal e-mail. I didn't know them. I frowned and opened the message, hoping it wasn't spam. It started out with an introduction explaining we had the same anthropology class together and he wanted to study. It didn't seem like a malicious intention. Then again, I'd been wrong before.

I replied to the message, asking if meeting at the library would work for him. The reply came a minute later, the stranger agreeing with a smiling face. After some back and forth conversation, we agreed to meet up after my gym practice. I slid off my bed and sorted out the books in my school bag so it would be ready to go when I finished practice.

Practice itself wasn't anything unusual. I did manage to flip Seline once. It was a small victory in comparison to the hundreds of times she flipped me but the small success was enough to make me smile. After my gym routine, I went home, showered and changed before heading to my study session. The library looked unimpressive from the outside. It was a plain square building with two floors and plenty of windows. However, the interior was recently renovated with plush furniture, new paint and artistic light pieces. Even the carpet looked new.

A blast of hot air from the entryway heater hit me as I passed through the doors. It felt good after the chilly bus ride. I fixed a few stray strands of hair and scanned the entry for my mysterious study partner. Someone stood from the chairs in the middle of the entry space and hurried over, smiling at me. He stood around six foot with short blonde hair spiked up and eyes I could only describe as a shade of teal. He wore a basketball windbreaker and I recognized it from my anthropology lecture. As I recalled, he sat in the back on his laptop every class.

"Hey! Felisa, right?" he asked. "I'm Clint." He offered a hand and I gave it a hesitant shake. He squeezed too hard.

"Um, hi," I replied. "How'd you get my e-mail?"

"Student directory." Oh, right. I felt squirmy knowing that my school contact information was floating around somewhere on the internet for a few thousand people to see. "Where do you want to sit? Upstairs good?"

"That's fine."

We took the stairs and headed for the rows of tables set up in front of an expansive window looking over the campus. Without any snow, the world looked brown and dreary. We slid into a small table and sat across from each other. I moved mechanically, opening my bag and pulling out my notebook and textbook while Clint he rifled around in his bag for his notes.

"Why'd you contact me?" I asked, the question weighing heavy in my mind.

"Well, you're smart. Aren't dumb people supposed to study with smart ones?" he joked, grinning at me. He still hadn't found his notes and his grin made me uncomfortable. I remained silent, not satisfied with his answer. I doubted he knew my grades. They weren't posted to the public. When I remained mute, his smile dropped. "Um, okay. So, maybe that's not true." He scratched the back of his head before finally pulling out a notebook from his bag. "I overheard someone talking you're a tournament fighter and I wanted to get to know you."