VIOLET

Chapter 3

Violet

I walk into my first class, sitting down in the front. Lord knows I need good grades.

I arrived 10 minutes before my honors class started. The room was clean. And quiet.

I sat on a cushioned chair, elbows propped on the fake wooden table. There was a long whiteboard in front of me with faint marks of marker which had been lazily smudged by the previous class. A podium stood ominously to the right of the board. Above it was a large electronic clock which read the time, 9:30 AM in red, digital letters.

Four beige walls surrounded me and two other students who were in the room. They were sitting at the back, on their phones.

I couldn't afford a phone, not now. Well, I did have a phone, but most people my age wouldn't consider it an actual phone.

No, it was a flip phone I found in a gas station. It allowed me to call 9-1-1 and I guess that was all I needed. 

I saved up all my money for a train ticket and a computer. Phone's these days were so expensive, and I couldn't afford to dish out at least $500 for a refurbished smartphone. Not to mention, I have to pay my own phone plan, which was an extra $40-$50.

Of course, I had savings. But that was for paying for college and my dim little apartment off-campus. Which, by the way, I think I am paying too much for. 

I met the landlord, an old bastard, yesterday. He had said, "Oh yoar gettin' a greit deil on dis 'er apahtment. I kno' 'ow you student's loooove livin' on campus!"

And then he tossed the keys at me and slammed the door behind him. The walls shook so much that some old wallpaper crumpled off. 

I planned on renting for a month or two, then when I know the city more, I can look for other apartments. 

Maybe even sooner, now that I knew I lived next to a creeper.

Glad you figured out how to open a door.

I sneered at the memory of him raking his eyes over me. I felt embarrassed and completely exposed. His eyes were green, captivating, intense, as they had taken in my figure hungrily. He was tall, lean, but not bulky. I knew that I would be screwed if he had tried something yesterday, so I tried my best to scare him off with my looks.

The way he had lazily smirked at me made me boil inside. Like I was nothing but a hot piece of ass and he knew could get what he wanted. I made sure to remember every detail of him, just in case I would need to report him.

His right arm was covered in colorful tattoos, he was tall and he obviously worked out. He had broad shoulders, but they were softly curved. His cheekbones were high, and his jaw was chiseled. His nose had a slight crook in it, like it had been broken one too many times to be perfectly repaired. His lips were full, almost feminine. His hair was longer, cut short at the back but the tops went down to his ears. His hair was dark and was dripping, like he had just taken a shower and forgot to completely dry it. His eyes were sharp, dangerous. 

Yeah, I'll admit, he was gorgeous. But that didn't matter at all, because his personality was trash... And the way he tried taking off my clothing with his eyes gave me the chills.

That night, I had put a chair under my doorknob, just in case. 

I hoped that I wouldn't get back too late tonight and run into him again. Wil had asked me to come to the soccer game this evening, and he gave me such a smile that I was hopeless to resist.

"Uh.. is this seat taken?" A soft voice interrupted my thoughts.

I looked up, seeing a hoodie with an illustrated dog that had eyes going different ways, and its tongue was sticking out.

Uh. Wut.

The girl looking down at me looked nervous. She was gorgeous, with almost black eyes and frizzy black hair that screamed hi-I-got-four-hours-of-sleep. Her eyebrows were thick and full, and she had soft freckles on her cheeks and nose. 

"N-no, go ahead." I smiled, giving her space to take the chair next to me.

"Thanks," She said shyly, setting her stuff down on the ground. "I hope you know cognitive studies, cause I don't."

I snorted, taking out my enormous laptop which weighed more than a fat baby. "Not a chance."

"Heck," She grumbled. "You looked smart."

I laughed, already knowing I was going to be friends with this girl. "Sorry to disappoint."

"I read some of the rate-my-professor reviews for this guy. All of them say he smells like eggs." She said, chuckling so low and ending with a 'hmm'.

She sure was weird... but I liked it. She felt genuine, sincere. 

She glanced at me from the side, and I could practically feel her nervous energy. I wasn't sure what to respond with, so I just blurted, "I like eggs."

I felt horror come over my face as she looked at me with wide eyes. It felt like an eternity went by, but I'm sure it was only about 10 seconds.

And then the tension melted and we both started laughing. God, we were both different types of awkward and it seemed to fit perfectly.

"I'm Violet." I said, still laughing.

"I'm Claudia." She responded happily while she turned to fish out her own laptop and placed it on the table with a thud. "What year are you?"

"Sophmore, and I just transferred here. How about you?"

"Me too. I mean, I'm a Sophmore. Where'd you transfer from? You don't have to answer if that's too deep." She finished her sentence quickly, and I couldn't help but smile again.

"That's okay, it was nothing serious. I just came for new beginnings." I lied, trying to seem convincing. The truth was, there was something serious I left behind. But that's exactly why I left- to leave it behind. And I wasn't about to kick up dirt about it now.

She nodded, and we fell into silence. 

I looked up at the red digital clock again and frowned. The class was supposed to start five minutes ago. 

As if following my eyes, Claudia spoke up with a grumble. "It's stupid how that 20-minute rule is a myth."

I nodded, realizing she was talking about the supposed rule where class was canceled if the professor didn't come in 20 minutes.

"I'm just excited for seeing hot boys tonight." Claudia giggled, "I got tickets from a friend for the soccer game."

I looked over in surprise. "I got tickets too." 

Her jaw dropped and she got excited. "We should go together! I mean, I was just going to go to creep, but you can creep with me!"

"Oh my," I chuckled, shaking my head. The professor finally came in, and I could tell because he really did smell like eggs. I talked as I watched him clumsily set up his paper on the podium. "I can meet you outside of the stadium tonight."

*

I'm ready for some hot boys.

Thanks for reading!

Stay safe out there y'all.