31 Days of December

December 12th

I just wanted to get out of this lecture. It was the last lecture I had with this professor, and somehow, it was the worst one. The professor was dragging on and on about what we would need to know for the final, and I also felt like I was in some sort of teen drama with the girls whispering behind me.

"I saw them at Starbucks the other day as well as talking after this class," One of them whispered loud enough for me to hear.

The other girl whispered, "But I thought Ethan was dating Elizabeth. Plus, why would he go out with her? She is nowhere as pretty as Elizabeth."

"Honestly. I wonder if Elizabeth even knows."

"We should tell her when we see her," One of them said.

"Absolutely," The other girl agreed.

Once the professor dismissed the lecture, I rushed out. I put my earbuds in and turned my music up, hoping I couldn't hear any more whispers from the girls. I just wanted to get out of the crowd. I didn't want to be judged and dragged into some fake, made-up drama.

"Hailey, slow down," Ethan's voice said when he caught me, preventing me from running into him again. I looked up at him, and I guess I looked like I was about to break down. Which I was on the borderline of. "What's wrong?"

I looked up to see the girls from my class watching Ethan and me like a hawk causing me to say, "Ethan, you have to go to class."

"I'm not going until you tell me."

I sighed, "It's nothing."

"Ethan," One of the girls shouted and walked over to us. Her friend followed. Both of them have fake smiles on their faces.

"Hey, Tiffany. Hi Shanon," Ethan said with an unimpressed look on his face. "I didn't know you guys were in this class."

Tiffany laughed, "We're not. We are in the class with your little friend here. Does Elizabeth know you are constantly flirting with someone else?"

"That is none of your business, but if you're so worried, ask Elizabeth yourself," Ethan replied. Having enough, I pushed past him. He tried to follow me, but I quickly lost him in a crowd. I made sure he went back inside the building before making my escape to the safety of my bed. There is one way that I fix my problems, and that is to take a nap. Naps make me less cranky.

When I returned to the apartment, I put on my comfiest pajamas, wrapped myself in the fuzziest blanket I owned, and cuddled with my childhood teddy. I turned off my phone so that I wouldn't be disturbed. Before I turned it off, I had a text from Ethan.

Ethan: I don't know what they were saying before I showed up, but I know it wasn't nothing. Please tell me what happened.

When I woke up, I turned on my phone. I was bombarded with text messages and missed calls. My phone was having a hard time keeping up. When my phone finished freaking out, I saw the time and realized that I had slept through my afternoon classes. Good thing it was pretty much review day in all of my classes. I didn't miss much.

I looked at the messages and missed calls that I received. Most of them were from Ethan, but not all the messages were. A couple of them were memes from my siblings. I even had a message from a number I didn't know. I quickly looked at the memes my siblings sent before looking at the text from the unknown number.

Unknown: Hey, it's Elizabeth. I got your number from Ethan. Ethan told me about his interaction with Tiffany and Susan.

Hailey: They were talking shit about me behind my back (literally and not metaphorically) all of my class

Elizabeth: I will talk to them and get this cleared up. You don't deserve to have that happen to you.

Hailey: It's not a big deal.

Elizabeth: Yes, it is. I'm not having my cheerleaders drag someone down just because they think the cheer captain and the hockey captain should be together. And I know, Ethan and I are kind of playing that role, but that's ending.

Elizabeth: Also, talk to Ethan. He is worried about you since you've been ignoring him since the incident.

Hailey: I will... Later.

I placed my phone down and made my way to my desk. I had finals to study for, and I wasn't going to let a couple of gossiping cheerleaders ruin my grades. I need to pull myself together if I'm having this much trouble. No drama is worth retaking classes for. Classes are expensive.

Before diving into studying, my phone started constantly vibrating, which meant I had a call. I groaned because I knew exactly who it was. He literally has the worst timing ever. I was going to get my life together.

I answered the phone and said, "Hello?"

"What are you doing tomorrow night?" Ethan asked almost immediately.

"I'm having dinner with my roommates," I answered as I pulled up my chemistry workbook and started working on some practice problems. "Why?"

"Are you doing anything after?"

"Not that I know of. Again, why?"

Ethan let out a little laugh, "You're coming to a party at the Hockey House with me."

"Absolutely not."

"Please."

"Why would I go to a party where I know I'll be judged because I'm a nobody hanging out with the captain of the hockey team who is supposedly talking to the captain of the cheerleaders?" I asked.

"I never told you I was captain."

"Elizabeth told me," I said flatly. I could tell he was trying to hold back a laugh. "However, you still haven't answered my question."

"Because Elizabeth is stopping our fake almost relationship thing. And I want you to be there to watch Tiffany and Shanon's faces when they realize they were bitches for no reason."

"Do I really have to go? Parties aren't my thing. Too many people doing drunk and stupid things," I said.
Ethan laughed, "If you go, I promise I'll stay by your side the whole time."

"Fine," I said. Ethan let a little victory screech. "But I'm going to complain the whole time."

"That's fine. I'll pick you up at 8, and I'm bringing you a hoodie, so don't worry about wearing one of your own," Ethan said before hanging up.

So big news, kinda. I have a job interview tomorrow and if I get the job I could be moving from Florida to Minnesota. I'm really nervous but also excited. I love the animals I work with at my job but I don't always get along with my bosses so this might be a good restart.