Gifted

Chapter Two

I awoke with a start, both relieved and disappointed. Relieved to be away from a stranger I was so eerily comfortable with, yet disappointed for the exact same reason. I couldn't explain the wave of adoration that took hold of me. I lay in bed trying to remember the dream, trying to make out his face. The last time I woke feeling like this had been the night Gran had stood over me; it had been the night of my sixteenth birthday.

I tried to shake the feeling and took a long hot shower to wash it away. I dried myself and wiped the steam from the mirror. A familiar reflection stared back. My eyes stood out even through the condensation on the mirror. Like my dream boy, my eyes shone bright. They were an emerald green and by far my best feature. I tried to smile back at the reflection, but my nerves were all twisted and had me a little apprehensive about my decision to come here. I was completely out of my comfort zone, and it scared the hell out of me.

Deciding to let my hair air dry into my natural curls I threw on a tank top and capris. I was eager to check out the campus a little more closely. Being the new girl would already be hard enough; I didn't need to attract any more attention to myself by stumbling around searching for classes. I grabbed my room key and stuffed the campus map into my back pocket. The campus wasn't huge so I knew I wouldn't get lost, in fact, it was a rather small campus, but I wanted to know the layout. More accurately which buildings held which of my classes.

I ventured back down to the dorm lobby that had just about brought me to my knees. Nerves crept in. I worried that I would have another episode, but I worried over nothing. I noticed there were fewer students hanging around the lobby, and I'm not sure if that helped or because I expected the surge of senses this time around. Either way I managed to walk around the first floor of the dorm without getting sick or feeling like passing out, and that had to be an improvement. After wandering around I discovered not only a laundry room at one end of the lobby, but a kitchen at the other end closest to the glass doors.

Someone had stocked the kitchen with bottles of water and healthy snacks. There were also ingredients for sandwiches and salads. It had two refrigerators, two microwaves, a sink and a coffee pot. I guessed most students would get their meals from the cafeteria, and the kitchen was available for late night snacks and studying sessions.

I shut the refrigerator door and turned back toward the door, running into my second person of the day, literally. I was on a roll, nearly knocking over a tiny girl, a few inches shorter than myself; her blond bob as bouncy as her personality.

"Oh hey! Sorry 'bout that didn't mean to sneak up on ya!" Her slight southern accent came out more twang than drawl. "I'm Kenzie."

I opened my mouth to introduce myself but she went on.

"Well, Kensington, but everyone just calls me Kenzie."

I tried again. "I'm Morgan."

"You must be new, never seen ya before. Welcome to MAC! I hope to see ya 'round!" And just as quickly as she appeared, she was gone. I stood there feeling a little confused, did I just make a new friend? Her energy was exhausting. I knew one thing for sure; Kenzie would take some getting used to.

I finally made it out to wander around campus for a while. Once I felt confident I wouldn't look like a complete fool my first day I headed back to the dorm. The sun had just started to set. I saw the girl from the stairway now curled up on one of the benches in the courtyard with a book. I thought about going over to apologize for startling her earlier, but decided I didn't want to interrupt her reading, and would have probably only scared her again.

I finally ordered myself to finish unpacking. I put my clothes away, moved on to school supplies, and the only two pictures I brought with me. The first and most recent was of Gran and I, taken a month before she passed. I ran a thumb over her face. Her warm brown eyes twinkled up at me, and I had to swallow the lump in my throat. The second was of my parents and me. I stared at the toddler clinging to my father's neck, oblivious to what devastation the future would hold.