It Had To Be You

Chapter 4: First Day

Noella's POV

It was 6 A.M when I woke up. The college started at 8. Well, two hours is enough for me to get ready I guess. It was actually more than enough.

 I straight away got up and entered the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and took a cold shower to properly wake myself from my slumber. And it was anyway hot in LA at the moment. So taking a cold shower was a good thought. 

I came out of the bathroom, wrapping a towel around my body. I unpacked my suitcase; as I didn't get time to unpack it yesterday. Note to self, arrange the clothes in the closet after returning.

 I went into deep thought about what to wear today. As I was surfing through the clothes, I came across black top and a cream cardigan. I paired them with a pair of blue jeans and I was good to go.

 I slipped into the pair of black wedges, the only pair of wedges I own if you ask me. And the other two pairs of shoes I owned were a pair of sneakers and a pair of heels. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the collection of my shoes. I have always been fond of heels, but the fact that they were so expensive, restricted me from buying them.

 I applied mascara on my lashes and applied some lip balm on my lips. I brushed my hair and let them down naturally and I was good to go. I was never a fan of full face makeup. I always liked to keep it simple. I looked down at my wrist watch and it was 6:45. Perfect, I thought. I grabbed my bag and went downstairs.

 I opened the door of my aunt's room to check whether she was up yet. There was no one in the room. I heard someone singing in the kitchen. I headed towards the kitchen and saw her dancing and singing her heart out to Love Myself by Hailee Steinfield. A smile instantly made its way to my lips.

 "Hey there, independent woman." I said laughing a little. "Oh, good morning, N. Here's your tea." She grinned by handing me the cup. "I see you remembered by preference." I said taking a sip out of the cup. 

"And tell me one thing, how come you are up so early? I did not take you for an early bird." I chuckled. "Yeah, I am not. But you know, things you got to do for your daughter. I swear it was so difficult to wake up this early. But that's fine by me, no problem N." She said by flicking her hair. I laughed. 

"You don't need to do so much for me Karla. I can take care of myself." I said, feeling a bit guilty that she was taking so many efforts for me. "Look Noella, I have never had a child of my own. Now that you are here, I feel very blessed to have a child like you and get to do things for you like a mother. Okay?" she said smiling while cupping both my cheeks."

 I just became speechless by the words that came out of her mouth. Tears got formed in my eyes. She immediately held me into a motherly embrace. I hugged her back. "Thank you Karla." were only words that managed to escape my lips. "Of course dear, it's the least I can do." She said smiling.

 "Now out already or else you are going to be late." She said in a stern voice, but laughed it off anyways. I nodded smiling. "Bye Karla. Love you." I said as I hugged her again. "Love you too, N." I exited the door and hired a taxi from within a few distance. I informed the driver about the destination and I was on my way to UCLA.

***

As I reached the college, I paid the taxi driver and got out of the taxi. I was in awe as soon as I took in the surrounding and the enormous infrastructure of the college.It would be an understatement if I said that it got me tongue-tied. There was so much more to take in and I was really glad that I got admitted into such a beautiful place. Well let's get going, I thought to myself.

 I entered and took out my phone to check which class I had first. And I got lost. I literally had no idea where to head. Somehow I managed to find the class but to my luck, (note the sarcasm) the class had already started. Great way to start the year. Yay!

 As soon as I entered the class with the permission of the professor, every pair of eyes was on me. Ugh! I hated being the center of attention. I took a look at the professor and I noted how furious she was. But she did not make any comment. Thank god. There were two empty seats in the back row. I took one of the seats and mentally face palmed me.

 After a few seconds, a guy came at the door huffing, asking the professor permission to enter the class. He must be somewhere around 6 feet. As he came closer, I took in his features. He had brown hair, almost black which was a bit curly. He had a clean shaved jaw. His lips were slightly pink and he was really hot if you asked me. 

He took a seat next to me and started shuffling through his bag. Well, I think I am not the only species who is always late. This thought of mine made me chuckle a bit loud. And to my disadvantage, it caught the professor's attention. Could this day get any better?

 "The girl in the last row, who thought it would be a good idea to be late to the class, could you please stand up?" the anger in her voice could be sensed very clearly. "Y-Yes?" I stuttered and stood up. The whole class's attention, again, was on me. This time probably it was a bit intensified. The. Most. Embarrassing. Moment. Ever.

 "Could you enlighten me with your name, please?" she stated sarcastically. "N-Noella Garnet, ma'am." My voice started getting shaky. "Well, Miss Garnet, what is so funny going on that made you laugh?" she asked raising her eyebrows and folded her hands against her chest. I just stood there silently, looking down in shame, not knowing what to say.

 "Um, Miss Teacher, can I say something?" I heard a deep voice beside me. I turned my head at the direction where the voice came from and it was the guy who entered the class after me. "Yes, please." She replied curiously. He stood up from his seat. What in the hell was he going to do?  Curiosity got the best of me. I was just staring at him intently and so were the other students.

 "I just cracked a joke about something to her. Yeah. That's what made her laugh, I guess." He said sheepishly and grinned. Seriously? 'But a cute smile he got there.' I thought to myself and smiled a bit.

 "How talented of you! First, you arrive late and then you joke around in an ongoing lecture." she shook her head. "I want both of you out this very moment. Now!" she yelled which made us take our bags and flee out of the class at a snap of fingers.

 I heard the laughter which erupted in the class as we were kicked out, which just added to my embarrassment.  "Wow, someone did not get a good night's sleep I guess!" he commented, chuckling as soon as we were out of the class.