Dark Faïz ( Book 1 ) [ COMPLETED]

Chapters 2-7

I prepared to go to bed, tired from my first day in Baylor, when I saw a box on my dresser near my bed. Inside it, I discovered a brand new Samsung smartphone. A small note had been carefully placed next to it.

Now you can call! Faïz

My heart tightened, touched by this gesture. I could finally get some news from the people I loved. Quickly, I started transferring all the numbers from my old phone to the new one. When I opened my contacts, Faïz's number appeared. He had already entered it. I allowed myself, for a brief moment, to hope for what my unconscious wanted most before my reason took charge of suffocating my feelings.

Next week went by at full speed. The main occupation of the students in Baylor that Friday was to prepare for the weekend. The addresses of the parties were exchanged by text messages or social networks. Baudoin had managed to get me the job at the campus cafeteria. I shared the service with David, another student who had trained me in the position over the past few days. At first sight he shy by nature, but the feelings were perfect between us. Complicity had even developed over the days. David had gestures and an often clumsy speech that made him endearing. His great passion was computer science. He could talk for hours about programs or software that I didn't understand anything about.

I defended him often. He was a little different from the others and was mocked a lot in public. How could anyone demean a person who did not fit the criteria of a golden youth? As soon as I could, I flew to his rescue by taking his place behind the cash register. Within a few days, we had become inseparable friends. Even though David was a year younger, he was now part of our small friend group. Lily had asked me to invite my girlfriends over during the weekend or in the evening after courses. They were welcome in Elora.

Lexy and Lucas became inseparable. Despite a relationship between them, which was obvious to us all, they weren't making anything official yet. I spent a lot of time with Victoria. I liked her naturalness, her character. We could spend hours together in our rooms talking about everything. Asarys had a party on Saturday evening with her sorority, and she insisted that I be present at this event. I had no choice but to accept.

Taking advantage of the beautiful day, we took our lunch break outside on the campus. Baudoin was talking football with David while Asarys was talking with a friend from New York by FaceTime. I hadn't seen Faïz since that Monday evening. When I asked Victoria about him, she told me that he had a lot of work to do, but that he would try to come to the villa over the weekend. I hadn't seen him in the halls of the university, either. It must be said that the institution was huge, and our schedules were different. Yet he always invaded my thoughts.

— "That look. He means everything," Lexy teased.

I didn't hear her coming towards me.

— "What are you talking about?" I defended myself, I'm thinking about tomorrow's party.

I was hoping that my diversion would be effective. Unfortunately my new friends were getting to know me. Indeed, my emotions were getting harder and harder to hide.

— "You go on the defensive every time we talk about him, Zoe," added Asarys, who had just hung up with her friend.

— "You never wanted to open his bedroom closet, breathe his shirts or, touch his underwear?" Lexy continued with her twisted mind.

I sighed deeply as I felt the conversation deviate from its path. Fortunately Lexy changed the subject in a hurry.

— "Hey, before I came to join you, I ran into Barbie and her gang," she laughed. "I can assure you that if their eyes were bullets, I would already be dead by now. It seemed like they wanted to kill me."

— "Lexy, you spend your time provoking them with your sneaky smile. That's normal, and you know they are numerically superior. You must not forget it," Asarys replied.

— "These girls, they are real pests. Asarys is right. We must not play their game, even if I admit that they drive me crazy," I added.

— "They spend their time staring down at us from above. Especially Barbie, she's the worst. I can't stand her," Asarys said.

The bell began to ring, telling us that it was time to go back to our courses. David left first on his own. I'd see him later in the cafeteria. In the corridors of the university, Faïz was still not to be found. I could not hide my disappointment.