Not All Bad Boys Are The Same.

Chapter 17

Luca's POV

I sat in the back of my biology class scribbling absentmindedly on a piece of paper. Cell division was a rather easy concept to grasp and I found my doodle of a rather vivacious, curvy woman to be more entertaining.

There were only two more weeks of college left before winter break started.
I couldn't wait to go back home. Elizabeth was a saint for agreeing to go along with my plans.

Time was ticking away. Stephanie and Harry were flying in on Friday. I was still against the wedding. But I knew that nothing I did or said was going to change Stephanie's mind. She was stubborn.

A page landed on my desk getting me to look up. "Mr. Hendricks congratulations on getting the highest in the class yet again sir," said the lecturer. He was a short ginger-haired man with a round beer belly. His glasses sat at the tip of his nose as he smiled down at me. I could feel every eye in the lecture auditorium on me at that moment.

"Thanks," I muttered and looked over the test sheet. He walked away distributing the rest of the test papers.

People often looked at me strangely when I said I wanted to be a pediatrician. 'Long hair and tattoos. You are going to scare the children,' Harry, once guffawed, when I told him I wanted nothing to do with business.

The day Stephanie told Harry he could take his business and shove it (Well not in those exact words), because she was interested in fashion, was the day he turned to me. I had and have no interest in being an accountant or the boss of an accounting firm.

Forty-five minutes later the lecture was over. I slung my bag over my shoulder and adjusted my hoodie. I had the hood over my head. "Not so fast Mr. Hendricks," the lecturer called. "If you could just spare a moment of your time," he asked, enthusiastically.

I stopped and turned away from the door to face him. I shoved both hands in my pockets as I stared down at the man because he was shorter than me. "As you know you are the smartest student in this class. Well you the smartest I've had in a long while," he started, his voice was soft and gentle and I could sense a 'but' coming along his lines. "But, it's just that I have to be honest with you. There aren't a lot of doctors that look like," he paused as if searching for the right words as to not hurt my feelings. "Well you look like..." he trailed.

"I beg your pardon sir, but what exactly do I look like?" I asked, and he gulped visibly.

"Mr. Hendricks... I say this with the utmost respect. But the field of study you're in requires a softer look and well let me tell you, sir. You look like the leader of some biker gang," he finished. He watched me with cautious eyes and I bent my head down so that I was eye level with him.

"Thanks for the advice," I uttered before turning on my heel and walking out of the auditorium.

I walked out of the building and onto the quad. A few staff members at the hospital did give me rather strange looks whenever they saw me. On occasion, a nurse would walk up to me and ask if I was lost. I wanted to help children not scare them and if the way I looked was going to affect my profession I had to either change my major or my appearance. I've gone too far in this course to change my major. Maybe it was time for a haircut and shave. I ran a hand over my beard. It's been a while since I've seen my face without it.

I felt an arm loop around my arm and I looked down to see Ember. Oh fuck. I scratched the back of my head awkwardly. "Miss me, baby," she cooed.

"Oh get off," I said shrugging her off my arm and she looked at me in shock. "Ember, get this through your pretty little head," I said whirling on her just in time to see Anthony walking over to us. He was a good friend and he deserved better than the likes of Ember. "I am not interested in you," I said looking back down at her and her face fell. "Besides aren't you with my mate, Anthony," I said and she scoffed.