He is hard to miss and not just because of his good looks. I take notice of other girls checking him out as he passes by. No wonder Trin has been going on and on about the guy from her chem class.
“He forgot his food,” the boy who looks to be about my age says from behind the counter. His name tag reads Brandon.
“Oh, it looks like he did buy me lunch.” Trin takes the tray with the sandwich on it. “Thanks, Brandon.” She winks at him, making him blush.
“You don’t eat meat,” I remind her. I find myself looking back to see if maybe he remembered he forgot his food and was going to come back for it but I don’t see him anymore. Something inside of me tells me that I was hoping he would come back for more than the forgotten sandwich. I push that thought away because I’m unsure of what to do with it.
“About that.” Here we go. In the short time I’ve gotten to know Trin, there’s one thing I know for sure. She changes her mind more than anyone I’ve ever met in my life. She goes through phases faster than they can come in and out of style. I’m shocked she isn’t done with me yet. I think it’s because she actually likes me and not because she’s stuck with me as her roommate. “I’m going to give up vegetables now.”
I wonder if she knows that potatoes are vegetables. As her friend, I believe that this is something I should tell her. Or maybe I should let it go so that she stops eating my fries all the time. I weigh my options and decide to keep the information to myself. Even if she really is giving up vegetables, she’ll be back on them tomorrow. She’s an in the moment type of girl. As soon as she sees me eating those mouthwatering, salty French fries, she’ll be stealing them in no time.
“Is this some new diet?” I ask as she finds us an empty table and sits down.
“I’m just fucking with you. I’m not giving up vegetables.” She steals another fry off my plate. “I forgot about bacon so I’m back on the meat.”
“Who forgets about bacon?” I pick up my cheeseburger, taking a giant bite. I haven't eaten all day. I stayed up way too late last night studying for the Algebra II test I had today. I slept through my alarm, causing me to run late. I had to skip breakfast in order to be on time for class.
Math is so not my thing. I can’t wait to get my last math credit taken care of. It sucks studying so hard for crap I’m pretty sure I’ll never need. I am a language major. The only math I need to know is how to say my numbers.
“I know, right?” She picks up her stolen sandwich. “I think I dodged a bullet. Who gets mustard on their sandwich?” She drops it back down onto the plate. “He clearly has no taste.” She smirks. I think her ego may have taken a small hit at the gorgeous man's lack of interest in her. She had stomped up to me in the cafeteria and started rambling on about what had happened with some prick as she’d called him from one of her classes.
I was a little surprised myself. Most of the guys here tend to fall all over Trin. She is super outgoing and pretty. She’s got legs for days and shiny hair that she never has to fuss with. She’s not shy in the least and if she wants something she goes for it.
She has no problem telling you exactly how she feels about you, whether it’s good or bad. When it comes to boys, if she likes one, she lets them know. She doesn’t play games or dance around it. I wish I had a tenth of her confidence. I am still feeling a little worked up over the argument I just had over an apology. I keep running the dialogue we had between us through my mind over and over again.
It is really something I’m going to have to work on. I am a freaking language major. I am going to have to learn to talk to others without being so shy. It’s part of why I’ve clung to Trin so much. I transferred here for my last two years. I am thousands of miles away from home and don’t know anyone.
That was the point. To get away and out from under my father. I wanted to start a new path for myself. Spread my wings. Turns out that I’m not so good at it. Trin is still my only friend so far. I didn’t exactly score any brownie points with the handsome guy from earlier either. He probably thinks I’m strange.
It wouldn’t be the first time someone thought that or the last. He didn’t seem to like that I tried to take my apology back either. I shouldn’t care what a stranger thinks anyway, but for some reason I care a tiny bit about what he thought of me. It doesn’t make any sense but I don’t want him to dislike me.
“You think he’ll be mad you stole his sandwich?”
“Who?” She looks up from her phone she’s now playing on, shoving more of my fries into her mouth. I glance at the time, seeing I need to get to my next class.
“How many people’s sandwiches did you steal today?” I shove more of my burger into my mouth. The food here sucks but it beats going off campus. I don’t have a car and the idea of a bus or one of those Lyft things gives me anxiety.
“Oh. Him. I hope so. Serves him right. I can’t wait to thank him for my lunch the next time I see him.” She smirks. I finish chewing the rest of my burger. “I think he’s playing hard to get or something. He’ll be blowing up my phone next week.” She rolls her eyes.
She isn’t wrong. Men are always blowing up her phone. Yet I never notice her going out with any of them. She flirts and moves on to the next. I think she likes the chase or something. She gets as bored with them as she does with everything else. Still, the idea of him blowing up her phone has me abandoning the rest of my cheeseburger.
“I gotta get to class.”
“I’ll finish this.” She pushes the sandwich tray out of her way, pulling mine over to her. “Don’t forget you promised me you’d go to the Delta Kai party with me tonight.”
“I have no idea what a Delta Kai is and I speak three languages.”
Trin bursts into laughter. “Frat party.”
I groan, grabbing my bag.
“Lots of cute boys.” She wiggles her eyebrows.
Good. Maybe she’ll find a new target and give up on Clark Kent. Damn it. I think I’m the one who needs to stop thinking about him. He is a jerk. I don’t date or like jerks I remind myself. I don’t date anyone.
“You promised.”
“I’ll go.” I give her a wave goodbye as I dart out of the building through all the people, heading for my next class. I should go to that party. It’ll be a chance for me to get out there. To do new things and have some fun for once. It isn’t going to kill me.
Chapter Three
Daman
“When are you going to be done playing around at that college thing and get your ass back to work for me?” barks Mr. Van. It’s not his real name. I label all my hires alphabetically. He wasn’t my first, but I’ve done repeat business with him. He pays well and most of the hits are ones that I would’ve done for free—gun runners and mercenaries with the occasional accountant who tried to run off with his money.
I bite off a piece of electrical tape and wrap the strip around the bare wire. The mic and camera need a source of power so I almost always place my listening devices inside the lamp fixture.
“The course catalog says it’s going to take at least three years.”