I chuckle. “It’s okay.”
I guess I fell asleep last night in between my thoughts of him.
Him because I don’t want to think of his name. But now it’s too late, because I’m thinking it. Dammit.
“Ow, my poor non-existent ass,” she says, rubbing her backside.
I laugh quietly at her comment and she giggles, too.
“It’s okay, I know I have no ass. I’m part of the itty-bitty-titty-committee, as well as the freshmen-girls’-class-with-no-ass. I blame my mama for my lack of curves. Anyway, I can’t believe I fell like that. I was trying to be extra cautious, but I guess the bottoms of my slippers are still wet. Word of advice: if you shower … Well, of course you’re going to shower, duh.” She giggles again and I do the same.
This girl is funny. I’m already liking her.
“Anyway, when you shower, make sure you take a pair of slippers with you and keep them on your feet anytime you leave this room. Since we have to share the bathrooms and showers, you don’t want to catch some kind of disease. God knows what type of STD some of these chicks have … Shit, I’m sorry. I usually don’t gossip or talk bad about people, but I feel since you’re my roommate, I need to look out for you.”
I chuckle again. “It’s fine. I appreciate the advice, and I’ll make sure to take my slippers with me. Thank you.”
Cassandra nods and walks over to her side of the room and then hides behind the door of her closet. I look away to give her some privacy. Minutes later, she’s dressed in a pair of black jeans and a gray T-shirt. Her hair is curly and wild. She reminds me of one of my childhood friends.
I glimpse at the clock on the wall. It’s already after ten. I totally need to spend today unpacking and getting some food in here.
“Hey, if you want, after lunch, a few of us are going to be meeting up at the library for a study sesh.” Cassandra plops on her bed with a notebook open on her lap.
I furrow my brows. “I thought classes don’t start till Wednesday?”
She looks up and smiles. “Yeah, they don’t. But we were given a few books to read over the summer. Didn’t you get the list?”
I shake my head.
“No worries. I’ll get you caught up.”
“I really have to unpack and go grocery shopping. I’m kind of hungry.”
Smiling again, she says, “I’ll help you. Why don’t you get ready and we’ll head down to the coffee shop, grab a bite, and I’ll get you acquainted with the campus.”
Cassandra seems really nice. I’m not sure why Melody and Lauren weren’t too keen on her.
“That sounds great. Thanks, Cassandra.”
She looks back down at her notebook. “No sweat. And you can call me Cassie, by the way.”
“Cassie. Got it. I’m Eliana.”
She nods and looks back up at me again. “I know. What did you do last night? You weren’t here when I got back. Well obviously. Please excuse me, I’m typically not such a ditz.”
I chuckle again. “Two girls, Melody and Lauren, invited me to go out with them, but I didn’t end up staying long. I wasn’t feeling all that great.”
She raises her eyebrows and nods. “Oh.”
“I take it you guys aren’t too crazy about one another?”
She shrugs. “We’re just different. We all moved into this building right around the end of July to get situated, and in that time, we’ve gotten to know one another. They’re more into partying and having fun. I’m actually here to learn.”
I nod. “Yeah, I noticed that about them. They seemed nice, and I didn’t really know anyone, so I decided to go.”
“Hey, you don’t have to explain yourself to me.”
I smile. “I know. I thought you weren’t getting in until tomorrow night? They said you would be gone for the weekend.”
Cassandra smirks. “I wasn’t supposed to be back till then, but things didn’t turn out the way they were planned. It’s all good though. I’m happy to be back early.”
I want to ask her what happened, but I don’t want to pry. Maybe she’ll come out and tell me about it later.
I decide to get up. Coffee sounds great right about now, and familiarizing myself with the campus is probably exactly what I need to get my mind off things … or people … or rather, a particular someone whose name I refuse to think of.
Ugh! There I go again!
5
After getting coffee and walking around campus for about two hours, I’m ready to go do groceries. I love Cassie’s vibrant personality and I’m grateful that she’s the one I’m going to be sharing the room with.
My phone starts buzzing, so I fish it out of my jean pocket. I inhale sharply and clear my throat before picking up the call.
“Hey, Auntie, how are you?”
“Where have you been? You promised to call me as soon as you got there. I called you plenty of times last night.”
“I’m sorry. I was sleeping.”
There’s a silence.
“Eliana Russo. What are you hiding?”
“Nothing! I’m not hiding anything,” I lie, and squeeze my eyes shut for a beat. I hate lying to her, but I know that telling her I went to a club and almost got jumped by an unknown man in the emptiness of one of Brockville’s streets isn’t a smart idea. I don’t want her to send one of my uncles here so he can drag me by my hair and bring me back to Kingsford.
“So help me God if you’re lying to me, Eliana. Don’t go anywhere. That city is not that safe.”
I exhale sharply.
“Why do you keep saying that? What’s so dangerous about this city that I can’t even go out?”
“Sweetie … there’s too much corruption.”
“Elaborate please.”
I turn back and wave at Cassie, who’s waiting for me to finish my call so we can go to the grocery store together.
“There’s a brutal underworld and a vicious king who controls it. You cannot roam around the streets by yourself.”
I chuckle.
“Have you been watching too many movies recently?”
“It’s not funny, Eliana. It’s dangerous. Drugs, mafia, guns, all sorts of villainy lurks in that city. Promise to be careful, please.”
I don’t bother explaining to her that for a mobster to get to me, I’ll have to be part of the corrupted world she’s talking about. I’m just a student. And I’m certainly not the only person that lives in this city. But I tell her what she wants to hear or else this conversation is never going to end.
“All right, don’t worry. I’ll be very careful.”
She blows out a sigh of relief.
“Good. And don’t mention your last name to people. You know your father was once an important politician in Brockville.”
I nod even though she can’t see me.
“All right. Say hi to the rest of the family for me.”
“Okay, sweetheart. Take care.”
I walk toward Cassie and apologize to her before ordering us an Uber. Aunt Jenny’s words linger in my head for a while, causing worry to snake through me, even though I know that there’s corruption in every big city in the world. Maybe it’s the fact that she’s not the only one who warned me about coming here. Maybe it’s because my father was an important politician and his brutal death is a nightmare that still haunts me to this day.