•<First Week>•

      Throw it away, forget yesterday
                 We'll make the great escape
           And we won't hear a word they say
                They don't know us anyway
                    Watch it burn, let it die
             'Cause we are finally free tonight
                                         •
                            Boys Like Girls

•<>•

After leaving the dimly lit room still feeling confused over what happened a few minutes ago, I meet Key and Autumn downstairs.

They both don't say a word when I make my last step down the stairs, Autumn seems to be down in the mouth and Key's taken her in her arms, lightly stroking Autumn's arm for comfort.

"Wh-what's going on?" I utter, concern laced in my voice. What am I doing? I know what's going on, the house is not as crowded as it was before because of what happened to Clayton.

While I empathize with his situation, I can't help but question why Autumn is so deeply impacted by this news. After all, she isn't particularly close to any of Brandon's friends, and even if she were, I'm confident Clayton will recover just fine. This isn't the first time that this has happened to him.

"Autumn, are you okay? Did something happen to you?" I furrow my eyebrows, my concern clearly displayed.

"She's fine, she's just missing Brandon," Key says nonchalantly.

As I shift my gaze towards her, she gently pulls the corners of her mouth from side to side, managing a faint smile.

Just as I'm about to speak up, Autumn leaves Key's embrace and utters, "Can we go home now, I'm tired. I'm pretty sure Brandon will be fine."

Both of us nod in unison and trail behind. Once we're all settled in the car, with Key at the wheel, Autumn in the passenger seat, and me in the backseat, she rolls down her window and lets out a sharp exhale.

Leaning closer, I gently hold her shoulder and repeat my question, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I am," she replies with her elbow resting on the open window, "It's just that..." She pauses to emit another sharp breath from her slightly parted lips, "Brandon and I had plans after the party but of course, Clayton had to ruin it as usual," she states sarcastically — emphasizing her expression of frustration, "For fuck's sake he's a grown-ass dude and yet he doesn't know how to drink responsibly?! How ironic," she huffs, and all Key and I can do is exchange knowing glances.

"I'm pretty sure you and Brandon will have plenty of time to yourselves, I mean you always do, so..." Keyara responds with a blend of sarcasm and playful teasing in her tone, "Speaking of Brandon, what was that all about?!" She asks enthusiastically.

"Yeah, what was that all about?" I chime in as my lips curve into a grin, "You surprised Key and me with that game."

"Sex in public? Girlll..." Key teases.

"Yeah, I'd better not talk about that right now." Autumn quickly steps up to defend herself, her eyes darting between Keyara and me with a smile she can't suppress.

Her cheeks take on a rosy hue, the corners of her mouth tugging into a smile, and her eyes shimmering despite her efforts to conceal it. I have no doubt in my mind that something transpired; witnessing her demeanor around Brandon, anything is possible.

"So what about you?" Key throws a glance at me through the rearview mirror, "How did it go with your mystery guy, did you find him?"

"There's a mystery guy?!" Autumn gasps as if she's been struck by a sudden and gigantic TMZ celebrity gossip, "Who is it?" Her mouth hangs open, and her eyes widen to the point where they seem like they might pop out of their sockets.

"Umm, yeah, I found him," I prop my leg up as I lean back, "We had a good chat, good person by the way, and uh what am I missing," I suck the air through my teeth — aiming to display forgetfulness, "Oh yeah, I don't know his name," I say nonchalantly and they all go silent, presumably because of this surprising revelation.

"Girl," Keyara utters, "You had all that time with him, and you couldn't ask him his name?!"

"It didn't cross my mind," I convey, "I was so lost in our conversation that it didn't occur to me."

"Apparently." She huffs with a hint of sarcasm laced in her voice.

"How does he look like? I can ask Brandon. He knows his circle very well," Autumn offers.

"I don't want any of you to do anything, okay?" I lean forward in an attempt to make them not intervene in my love life; knowing them, I'm a hundred percent certain that they'd do something about it and it might either turn into a circus show or a romantic tale, "He'll come around if we're meant to meet again. Only time will tell, and besides, it's not like I'm looking for anything or anyone right now. I'm happy and content being single."

They exchange a brief, sympathetic glance before redirecting their gazes to the road. Silence settles in, and I can only speculate about the thoughts racing through their minds. Since my breakup with Jordan, their primary goal has been to uplift my spirits after witnessing how often I've been feeling low.

I won't deny it, the breakup had a profound impact on me. It felt like every part of me had been torn into shreds, and the walls were closing in, making it hard to breathe. My entire world lost its vibrancy and turned gray. All I could contemplate was the transience of things, how easily vivid colors could fade into a blend of black and white. It was like a hue unsure of its own identity, hesitating to explore its depth.

Though I'm in a much better place than I was months ago, I still find it challenging to fully open up when a potential love interest comes along. The fear of getting hurt once more makes me hesitate, so I often opt to admire someone from afar, indulging in fantasies where my imagination takes me on a fairy tale ride — the kind I usually encounter only in books, the kind that has my heart racing like a freight train, and everything is perfect, and destined to never end.

Thinking about Jordan, my mind wanders off into that dark space again. I wouldn't say I didn't have a glimpse of what a fairytale looks like, if anything it was good, our love was perfect...or so I thought.

Every moment with him was magical, so ecstatic and playful. He was my first love, my best friend, my whole. Though we were young, we were so love-struck, so in the moment that we started planning our lives after high school.

Being around him, the moon seemed to waltz while the stars twinkled whenever we were together. He was like that special page in a novel I'd revisit time and again, each encounter still sending a flurry of butterflies dancing in my head.

He was my high school sweetheart, a saint until he turned my world upside down and turned me gray, a silvery shade that sticks to what it knows because it doesn't want to hurt its own feelings in the name of loving someone.

Upon shutting the car door behind me, I trail behind Key and Autumn who are busy talking about whatever I missed out on while I was so lost in my thoughts.

When we say our goodnights and depart, each going into our separate rooms and closing the doors, I slump in my bed and stare up at the ceiling. Thinking about my first day at school as a junior has my heart racing, not knowing what to expect or how stressful this year might be has me feeling anxious.

Shortly after, I hear a knock on my door and before I can say a word, the girls walk in with a bottle of wine in Autumn's hand.

"Care for another drink? The night's still young." She pulls her lips into a smile as she wiggles her shoulders.

Unable to resist the temptation, I sit up and tuck my legs beneath my thighs. Upon taking the bottle from her, I take the wine in one gulp and hand it over to Keyara who does the same thing as well and hands it over to Autumn.

"Look at us," Key utters, "Three best friends living the dream."

"Right?!" Autumn adds sounding excited, "Just look at the view outside, how far we've come. This is beautiful. Let's stay like this together, forever."

"Uhh, what about Brandon?" I ask with a cocked eyebrow and the wine bottle in my hand.

"Bra—Brandon," she slurs, "Oh yeah, he'll be living with us, in my room."

"Suddenly the vision is ruined," Keyara says as she takes the wine bottle from my hand and takes it to her mouth.

"Not really," Autumn leaps to her defense, "If you think about it, I think it would be a good idea to have a man around, in case we need to change a bulb, or — or fix the sink and a lot more."

"Ever heard of a plumber?" I ask her — a surge of sarcasm woven into my voice, "And c'mon, a bulb is not so hard to change. Anyone can do it."

"She's right," Keyara concurs with me.

"I can't," Autumn replies, her answer different from ours though not surprising, "My dad was too busy to teach me that kind of stuff."

"Nobody taught me!" Keyara replies, "I learned to do all of that by watching other people do it, you know, YouTube, you can even Google this stuff."

"For somebody who uses Google for pretty much anything, I'm surprised you didn't think to Google how to change a light bulb," I add.

"I don't use Google for everything," she reprimands — her high-pitched tone giving way to her lie.

"Really? What about the time you thought you had a skin infection and you ran to Google to look up the symptoms when in reality it was just a hickey," I ask her right away.

"I had flu-like symptoms and a fever what did you expect me to think?" she defends her reasoning.

"It was around the time we all had flu, how could you not have seen that?" Key adds.

"Anything is possible," Autumn mumbles as she darts her eyes to her hands.

"Right," Keyara adds, "And that includes you knowing how to change a bulb. Don't worry, we'll teach you, you don't have to depend on a man to do everything for you, you know," she smiles at her.

We spend the rest of the night chitchatting and intoxicating our bodies with alcohol like there's no tomorrow till we all pass out.

•<<<>>>•

Another day flies by so quickly like a flash of light you can hardly see it in a blink of an eye. Spending the day preparing for this week, different emotions are whirling inside of me like a tornado. When I'm all done and dusted, I pillow my hand under my head and stare into the night that's illuminated by Seattle's city lights before peacefully drifting into slumber.

Here's to a new beginning.

•<<<>>>•

The blaring alarm on my phone startles me awake, causing my heart to leap out of my chest and I fall off the bed — narrowly avoiding banging my head on the nightstand.

What an interesting way to start my first day as a junior.

Hearing Key and Autumn moving helter-skelter on the other side of the door, I quicken my pace, dressing swiftly, and then sling my bag over my shoulder before heading out the door.

"I made you coffee!" Autumn says as she walks past me to grab her bag from the couch.

Upon drinking it all down in less than five minutes, I grab a glass of water before tossing the mint into my mouth and chewing on it all the way to campus.

Seeing this place again after a while evokes so many emotions; the skies are blue, the weather is beautiful and students are walking to and fro like a busy day in Manhattan.

When Key finally parks her car, we all say our 'see you laters' and go in different directions.
Looking down at my phone to check if anyone has posted anything in the group chat, I puff out a soft breath to ease the build-up tension as I scan the tall red-brick building that feels like a maze if you don't know your way around.

When I notice that no one has said anything in the group chat regarding our place of meeting, anxiety consumes me. I'm not so good at public speaking or group texting, plus I'm running late.

Crap, now what? How will I find my class?!

After mistakenly entering a couple of wrong classes, my optimism dwindles. Leaning against the wall, I take slow, deep breaths in an attempt to regain my composure.

Why do I always keep opening the wrong doors? If only I had the courage to text in the group.

A light bulb goes on in my head — prompting me to text Karla, my classmate right away.

I hope she's already in class.

Thankfully, she responds right away with the lecture hall number and directions.

Why didn't I think of this before?!

Feeling stupid, I give myself a facepalm in frustration before summoning the energy to sprint, hoping to make it to the class in under two minutes.

A girl can dream alright!

When I finally reach the lecture hall, I heave a deep breath of relief when I notice that the professor is not yet here. When Karla looks behind and sees me, she waves at me, signaling for me to sit beside her, so, I do as asked.

"Hey there, had trouble finding the lecture hall again?" she smiles — her blue eyes sparkling along before turning her focus to her phone.

"Can you blame me? This school is like a maze," I retort and she smiles — acknowledging my words.

...
Moments into the class and my mind is already bombarded with so much information I can't recall. Who knew sales and marketing could be this bulky and complicated?

After what felt like an eternity, the class is finally over and people start scattering like flies, myself included. Just as I'm about to exit the lecture hall, I hear Mr. Duncan call my name, and immediately, I turn around to face him.

"Good to see you in my class again, I knew you'd make it." He smiles as his brown eyes brighten beneath his glasses.

"Thank you," I respond with a smile while casually tucking my thumb beneath the strap of my handbag.

"I know we've talked about this before but," he adjusts his glasses before proceeding to speak, "Taking an elective course would really be of so much help. I've seen how much of an excellent student you are and taking an elective course will not only introduce you to new skills but will also increase your chances of getting a job in any company."

He then crosses his arms and leans against the table and adds, "I've been in this school for a really long time and my students have called me telling me about great job offers they've had not only because of what they've learned from me but because of other knowledge and skills they gained from other courses."

He pulls his phone out of his pocket, and takes a glance at it before shoving it back and turning his brown eyes back to me, "Now I'm not forcing you or-or telling you what to do with your life, but I see so much potential in you, Miss Wright."

Mr. Duncan is known to be one of the best professors in school, he's got a high ranking and a good reputation. Most of the students he's taught before are well-established businessmen and women while some are working in very big companies and they've testified to that.

Hearing him talk about how much he wants to help me warms my heart. I've thought about taking an elective course but the stress of having way too many things on my mind stops me from doing so, however, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea if he sees something in me that I don't, why not give it a go?

He then presses his lips into a subtle smile and nods to me a quick goodbye, "See you tomorrow," he says and exits the lecture hall.

...
When I finally meet up with Key and Autumn, we head to the coffee vending machine while talking about how our classes went.

Thank goodness our classes ended at the same time 'cause I don't know what I would have done had they not been around.

I take a sip of my espresso while listening to Autumn whine about her editorial class. She goes on and on talking about how exciting and tiring it was that they got to proofread and edit a book from one of the best publishing companies in Seattle.

"We're not done yet so, looks like I got my hands full for the week." She playfully wiggles her fingers — accentuating the sarcasm in her sentence, and tilts her head back in exasperation, "Ughh, why is adulting so hard?"

"Oh, honey it's just getting started," Key replies before sipping her cappuccino, "Right now I'm thinking about getting a new camera for my photography class and I don't even have the money for it. What about you Mal?" she adds before slurping her coffee, "How was your class?"

"It was okay," I pause to drink my espresso, "There's just a lot to learn though."

"Tell me about it." Autumn clicks her tongue in approval as she shifts her gaze to me, and from the tone of her voice, I can sense that she understands what I'm going through.

"And also, Mr. Duncan talked to me about taking an elective course, again."

"Oh my gosh, you still have him as your professor? Girl, you're lucky. You should meet my new professor, Mrs. Artwell," Autumn groans, "That woman is a devil's incarnate."

"Wait, he talked to you about that again?" Key raises her eyebrows in surprise, "Mal I think you should take his advice this time, after all, he's one of the best professors in this school."

"Yeah, I know." I emit a sharp breath in an attempt to display my dilemma, "I just don't want to take something that will add more stress to my already stressed life."

"You can join me in psychology," Autumn suggests, "It's pretty interesting plus, now that I have that devil's incarnate of a professor, I really need it, a lot."

"And that will help me how?" I inquire as I throw her a quizzical look.

When she's done pressing her phone at the speed of light, she finally turns her attention to me, "Studying psychology will help you apply some sort of theoretical knowledge to your marketing skills and also," When her phone chimes, she takes it out again from her pocket. Smiling down at it, she hastily runs her fingers all over her screen before shoving it back in her pocket and reverting her eyes to me, "It will help you understand the way that your client thinks, reasons, how they feel, and how they make decisions. You know you can easily persuade them just by making some calculated emotional appeal, and just like that," she snaps her fingers, "You have yourself a permanent client."

I shift my gaze to Key who is just as surprised if not confused and impressed as I am.

"What do you say, Mal, you're coming with me or what?" her lips curve into a smile while waiting for my response.

Speechless, I shut my mouth, give a nonchalant shrug, and toss the empty cup into the bin. Upon waving a 'see you later' to Keyara, I clutch the strap of my bag tightly and take a deep breath before trailing behind Autumn to Psychology class.

Upon arriving at her class, I'm taken aback by the crowd. After settling in beside her, I retrieve my notepad from my bag and set it on the table — ready to take notes and hoping this class might make a difference.

This is not helping!

Several hours into the class, my mind feels overwhelmed, as if it might burst from the sheer volume of information. Sighing, I rest my head in my hands with my eyes wide open in an attempt to make an effort to stay focused on the lecture.

Growing increasingly fatigued and impatient, I sink back into my seat and cross my arms over my chest — eagerly waiting for this class to end so I can leave.

At last!

We're done with the class and I can't wait to talk to Key about this experience.

Meeting with Key in the library, we join the line of people returning last semester's books and acquiring new ones. Our conversation revolves around our classes, and Autumn's gasps become more pronounced as she hears me vent about her psychology class, which is just as demanding as my other classes.

"Maybe you should join me in art class," Key suggests before handing her library card to the librarian.

When she notices how thrown for a loop I am, she adds, "I honestly don't know how that will help you but," She places her books from the previous semester on the table and puffs out a breath, "It's relaxing."

I like the word relaxing.

"Okay," I reply, "I'll try your class, and if I find that it's not helping me either, I guess I'll switch to another class until I find one that suits me."

"Good," She replies and turns back to the librarian to sign her name — a proof of the books she's returned from last semester and the books she's taken for this semester.

When we're done collecting books from the library, a lot of time has gone by that we've hardly had time to sit down and eat anything.

Even though I'm quite skeptical about joining Key in her Art class, I guess trying wouldn't hurt, would it?

Upon entering the class which is not as big as the rest of the classes I've attended, I'm astounded at how scarce this place is. When I'm finally settled in my seat, I shift my focus to the big captivating canvases that are placed in front of every seat with box tools beside them.

Traveling my eyes around, some paintings hanging on the walls capture my attention. I can't make an object out of most of them but they sure do look beautiful.

Key is right, this feels relaxing.

Seated beside her, I watch the other students as they enter and take their seats, followed by arranging their materials on their desks.

I notice some of them making dramatic expressions and hand gestures as if they're sketching something in the air or having animated conversations with themselves, though I'm not entirely sure what they're up to.

A few minutes pass, and then suddenly when all the students have settled in their seats, a tall, somewhat 5'11" good-looking guy with dark brown short comb hair with a low fade on the sides, and a perfectly chiseled square jaw enters the room. Instantly, my heart plunges into a pool of Cupid's arrows. With my eyes trailing him as he moves, I find it challenging to tear my gaze from him. My stomach has already tied itself into knots, and the second his piercing heterochromia eyes meet mine, my breath catches in my throat — enchanted by his statuesque features.

He's dressed so casually so I assume he's a student until he starts to address us. He looks quite young to be a professor but I suppose he must be in his mid or early-late 20s.

"Good afternoon everybody. Congratulations on making it to junior year," his British accent, the deepness, and thickness of his voice evoke a feeling inside me I can't quite understand.

He's British!

He lets out a sharp exhale through his nostrils and then adds, "I see we have some new faces here," he hums, "Welcome, hope you'll stick around," he says, fixing his gaze on me as he completes the sentence.

He's moving around the room with confidence as if he owns this place, and all I can do is gaze at him in admiration as he casually rolls up his sleeves up to his elbows while discussing who knows what; everything around me has faded to the background. All I can see and hear is this angelic being moving gracefully before me while occasionally glancing my way through his thick lashes and singing melodies in my ears.

The class seems to fly by in the blink of an eye, and I've scarcely had a chance to jot down any notes. Perhaps time passed faster than I realized because I was so engrossed in my secret admiration of him. As I leisurely pack my belongings into my bag, I'm hardly aware of Key, who's growing impatient while waiting for me, until I glance in her direction. She's standing there with her arms crossed and her foot tapping on the marble floor dramatically.

"I'm almost done," I utter.

"Hurry up, I'm hungry," she replies — impatience sipping into her voice.

The classroom is now empty except for us. Once I finally finish packing, we exit the room together. Excited, I immediately reach for her hand, prompting her to stop and stand beside me by the door with a perplexed expression.

Observing that we're alone and no one is in sight, a wide grin spreads across my face, stretching from ear to ear.

"What?" she urges me to speak — the creases between her eyebrows still lingering.

"Oh-My-Gosh," I'm left in astonishment, my jaw dropping as I gaze at her with wide eyes and raised eyebrows, "Why didn't you tell me you had a Greek god for a professor?"

"What?!" She chuckles incredulously, "I didn't think he'd come back, he was working on trial last year but I didn't think he'd come back since he's new here and was exploring options according to what he told us."

"And you're telling me this now?" I reply with a hint of shock infused in my voice.

"What was I supposed to say?" She replies, "Hey my art professor is young, British, and really good-looking you should come to my class one day," she replies with sarcasm laced in her voice.

"Yes!" I reply with a tone of desperation and enthusiasm.

"I didn't think you'd take interest in him," she arches her eyebrows at me as if she's just had realized something but is still in doubt, "You're not crushing on him, are you?"

"How can I not?!" I raise my hands in the air, clearly displaying my interest in him, "Have you seen him? I hardly listened to anything he was saying 'cause I was so lost in his beauty and accent."

"Right, as you do with the fictional characters you read about in books."

"This one's different," I reprimand, "Gosh his eyes, they're so sharp like lasers, I can't help but gaze at them despite their piercing effects. He has the type of eyes that evoke this beautiful emotion inside my heart and would definitely make me confess my deepest desires to him," after analyzing our surroundings, I revert my eyes to hers, "I bet he can get me pregnant if he looked at me long enough with those piercing eyes." I say bluntly.

"Mal!" Keyara emits a breathy laugh while looking at me with complete disbelief and surprise reflecting in her brown eyes.

Before I can utter another word, the handsome professor we're discussing suddenly appears from behind like he's just coming out of the classroom. He then nods a quick goodbye to us, walks past us, and proceeds down the hallway.

Embarrassment tingles across my skin, and I can only imagine how Keyara must be feeling. As we watch him vanish into the crowd, we exchange bewildered glances, both of us rendered speechless.

Worried, I struggle to form words, my jaw tightening in the process, "D-do you think," I stutter, "Do you think he heard us?"

Keyara raises her shoulders in a shrug, her gaze still fixed on mine, her expression clearly conveying that we may be in a bit of an awkward situation.

Oh, we're so screwed!

                                  AN

This is the longest chapter I've written so far, my apologies. I couldn't find the perfect part to end this chapter and I know they're a lot of names in this story so far, but I hope you won't get lost. Anyway, hope you're enjoying the story so far, and feel free to comment/pm me, I'd like to hear your thoughts about the story.

🧚‍♂️Fun fact, Mallory's struggle to find her class is something my friends and I experienced during my first and second years in university lol, so I thought of adding that experience of my life to this story. Has this ever happened to you before?

Anyhoo!

✨I'd like to get to know you briefly but you can skip this question if you want to.

- If you were a color, what color would you be? (Baby Blue)
- Also, would you rather skip breakfast, lunch, or dinner?✨ (I love breakfast but sadly my busy mornings don't allow me to, but I'd rather skip lunch than breakfast.)
***
Thank you so much for getting this far, much appreciated. Don't forget to vote, comment and share. It'd really be nice to hear from you and your honest opinions/thoughts about the story.
🧡🤎