I walk quietly out of the dorm room, casting a glance at Lacey before shutting the door behind me. I’m in my PJ’s, my blue ducky pajama bottoms, camisole top, and my bedroom slippers to top it all off. The halls are silent, not a sound anywhere around me. I have always been a morning person, my mother never understood why since she liked to sleep in, but oh well. I walk down the hallway into the lobby area of the Poppy Dorms, my slippers shuffling under me. I proceed out the door, the white sandy beach already faintly in my sights.
No sounds come around me and I sigh, wondering why no one else is a morning person. I have classes later today, starting with Chemistry, AP History (Which I totally should NOT be taking, considering my oh-so phenomenal geography skills that are limited to locating where Starbucks is only), English and Calculus.
Electives? Spanish, Art and Photography – You know because I’m just that artsy.
I make it to the beach, the sand enveloping around my slippers. A rather large, flat rock is clearly in my sight to my left and so I shuffle there. Sitting down, I pull my ducky pajama bottomed knees to my chest and gaze at the ocean, taking in the salty smell of the Atlantic and the gorgeous colors that swirl within it.
A noise sounds from my left and I turn my head, my eyes narrowing. A guy steps out into my view and I widen my eyes as I find it’s the creeper dude who saw me change yesterday. Nate’s his name, I think. I look forward; maybe if I ignore him he won’t see me. I don’t like conversations in the morning.
I shine my nails with my breath as I take a hesitant glance his way. Way, way my bad. He sees me. Crap.
The guy walks over, in his pajamas too, red pajama bottoms and a plain white T for a top. To my horror, he sits next to me. I sneak another look at him (he really isn’t that bad looking) before looking at the ocean again.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” He murmurs, so low I can hardly hear him.
I make some sort of agreement noise, not content on talking with him.
“You know, I didn’t take you for a morning person. Then again, my first judgments are never that right on. Especially my first judgment of you.”
Okay, maybe if I stare really, really intently at the ocean he’ll go away and leave me into my own little peaceful and happy world. Maybe.
No such luck as he continues on, completely unaware to me wanting him to leave, “You don’t want to hear what my judgment of you was…?” he waits a few moments, “Well, I’m a morning person, I always have been. Must be recessive genes or something, my mother and father aren’t morning people at all.”
“Shut up,” I plead, pushing one of my fingers against my temple.
“Pardon?” Nate looks at me, his expression unreadable.
“Seriously, shut up.” I lean back on the rock, the pleading tone out of my voice, “You keep talking, I make no attempts to converse back. Yes, I am a morning person. Yes, you are bad at making judgments, yes it is recessive genes and no I don’t care about what you thought about me. Now, please, leave me to my peace and silence. Or you can stay, just shut up.”
He quiets down…but for some reason the silence bothers me.
“So what are you doing out here?” I gesture around us with one of my perfectly manicured hands.
“I always get up and come here, it’s peaceful.”
“Oh, so you’ve been here before?” Oops. I keep forgetting that Lacey and I are the only new juniors this year. Silly me.
“Since I was a measly freshmen dork,” he grins at me.
I give a small snort and turn away from him, “Mhm, sure. Measly freshmen dork. I’m sure you were the most popular kid here.”
He’s quiet for a few moments before he starts again, “Okay maybe I was pretty popular. But still I was a wimpy kid. No muscles, nada. I bet you were pretty damn popular too. With your body I bet—”
I glare at him, my eyes narrow, “I’m sorry would you like to finish that sentence? And for your information, I’ve always been the ‘popular girl’.” I slide off the rock and give him a small tilt of my head as a goodbye, “Next time you see me, don’t insult me.”
“I didn’t insult you! I…” he trails off, as if trying to figure his words.
“Exactly. Goodbye Nate.” I turn my back on him and walk diligently away; my planned peaceful morning having turned out to be awful due to a nonstop talking kid who thinks my body is hot. Great.
~
“I see some of you have your laptops out, good.” Professor Robins smacks her cane against her desk. A loud bang rivets around us all and our eyes are all wide.
Yeah, you heard me. She has our class call her Professor Robins. Not Mrs. or Ma’am or Ms. No, Professor. Plus Robins is about as old as a dinosaur. Her face is completely lined with wrinkles; her skin toned from her Native American background, her hair a thin gray, pulled back in a bun.
I tap my laptop sweetly, an eyebrow arching happily as I glance around the classroom to see a few students with notepads in front of them accompanied by pencils. Jeesh, if only they had looked up the needed supplies for Robin’s class. If only, if only. Oh well, a shame it is. Weirdly enough, I’m the last person in the classroom. Meaning, my last name is Taylor and apparently there are no other letters after ‘T’. Lacey is situated in the front of the classroom, her last name being Elton. No one is behind me; no one is next to me.
I’m utterly lonely.
Robin’s walks to the chalkboard and picks up a stray piece of chalk to begin writing on the board when the door creaks open. I won’t even have you guess who was standing in the doorway. It’s way obvious. So I’ll tell you.
Nate.
You probably already knew, but hey, I clarified didn’t I? Robin’s takes one look at him and points to the back of the classroom, where he then promptly takes a seat next to moi.
“We have to stop meeting so awkwardly Echo.” He whispers, pulling a black Dell laptop from his backpack.
I make some sort of inaudible noise and tap my bubblegum pink HP laptop with my bright red nails. Robins begins some deathly boring lecture about compound sentences and I bite my bottom lip. Around me, kids shuffle in their seats, obviously bored by the lecture as well. Nate clacks his tongue against the roof of his mouth next to me and opens his laptop, turning it on.
I totally don’t want to be like a follower to Nate, but I open my laptop too, hoping because I’m in the back of the classroom I can message Lacey. My computer is already on and I pull up AIM, clicking on Lacey’s name and start clicking my fingers lightly against the keyboard. I watch carefully as Lacey glances slowly at her screen and place her hands precariously on the keyboard to type back.
It’s weird, but I feel like I can feel Nate’s eyes are on my screen. I glance at him. He quickly looks away and begins typing on his own keyboard. Shuddering involuntarily I get a message back from Lacey. I smile and type back, mid sentence before I get another message.
Nathaniel.J@ballingdon.edu.
Gee, I wonder who it is. Turning to Nate, I fully plan on glaring him, except that he’s looking quite seriously at Professor Robins, his hands folded neatly under his chin. I growl in the back of my throat and finish replying to Lacey.
Another message pops up. Also from Nate.
I didn’t realize girls could growl. I thought they only hissed and purred. You know, cat fight. Not dog. Meow.
I lick my lips, glance at Robins and Lacey and type back.
You’re so perverted. First you watch me undress, and now you’re implying that girls are cats? Very sexual.
Next to me, he chuckles. I roll my eyes, of course, and actually try to pay attention to Robins, who is rambling unnecessarily. She’s scribbling with super messy handwriting all across the poor chalkboard. I start to bite one of my nails before I widen my eyes and stop myself as another message pops up. I’m honest to god scared of what his message might say to me.
I’m a dude. You cannot blame me for making things sound perverted. Also, you shouldn’t bite your nails. Very bad for you.
Gee, thanks, I’ll add that to the list of thing I’ll never do as advice from you. Adios Señor, I’m actually going to pay attention.
Quickly, I log off my AIM, leaving poor Lacey alone. I smile wanly at her when she glances back at me for a moment. Poor doll. Nate shuts his laptop with a sigh after reading my message. I feel his gaze on me and I resist looking at him. He looks forward again, we’re both silent.
And the lecture drones on.
