Miles Within Constellations

Chapter 2

I killed my phone's power button and fished for my curriculum books. I threw them inside the backpack that's sitting on the top of my study desk.

"Wanna tell me who texted and he texted what?" Carrie's voice was barely above a whisper.

"No," I let out an exasperated sigh.

"Okay. Let's go to class," Carrie swept the matter under the rug. The thing had already perished in thin air. I pulled on my boots and she locked the apartment on our way out.

"Okay," I silently wrapped arms with her as we made our way in the unknown land of literature and mysterious pale, dark-haired boys.

"Lee, will you stop looking behind your back and concentrate?" Carrie chastised me and I rolled my eyes to the back of the lecture hall. She can't tolerate the rolling of my eyes at her. She was defiant and bossy.

"What are you thinking?" Carrie stalled as the professor was busy scribbling the concepts of romanticism.

"Nothing," I blew out a long breath, wriggling my nose and nervously push loose stands of my hair behind my ears.

"Oh. You're definitely looking for that blue-eyed guy whom you trance eyes with, huh?" She laughed.

"What? I do no such thing! Either you can ask your questions or justify your statements," I rolled my eyes at her this time.

"Girls at the back, yes you two," Mr. Freyer pointed a finger at us. "What's the first structure of romanticism?" Mr. Freyer snapped from the front of the whiteboard holding his black marker in hand. He was thumping the small nozzle of the pen against the board in frustration. He was somewhere in his late- fifties but he's got really good eyesight. He wouldn't let anything fly past him.

We both froze in our respective seats. I twitched my fingers as I stood up just to respect him and form an incoherent sentence about how romanticism works and about the constant fight between good and bad and conscience and everything else. That's all I picked up from my distracted state in today's lecture.

Mr. Freyer shook his head at me and told me to pay attention in class. He went back to lecturing the values related to romanticism. Carrie chuckled in her seat because she never got the burnt of the situation. I gave her a glare and she smirked back.

Before sitting back down at my seat, I took a glance in the back where he was usually seated, but the chair remained vacant, so I sighed and finally averted my attention back to the lecture.

"Lee, will you get me a chai latte? I'll find us a good table," I nodded at Carrie as I looped my fingers in the backpack I was carrying on my back. It suddenly felt heavy. We both just got piled with assignments that we're destined to finish and submit by the end of this week. I came face to face with so many lingering deadlines.

I made my way to the counter in the cafeteria that was inside the university campus. There was a line forming and I somehow got stuck at the very back of the queue. The queue was bustling as well as the cafeteria with lovers, freshers, people who never attended classes, people living in campus dorms, and people who were visiting someone in the college.

A sudden rush flowed through my right shoulder as I jolted my hand in response. I saw my blue linen shirt overflowing with coffee. I started cussing and rubbing the place which felt to be burnt when two strong hands removed them from the point of assault. The broad muscles were taking me away from the queue. I was trying to protest, but before I could, I was being led away from the sea of masses and sweaty bodies and curious eyes in the cafeteria.

Suddenly, as if I was tethering on the verge of conscience and tripping in my own shoes, I also started checking out the guy in front of me. His aqua green shirt touched his upper body in all the right places and his ripped blue jeans accentuated his long, sculpted legs which helped him in taking really large steps.