Deep Roots

18 ⭐ The Facts

18 ⭐ The Facts

Tuesday, January 11.

My first day of college.

Err... my first day of my second semester of college or my fourteenth first day going back to school.

I'm taking the least amount of hours I ever have and even chose classes that will probably have a low workload.

But out of all my first days, this is still the one I've dreaded the most.

Grade school's first days were easy. You went to classes with people you've known your whole life, you listened to your teachers as they held your hand and guided you through each assignment, and then you went home.

College first days are not so easy. You go to classes full of people you've never seen before, you listen to a professor lecture at a mile a minute for sixty minutes straight, you hope the quiz reflects the small amount you managed to take notes on, and then you go home.

Not exactly what I'd call fun, but there's no way around it. College is practically a rite of passage to become an adult now and as I walked into a large lecture hall already filled with a few dozen strangers, I really wished it wasn't.

I took a seat in an empty spot near the middle of the room and set my things out. One plus to college is that you never have to talk to anyone or introduce yourself in front of the class like in high school.

With a two-seat buffer on each side, I was ready to completely shut out the rest of the students and focus solely on the professor.

An hour and fifteen minutes later, the class syllabus and expectations were thoroughly explained and we were free to go.

I picked up my things quickly and hurried towards the exit.

"Bella!"

There goes my plan to ignore everyone.

I turned to see Manny, surrounded by a group of people, sitting atop one of the tables. He waved for me to come over and smiled.

Some of Manny's friends stared at me and my face flushed with heat.

Did Manny tell them he had kissed me? Could they just tell? Did I look like someone who'd already had their first kiss?

"This is Beck's sister," Manny introduced me as I approached. His friends mostly nodded or said hi and then went back to talking about whatever to each other.

I breathed out deeply through my nose and fought the urge to fan my face. I'm sure the red splotches were bad, but acknowledging them would only bring more attention to them.

"I didn't know you were in this class," he said.

"Uh, yep, haha... I am," I replied awkwardly.

"That's cool." He nodded. " So, a couple of us are going to go hang out at the campus cafe for a bit... you should join."

"Oh," I said, disappointed, "I actually have another class in a few minutes..."

"Maybe next time then?" He suggested.

I nodded, "sure."

He smiled and stood up from the desk. "See you around," he said over his shoulder as he slowly walked away.

"See ya."

I stood there for a moment trying to process Manny's behavior.

How could he act so nonchalantly? Had he not kissed me just yesterday? I mean, sure he did it to draw me out of a panic attack, but did it really mean nothing to him?