Reading Between the Lines

Chapter 15: You Can Learn Anywhere

I know that feeling all too well. Aarav Patel, the salutatorian of my class, was this obnoxious little egomaniac who told everyone and their mom that he was #2 (not discrediting him, though). And the funny thing is that he used to always make fun of my intelligence and say that I act like a moron. Those words do make their rounds.

But who's laughing now?

I'm kidding. I don't care about ranks, but I know what it's like to deal with annoying people in environments like that.

"There is this major project that the organization is doing, and they're choosing only one intern to be a part of it. And since there are 10 interns, we're all trying our best to be chosen. Sonata, though, has turned this into a 1-on-1 between her and me. So, I wanna win," he declares smugly.

I don't know, considering the fact that he's extremely intelligent and played college sports, his competitive side sounds terrifying.

"But yeah, you guys can go. I gotta beat that little siren at her own game. She can't sing her way into any promotions," he concedes as he rubs his hands together in a scheming, evil laugh at the same time. And as if we have telepathy (well we do), we give him a weird stare. As soon as he sees us give those judgmental stares, he stops and laughs shyly.

"Too much?"

"Yeah," Divya replies snidely. "I think Ryan is rubbing off on you," he claims as she shakes her head. "Ryan has nothing to do with this! You're just too competitive," she denies.

"Now who's Ryan?" I ask curiously. There are already way too many people to keep track of right now. I already mix up their names right now. Now, there's a new person?

"Ryan is my mate!" she answers happily.

"Oh, nice!" I should've known from the bite mark on her wrist. A bit far from the typical location on the neck, but it's cute!

"But anyway, I can't come either. I have swimming practice. But you guys have fun! Since you were in New York before, you'll definitely love downtown. It's so cool," she chirps before she stands up to wash her oatmeal cup in the sink.

"So it's just us 6?" Vaibhav asks. "Yup, looks like it," Vinnie responds, but her eyes widen in realization as she looks up. "Right, we need to ask Prashanth too when he wakes up," she reminds him as he nods. "Oh, I can ask him. He loves downtown, he'll definitely come," he assures her, making her smirk confidently.

"It's baby's day out!" Vaibhav declares happily, making me laugh as I cringe at the joke. "Hey, I'm no baby."

"Figuratively, of course," he quips before everyone starts laughing.

It's been a really long time since I went into any kind of city. I don't know what to expect, but I can't wait to dress cute and see how cool this place is for me!

***

This is awkward.

For someone who likes going out, I can't find anything good to wear. Ugh.

Come on, damn it. Where are the nice tops I got? Everyone else is already fully ready, and then there's me still rummaging through my clothes.

While I go through my pants, my eyes land on a very familiar pair of gray jeans. I don't have to take them out from the pile and identify to know what they are. I wore those on that infamous night.

This world makes me feel really safe. Here, people actually get punished for doing something awful. So I never had to worry about being attacked here. Not to mention, everyone in this world knows how to put up a good fight. Although being here has significantly reduced my fear of the outside world, the memories still come back to me at the most random moments. Even these jeans feel like a blast of the past, and I can still vividly remember how weak my legs felt in them as that vampire subdued me.