Blood Ties (Book 3 of The Blood Bond Series)

35. Sting Like A Bee

Quinn was running late to class. She barely made it on time because the professor was running late due to his T.A. getting stuck in L.A. traffic, so she was saved the embarrassment of one of his long-winded speeches on tardiness and 'making the most out of your time in college'. She hadn't had to endure that as of yet, but it was only a matter of time before she did. After this past weekend, she didn't want to start Monday off on a bad note. It was already Monday enough for her.

She bounced her legs to get the lingering jitters out of her system and glanced over at Viv, who was opening up her laptop and scanning a page before glancing up. "Hey." She gave her a smile. "I thought maybe you forgot class. You're usually early."

Quinn shook her head. "Woke up late and found out I had no coffee filters. Had to dig out the French press I forgot Adam bought me. I said I liked coffee once and the idiot went out and got me every apparatus known to mankind to make cappuccino, espresso, and more. I'm surprised he didn't just buy a Starbucks so I could get served for free." She scoffed before pulling her MacBook out of her briefcase.

"Well, aren't there enough along the way? And he's practically crapping out dividends from his rear left and right, too."

"Practically," Quinn stated in a brittle tone. There was something almost distasteful about how much he made financially. His net worth could go up a couple hundred thousand dollars in an hour and it was like nothing to him. It was like trying to place a price on love. Worthless and vain. "I don't care so long as I get caffeine. I tried energy drinks. They taste okay at the beginning, but the aftertaste is what kills me. Can't stand it."

The teacher came in at that time and started class. At some point, they were put into pairs to work on a project they were getting ready to present on production. They would do a written and oral report and have to present it within the last week. It counted for their final, so it was pretty important.

Viv was her partner for the oral report, so they sat together chatting about their next steps before the class ended. They both had their assignments, and they would do their own work and then combine the two to make it even. There was nothing as bad as having a lazy partner and then ending up doing all the work. It had happened to both of them enough times in the past that it was equally infuriating for both. Fortunately, they were responsible students.

When class was over, they left and decided to hit the cafeteria for a snack. Neither of them was a big eater early in the day, and sometimes they both went together to grab a yogurt or something light for breakfast before class. Since that hadn't been an option today, they made their way across the quad into the cafeteria, which was a large building that held some of the dorms as well.

Sitting down to a cup of Greek yogurt with granola and berries each, they placed their bags in front of them on an empty table in the corner. It was far away enough from the conveyer belt that led to the dishwashing area to be quiet, but since they decided on the tiny plastic silverware instead of metal spoons, they only needed to toss the recyclables in the proper bin with the spoon.

As they ate, they talked, a little about their schoolwork, but mostly about the upcoming holidays.

"My parents want me to go home for Thanksgiving. Not gonna lie, I love their turkey, but I'm not a huge fan of flying," Quinn told her friend. "I was given a sedative last time. It's harrowing. I hate being that high up in the air. If anything were to happen, it's not like you just pull over to the side of the cloud and let the other planes go around you." She shivered.

"What did you do when you were living in New York? Bus it?"

Quinn nodded. "Or train. The train wasn't bad at all. Kind of nice. It's on tracks. No traffic, no smelly B.O. from people who think using soap is a personal preference and not a necessity. I mean, it's almost the 22nd century, for crying out loud."