The Checklist (Explicit Version)

Chapter 2

   When I cringed again, it had nothing to do with my headache. But I didn't say that, so I did as I was ordered and ate the omelette. My roommate might be majoring in business, but she sure as hell could cook. I've told her more than once to go to culinary school.

   Nellie Chikovani was Romanian and Russian, and she managed to get the most beautiful features from her roots. With straight blonde hair that ended above her breast, it contrasted with her naturally golden honey skin. She was tall—taller than me—with almost hooded, nearly black eyes. Her nose, on the other hand, had me jealous at most times. When she turned eighteen, she didn't hesitate to book a surgery to change the structure of her nose. Now, she had a cute little button nose.

   We met the first year of high school in our homeroom. It isn't a crazy first-meet story. Remi went to a private school, so I ended up going to my school alone. Nellie had moved from Romania that summer and didn't have anyone to talk to. Thus, making us an inseparable duo, much to Remi's dismay. He never liked Nellie, even though she'd done nothing to him. Heck, she was better than me, with high morals and an even higher judgment for others. Luckily, I was safe from her scrutiny.

   After a few minutes, I cleaned off my plate and emptied two pills from its container. Nellie handed me the water bottle once I put them in my mouth.

   "What happened?" She immediately asked once I swallowed.

   I cracked a smile. "Impatient, are we?"

   "I woke up from my sleep to haul you inside the house. And you couldn't even mumble words, so I've been waiting for this conversation for hours." She paused a moment. "What did Remi do?"

   Her demanding tone made me cough a surprised laugh. "What makes you think it was him?"

   "Okay, Valerie? Did she film you without asking again?" Our roommate was a social media star in the making. Her niches included filming a day in my life, and more often than not, I'd be somewhere in the background.

   "How about both?"

   At my words, Nellie's eyes bulged. Her attention moved over my face, as if to find signs that I was joking. She licked her lips and cleared her throat before standing up.

   "Alright, get up. We're getting coffee before I go to class. We'll talk then."

   She didn't let me argue. She was already running out my door, her blonde hair flying in the wind before she was gone from my sight.

   I squeezed my eyes shut before rolling out of bed. The door to my bathroom was on the wall to my right, also next to the exit. My steps were weak and sloppy before I stopped in front of the mirror, only to choke in horror at my reflection.

   Clearly, I hadn't taken off my makeup last night based on my obvious incompetence. The consequences for this were evident because my eye makeup had me looking like a rabid raccoon. I looked how I felt.

   For the next thirty minutes, I showered, scrubbed my body raw and washed the makeup off my face. I didn't bother to touch my hair so I shoved it into a bun before stepping into my bedroom naked. I'd lost all motivation to dress nicely, so I ended up slipping on black sweatpants and a navy turtleneck sweater before shoving my feet into warm socks. The headache was still there, but now all I could focus on was my body, and how desperate I wanted to slump to the floor.

   But I made it to the front door, where Nellie was already waiting. So once I got into my boots and jacket, we walked ten minutes to the busy street filled mostly of students.

   When we got to Drips Coffee, I ordered my caramel latte and paid for Nellie's drink as well before thanking the barista with a smile. I plopped onto the available couch minutes later, coffee in hand.