A Secret Love Affair

Chapter 4

Sienna opened her computer to find that she had done well in all her art classes but had failed her math quiz. Panic came over her as she realized she hadn't done as well as she expected to.

"How could this happen? I studied! I had straight A's in high school, I had a 4.0 GPA! I got a damn shining futures scholarship. How did I get a failing grade on my first quiz?" She asked herself.

She looked through the quiz, over and over, the failing grade taunting her. With all the change that came with college and courses being harder, she wasn't sure how she was going to get through this. She decided she'd call her best friend back home and vent a little about what was going on. She knew all her friends were probably swamped with school work and after a few rings, she gave up and decided to take a nap instead.

Sienna woke up to the sound of panic coming from Paige's side of the room.

"Shit. What the....Why am I? Oh my God." Paige said, sounding like she was on the verge of tears before running out of the room.

Sienna began laughing uncontrollably. It had taken a full week of patiently waiting for this moment and she was glad she was around to witness it. She knew exactly what had just happened and all she needed was a bag of popcorn to make the moment an even more entertaining show. She grabbed her shower caddy and made her way to the showers for a casual stroll. She'd pretend she was in for a shower and catch the show live and in person. Payback really was a bitch.

Upon walking into the community showers, the echoing sounds of Paige's whimpers led Sienna right to her. Sienna walked around with her caddy, with a smile on her face and eventually was within sight of Paige. Her athletically toned body was red from the scorching hot water hitting her body. She scratched like a dog with fleas.

"Aw, what's wrong? Feeling a bit...itchy? Soap and water work miracles. Is it crabs? Maybe you're allergic to yourself. I mean it wouldn't surprise me if your own body was trying to get away from you." Sienna said, holding back the urge to laugh hysterically.

"Shut up, Sienna! This isn't funny." Paige whimpered, continuing to scratch.

"It can't be that bad." Sienna smirked. "You know there's probably a cream for that itch."

"I know you're totally getting off on watching me naked, Arkansas. You didn't have to go to these extremes to do it." Paige said, clearly pretending she was stronger than her itch.

"Wow! You're more delusional than I thought you were. Listen, I'm a nice person and I won't spread any rumors about you and your....Uncontrollable urge to scratch but if you mess with me again, I promise next time I won't be so nice. Oh and by the way I'm not a fan of slumber parties so find somewhere else to hook up with your little girlfriends." Sienna said, blowing a kiss at Paige while walking away.

Sienna walked out of the showers proud of herself and listened one last time as Paige screamed from the combination of anger and itching.

--

It had been two weeks since the itching powder incident and Sienna was in the middle of a conversation with her parents when she heard the dorm room door slam. She rolled her eyes knowing that this meant her conversation would soon be over.

"Honey, why don't we get you a tutor? I'm sure we can find someone to help you." Sienna's dad said, his voice full of concern for his little girl.

"Dad, no. You're not paying for a tutor, I can handle it. There are labs I can attend, there are workarounds. I just need to focus more or at least just get the hang of college life." Sienna responded, keeping an eye out for Paige who had been awfully quiet the whole time.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Phoenix, it's such a pleasure to hear your voices." Paige said, sounding like a ray of sunshine.

"Sienna! Is that your roommate? She sounds wonderful" Sienna's mom said.

"Ugh. Yes, she's a delight...." Sienna responded, sounding sarcastically.

Feeling like the conversation was going nowhere, Sienna disappointedly ended the phone call with her parents. The last thing she needed was Paige, pushing her buttons getting to her by being extra nice to her parents. She needed to talk to someone about what was going on and even though Andrew wasn't the best at comforting her, maybe some mindless conversation would change her mood.

After three rings, Andrew finally answered the phone. Sienna was sure he wasn't going to answer considering it was very unusual behavior for him to let the phone ring more than once when she called.

"Hey babe, what's up?" Andrew asked, sounding out of breath.

"What's up with you? Why are you out of breath?" Sienna asked, already sounding annoyed.

"You caught me in the middle of a work out. You alright?" Andrew responded, completely oblivious to Sienna's annoyance.

"I just wanted to talk to you about this freaking math class. It's kicking my ass, I just called my parents and-" Sienna was cut off by Andrew but not before she heard someone say something in the background.

"Babe, can we talk about this later? I'm working out with a friend and it would be rude to just drop her for a phone call." He said, now sounding like he was the annoyed one.

Sienna's heart sank. Although she found Andrew annoying sometimes, she had come to rely on him always being there. Even if it was to say really dumb things.

"Yeah, it's fine. Go ahead, finish your workout. We can talk later." Sienna said, trying to hide her disappointment.

"Bye" Andrew said, hanging up in a rush.

"Reason number 127 as to why I don't mess with guys." Paige said, overhearing the conversation. She shook her head in disappointment.

Sienna rolled her eyes, feeling annoyed by Paige's invasion of privacy.

"What number is using girls for sex and then getting rid of them like trash?" Sienna asked, instantly regretting what she said. She knew it had come off harsh but Paige shouldn't have been listening in on her conversations to begin with.

"Wow. You know, for a second there I felt bad for you. Whining like a little puppy about your math grades to anyone who will listen. I almost even offered to help but you're literally the worst." Paige said, snatching her laptop from her desk and throwing on some noise cancelling headphones. She layed in bed and began typing.

Sienna was thrown off by Paige's comment. After the itching powder and all the stare downs they had had it didn't seem like their relationship had improved in any way. She sat there letting the idea of Paige being nice simmer. What did she have under her sleeve?

Trying to distract herself from Paige who was laying right next to her, Sienna began to play a mindless game on her phone. As much as she tried to ignore Paige, she couldn't keep her eyes off her, she could see why girls were attracted to her. Her legs were long and tone, like she had played sports her whole life. Her skin was perfectly tan but being from Florida, it didn't surprise her. Floridians seemed to be eternally tan. Besides her looks being phenomenal, Sienna couldn't help but find her confidence to be something attractive. It was something she had always strived to have. The ability to openly say what you're thinking and not be afraid of repercussions was something she truly admired.

After a few minutes she watched as Paige got up and grabbed a notebook from her desk drawer. She walked over to Sienna and threw it at her. Sienna grabbed the notebook that now sat on her thighs and looked at Paige with confusion.

"You're in MAT1407 right? Here are my notes. I'm taking the class, too. I aced the quiz, consider looking through those, maybe you'll find something that will help you pass the next one." She said, turning around and heading toward the door.

"Why are you being nice to me, Paige?" Sienna asked, still sounding unable to trust her.

"Because there's nothing I hate more than seeing a sappy straight girl walk around moping all day. Trust me, it's more for me than it is for you." She said, rolling her eyes before leaving the room.

How did this end up happening? Two weeks ago she was sure Paige was going to smother her in her sleep and now she was offering to get her out of the hole she had dug herself in math class. Sienna didn't know what was going on but as she looked through the well taken notes, she realized Paige seemed to know what she was doing. Was Paige more than just a lothario with a bad attitude?