Learn to Live, Learn to Love

Chapter 1

After a moment of bewilderment, and desperate attempts to suppress a blush, Eve simply kept talking, thinking perhaps the rambling would irritate her seatmate, but Saphira simply stared.

"—and on top of that, Texas really could— What?" Eve asked in the middle of her thought.

"You do like to talk, Jesus."

Eve winced.

"You're cute though, when you ramble? Your eyes get somethin' in 'em that's hard to ignore." Saphira admired.

"I don't really—" Eve tried

"What were you staring at while I was introducing myself?"

Eve huffed at the interruption, "Birds" she answered shortly, "I apologize if I've offended you."

Saphira seems taken aback by the sudden change in demeanor, but simply leaned to rest her chin in her palm.

"Favourite—"

"Ladies!" Mrs. Liveling's voice rang out, "I appreciate that it is new and exciting to meet someone new, but please, don't make me move you."

Eve immediately apologized and made to pay attention, but the persistent pokes in her ticklish side caused her to notice the note in front of her.

Favourite Colour? Was written in a disorganised scribble, she grabbed the sleeve of her royal blue sweater pointedly.

Mine's green. :) What's your family like??

Eve sighed, and in her neatest scrawl, wrote out Dad's the Reverend, no siblings, mom walked out.

Sorry to hear even your handwriting is pretty. Got any pets?

Ami, my canary

I've got a cat back home, Saphira wrote, unfortunately only my gecko could follow me here.

Eve didn't answer, so Saphira tried a new line of conversation, Why Eve if your dad's a Reverend?

I prefer not to disclose that to strangers.

Hey, fair enough, sorry.

With that the lesson continued uninterrupted. When the teacher allowed talking over a worksheet, Eve turned to the tanned girl and asked, "Do you know the story behind your own name?"

"My name has a bible story?" Saphira questioned, smiling and resuming her position with her head in her hands.

"Ananias and Sapphira," Eve began, "Sold a plot of land and both knowingly withheld a portion of the profits, which they were supposed to donate to the church. The were both killed."

"A bit harsh if you ask me." Saphira said. Though she had never heard the story, the way she was staring pointedly at Eve's lips suggested she was not leaning in for the education.

"Well, it happened so..." Eve said, turning away slightly, blushing.

The bell rang and Eve began packing her things. She started to leave, but when a hand grabbed her arm, she shook roughly out of the grip and to face what she assumed was an attacker, only to find Saphira looking a little startled.

"Woah there chief, I was just wondering if you'd show me the way home? I got here this morning, but this town's got a lot of twists and turns and I got turned around a whole bunch. Since you've lived here you're whole life I thought maybe you could show me a better way?" She'd relaxed through the question, but still moved as though she was approaching a feral cat.

Eve forced herself to visibly relax, "Sure," She said "Where do you live?"

Saphira looked down at her arm as if the answer should be written there, then furrowed her brow, before looking back up at Eve, and slowly reciting the address, "3400 Peccatum street."