An Opened Mind

What?

"Bye B! See you in a bit." I turned around to wave goodbye to my best friend. Once she walked off, I made my way to my first course of the Spring semester--Biology. I'm not that great at sciences, but Biology is my major so I figure I better pass with flying colors. My plan was to definitely befriend some smart folks; well, at least try. 

As I walked down the hallway, I saw a friendly and familiar face. His smile was a mile wide. "Hey Vince!", I squealed returning the expression. "Hey, Brandy. How you been?" He asked opening up for a hug. "Ahhh, the usual. Just chillin'. What's up with you?" "I'm just headed to Biology. I have Sam Rayers." "Same!"

Vince was in my College Experience class last semester and he was really friendly and I found him easy to talk to. I'm somewhat shy with a pinch of social anxiety, so it's rare for me to be able to hold long conversations, especially with people I barely know. 

When I walked into the classroom, I analyzed the lanky professor in front preparing materials for the rest of class. He was tall, pale and had a slouch. 

'That's not gonna look good ten years from now.' I thought to myself.

Since I was anxious about being in a new environment with so many--and I mean many--new faces, I followed Vince to the back of the class and sat in the black, plastic desk right next to him. The students in the room were relatively quiet except for one girl in the front, left corner of the class. She kept going on and on about how she recognized a few people in the room. When she pointed them out, they each nodded their heads and continued to wait on the professor to begin class. 

'Shut up', I thought. I was getting tired of hearing her nasally voice. 

It was 1:50 pm and there was still ten minutes till class started and people continued to pour into the room. I was starting to get bored, so I turned to Vince to start a conversation, but he was locked into his cell phone. To pass the time, I decided to see if any of the guys walking in were worth looking at. I had no luck until one boy walked into the full room; somehow it felt like it was only him and I in the room and time froze. He had an extremely high stature, blonde hair and piercing eyes.  He had a soft, welcoming face that looked like it came straight from a department store catalog. I'm not sure if I'd ever seen anyone that beautiful before.

To my surprise and discomfort, he sat in front of me and was faced to the side so I could see his profile. I didn't want to get caught staring so I quickly lowered my head into my empty notebook.

"Hey, I'm Brandon. I had a quick question. Do you know how much the textbook cost for this class?"

'Oh my god. Even his voice is perfect.' 

I was sure he wasn't speaking to me, so like an idiot, I kept my head low.

He let out a chuckle. "Excuse me."

Slowly, I raised my head from its previous position and looked at him. "Oh, you were talking to me? Sorry. What'd you say?"

'As if I don't know.'

"It's fine. I just wanted to know how much the textbook was for this class." "Oh it's a little over a hundred bucks, but you can get it online for a lot cheaper. I got mine for like, 40 dollars."

He smiled with enthusiasm. 'Gosh that smile!' 

"Really?! Where?" I proceeded to tell him where I got it from and he thanked me. We were about to start a real conversation until the professor interrupted us by beginning his lecture. Brandon turned back around and my heart sunk. I was definitely NOT done talking with that beautiful face. 

"Good afternoon students. I'm Professor Rayers and this is BSC1010, or to simplify, Biology 1. I'm not going to lie and say this is an easy course, but if you pay attention and take good notes, you should do just fine."

Paying attention was the last thing I was doing. I couldn't wait to get out of class so I could tell my best friend about the man God decided to bless me with on this fine, Monday afternoon. He had tiny freckles on his back, peeking through his American Eagle tank top and branching out to his broad shoulders and toned arms. He was damn sure the finest white boy I had ever seen.

I was knocked out of my trance when the door opened--loudly--and slammed--loudly. In walked an average built, but tall, Asian kid with glasses and lengthy jet black hair. I looked at the clock and it was already 2:50; class started almost an hour ago. He could have stayed home. He looked around the class for a spot to sit in and chose the empty desk next to mine. 

We made brief eye contact and he sat down, but that was it.

Time went on pretty fast even though the professor's lesson seemed to be tedious as it was carried out in his monotonous voice. Before I knew it, it was already 3:15 and time to leave. 

"I'll see you guys on Wednesday. Have a great day, class."

I got up with my bag and enormous textbook in hand and walked down the isle behind Brandon, headed for the door. He was so cute and I was glad that I was able to speak to him, even if it was just for a little bit. Sadly, there was no way I was gonna be able to start another conversation up again. I was too nervous.

I was on my way out the door when I tripped, nearly falling flat on my face. Luckily, I caught myself even with the extra weight of the textbook. 

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to step on your shoe! I swear." It was the Asian kid. I was annoyed, but I'm not one to make someone else uncomfortable for mistakes they've made. I threw on a smile.

"You're fine. It's all good." I have him a reassuring tap on the shoulder and continued out of the classroom. I was so happy to get out because I was extremely embarrassed. Tripping, especially in front of groups of people, was NOT my favorite thing. 

With my head down, I rushed down the hallway and almost didn't notice someone standing in front of me. I came to an abrupt stop and looked up. 

If red would show up on my dark brown cheeks, I definitely would not be able to hide my blushing. It was Brandon, smiling down at me.

"Hey." He stated calmly with a Cheshire Cat grin. "Hey!" I tried to sound cool, calm and collected, but I failed. "You know, you forgot to tell me your name."

'Oh yeah.'

"My name's Brandy."

"Great name. I meant to tell you this in class, but I didn't want to speak over the professor. I just wanted to say that you're really pretty. Just a compliment."

'Is this real?'

"Hello?" "Oh, I'm sorry. Thank you so much! You're not too bad yourself." I said cowering my face. 

'What are you talking about?! He's amazing! You're so dumb.'

He let out a small laugh and showed off his precious smile, once again. "Thanks, I guess. Anyways, I don't want to seem too forward, but can I grab your number?"

To be honest, he could've grabbed anything he wanted.

"Yeah! Sure!'

'Could you sound any more desperate?'

We exchanged numbers and he told me he'd text me later. I was on Cloud 9 and I was almost positive no one could bring me down. 

I made my way down the hallway and saw my best friend waiting for me. "Anna!" She looked up from her phone and appeared to be confused as to why I was so excited. "Ha! What the hell is going on with you?" She asked.

"Girl wait till I tell you what just happened!" I grabbed her arm and proceeded to tell my story while we headed out of the building. As we walked through the double doors, I noticed a pair of eyes burning holes into my head. 

The Asian kid.

'What? '