Colors of Love

2 - Beige

"True," he said. We began walking towards the apartment again. For a long moment, there was silence. I wasn't much of a talker. I wouldn't say that I wasn't a friendly person; I just wouldn't describe myself as extroverted. I could be polite and make conversation when I wanted to. But if I wasn't in the mood, I found it difficult to make even small talk. I was definitely an introvert and this was definitely one of those moments where I didn't feel like talking.

 "I haven't seen you around since I first ran into you," he said.

"I've been cooped up in my apartment getting second-hand high," I replied, accidentally blurting out the last part of the sentence. I felt my face flush as I bit my lip.

"Second-hand high?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow. Then his eyes widened slightly. "Is your apartment the one that always smells like a dispensary when you walk past it?" he asked. I let out a small groan.

"So other people notice it, too?" I asked. He chuckled and nodded. "My roommate is a pothead. And I don't know how to tell her to stop smoking in the apartment," I said. 

"Gotta love California and its legalization of recreational marijuana," Sebastian said. "You should just be open about it. Before I decided to room with Elliot and James, I had some horrible roommates," he told me. 

"Yeah, I'll probably talk to her today. There's no way I'll be able to study in my apartment if she keeps that up," I said.

"Well, if you need a place to study, the library is awesome. But I know of some hole-in-the-wall coffee shops around here that not many students know about. I like studying in those because they're usually quiet," he said. 

"I might have to take you up on that offer," I huffed. 

"I can't believe we're talking about studying on the first day of classes," he laughed. I felt a small smile creep up onto my lips.

"I swear I'm not a nerd," I said. He laughed again.

"What's your major?" he asked.

"Social work and psychology double major," I replied. 

"Interesting," he said with a nod. "I'm a biology major. Pre-med," he said, rolling his eyes. 

"Nice," I said. 

"It kind of sucks. This year's going to be rough since I have to study for the MCAT. I'm basically going to be a loser all year and just study all the time," he said.

"It's okay. I'm taking 18 credit hours because I have to catch up in my programs so I can finish on time. I'll be studying all the time, too," I said. 

"Well, at least I won't be the only one," he said with a small grin, nudging me in the arm. I smiled at him, but moved away from him slightly. He was getting too friendly.

We got to the apartment building and he opened the door for me. I thanked him and we went inside. 

"I'll see you around, Sebastian," I said, going to my apartment.

"Have a good first day of classes," he told me with a smile, going towards his place. I grimaced and nodded, pushing open the door to the familiar stench of marijuana.

After an hour, I was showered and dressed and walking out of the apartment. I made sure to spritz a few extra sprays of perfume on in case any scent of marijuana lingered on me. I didn't want my professors to get a whiff of something that wasn't mine and ruin my reputation before I had a chance to make one. 

I started on the long trek to my first class. As I walked, I noticed that a lot of people were riding around on bikes, their backpacks on their backs. I made a mental note to look into buying a bike. It looked like it would come in handy and it would definitely save time walking to class. In the previous week, I had made sure to walk to all of the buildings where I would have class so that I could time how long it would take me to get from one place to another. Some of my walks ended up taking around thirty minutes, especially from my apartment. So having a bike would be helpful, especially if I was ever running late.