Penny For Your Thoughts? [unedited]

c h a p t e r • e l e v e n

Parker Lassiter.

I locked eyes with Parker and began coughing, trying to get the fry (and my sudden shock) out of my throat.

Tommy patted my back as I leaned over.
It caught me off guard to see the guy who watched me down 18 shots in a club we illegally go into, at this prestigious business school. I thought he went to the local college in Tampa or something but no, of course he goes here because my luck couldn't get any worst.

"Is she alright?" Seamus asked seriously, his hands stuffed in the pocket of his pristinely pressed trousers.

"Does she look alright?" Sunny rolled her eyes, which seemed pretty snarky for a girl of her personality traits.

"I don't know, does she usually choke on french fries like that?" He inquired, not a hint of 'joking' in his words.

I waved Tommy away as my throat cleared and I could breath again. I shakily reached for my water and took a sip.

"Sorry," I coughed. "I'm fine."
After getting control of myself, I cautiously look up to Parker, who had a unreadable emotion on his face. I begged him with my eyes not to say anything about the night we met. If my brothers and sister knew that he was the guy I spent a reckless night on the town with, they'd have my head, and then his too.
Fortunately, I believe he got the message when he gave me a sly nod and pursed his lips.

Another figure out of the group of boys stepped from behind Seamus, another familiar face.
Alexander, the guy who refused to stop flirting with Jaylen the entire night, stepped up and looked at all of our faces. When his eyes landed on me, he grew a big smile.

"Hey, look," He pointed. "It's the g—"

"Weavers!" Parker shouted over his obnoxiously loud friend, while yanking Alex closer to him. "It's the Weavers. You guys are legends around here. We're freshmen, so it's pretty cool to finally meet you guys. Especially you, Thomas." He played it off, a nervous smile on his face.
He was probably aware of the danger he was in.

"Thank you," Tommy said. "And please, it's Tommy."

Before Parker could reply, Seamus stepped in front of him.

"Alright, can we table the palaver and get back to the matter at hand? Are you guys coming or not?"

We shared questioning glances before replying simultaneously.

"Not."

He shrugged as if he didn't care, but we knew we hit a nerve.
"That's fine. Enjoy the rest of your day."

We watched as he walked away, even his stride screamed 'snotty rich boy'. His crew of privileged man children followed behind him, but there was only one I had interest in. Parker turned to look at me, and our eyes locked. I instantly turned away, hiding my crimson cheeks behind a waterfall of my long brown locks. As I glanced down the avoid his gaze, I caught a sight of the time on my phone.

"Oh, shit." I quickly grabbed my things, stuffing my phone, wallet, and keys into my bag before throwing the straps over my shoulders.

"It's 9:45, we gotta go!" I panicked before pulling Sunny out of her chair. She stuffed the rest of her food into her mouth before grabbing her bag and following me (as if I knew where I was going).

"Bye, guys!" I yelled over my shoulder, not bothering to look back.

"Good luck!" Benny shouted back with an amused smile on his face.

***

Sunny and I made it to the lecture room just before 10:00, but by the looks of it, we were quite early. There were about 5 other students in here, and even the teacher was absent.

"Where is everyone?" I whispered to Sunny as we walked in and took two available seats near the back of the room.

"This course isn't very popular. Sure, it's an easy A but it's boring. Not many people choose it." She shrugged while reaching into her bag.

I looked around again as the room grew quiet, except for a few sniffles and coughs here and there. I grabbed a pencil and notebook from my bag and began to mindlessly doodle, hoping for the professor to arrive sooner or later.

"So, whats it like being the hot talk of the campus?"

I looked up to Sunny with confusion on my face.
"Pardon?"

She squinted. "You can't be serious. Even I'm not that oblivious!"

"Care to elaborate?" I asked, setting down my pencil.

"You're the new mysterious Weaver sister! Anything involving the Weaver family is a sure hit in the gossip columns."

I rolled my eyes and went back to doodle.
"What is with you people and your obsession with my family?"

"Well, you're all smart, rich, relatively nice, and unusually hot. Like, your family genes are so perfect that they're teetering quintessential with a small hint of idiosyncratic."

"Come on, we're a normal family...in one way or another."

She shrugged and turned in her seat.
"Whatever you say."

I thought she'd drop the subject but instantly flipped back into interrogation mode.

"Why didn't you enroll in August like the rest of the freshman? Rumor is, you were in rehab."

"Rehab?!" I choked. "No, hell no! I just went to a different college."

Her eyes glanced down to the drawing I was doodling, and her lips tugged into a smile.
"Art college, I presume."

I didn't answer, but she already knew.

"What happened?"

I sighed as my heart pained to even think of SCAD.
"Nothing that matters now."

I assume she took my tone of voice as a hint to back off, because she instantly slouched into her seat and pursed her lips.
I frowned and glanced over to her.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be a bitch. My life before Wadlington is just a sensitive subject."

"I'm sorry too, I don't mean to pry. And I'm usually not this nosy and obnoxious. It's just that—" She sighed and tucked small strands of hair behind her ears.
"You're the first person to talk to me and be my friend since August."

"Really? You're so nice, I'm surprised that you don't have friends lining through the door."

"A lot of the kids here don't want to be friends with someone who isn't rich. My Mom worked 3 jobs and saved up for 15 years to get me into this college. I'm going to graduate and make her proud, with or without friends."

I have to say, I admire her dedication. The people who aren't friends with Sunshine are missing out on someone wonderful.

"Well, you have one friend. And if you're friends with one of the Weavers, you friends with all of the Weavers."

a/n
lol sorry for the short chapter
should the go to the kegger?
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-eboni