I Love You a Latte

Chapter Six

I woke up the next morning with a smile on my face. A smile that I felt could not be wiped off for an eternity. After mine and Sebastian's second exchange in the coffee shop - yes, SECOND EXCHANGE - I couldn't help but wonder if something was going  to come out of it. I hoped and prayed that something actually would, and that him liking me wasn't just a thought inside my overly imaginative head.

It was eight o'clock in the morning, with classes usually not starting until ten o'clock on Tuesdays.  So, I proceeded with my now normal routine of showering, brushing my teeth, applying my make up and getting dressed for the day ahead. Call me a freak, but when it comes to dressing up, I never settle for just average or plain... when I dress up, I like to go très chic, even if it is just going to uni or popping out for a pint of milk. My sister Lucinda had once described my style as being a crossover between preppy and girly yet casual and simplistic. She studies fashion, and loves to critique the styles of different people. That's what I love about her, and miss about her, of course. Sometimes I wish she was here with me, but we would obviously have to be separated at some point.

Once I had perfected my look and felt satisfied with my carefully selected choice of clothing, I heard a heavy knock on my door, which was accompanied by the loud, highly pitched voice of Kiki. "ROOOSSSSIEEEE!"

We went down to the canteen, which was surprisingly not as busy as what it has been. Once seated with our banana and honey oat porridge, we were greeted by Lilly. As you could probably have already guessed, the conversation revolved around one person and one person only... any guesses?

"Soooo?" enquired Lilly, her head tipped to one side whilst using her arm and elbow to support it in an upright position.

"Soooo..." I responded. I knew what she was referring to, but I get so flustered talking about things like this. Especially when the guy I like is basically one of the most beautiful humans I had ever seen in my entire existence - aside from Harry, of course.

Kiki and Lilly both looked at me, shaking their heads. "Oh, come on! You bump in to Sebastian freaking Le Bras for a second time running and you don't have anything to say about it!?"

"I mean... what else is there to say! He complimented the charm on my bracelet and... well... that was it!" I said, sheepishly. Despite knowing that Kiki and Lilly knew damn well about how head over heels I was beginning to fall for him, I didn't want to admit it as I didn't want to seem like I was desperate.

After a couple of minutes, the subject was dropped and we finished our delicious and overly sweet creamy porridge in silence. It was so silent that you could probably hear the drop of a sewing needle. As we dispersed from the canteen, the clouds above had become dull and grey. Kiki, Lilly and I rushed over to our building on the other side of campus before being drenched in the rainstorm that was about to commence. As we entered Mr Clementine's classroom, I couldn't help but feel like everyone was suddenly transfixed by my uninteresting appearance. Rather than dwelling on this unusual occurrence, I chose to shake it off, quickly making haste toward my seat in the second row.

Despite my attempts to disregard all of the unexpected looks I had received, I couldn't help but try to formulate a good reason for all of the soul-crushing stares that had gravitated towards me. After class, I began to verbally unravel the vibes I had gotten from my entire class in a conversation with Kiki and Lilly.

"Come to think of it, I did kind of notice a handful of stares that were thrown towards your direction..." spoke Kiki, her face expressing a look of great confusion towards what felt like an unsolvable mystery.

Lilly chimed in, giving me her thoughts on the whole situation. "I mean, maybe everyone is just admiring your pristine choice of clothing!?"

I appreciated the compliment, truly I did, but I really didn't think it was anything to do with what I had chosen to wear.  "That's never happened before though, so I don't think it's that."

By the end of the day, I felt like I had received stares from over half the girls on campus. I had begun to think it was all in my head, that I was just being paranoid and absurd. That was until I had begun to hear a group of girls whispering next to us as we stood waiting in line for the restroom.

"Oh my god, that's her!" exclaimed a blonde-haired girl who was super tall, about five foot nine, dressed head to toe in what looked like some pretty expensive gear. She pointed towards me as she said this - subtle much!?

I assumed that the much shorter and brunette girl next to her holding a top of the range designer handbag was her friend, for she was the one who had responded. A response that I wish I hadn't heard. "God, that's who Sebastian has been hanging around with? If she can get a man like him, then I really don't know what the world has come to."

I stood in one spot, drifting into an eclipse of hurt and sadness. I couldn't even begin to process the words that had escaped from that girl's mouth. In all my life of reading novels and watching endless amounts of chick-flicks with my sisters, I always thought that the mean girls in them were just a cliche that where a non-existent species in today's society. Yet, this was the day that I was proved wrong. Just like the protagonists in those movies I speak so fondly of, I couldn't understand their motives to speak such horrible words about someone they didn't even know. Unfortunately, that someone was not just anyone, that someone was me.