While You Were Teaching

Chapter 7- The Surprise in Room 107

"So why did we have to leave the party so early last night?" I ask Blake, while critically eyeing the two shirts laid out on my bed.  Today is the first day of classes at UCLA and I want to look perfect.  Smart, but not too smart.  Put together, but not too put together. I want to dress up but not have it look like I am in fact dressing up.  On the first day of any given year in high school, everyone always dressed in their brand-spanking new clothes that they had bought over the summer.  I used to wear my old boring last year clothes on the first day of school and wear my new clothes on the second or third day of classes when everyone else went back to looking like crap.  But today was different.  I was giving in to the masses and actually putting thought into my outfit today.

Blake was applying her eyeliner, but she turned around so that she could face me.

"The Waldorfs."  Blake rolls her eyes dramatically. "Those bitches showed up last night and started complaining to the security about why their name cards were mysteriously missing.  Apparently Rome wasn't as interesting this year because they decided to leave two days early so that they wouldn't miss this year's Gala.  Headset #1 said she vaguely remembered someone claiming to be Patricia Waldorf earlier in the night, so they were planning on checking ID's right before dinner.  If someone had spotted our name cards at dinner, we would have been totally screwed so I thought it in our best interest to bail."

I flash back to Dominic's kisses when Blake says "our best interest".  Her best interest, maybe.  My best interest, probably not.  I still hadn't responded to any of Dominic's texts yet.  I wasn't sure yet what I was going to tell him.

"And what about Ryan Gosling?  Was it in your best interest to leave him?"  I grab the white floral crop top from Topshop off the bed and put it on. 

"Oh, Ryan.  I never got within 5 feet of that man.  He had his security surrounding him the entire night.  He had this really cute bodyguard, though.  I tried flirting with him to see if he would introduce me to Ryan but he kept saying he would lose his job if he let anyone talk to him.  Such a killjoy!"  Blake finishes her cat-eye look and smiles brightly at the mirror.  Blake is lucky that she loves first days.  She is actually excited to meet new people. I, on the other hand, am downright terrified. 

I woke up today a bucket of nerves and have been feeling queasy ever since.  Whenever I get really nervous, my mouth tastes like pennies and anything I eat tastes like copper, which is why I will be skipping breakfast today.

"Oh Blake. I'm sorry." I say, my voice muffled by the fabric covering my face. "What do you think of this shirt?"

"His loss."  Blake shrugs. "Hmm it's a little too preppy and girly for my tastes. You know what? I have a shirt in my closet that looks really similar to that but is much prettier than that shirt. Let me grab it." Blake saunters over to her closet.  Oh, Blake. Tactful you are not.

My phone beeps and I grab it off my desk. Three New Text Messages.

Mom: Have a great first day, sweetie. I'll be thinking of you! Call me after 7 and you can tell me all about your day.

Me: Okay. :)) Love you!

The other two messages are from Dominic.  I guess I can't avoid him any longer. I scroll down and find his messages.

Dominic: Hey.

Dominic: Were you at the UCLA Alumni Gala last night?

Me: Yeah, that was me. Crazy coincidence, huh?

I crack my knuckles, waiting anxiously for his response.  Blake is throwing shirts, pants, scarves out of her closet and they are beginning to cover the floor.  We may have a small closet just like any other college dorm room but you wouldn't know it with all the crap Blake has managed to fit in there.  My breath catches when I hear my phone beep again.