The Academy

Chapter 8

Nicola's POV

I groaned as I felt the sun light on my eyes. I turned over and snuggled deeper into the pillows. The floral scent of the pillows relaxed me even more. Wait! I don't have floral scented pillows. I squinted my eyes open to look around. I stared at the wall and realized that my dorm room was not painted light blue. Shit! I pulled the covers down and sighed in relief when I saw that I was still fully clothed. I held my breath while slowly turning over. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion since the right side of the bed was empty. I sat up on my elbows and observed the room. I saw a bottle of Icelandic water and a bottle of Advil on the side table. I quickly took them to ease my subtle headache.

Directly across from the bed was a tv built into the wall and a floating tv stand. A Wii and Xbox rested on the stand. A potted plant, books, and ceramics decorated the stand as well. To my right, I saw a hammock chair and a plush white couple couch. The desk was neatly organized with only a laptop and writing supplies present. I turned to my right to see a built in bookshelf. But instead of books being displayed, the shelf was cluttered with numerous trophies; tennis trophies to be exact. A door was slightly opened, so I leant forward to see that it was the bathroom. I then looked up, past the chandelier, to see a loft area. I scooted farther back so I could see upstairs better. I saw a piece of clothing so I assume that the closet is upstairs.

"You're awake." I jumped in surprise at the voice. My head darted to the right to see Alicia enter with a cup in her hands. "Umm... I see that you've taken the Advil. I went to get you some tea to settle your stomach." She handed it to me before sitting opposite me on the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Better since the Advil has started to kick in." I smiled. I was surprised when she returned my smile, but it was short lived since her face contorted into a stoic expression.

"What do you remember?" She hesitantly asked. I put my pointer finger to my chin as I tried to recall last night's events.

"I went with my friends to a frat party. I was having a fun time and got really drunk. I started to not feel well so I went to sit down and that was when I really started to feel bad. Then, this guy started hitting on me and I tried to reject him, but he wouldn't take the hint. He then took me upstairs and..." My eyes bulged and my hands covered my mouth. Alicia suddenly grabbed my hands and held them. Her hands were soft like pillows. She comfortably stroked my hands.

"He was only able to kiss you and possibly grope you." She murmured the last part. "I entered before he could... ya know." She awkwardly looked away. "Anyways, I called the chief of police and he will be arrested."

"Thank you." I genuinely meant it. "But you might as well let him go." I awkwardly chuckled.

"Why would I do that?" She was confused.

"Because I don't have any money for a lawyer and even if I did, he has more money and would drown my family in debt."

"I figured you'd say that. That's why I decided to sue him on your behalf."

"Really?" I gazed into her ocean eyes. She smiled and nodded. Something overtook me and I leant forward and embraced her. She was stunned so it took her a moment to reciprocate the hug. "Sorry." I said when I broke off the hug.

"Don't worry about it. Actually, it's 11:30. I'm pretty sure you're probably hungry and it's too late to offer you breakfast. How about you get ready and I take you out to eat?"

"Oh, I don't have any clothes-"

"You'll find new clothes in the bathroom. Also, leave your dress. I'll have it dry cleaned and return it to you tomorrow."