The VIRGIN STRIPPER

33

****Lisa Michaels****
Looking out the window at Gracie's, I sighed and tapped my pen absently on the table.

The fact that Cole was late by almost half an hour didn't faze me as much as what I'd left behind.

When I'd walked into the apartment at a quarter past nine, I found Ella sat by the toilet, dishevelled to no extend.

Her eyes had been red and puffy and by the looks of things, she'd been crying her lungs out.

I'd tried talking to her but being as pathetic as I were when it came to conversations and comforting, all I got was that she was hurting very much from all the crying she'd been up to— hurting from what exactly, I couldn't tell.

When I woke up this morning I'd managed to get her to eat something and I noted with a lot of worry that she looked pale. I'd tried to get her to go to the hospital but all she said was that she was fine and that heartbreaks didn't need doctors to heal so I eventually gave into letting her sleep the whole day in.

When my eyes turned from the window to scan my vicinity, I sighed. Now I also had to be mad at Cole for standing me up for half an hour — and counting.

I took out the study notes that I'd downloaded earlier and scanned them carelessly. I seriously had no idea what any of the terms meant.

Thinking about Ella just threw me off. Would she allow it if I asked her to stay with me? She could always drive my car or take the subway to and from the campus everyday. It would even save her the trouble of staying alone and I would have someone else to worry over other than myself.

Smiling at the idea, I quickly made myself take a note to suggest this to her once I went back home.

"Hey?" Came Cole's voice and for a moment I was tempted to roll my eyes.

Only he had the guts to sound so casual after standing me up for more than thirty minutes.

"Hi." I replied quietly before placing the rest of my study notes on the table as he took a seat opposite me.

"What's wrong?" His question suddenly reminded me of how close we were before I moved back to my hometown.

He'd always known when I wasn't alright and for a second I was worried at the familiarity and warmth that had washed over me when he asked me if I was okay.

"Nothing." I said without looking at him, "I have a few questions over last night's study questions." I told him as I pulled out the paper I was supposed to read. "Why does number four have a different answer from six and thirteen yet all of them have a similar question?"

The question had been eating me up ever since I came across the problem. That and Ella's condition. What could have been so wrong with her?

Cole took a minute as if studying me before he pulled out a sheet of paper from his bag. "Well, you see, Latin is one of the oldest languages therefore, one statement may have a variety of answers. In this case, number four has the recent translation because the question is not in depth although it basically asks the same as number six and thirteen. The difference between number six and thirteen is caused by context and not entirely on translations and the time since the concept is from the near past."

"That's just confusing," I blew out a breathe and groaned. "Isn't there a standard way to have all the translations and contexts put together without having a whole variety of them lapping over each other?" I asked out of frustration.

"Lisa, it's the same thing that happens with Greek and Hebrew. You love those languages. How is it so different with Latin?" I huffed as I saw the answer forming in his eyes before I could even get to answer him.