I turned and faced a girl. She was really pretty, with a small face and big eyes and perfectly straight brown hair. Jennifer was her name, I believed. I didn't really know why she was in this building because she wasn't an athlete, but I supposed that I couldn't judge too heavily, since I wasn't one either. Jennifer was the head of River's fan club of ditzy girls who went to every soccer game and still didn't know how the game was played.
"What?" I asked rather plainly.
She flipped her hair over her shoulder and looked me up and down. "What are you doing trespassing in this building?"
I ignored that. She might be able to help me.
"I'm looking for River."
"River Alves?"
"How many other 'Rivers' do you know?"
She scoffed and looked me up and down. "I don't know who you are, but he doesn't need a nobody like you following him like a stupid fangirl," Jennifer said. "I suggest you head back to the science building and stay out of his way."
I tightened my grip on my book. I needed to keep my temper in check.
"Who are you?" I asked her.
"Excuse me? You don't know who I am?" asked Jennifer.
Of course, I knew who she was. "Nope."
Jennifer stepped closer. What was with bullies and getting inside personal space?
"Don't go near him, freak."
Was that the worst name that Jennifer could come up with? I was hoping for something more creative.
I let Jennifer walk away. Aiden taught me long ago to choose my battles wisely, and this was not one that I needed to fight now. Its time would come later.
I turned down a hallway, and then I saw it: the unmistakable long, wavy dark hair of River Alves. It was my lucky day!
"River!" I half-shouted, marching toward him.
Thankfully he was alone, because he'd be fuming if I approached him in front of his team, I assumed. In the short time before he recognized me, he seemed tired, but it turned into a dull anger when he realized who was calling his name.
"Leave me alone." He kept walking.
"I have less than an hour to meet with the landlord now," I rushed to say, trying to keep up with him as he walked down the hallway with large strides. Curse his tallness. "And I work until late, so we have to do it now or tomorrow."
He stopped and turned toward me. I had successfully gained his attention and managed not to run into him during his sudden stop.
"Now?"
"Now! Do you have class?"
"No. I'm free until practice at four."
"Then we should go! The sooner we meet the landlord, the sooner we can sort this out."
"You're right," he said. "I don't want to spend a second longer living with you."
"That makes two of us," I huffed, matching his anger with my own, even if his words stung a bit. Not that they had reason to, I thought.
Without another word, we walked out of the back door of the athletic center and headed towards the parking lot.
"Meet you there," I said, and River nodded.
We got in our cars and drove to the apartment which was luckily about five minutes from campus. River was already going inside the apartment complex's office as I parked.
I entered to find River standing at the desk of the landlord. The landlord, Mr. Graves, was a plump old man who looked like he'd rather be eating nails than talking to River.
I mean, same though.
"Mr. Graves," said River in a polite tone that I'd never heard before, "we would like to discuss our contract with you."
"You kids don't know how to make an appointment?" Mr. Graves grumbled.
"We will only take a few minutes of your time," River explained sweetly, even throwing in a dashing smile.
Mr. Graves let out a deep sigh. "Fine. We'll talk here. What do you want?"
River opened his backpack and took out a stack of papers that I recognized as the contract. Had he really been carrying it around?
"You see, sir," began River, "we got the same contract for the same apartment, but neither of us knew that we'd get a roommate."
"So?"
"So... uh..." River's confidence disappeared for some reason. He fumbled over the contract in his hands. "We need separate apartments..."
Mr. Graves snatched the contract from River's hands, skimmed a few pages, and then shoved it back in River's face, pointing at a sentence.
"Read here."
River took it, and I read silently over his shoulder.
"'Possible roommate to be given,'" River read. He glared up at the landlord. "That's it? You expected us to catch that?"
"If you didn't see it before signing the contract, that's your fault," said Mr. Graves. "I offered the apartment cheaply, so you are both paying for it together."
"This is ridiculous!" said River loudly, slamming the contract down onto the desk. His smile was long gone. "You can't do this!"
"I can't help that you can't read," retorted Mr. Graves.
"We'd like to terminate the contract," said River through clenched teeth.
"No can do," said Mr. Graves. "Surely you remember paying the six-month deposit?"
"Then give back my money!" shouted River.
"This contract is sealed for six months. You should have read more carefully. Now, get out of my office unless you have a problem with the apartment."
River stormed out of the office without another word or a glance at me. I followed in his wake.
"Are we really stuck like this?" River shouted as he stood outside, squinting in the harsh sunlight. "I can't believe it."
"You don't have anywhere else to go?" I asked him hopefully.
"I used my money on this place!" he shouted again. He ran a hand through his hair and dropped his voice back down to its normal volume. "I can't afford to go anywhere else."
"Neither can I... I used all my money on the deposit..." I said.
"And why didn't you speak up in there?!" River said, rounding on me, his anger returned.
"What was I supposed to say?" I said, furrowing my eyebrows together and crossing my arms defensively. "It seems like we're stuck. You didn't even catch it when you looked it over last night."
He ignored that part. "Are you sure you can't go anywhere else?" he asked, his voice still laced with fury about the whole situation. Not that I could blame him, but coming from someone who knew anger well, this was not a time to get blinded by it.
"I don't have any money to go anywhere else," I said, my arms still crossed. "And are you sure you don't, either? What about a teammate or something?"
"No, I don't," said River shortly.
I didn't pry further. He didn't owe me an explanation, and I believed that he was telling the truth about not having another place to stay because he was so frustrated.
"So... now what?" he asked, surprising me with a softer voice.
"I don't know..." I answered lamely.
He ran a hand through his hair again, making it messier than before. I looked away.
"Let's deal with this later." His voice sounded rather tired, but like before, he flipped it around in an instant. "And don't ever approach me on campus ever again."
I glared at him. "Same goes for you."
With that, River went to his car, slammed the door, and sped out of the small parking lot.
I stood there for a moment longer, letting the situation sink in.
We were both stuck with this stupid contract. Both of us paid for six months already, so we didn't have the funds to leave. It sounded like he didn't have anyone to stay with even if he wanted to waste the deposit money, and neither did I.
I took a deep breath, steadying myself. Then I straightened my shoulders, cracked my neck, and marched to my car. I couldn't be late for work.
I'd deal with River Alves later.