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08 / University Life
I was stuck taking Mason to five university tours on this fine Wednesday. He kept begging me over and over to come with him. Since this had to do with his future and I didn't want to see my little brother ride the bus, I agreed.
Plus, he was doing the dishes for two whole months. It was a good deal, if you ask me.
"Last one on the list."
Mason's eyes had been scanning the brochure for a good five minutes.
One — and the last — of Mason's choices was the same university Vanessa and the Valentino's were attending. Some part of me was thinking that he just wanted to go there to see Vanessa. But, this school had a very notable music program, if Mason wanted to do something like that.
Come to think of it, it has been three years since I walked foot on educational grounds. I was surprised I didn't get a rash or an allergic reaction of some sort!
Walking beside my younger brother, I glanced at every direction of the university. The campus was beautiful, remembering the pictures I saw online or the ones Vanessa would take every now and then. Mason nodded his head, taking in the school's old yet charming brick buildings and peaceful landscaping.
"Pretty cool, don't you think?"
"If that's really the reason why you want to go here," I muttered under my breath, joking.
He caught that but ignored it, "Anyway, I'm going to meet with the tour guide. You should meet with Vanessa."
"You sure you don't want to see her?" I teased.
Not even bothering to reply, Mason walked off as he waved goodbye. Laughing quietly to myself, I soon whipped out my phone to call Vanessa. Fortunately, she has no class at this time.
Vanessa beamed on the other line,"I'm so excited! Go to the Student Center, okay? It won't be hard to find!"
Telling her I would, I hung up and took a deep breath. Really Vanessa? This campus was huge. How was I supposed to find it?
. . .
"I can't believe you're here. You'll love these!" Vanessa chimed and was happily tossing desserts onto a ceramic plate.
The Student Center wasn't so hard to find. In fact, it was its own building. This place was where all the students attending could dine, study, even relax. It was very spacious with four floors. The first floor being the not-so-typical cafeteria, the second and third floor being a casual "talk or study" place, and the fourth designated for quiet and serious studying.
Instead of going to class, I'd rather be here.
"Van, this is the only college experience I'm missing out on," I praised.
Vanessa giggled as she paid the cashier.
"Typical Maisie."
We both sat down in one of the square, dark wood table and chairs. As I surveyed the open space, there were various seating areas with leather sectionals and the same dark wood coffee tables scattered around. Many students occupied these spaces to relax from their stressful classes or even just to catch up with friends.
Popping a bite-sized cheesecake into my mouth, I commented, "You never told me you eat food like this everyday. You should bring me some!"
Vanessa shook her head, grinning.
"All you think about is food, Maisie. Where does it all go? So, how's the university search going?"
Shrugging, I replied, "Mason got his eyes on a school, and I have a feeling this one too."
She answered, pleased, "Really? That's great! He'll love it here."
Oh Vanessa, if you only knew. I was sure Mason will.
"Is it me, or do I see two familiar girls?"
As we both looked over to the voice's direction, it turned out to be David. Alongside David was Logan. They both grinned, wearing their casual yet fashionable attire that opposed their usual professional get up. Vanessa managed to yelp out David's name and instantly hopped out of her seat.
Following behind her, I smiled.
"It's nice seeing you two here."
David had his attention on Vanessa, but managed to slipped in, "What brings Ms. Maisie Lockhart here?"
I explained through my grinning, "My younger brother needed to look at some universities. One of them ended up being here."
Logan chuckled, "For a moment, I thought you were actually going to school with us."
Vanessa sighed happily.
"Wouldn't that be great?"
The four of us laughed, bringing me back to the night of our double date. For the most part, we all managed to catch up. It wasn't a surprise when David and Logan jokingly complained how hectic their lives were. It was all fun and joy until Logan and David were approached by some guy.
He was shorter than me and Vanessa's equivalent height. The guy had pale skin and a round face — make that round blue eyes too — and sported a buzz cut hairstyle.
He rejoiced, giving them the "dude" handshake, "What's up, bros! So, I hear Bryce is finally back. Haven't seen him in forever! Let's all party, yeah?"
Bryce was back in school?
Vanessa flashed me a 'did you hear that?' look, but I pretended I didn't catch anything.
From what I heard, Logan replied back with a, "Hey man, yeah, it's sure looks like it. Oh, you know that's something Bryce would do."
Round Face oddly gazed at me before his eyes jumped back to Logan.
"Alright, but when you guys are free, you know who to call."
Before leaving, he just had to say something totally uncalled for. Round face flushed out red.
"And bring your friend here too."
Wonderful — I think the cheesecake is rushing upstream. When Round Face finally left, Logan and David turned around to see my expression while Vanessa was laughing her head off. David joined in as Logan chuckled to the side.
Wasn't this just humiliating?
Vanessa joked, "Wow Maisie, you don't even go here, but you're scoring guys."
Before I could defend myself, a sudden outburst stole everyone's attention.
"Yo, Bryce! I missed you, bro!"
We all turned around, finding Bryce entering the premises with a group of giggling girls swarming him.
Round Face approached Bryce and gave him the same handshake.
David lightly commented, "Looks like the prince has officially returned."
Sudden groups of people got up from their seats and greeted him. This was blowing things way out of proportion. You have two other Valentino's over here — why weren't the people going gaga for them?
From the looks of it, Bryce was truly missed. Everyone was telling him how he missed all those bad-ass college parties and asking how in the world he "rose from the dead". I was just surprised Bryce wasn't kicked out yet for missing classes.
Vanessa exclaimed through her amazement, "Might as well throw a parade while they're at it."
Along with that, Logan replied half-serious, "Don't say that too loud. It might actually happen."
What made me cringe was seeing the group of girls craze over Bryce.
If they only knew that delivery boy is actually a jerk — at some points. Bryce appeared to be tuning everyone out once he approached us. I quickly looked away, hoping he wouldn't spot me. Peeking through my eyelashes, I saw Bryce handshake his cousins while adding in some side talk and laughs.
Once he greeted Vanessa, his eyes immediately bounced over to mine and that mocking smirk grew. Giving Bryce a short wave, I tried to walk away to get more food as an excuse.
"Daisie, is that how you're going to treat me? What are you even doing here?"
Of course, he'd follow me.
Flipping my hair around to face him, I explained a matter of fact, "Don't get any ideas. I'm just here for my younger brother."
Bryce nodded, but he chimed, "Why are you acting like you don't even know me? Can't you see how missed I was?"
Playing along with his ego, I smiled.
"Of course. I mean, I totally wanted to be one of those stupid girls tagging behind you. It's an opportunity I wouldn't ever want to miss. Poor me."
Bryce gave me a look as he gritted his teeth together. The word "whatever" slipped through his mouth.
Chuckling softly, I asked to make our conversation more decent, "How are you finding your renewed eyes anyway?"
"Oh. Look. What. We. Got. Here."
This interruption wasn't anything pleasant at all.
I felt my fists tighten, immediately recognizing that it was Jason. I completely forgot the bastard goes here. Bryce promptly acknowledged Jason's presence with a scowl. Jason was oblivious to the fact I was talking to someone and stepped closer to me. Behind him, were three of his friends.
Jason's cocky expression jeered right at me, "You don't belong here. Did a cat drag you in, Maisie Lockhart?"
How I hated the way he said my name. He wanted to pick a fight in front of everyone — in the university he was attending? How stupid could a guy get? Whatever, it would be his lost. I scoffed a laugh, forgetting that Bryce was beside me.
Right now, it was time to finish off this stubborn mind. Shaking my head, I crossed my arms.
"That's none of your damn business. After all of this, what good will it do?"
Jason's brown eyes darkened, causing a few heads to turn.
"Shut up, bitch! You still have to pay for what you did!"
I retorted, "At least I'm not an asshole like you. Grow up, you know so well that you deserved what you got."
Jason motioned his fellow losers to come forward.
"No! This is what you deserve!"
From the corner of my eyes, I spotted Vanessa with a shocked expression. She looked like she was ready to jump in as well. When I looked back to react, I found Jason collapsed on the floor.
What just happened?
"You should know when not to make a fool of yourself. Oh, I forgot. You're already an asshole, why not be a dumb ass as well?" Bryce spat out with disgust.
It was Bryce. He knocked the bastard to the floor.
Vanessa pushed her way through the crowd. Logan and David followed behind yet were holding puzzled looks, not knowing what was happening. I've never seen Vanessa so angry — well, except the time Fiona Hughes called Vanessa "ugly" for demolishing her at tennis during the sixth grade.
Vanessa glared at Jason as he got up.
"What the hell is wrong with you? See, this is why I couldn't stand you. You pick fights, and you can't even stand your own ground."
Literally.
The mob of spectators all instigated everything by adding "Ooo..." to what Vanessa just said. However, like last time, Jason tried brushing off all the embarrassment with the help of his hopeless minions.
Jason shouted, not to Vanessa or me, but at Bryce, "Who the fuck do you think you are just pushing your way into my business?"
Of course, Jason wouldn't think about messing with a Valentino because, watch out, the monster I've been talking about was finally unleashed. As Jason was on a rampage, he practically tossed me aside to make way towards Bryce.
The two were nearly face to face — Jason might want to give some breathing space — when he shoved Bryce and threatened, "Let's take this outside. Forget these bitches, it's time I teach you a lesson."
Even through Jason's shoving, Bryce didn't appear affected at all. There wasn't the slightest sign of fear in Bryce's face. Bryce sighed, those icy blues leveled darkly.
"This isn't elementary school anymore. You know, you really are an asshole."
Right away, Bryce landed another punch sending Jason flying backwards. His "back up" were a lot smarter than Jason and didn't bother to fight Bryce. The three scurried beside their fallen bastard. That was when David and Logan jolted in before Bryce continued with what he has done. Everyone was completely stunned, holding wide-eyed expressions. My heart nearly stopped.
Vanessa was suddenly beside me, her voice fluttered with worry.
"Maisie, Maisie! Are you okay? Talk to me!"
Why on earth was she freaking out like that? It wasn't long before I found my state of mind and noticed traces of blood flowing beside me.
Was that... my blood?
As if reality finally hit me, it all made sense. Jason had shoved me towards the table with ceramic plates and fragile glasses. The broken pieces had penetrated my right arm.
Trying to look away, the blood was already too much to handle especially since I was the person to absolutely hate the sight of blood. The last thing I saw was Logan — if that was him — rushing towards me before collapsing to darkness.
I didn't even go here, and this was what happened to me.
Just imagine my university life if I actually did.