by Magan Vernon
I pressed a few buttons on the cash register. “Okay, that’s two large coffees, a glazed donut, and one large cup of no-way-in-hell-I’ll-ever-go-out-with-you. That will be $5.35.”
Trey stared at me, his eyes locked onto mine like I was the only person in the room. His gaze didn’t say he was angry, more like intrigued.
A gust of cool air shot out from behind my back followed by the loud clicking of heels. “Sorry I’m late, overslept!”
I broke my stare down with Trey and looked behind me where a tall blonde fastened on an apron. As she lifted her hair I caught a glimpse of a golf ball size hickey on her neck. I was sure that love bite wasn’t from sleeping.
I smiled at the blonde, seeing her name on her nametag was Betsy. “Oh good, you can finish Mr. Chapman’s order here.” I gestured my hand in Trey’s direction.
“Oh, hey!” Her eyes lit up like Christmas morning. “You’re Trey Chapman! The governor’s son!”
I rolled my eyes, not wanting to hear the gush fest and took off my apron. “I’ll see you later, Melanie,” I yelled over my shoulder as I headed for the back room.
“I hope to see you later as well!” Trey’s voice carried over Betsy’s, but I didn’t turn around to acknowledge it.
***
When I finally got back to my apartment I paused, taking in a deep breath before I actually unlocked the front door. I had no idea what shape the apartment would be in or if Sam would even be there. Either way, I wasn’t in the mood for a fight.
I pushed open the door and there was Sam, still in her pajamas and sitting at the breakfast bar with a bowl of cereal. She looked up from the bowl, and we made eye contact. Her face was streaked with mascara, her eyes were blood-shot. I didn’t know whether to feel sorry for her at that moment or to just ignore her.
“Hey,” I said, breezing past the kitchen and to my bedroom door. Just as I put my hand on the doorknob, she spoke.
“Look, Monica, I’m sorry.”
I spun around, crossing my arms over my chest. “Well, this is going to be good.”
She sighed, spinning her stool before she dropped down, her bare feet hitting the tile below with a soft thud. “I should have asked you before having people over, and I really shouldn’t have barged into your room.”
I huffed. “Yeah, you can say that again.”
“I promise it won’t happen again, it’s just...” She sighed. “School’s back in session, and I was finally out of the dorms, so I wanted to have a good time and relax. I guess I was stupid not think the cops wouldn’t show up, especially with Mr. Governor’s son right next door.”
“No shit.”
She took a step toward me, rubbing her elbow with her opposite hand. “Look, I’m not saying that we have to be friends, but I can’t afford this place without a roommate, and there’s no way in hell I want to go back to the dorms. So, if we can just work out some ground rules then maybe we can make this work?”
I stared at her blood-shot eyes and wanted to be mad at her, but we were both stuck in the same boat. I couldn’t afford the place without her, and there was no telling what other kind of weird roommate I could get if I threw myself in the dorms or another apartment search.
“Okay, but no more parties unless you ask me first, no barging in my room unannounced, and definitely no smoking pot in the apartment, but I’m sure after you were released from jail they told you that.” I listed off the rules on my fingers, hoping to get my message across.
She continued rubbing her elbow. “Actually the charges were for assaulting a police officer; they couldn’t find the pot, just the paraphernalia.”
“Whatever, same thing. Look, either way. I don’t want it around.”
She chewed on her bottom lip and then stuck out her hand. “Okay, deal.”
I took her hand and shook it lightly. “Deal.”
She dropped our hands. “But is it still cool if Mac comes over sometimes? At least just to hang.”
“I guess as long as there is no pot or any other random parties.” I pointed a finger almost directly in her face. “And no more pounding on Trey’s wall. I have to deal with enough shit from him, and I don’t want to add to it.”
She widened her eyes. “Seriously? Have you seen that much of him?”
I dropped my hand and groaned. “Ugh, he actually showed up at Brewster’s where I work at and made some cocky remark about it.”
“Ughhhh! What is it with conservative douchebags? Did he give you some speech in that high-an- mighty tone he has? Miss Remy, the drug problem in our country is a very prominent issue for America’s youth,” she lowered her voice for the last part, straightening out an imaginary tie.
I tried to stifle a laugh. “That sounds exactly like something he would say.”
Sam sat back on the stool, and I set my bag down and sat on the stool next to her.
She took a bite of her cereal and then put the spoon down. “Did you know when I first moved in that I got stopped by one of his security guys and then Trey had the nerve to knock on the door and introduce himself? After I get the third degree, he thinks he can just waltz in the apartment with a big smile, and I pretend he didn’t just violate any freedom I have?”
I put my hands to my chest. “I got stopped by those goons too, but I don’t think that’s an everyday thing.” I wasn’t about to tell her that I knew for a fact that it wasn’t. I’d take any little bonding time I had with her, and didn’t want to bring up the fact that I had talked about it with Trey just an hour before he probably called the cops on her.
Sam shook her head, taking another bite of cereal. “I haven’t seen them around since yesterday, but hopefully not. I can’t deal with that.”
“As much as a little extra security would be nice, that would take it to an extreme.”
She nodded her head slightly. “So, does this mean we’re cool now?”
The tough girl from yesterday was gone. I guess a night in jail could do that to someone, especially when their roommate actually confronts them about it. I guess that month of self-defense classes I took actually paid off. Now if only I could confront my real problems as well as I could with my roommate.
I paused for a minute, looking down at my hands. There were coffee grounds stuck under my nails, and I knew there was probably cocoa powder caked on me, but that didn’t matter at the moment. If I wanted to stay in the apartment, I needed a roommate. If I didn’t have one, I’d probably have to pick up so many shifts that I’d be living at Brewster’s anyway.
“Yeah,” I said, sliding off the chair. “For now.”
Chapter 4
My first class of the day was at nine, and luckily I didn’t have to work beforehand. Most of my Gen Ed classes transferred from Taylor, so I was pretty excited to get into my actual major classes. I stuffed my laptop, a notebook, and a few pens in my messenger bag before taking a quick look in the mirror.
Jeans, flip-flops, and a V-neck t-shirt with my hair in a ponytail. I was dressed enough that I didn’t look like I just rolled out of bed and not dressed too much that I looked like I was trying to impress anyone. It was exactly the look I was going for. I was able to run to the grocery store the day before to stock up, so I grabbed a granola bar, and a bottle of water before I ran out the front door for class. I had no idea when Sam had class, but wherever she was I couldn’t be worried about it.
I stepped out of the apartment and into the stifling air. At least it wasn’t in the 100’s like it had been most of the summer, but I still felt like my face might melt off on the way to Brown Hall. I charged through the quad and into the newer building. It had a dark, brick façade like the rest of the buildings on campus, but smelled like new paint and each of the white walls glowed from florescent lights. I quickly checked my schedule again and saw that I was in room 204.
I followed the herd of students up the stairs to the second floor, and with luck, it was the first room at the top of the stairs. It wasn’t a very large classroom with maybe thirty desks facing a long
white board. There was only one window in the room and it was tucked away in the upper corner. I took the second seat in the very last row. Not too many people had piled in yet, not even the teacher, so I figured I was safe to eat my breakfast. I reached down in my messenger bag and rummaged through, searching for my water bottle.
But then an all too familiar voice made my heart stop.”Isn’t this another pleasant surprise?”
I grabbed my water bottle and slowly lifted my head. There was Trey in all his political glory with his white dress shirt tucked into his blue dress pants, and even an American Flag pin on his collar. His conservative uniform. On most guys it would have been completely dorky, but Trey pulled it off, looking more like a future leader of America. A future leader with a great smile that I had to keep telling myself I wasn’t attracted to.
“I think I may have to look into a restraining order if you keep showing up at the same places as me.”
I glanced over and caught the few people who were already sitting, and the ones just walking in, already staring at us. Great, just what I wanted to be known as, a member of Trey’s groupies.
I didn’t even want to appear friendly with him. He took the seat next to me with a giant, cheesy grin plastered on his face. “Such anger you have, Monica. You assume that I’m following you when you happen to live next door to me and take the same classes as me. Need I remind you that you are the transfer student, so it may actually appear that I had my apartment first and signed up for this class well before you were even aware of its presence?”
I rolled my eyes and took a long swig of my water, turning toward the front of the room. Maybe if I ignored him enough he would just go away. But I never had it that easy.
“So what’s your next class? Should I expect that you looked up my schedule before you transferred and made sure that we could carry on the rest of this semester with our usual political banter?” he asked.
I slammed my water bottle down and slowly turned back to him. The class was almost full, and I could feel people staring at us. I leaned in, keeping my voice low. “Look, Trey, I just want to get through this class, hell, this semester, with some peace. If you really want to continue on with this stupid little charade then I’m sure it can wait until after I’m done learning.”
“So challenging. Even this early in the morning. I like it.” He folded his hands on the desk and kept his face just inches from mine. That’s when I really noticed the freckles that paraded across his nose and down to his cheek. It gave him a boyish charm that stood out among his usual political facade. What the hell was wrong with me? All I had done lately was argue with the guy, and now I was staring at his freckles. Something definitely had to be wrong with me.
Maybe it was the heated political debates that had my blood boiling. Or it could have been the very delicate curve of his jawline as it dipped down into his chin. I was a sucker for a guy with a great jaw line, especially one with the faintest hint of stubble like he left it there for me to stare at. A guy that prim and proper shouldn’t have stubble, but it set him apart from the rest of his put-together attire and made him seem almost human.
“Sorry to interrupt y’all, but I think it’s time for class.”
I snapped out of my jawline daydream and watched our professor saunter into the room. In one hand she had a large cup of coffee and in the other a stack of white papers. She somehow managed to carry both while wearing a maroon skirt suit and four-inch heels. The lady had it together.
“I didn’t think you would take a class taught by a woman,” I whispered to Trey.
The professor set her coffee down on the desk in the opposite corner from us, her curly, brown hair bouncing with every step.
“I am equal opportunity learner, Miss Remy, and you know I can never resist a woman who loves talking politics,” he said back in a low, husky voice that sent a lingering chill down my stomach. I’d have to stop talking to him in class or not only would people really think something, but I would possibly have to put my libido in check.
The professor turned back around and passed the sheets of paper down the rows. “I’m Doctor Gayle Westerfield and this is Political Science 222, State and Local Government. If that doesn’t sound like the class you signed up for, then I suggest you pick up your things and leave now before you embarrass yourself later.”
“A doctor and a women professor? You must be shaking in your conservative wingtips,” I quietly said to Trey.
“I respect a woman who goes for what she wants, Miss Remy,” he whispered, and I caught the corners of a smile tugging at his lips.
The sheets of paper got to my row and I stared at the syllabus, thumbing through it quickly. The main things that stood out were term paper and debate. Before I could even think on it, Trey leaned over my desk, his delicious scent rolling off of him like a tidal wave. If he wasn’t such a cocky thing I would have wanted to grab him and inhale all of him right in the middle of the classroom. “You know, if you ever want to work together on any of these assignments, I’m sure the neighborly thing to do would be for us to join forces.”
Dr. Westerfield stopped in front of our desks, I snapped my head up in her direction, but Trey still kept one elbow on my desk, leaning into me. “Ah, the governor’s son, Trey Chapman.” Dr. Westerfield stared down at the sheet of paper in her hand. I caught a glimpse of it and saw it was the roster with each of our student ID pictures down it. She ran her finger down the length of the page and then smiled, looking back at me. “And the transfer student, Monica Remy. Since you two seem awfully cozy together, maybe you would like to be partners and pick the first debate topic.”
She thrusted another sheet of paper on my desk and I stared at the topics. There was everything from separation of church and state to unemployment rates. I could probably argue with Trey all day long on any of these topics.
Dr. Westerfield walked back to the front of the classroom. “Each of you will pair up and pick a topic. One person will have the supporting view on it and the other will be the opposition. Before the debate, you will each write a twenty page, double spaced paper on your view point and then use those points in your debate.”
Trey grabbed the list of topics from me, practically ripping it from my hand. “What do you think, Miss Remy? Should we go for local education or the rights of victims versus the rights of the accused?”
I snatched the paper back out of his hands. “I think neither.”
A voice huffed from behind us. “Will you two just pick something and stop flirting, so we can move on?”
I turned to see an Asian girl rolling her eyes behind us. “We are not flirting,” I snapped.
“Whatever,” she said. “Can you two just hurry it up? There are others who would like to get on with this.”
“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth. I slowly turned in my desk, and that was when I saw the topic that I knew we had to do. We could both only deflect on it for so long, and I knew we’d each have a good argument. “Access to contraception and I’ll take the supporting view.”
I didn’t even look behind me as I turned slightly and slammed the sheet of paper on the Asian girl’s desk.
Dr. Westerfield nodded. “Very good, now we can move on, unless you two have something else to say?”
Trey folded his hands on his desk. “No, ma’am, please continue.”
I rolled my eyes. It was going to be one hell of a long semester if I would have to deal with him in class every day. I just hoped this class was the only one I’d have to suffer through with him.
***
My next class was for my second major, Women’s Studies, and thankfully Trey didn’t happen to sneak into that class. I swear he was following me. The major only had about thirty credit hours, but enough of them crossed with my Political Science classes that it was the perfect second major. Not to mention I had a soft spot for women’s issues.
The Gerrit Smith Building was stuffed behind the main quad area and smooshed between the brand new recreation center and on
e of the science buildings. It was like a building they just wanted to hide with its dilapidating structure and lake of air conditioning. I made my way up the two flights of stairs until I found classroom 313.
A set of old windows, that didn’t look like they had been opened in years, lined the whole left side of the room. At the front was an old chalkboard with rows of crumbling wooden desks facing it. There were a handful of students already sitting at the desks toward the front. They were all girls, of course. I took a seat in the second row near the window and could already feel their heads turn toward me. I looked up to see my suspicion was right and two of the girls were just staring at me.
“Um, is there something on my face?” I asked.
The girl with short, spiky hair cleared her throat. “Um, no you just looked familiar, that’s all.”
“Oh.” I paused and straightened out my shirt.
The other girl with hipster glasses spoke up. “Are you Trey Chapman’s girlfriend?”
I couldn’t help it; I snorted and then covered my mouth before another burst could get through.
The few other girls in the room turned to the conversation. Now I had an audience.
I slowly shook my head and put my hand down. “Oh, God, no. Trey is just my neighbor and likes to get under every single last nerve of mine.”
The spiky-haired girl seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. “Oh, good. Tabitha here saw you two in her last class and was afraid we wouldn’t be able to speak our mind about the governor if his son’s girlfriend was in our class.”
I took out my laptop and then placed my messenger bag on the floor. “Go ahead and talk away. I can’t stand the pompous governor either. His views on women’s rights and contraception are beyond archaic.”
Another girl with long, blonde hair raised her fist in the air. “If I wasn’t an atheist I’d give you an amen!”