ENEMIES

by Tijan

  I closed my eyes, images of hitting my forehead on the counter flashing in my mind.

  “I can’t afford it,” I said this through gritted teeth, my mind already flashing through my options and a whole new feeling of helplessness erupted inside of me because I knew what I’d have to do was going to hurt. A lot. More than a lot.

  “You can’t be a student here if you don’t follow the rules. You can probably get through one week of classes, but the list is updated and faculty meetings happen. You’ll be called out in every single class and told to come right back here to fulfill your meal plan program. Check this box.” She did it for me and held out her hand. “And give me a form of payment, then you can be on your merry way.”

  This was going to hurt. So bad.

  Swallowing over a lump the size of a boulder in my throat, I reached into my purse and pulled out my wallet. I had a credit card. It was only there for emergency reasons, and I hated using credit cards. Hated it with a passion. So many bad years of debt were running through my memories, but suppressing a chill, I pulled it out and handed it over.

  She took it, eyeing me. “This will go through?”

  I couldn’t speak, but I dipped my head down in a nod.

  “Okay.” Her lips pressed together, and she ran the card.

  It went through. I heard the beep, and I closed my eyes again to dam up the tears. They couldn’t come, not again. I wouldn’t allow them to spill. And fuck. I was screwed. I’d have to get a second job just to pay off this bill, and now job hunting was being added to my list of things to do today.

  “Okay.” She handed my card back, then pulled out my updated I.D. I’d already taken the picture and gave a bright and so-forced smile. “Welcome to Texas C&B.”

  I snatched both, glared at her, and waited until I was at least outside the office before muttering, “Bitch,” under my breath.

  “What’d you say?”

  I looked up.

  It was the Mean Gazelle, and seeing it was me, her eyes cooled, but the fight faded. “Never mind.” There were others with her and her boyfriend, but I didn’t recognize any of the girls. Not that I would. I only met Savannah and Lisa. You know those moments in life, the ones where you’re walking, going about your life, and suddenly a whole herd of beautiful people walk past you? They’re staring at you like you’re the zoo animal on display, or the circus freak who’s in their own unique tent. Well, that just happened, and Mean Gazelle was one of their leaders. If I had to guess, I was sure some of them had been at the house last night. One of the guys trailed behind and turned around, watching me, his mouth pursed in an odd smirk as if he were enjoying himself, as he continued walking backwards with his group.

  “You survived a confrontation with Mia Catanna.”

  Turning, I saw a random girl had watched the whole thing, and she came over now, adjusting her own backpack. It was slung over one of her shoulders. Blonde hair. Glasses. She was petite, and like me, she wasn’t wearing any makeup, but while some used it to highlight their beauty, this girl could’ve used it to not look like she was twelve.

  “Her last name is Catanna?” For real? I grunted. “We had a Catanna Nursing Home back where I lived.”

  Her lips twitched. “I’m Siobhan.”

  Siobhan. Jesus. I waved. “My name doesn’t make me think of an Irish model. I’m Dusty.”

  “Dusty?” Another lip twitch.

  “Yep. Dusty Phillips, to be exact.”

  “Gotcha. If it makes you feel better, my sisters are all named Silver, Sinead, and Shavonia.”

  “Really? Shavonia?”

  She laughed now. “Yeah. My mom liked cocaine during her child-birthing days. Not when she was pregnant. That was the only times she was sober, but don’t worry. No pity needed. She kicked all the habits when I was twelve, moved us to a sober/hippy camp, and I spent the rest of my formidable years eating mostly plant-based food.”

  “Really?”

  Yes. That was all I could manage at that time.

  She nodded, shifting to stand closer as a group of students swarmed around us. “Need a fire started using only a paper clip and a match, and I’m the girl for you.”

  “That’s good to know. Next time I go camping, I’m looking you up.”

  She laughed. “You go camping a lot?”

  “Never.”

  “Yeah.” She waved that off. “That’s good because I was lying about everything.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “You really don’t have a sister named Shavonia?”

  “I do, actually. The names are the only thing I wasn’t lying about. My name really is Siobhan, and you’re going into the marine biology program?”

  I tilted my head to the side. “You got that from me standing here?”

  “No. I got that because I was three people behind you when you were in the administration building. Then I saw you leave the food office and figured I should introduce myself. I’m in the same program.” She held her hand out, and we did the formal introductions once more.

  Both of us were grinning by the end.

  “I transferred in, so I don’t know if we’ll have the same classes.”

  She shrugged. “We’ll have a few and we’ll be in the same building. The higher-advanced classes take place at the marina. Who’s your academic advisor?”

  I looked down at my schedule. “It says Anna Anderson.”

  “Hmmm. She’s a bitch. Hope you transferred from a good college.”

  My heart sank. “Community college.”

  She grimaced. “Well. If you’re an independent student, the good news is that she’s not going to care much about helping you. Bad news, if you’re a student who needs a good relationship with your advisor, you might want to put a transfer in now.”

  “Transfer to a new school?” My voice broke. I couldn’t have heard that right.

  I just got here.

  “No!” She barked out a laugh. “A new advisor. It sucks to say, but Dr. Anderson is one of those profs who only wants to mentor the brightest and most-promising students. If you’re coming in from a community college, she’s going to write you off as a D, maybe C student. She won’t waste her time.”

  “Oh.” That sucked. “Good to know, I guess. Who’s your advisor?”

  She grinned. “Dr. Anna Anderson. I’m her TA.”

  I almost choked. “Are you kidding?”

  “No, that’s how I know what I’m saying is true. She’ll smile in your face and make you feel appreciated, then she’ll hand off your folder to me and instruct me to draw up a generic letter of recommendation for you two years early. I’ve drawn up eight already for some summer students just last week.”

  “Damn.”

  Yeah. That huge pile of feeling helpless and hopeless, it was building.

  But no.

  I hadn’t gone through what I went through, decided to go for what I really loved, only to be detoured by a jaded meal-plan office worker and a stuck-up academic advisor, or even mean roommates in a party house.

  I would endure. That’s the one quality us Phillips’ had in abundance. We’d endured worse. This was just a blip in my life.

  “Okay.” Decision made. “Where do I put in for an advisor transfer?”

  “Come on.” She nodded back toward the building I just came out of. “I’ll show you. Susan Cord is really nice, and she has a soft spot for the underdog students since she considers herself one.”

  God.

  An underdog.

  I’d already been painted that way.

  Guess it was better than what happened at my last college. I suppressed a shiver. Anything was better than what happened there.

  Chapter Four

  Someone knocked on my door the next night, and I knew who it was. Not because it was a soft knock or any other reason, but because there was literally only one person who’d knock on my door.

  My first day of classes was overwhelming. I had genetics, biostats, intro to cell biology, and I indulged with one marine class. Fundame
ntals of marine biology, though, okay, it wasn’t a total indulge class. It was still the next level up from basic requirements, but I was getting close.

  That meant something to me.

  And finding out that Siobhan was in my genetics class, I felt a lot better. We planned to meet for lunch after class the next day, after all, I’d just paid for a meal plan I couldn’t afford, but I was looking forward to the company.

  Since then, just classes, just me time.

  The house had been quiet last night when I got back from campus. I heard people arrive late, around ten, but they settled down around one in the morning. When I got back from my two classes today, I’d been surprised to find Lisa studying in the basement, but that was it.

  She was at the table, and seeing me coming out of my room, she cursed and shoved her books closed. Storming into her room, her door was slammed shut just as I got to the fridge.

  Well, then.

  I still wasn’t going anywhere, and I was just now figuring I should try finding a grocery store when that knock came.

  Standing to open the door, I already had my polite smile on my face. “Hi, Savannah.”

  It wasn’t Savannah.

  A girl with brown hair, shoulder-length, and almond eyes, a smaller frame, but with meat on her was there instead. She tipped her head down, looking at me. “You’re the new roommate.”

  I was guessing this was Nicole. “Hi. Your uncle owns the house?”

  A short nod. “Yep.”

  She observed me the same time I was observing her.

  I’d dressed simply that night. Jeans. A Texas C&B tank top and flip flops.

  She was dressed similarly, and both of us were trying to hide a grin.

  She cleared her face, her eyes cooling, though I thought it looked like she needed to put in some effort to do that. “Look, the house is technically my uncle’s, I felt like I should properly introduce myself. Sav said you arrived Sunday night. I wasn’t around yesterday.”

  She came in, noting my textbook out on the desk. “Genetics, huh?”

  “Um. Yeah.”

  I left the door wide and resumed my seat behind my desk.

  She nodded, swinging her leg back and forth, her toe anchored on the ground. “That’s cool. Lisa had that class last year. She’s in the nursing program.” She flashed me a grin. “I’m not as ambitious. I’m in education. Gonna be a teach like my ma, but I am ambitious because I’m specializing in middle school. Gonna crack those adolescent pubescents one at a time.”

  “What about Savannah?”

  “Sav’s going into sports medicine. It’s how she met Noel, actually, and how most of us met any of the guys.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Noel.” She waited, expecting a reaction.

  I had nothing. “Oh. Oh, yeah! Noel.”

  She cracked up again. “You have no clue, do you?”

  Not a one. But I just shrugged. “Noel and Savannah seem nice.”

  She snorted. “They’re the couple on campus. If we had royalty here, it’d be them. Noel’s starting quarterback for our school, and everyone loves Sav. She’s considered C&B’s princess, but Mia hates it. She likes to think she’s the school’s queen bitch instead.”

  It was worse than I thought, and I was following everything she just said. This house wasn’t just a football-frenzy house. It was football. They were football.

  “Are you kidding?” I was feeling the blood draining from my face. It was going to pool at my feet. There’d be a mess, and another reason they would hate me, and want to kick me out.

  Nicole grinned. “Not a football fan? Sav mentioned you asked if we had a lot of football parties.”

  I’d moved into my nightmare house. Straight up. I had to start looking for a new place to live. Stat.

  “It’s okay.”

  She burst out laughing. “Well, at least I know now you’re a shit liar. Good to know.” She took pity on me. “Wyatt’s one of the wide receivers. Nacho’s a halfback. Dent’s a defensive end.”

  All these football terms. I was being pelted.

  “Really. Wow. That’s super impressive.”

  She was still snickering. “Listen, I know Mia and Lisa are kinda being bitches about you being here, but you’re here. It is what it is. Char was a bitch for what she did, and most of it was a middle finger to Mia and Lisa for things they were saying last semester. You seem nice. You’re quiet. I already know that. If you want to stay, you can stay. Rent’s due the first of the month. My uncle rigged a rent box in the back of the house, just put your check in there and it’ll be fine.” She paused a beat. “Sav told me what Char did. I’d like to say it’s cool, but no one can cover you. The only redeeming thing I can say is that Char’ll be back, and we’ll get the money then.”

  “What about utilities?”

  “We only pay cable and Internet. You just need to chip in for those.”

  “Who do I pay for that?”

  “Mia’s in charge of paying those bills, so you gotta give your money to her. It’s usually only fifty dollars.”

  “When’s that due?”

  “You’re good for this month, so not till end of next month.”

  More money, but I had a fund set aside just for bills. I had planned for this. “Okay.”

  “Um.” She stood up, and we heard more footsteps going over my ceiling above. “That’s probably the group. We’re heading out for dinner. You want to come?”

  I couldn’t move. I wasn’t sure if this was the beginning of a set-up or not. I’d been observing them by now, and they were social creatures. So were killer whales. I was not a killer whale. I was more a spotfin lionfish, but you know, without the venom and the beautiful dorsal fins. But I was antisocial. That was my point, and I was that way for a reason.

  “Mia’s at Wyatt’s and Lisa’s at the library. It’s just me, Sav, Noel, and a few others.”

  A few others. I already knew that probably meant close to ten people.

  I was torn. This was an olive branch, I was thinking. Or assuming. Or just hoping. She said the two girls who hated me wouldn’t be there, but I did have a crap ton of studying to do already.

  Shit.

  What should I do?

  She took pity on me again. “Listen, come. If it’s not the scene for you, we can Uber back? I’ll order the Uber, on me. I’ll make sure we go somewhere small. I think they mentioned the bar on campus.”

  With an offer like that, I knew I had to go. She was making so many concessions just to get me to hang out with them.

  This was so a set-up. I was the outcast seal swimming to my slaughter. They just wanted to play with me a bit before eating me.

  I nodded and grabbed my purse. “I’m game.” What else could I do?

  “Great.”

  My roommate was a liar.

  I knew there was a bar on campus. It was a small pub. Quaint. I saw it once walking past it, but I didn’t know there were two bars on campus, and the one their group went to was the opposite of small. It was huge. Sixteen large screens were mounted around the place. It was an on-campus version of Wild Wings. It was a total sports hangout, and when we walked in, they were heralded as long-lost family members. A collective greeting came up from everywhere, but I’d been prepared for that. A D1 school, and Noel was the starting quarterback, he was a big deal. A really big deal. Savannah was next to him. And Nicole had introduced me to Nacho and Dent. Dent was the guy who had been going to help me the first night until Mia stopped him.

  He had dark eyes and he’d been watching me the whole time. He sat next to me when we all piled into a huge booth in the corner. It was one that seated up to twelve people. Nicole was on my left and Dent was on my right. Reaching for the menu, his arm grazed mine.

  I pulled my arm away, not to be rude, but because I had a thing with personal space and people invading it.

  “Sorry.”

  “It’s me. I have a personal bubble issue.”

  He chuckled. “Not for that, for the
first night. We should’ve helped you bring in your boxes. It would have been the right thing to do.”

  Oh. That.

  I shrugged. “It’s fine. It’s cool.”

  “No, really. We should’ve helped. Not all of us are like Liss and Mia. Some of us are cool. Friendly, even.”

  Yeah. He was being friendly now, but the jaded part of me, the side of me that knew I was living in a kill or be killed kinda world wondered if he’d keep it up when and if Mia was around. I was thinking not.

  “They’re—” I didn’t know what to say. And I only had enough money for a small order of wings, so I didn’t need to peruse the menu anymore. I settled for picking at my napkin. “They’re fine.”

  “They’re being bitches.”

  The guy next to Dent heard and choked back a laugh. “You’re just pissy because Lisa shot you down hard last night.”

  And that put him in a whole new light.

  I shifted back just as his gaze whipped back to mine. His eyebrows rose. “It’s not like that.”

  No. I was getting what it was like exactly.

  “It’s cool.”

  But fuck. For real.

  Nicole and Savannah, I could get them. I was the new roommate. They hadn’t kicked me out, so I was figuring the two had taken pity on me. I mean, I was looking around. There were people galore around them, and others still on the periphery. Girls who would’ve been my replacement. Why Char did what she did…yeah, that was a bitch move. To them and myself, but it was done. I couldn’t afford my own place yet. No way. They were only making me pay three hundred a month, and I knew that was a steal where the house was located, that it actually was a house. I’d resigned myself to the fact that I’d put up with the loud and the football, if only for a semester.

  But this guy, he didn’t have to pretend to be nice to me.

  I saw him start to offer to help, then he was stopped. I thought for just the briefest of seconds that maybe I’d found another ally. A person needed to try to get along with their roommates, right? Their friends?

  I was an idiot, and another realization hit me.

  I shouldn’t have been there, especially when every channel was turned to a sports channel and half of the screens were raving about Stone.