You lovely idot

you can, you can

I can hear my dad repeating himself in my head, though he is less reassuring. As I’m checking my phone for the millionth time, a redhead bursts through the office door, gulping in breath like she’s just run a marathon.

“One moment” he raises his finger, indicating that he needs a second and drinks from the bottle he brings with him.

She takes a deep breath and gives me a tired smile.

“Please tell me you’re Rain Evans,” she sighs, frantically checking the sheet in her hand.

I nod, a little confused.

“Thank god,” she yells, earning an impetuous ‘sh’ from a blonde girl.

She shoots the blonde girl a dirty look and I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing. The redhead comes over with a smile and grabs my arm to drag me out of the ugly room.

I manage to grab my backpack and suitcase as she threads her arm through mine.

She pulls out a brochure and puts it in my hand before yelling:

“Welcome to Seacoast University!” she squeals excitedly and points to the large structure behind her. “By the way, I’m Heather,” she says, smiling and pulling away from her so she can get a better look at the university.

An imposing stone building stands tall, the university is surrounded by small grassy sites and some benches where students study and hang out with their friends, the different buildings are divided by sidewalks that split the campus.

A few meters from the entrance there is a white stone fountain from which different streams of water come out. If you look closely at the horizon you can see a blue line where the sea is.

“It’s beautiful” I replies, stunned by the beauty of the place. What can I tell you? It’s like those film universities.

She turns to me and smiles: “let’s go to your residence.”

We enter a green building, girls and boys walk through the corridors while discussing with their families or talking on the phone, we go up some stairs until we reach another corridor where the doors are dark blue.

“hello bitch” Heather squeals as she’s past the door.

The first thing I see when I open the door is a small hall with a full-length mirror and a small cabinet where there are some keys. The living room is pastel blue with a large sofa in the middle and a television on the wall. The floor is wooden and some photographs lie in boxes scattered around the place.

“I’m bringing our roommate” Heather yelled and a black-haired girl came out of the kitchen with an apron and flour all over her face.

She has a kind face so there’s no problem right? RIGHT?!

“Rain, this is Katharine Bennett better known as Kate”

“Nice to meet you,” she says with a half smile, she turns to Heather and gives her a look.

“You have to let me know so she can finish the cupcakes” she complained with an amused pout.

“No problem for me” she laughed at me.

I like them.

“I hate to end this interesting talk girls but we have to go see a hockey game in less than an hour, so she has to get ready!” Heather said taking my suitcase and going to my room.

“a match?” I asked, my social anxiety skyrocketing.

“Yes, it’s the first game of the season, to celebrate the start of the university and stuff” he explained

“although I don’t see why celebrate that the university has started” Kate complains.

People monopolize all the stands, leaving hardly any free seats.

In the middle of the court the players are stretching or going over the game plan, too many people, too much noise. We finally found a free seat behind the bench.

Brilliant

Seven-foot orangutans calling themselves hockey players block the rink and prevent me from watching the game. I turn to the girls to make some kind of conversation and try to relax.

“When will this start?” I ask, yelling over the noise.

Before they can answer a tall guy pours his drink on me ruining the shirt they had insisted I wear.

“Oh god sorry!” he apologizes, trying to no effect to wipe the soda off my shirt.

“It’s okay” I laugh as I awkwardly push my hand away from him, thank god the guy isn’t a jerk and he gives me an apologetic smile.

“I’m Matt” he introduces himself, he’s tall, quite tall, he could easily pass as a basketball player, he has brown hair and green eyes where you could easily get lost.

“Rain” I scratch my elbow uncomfortably and he shoots a helpful look at the giggling girls with epilepsy.

Certainly I have never had much contact with boys in general, girl my first kiss was at the age of thirteen with my best friend, what can I tell you?

“what do you study?” I ask the first thing that comes to mind

“well...sports medicine”

“oh... me medicine” I laugh nervously

“and you have a boyfriend?” Matt asks

I take back that he’s not an idiot

When I am about to answer the question that is too daring, the bell rings to start the game and I use that opportunity to escape.

I scold my friends for leaving me alone and focus on the hot players on the court.

In our team there are seven players, the colors of the university are blue and yellow so each one has a blue jersey with his number and his last name in yellow on the back.

The first game I went to was with my dad when I was thirteen years old, a traumatic experience certainly, well of course it depends on where you look at it, I got lost and ended up in the team locker room -don’t ask me how- and I ended up seeing things a bit hard to forget, you know you understand me (*wink wink*).

In the end we won, 7-6 but we won, and now I have two girls pushing me onto the rink to introduce me to the hockey team since they say they are very nice.

Kind my ass.

I pass the track security gate and slip inside trying not to kill myself. The guys are in a circle leaning on their sticks talking about god knows what.

When we arrive Heather yells:

“Congratulations!” she claps her hands, elated.

Now the attention is on us.

Great, I hate the attention, she makes me nervous. I hide my hands in the pocket of the sweatshirt that Kate lent me so as not to go around the world with the stain and play with my fingers nervously.

Kate, so thoughtful, nudges my elbow and points to a caramel-skinned player “this is Logan Smith” I greet him with a polite smile and she walks past the brown-eyed boy next to her “this is Mike Williams” she points to a blond with freckles “this is Atlas Murphy” the boy gives me a kind smile.

Next to Atlas, a boy with olive skin and black hair “Oliver Walsh” introduces himself, god his voice is too hot.

The relay passes a guy who looks like he hates everyone and just shrugs and says, “Jack Miller.”

He frowns and looks back at Heather.

Oh ohhh something’s wrong here friends.

I prefer to remain silent and save it for later, an evil smile slides across my lips and I turn to look at Heather, now on her cheeks there is a faint pink line.

Someone clears their throats and brings me back to reality.

I turn to see the only guy who hasn’t introduced himself and now he has a smile on his face.

He’s an attractive guy, he jumps out at first glance, he’s tall, at least I’m a little below his shoulder, and he has adorable gray eyes that are slightly covered by red curls that fall on his forehead.

“Elliot Graham” he introduces himself with a manly voice.

Wait for that name... no it can’t be, it’s not him.or if?

My heart races at the thought and my palms sweat.

Could it really be him?

Before I can say a word Kate steps forward, introducing me to the rest of the group.

“and this is...Rain Evans” she jumps excitedly, opening her arms.

They offer me a kind smile except for the redhead.

Me, I’m still petrified in place, unable to move or even think.

Seeing that we don’t smile Heather and the boys frown in confusion.

She quickly changed her confused face to an evil smile.

Why do I feel like this is going to end badly?

“Hello flea” he greets with the same smile as before.

and... I stop breathing