A girl walked down the stairs I
was standing by and passed me. She looked completely confident. I wondered if
it was her first day at St. Alexander’s too.
Move, Allison. You’re looking like
an idiot, just standing here for the past ten minutes. But what should I do,
just wander around and hope I find my class?
No, the smart thing to do is to go
over to that group of three guys down the hall and ask them. One of them–the
shortest one–had brown hair, and from what I could see, a pretty face. Another
had brown hair too, but he had a little stubble and was much more energetic
than the other guy. It helped that he was pretty hot too.
But my eyes were fixed on the
third one. He was taller than the others, even as he leaned against the wall.
He was talking right then, and seemed grumpy, but somehow still good-natured. His
hair was black, and it was easy to see that he had a tall, lean body.
I wanted to go over there and talk
to him. And at the same time I didn’t. He’d probably seen me standing here
since forever, staring at him. I couldn’t just go over.
“Are your feet glued to the
ground, or do you just not believe in walking?”
I started as the voice sounded
right beside me, and whirled around, almost ready to punch someone.
“Whoa, calm down,” the guy now in
front of me said. “Fighting with women is not something I’m inclined to do.”
I goggled at him for a while. He
was good-looking, really good-looking. He looked to be Japanese or Korean or from
somewhere around there, and his hair was perfectly black and messy in that hot
way that only girls knew how to describe. His face was more on the pretty than
rugged side, and even from such a close distance I couldn’t see a single flaw
in his perfect skin. That little smirk he had on his lips just made him look so
much better.
“I… I’m sorry,” I said.
“For what, blocking the way or
staring at me?” the smirk seemed to widen.
“Both,” I said collecting myself.
“You startled me.”
“I have that effect,” he answered.
“You’re new around here, aren’t you? I remember seeing you at the tour.” His
voice was accented, but only just.
“Yes,” I said. “I’m Allison
Parker. Nice to meet you.”
“Alright then,” he said, and he
rounded past me and started going down the stairs.
I frowned. “You know, when you
meet someone and they introduce themselves, you’re expected to do the same.”
He turned around and raised the
corners of his lips into a devilish smile. “You should know me soon enough.”
I watched him leave. Wow, he was
really hot. Not just his looks, but his attitude too. Annoying, yeah, but
wasn’t every hot guy?
I glanced back at the three guys
standing down the hall, and saw that they were now two. The cute, pretty one
had left. Now it was just the guy with stubble and him. The tall one.
Alright, that was it. I’d had
enough of standing there. I do believe
in walking.
I approached the guys, trying to
walk with my back straight. Wait,
what if they thought I was showing off my boobs? My sister Melissa thought I
was always doing that. Well, is it my fault she’s twenty-four and still a
surfboard?
I calmed down, and managed to get
to them without turning abruptly and rushing off the other way. “Um, excuse
me,” I said, “but do you know where the Management room is? I’m new and…”
“Oh, welcome to St.
Alexander’s,” the brown-haired guy said brightly. “It’s my first day here too.
I’m Ryan.”
His smile was so cute and sunny
that I would’ve melted, if I hadn’t been staring at him. The other guy. He
wasn’t what I’d call cute, or rugged, but just perfectly… handsome. Yes,
handsome. There was not a trace of grumpiness in his face, but instead a
charming, polite smile. And his eyes… oh, his eyes. They were beautiful– not
grey, not green, but a wonderful blend, bright and arresting.
“I’m Allison,” I said. I’d managed
to capture all the details of his face in a moment, and so avoided a long,
awkward stare.
“I’m Leo,” the black-haired guy
said. “I don’t mind taking you there.”
Yay! “Thanks,” I said with a
smile.
“Watson, get to class,” Leo said
sternly to Ryan, who laughed and answered, “Yes, Holmes. See you, Allison.”
This last bit was directed at me with a smile, and I couldn’t help but smile
back.
He walked off down the hallway,
while I looked at Leo. “Holmes?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“His surname is Watson,” he
answered. “He thinks it’s fun to call me Holmes.” He paused. “That’s not my
name,” he added.
“Oh,” I said, as we walked towards
the stairs I was hovering by just a minute ago. “Mine’s Parker.” It seemed kind
of stupid, but what else could I say?
“Alright,” he said, going down the
stairs. “You’re going to the first class for the freshmen, right? I just showed
it to Seth. He’s a friend of mine.”
“Oh, cool,” I said. Seth. I
guessed he was the cute guy who’d just been with Leo. “Is this your first year
too?”
Leo laughed, an easy, calm laugh,
but way too short. “This is my last year.”
I couldn’t help but feel deflated.
I barely knew the guy, but still.
“Alright, here it is,” he said,
stopping by a closed door. “You should get in. Your class should be starting
right about now.”
“Thank you so much,” I said. “I
would’ve wandered around here forever.” Actually, I would’ve just stood in the
same place, staring at you, but, hey, the end result was the same.
“That’s okay,” Leo said. “If you
need any help, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Sure, thanks,” I said, and then
decided I should be getting in. I opened the door slowly, and peeked in. There
were about twenty people inside, sitting at tables and chatting. No sign of the
teacher.
“Looks like you’re in luck,” Leo
said, and I could tell that he was right next to me.
“Yeah,” I said, opening the door. “Again,
thanks.”
“And again, that’s okay,” Leo said
with a smile. “Welcome to St. Alexander’s,
Allison.”
I beamed at him, and then he turned
and left.
I closed the door behind me as I
entered the room. Wow, seemed like a good first day already. I just hoped I’d
find someone cool in my class too.
Leo’s friend Seth was supposed to
be in this class, but I really wanted to find a girl. There were a couple of
empty seats around, and I sat in one right at the end of the room, by the
window. On my right was the fresh, warm breeze, and on my left, a pretty girl
with straight, blonde hair.
She looked like exactly the type
of girl I’d dealt with too much in high school– popular and vain, ready to
bring out her claws against anyone who ticked her off, but I decided to give
her a try. Besides, I couldn’t really be picky, since I knew nobody in this
college. Except, well, Leo, and maybe Ryan.
“Hi,” I said to her. “I’m
Allison.”
“Oh, hi,” she said, almost
surprised. “I’m Scarlet.”
The name seemed to fit her. “First
day?” I asked.
She gave me a little smile. “Yup.
I know absolutely no-one.”
“Me neither,” I said with my own
smile. “I think it’s gonna be awesome, though. Already met a cute guy.” I
couldn’t help but say it.
“Seems like this college doesn’t have
a shortage,” Scarlet gave me a mischievous grin. “Check out the hottie in the
corner.”
I followed her little motion, and
my eyes caught on a guy in the corner. His hair was brown, his eyes were black,
and he leaned back in his chair with a confident and lazy posture. His own
little grin was enough to match Scarlet’s.
I scanned the rest of the room,
until I saw a familiar face right at the edge. “hey, look, it’s Seth,” I said
automatically.
“Oh?” Scarlet turned. “Please tell
me you’re talking about that cute guy in the first column.”
“Yeah,” I said. “That’s him.”
“I thought you didn’t know anybody
here?” Scarlet looked at me and made a face.
“Oh, well, I don’t really know anybody,” I said. “But on the way
here I met a guy named Leo. He was with his friends– one of them was Seth.”
“Ah,” Scarlet gave a knowing look.
“I see.”
“What?” I asked.
“No, that’s alright,” she said. “You
don’t have to say.”
Her smile was so mischievous I
couldn’t help but grin back. I was about to say something when the door
suddenly opened, and he walked in.
The hot guy I’d met by the stairs.
“Hey, I kinda know him too,” I
said to Scarlet. “Met him by the stairs. Looks like he’s in our class too.”
Scarlet was about to respond, when
the guy leaned against the professor’s desk and said, “Alright then, I’m Ryouken
Suzuki, and I’ll be your professor.”
Oh, his name’s Ryouken Suzuki.
That sounds Japanese. So he’s Jap– wait, did he just say professor?
“Wow,” I heard Scarlet say next to
me. “Hot teacher. That’s one Wattpad fantasy that was never fulfilled in high
school.”
“He’s a professor?” I burst out.
“What?”
“Yes, I am,” Ryouken said with a
smile. Apparently I didn’t say it as quietly as I’d meant to. “New. First day
here, like you.”
I just stared at him. I refused to
believe it. I’d always imagined the professor to be old, with gray hair and
lots of wrinkles– kind of like Albert Einstein. Not this guy.
“Alright,” Ryouken–Mr. Suzuki, I
guess–was saying. “I’ll give you ten seconds each to say a couple of things
about yourself. Whatever you say is basically how you’ll be presenting yourself
to me in the semester. Let’s start from this end.”
To my utter relief, he started with
the column near the door. Unfortunately for Seth, that meant he had to go
second. After the first guy–Dustin, I think his name was–was done, Seth just
barely managed to get out, “I’m Seth,” and then searched desperately for the
next words.
“That’s alright, I know you,” Mr.
Suzuki said in a gentleness I wouldn’t have expected from that smirk I’d first
seen on him. “Next.”
Depending on what someone would
say, he’d either say a couple of words or just move on. I was actually pretty
impressed with the range of topics Mr. Suzuki was familiar with.
“Hi, I’m Scarlet, I like fantasy novels
and I’m single.” Wait, when was did it suddenly become Scarlet’s turn?
“Oh, I like you,” Mr. Suzuki said
with a grin, not missing her suggestive tone. “Favourite novel from A Song of
Ice and Fire series?”
“The first, A Game of Thrones,”
Scarlet answered automatically. “Really hit me hard and just hyped me up for
the rest.”
“Excellent choice,” Mr. Suzuki
said. “Next.”
Oh, damn, I was coming up. Quick,
Allison, think of something cool to say. Something that’d make you stand out,
but not stand out too much. I fished around for things to say, when all of a
sudden:
“Next.”
Crap. That was me. I collected
myself in an instant and said, “I’m Allison Parker, I believe in walking, I
can’t tell who’s a teacher and who’s a student, and… I play tennis.” Stupid.
That was stupid.
“Alright, Allison,” Mr. Suzuki
said, seeming pretty amused. “Any tennis player you particularly like?”
“Um, Sam Querrey and Novak,” I
answered.
“Really? I think Murray’s a better option for number one in
the world.”
“You have to be joking,” I said.
“Novak’s record in 2011 was spectacular.”
“Because Murray didn’t find his confidence yet,” Mr.
Suzuki said. “He’s been performing consistently recently– all that changed was
his attitude. He’s won the gold medal, and the US Open.”
“Yeah, his first Grand Slam,” I
said. “I think it’s safe to say Djokovic has done better than that.”
“So far,” Mr. Suzuki said. “Now,”
he said, and he turned to the rest of the class. “Since it’s the first day, I
guess you guys can take the class off.”
He got up off the table and walked
over to me– a lazy kind of movement, as he leaned down over my desk, and said
in a quiet undertone, “I’ll be keeping an eye on you, Parker.”
I couldn’t see his eyes as he said
it, but his voice was low and… if I had to describe it one word, rippling. He
moved away from me and sat in the chair behind the professor’s desk, and I
could feel the others’ eyes on me.
“What was that about?” Scarlet
whispered to me.
“I have no idea,” I said slowly.
I could already tell that my time
at St. Alexander’s was going to an eventful
one. And I was more than excited.
