Xavier
"I'm really sorry I wasn't…" says the girl who so graciously bumped into me. I look down in an attempt to watch her finish whatever it is she's saying when my breath hitches.
I'm met with a familiar pair of blue eyes. Those same blue eyes that I was hoping to see again, and it seems like my prayers were answered. I tilt my head to my side ever so slightly before saying "go on". She pauses, quirking an eyebrow in response to my statement. "I seem to recall you apologizing." My flat tone seems to startle her a bit.
"Oh, right", she responds, pushing strands of hair out of her face, "I'm so sorry, "she says with her hands in prayer form before hurriedly rushing off. I'm left standing, watching her silhouette dash through the hall. I shake my head at the sight and make my way through the halls once more.
I guess it was my fault for bumping into her since I wasn't paying much attention to my surroundings, but I don't dwell on it anymore.
I find an empty seat at the back of the classroom I am now in and plop myself down. I place my bag on the table and bring out whatever it is I'll probably won't use anyway – need for the class before zipping the bag up and putting it at the side of the table. The teacher walks in soon and starts giving a class on something I don't pay attention to.
Awesome!
It's lunch time already, and I'm making my way through the dining hall, planning on sitting next to Daniel, who caught my attention. I drop my tray on the table and sit in the chair directly opposite him.
"So", he starts, and I internally sigh at the thought of the next set of words I know are gonna spill from his mouth, "How's your first day going?" bingo! The exact way I knew he'd frame it as well.
"It's going great", I place some food on my fork, "I guess," I add before bringing the fork to my mouth. He simply shrugs at my response and focuses on the task at hand: eating his food.
"When will they serve something edible?" An overly sweet voice steals my attention away from my food. Looking up, I see a brunette pulling a seat at our table.
"When pigs fly," another girl replies sarcastically to the question. They both end up laughing at their own joke. I shoot Daniel a look that says, "You know them?" he nods in response, and that's the only piece of information I need to draw my attention back to my food. More seats scrape the floor, but I don't bother looking up cause Daniel probably knows who they are. They talk silently amongst themselves, and for a moment, I'm thankful for not being brought up as a stranger among them, since clearly they all know each other –
"Won't you introduce us to your friend Daniel?"
– Until I was not. I look up from my plate and instantly frown at the sight of the person who asked the question. With her curly Auburn hair done into two braids, a black singlet top paired with a blue denim skirt, and big blue eyes equally as pretty as she is, staring at me in a forcefully innocent manner, Sandra would look absolutely captivating in the eyes of ordinary guys, except I'm not ordinary.
With her eyes staring intently at me for an answer, I try really hard not to choke up the food I had just swallowed. I turn to face Daniel, silently pleading for him to take care of this situation. Thankfully he listens to my plea and turns to face Sandra, clearing his throat he says, "This is my cousin", he gestures a hand at me, "Xavier".
Wasting absolutely no time, she tells me her name in a tone I find absolutely disgusting, "Hi Xavier, I'm Sandra, nice to meet you." She waves a hand at me, which I ignore.
The brunette next to me also introduces herself, "Linda", she stretches a hand out to me, which I shake.
The black haired girl who sat opposite her also introduced herself, "Melinda". The boy with a deep shade of black hair, sitting at the end of the table, goes next, "I'm Zane". The way he speaks tells me he's already bored with this conversation, and I can't help but feel the same way. Only one person is left.
She seems to have tied her hair up with the scrunchie I saw on her hand. When her eyes meet mine – oh Lord – I'm being pulled into them without even realizing it. "Sofia", her soft voice pulls me from my thoughts, "my name is Sofia." She finishes her words with a slight nod, to which I reciprocate, before facing her attention back to her food. The lunch time isn't spent quietly anymore, not with Sandra's constant yapping. She's asking me a whole lot of questions in an attempt to try and get to know me.
"Xavier, what's your favorite activity?"
"Xavier, what do you do for fun?"
"How athletic are you?"
Oh God, kill me now. Each time her question goes unanswered, she just asks more.
"Xav –
"You're being stupidly annoying." The sound of a calm and collected voice cuts her off. Sofia's voice is as loud as it was calm, catching the attention of almost everyone in the cafeteria.
"What's it to you?" Sandra replies, a bit of challenge in her voice.
"If you couldn't tell, he is ignoring every ounce of you. It's in your, it's in our" – she gestures to the rest of us – "best interests that you shut the fuck up", she raises her voice even more. Silence fills our table.
Heads are turned, all in one direction
Hers
At the sight of the many eyes on her, there's a sudden shift in her breathing pattern, and she lifts a hand to her hair, reaching for the scrunchie holding it up She pulls on it, and her hair immediately falls across her face, hiding her features.
And just like that, she's up on her feet and moving towards the end of the cafeteria, dropping her tray at the edge of the counter, before walking out the door