My Freshman Year: Day 23

Days as a Freshman: 23

Current Mood: Lovesick

“Hey guys!”

Stacy’s voice was too loud for the library, and much too loud for my ears. Plunking herself down at our table, she made sure that she was sitting opposite Sasha, and leaning close enough to almost touch his forehead with hers.

After bumping into him in the dining hall, I had somehow miraculously started a conversation about Chemistry—the class we had together—and mentioned that I was headed to the library to study for the chapter quiz. I was just going to do the same thing, he said, smiling in a way that made me feel like I was having a mini heart attack. Wanna study together?

I knew full well studying with Sasha meant studying his face, not our notes, but in the scope of life, I figured one failed quiz was worth a few hours next to the cutest boy I had ever seen.

We hadn’t been in the library twenty minutes before Stacey found us. By some sort of horrible luck she had picked tonight to venture back into the Stacks, a place she normally wouldn’t have been caught dead in. Stacey didn’t “do” the library. If it couldn’t be found online—it couldn’t be found.

“So weird that I found you guys!” she pulled a tube of lipgloss out of her bag and began applying it. “I so never come to this place. Do you always study so far back? It’s kinda creepy.”

“I usually go here when I don’t want to be disturbed.” I tried to give her a death stare, but the shiny-lipped roommate from hell wouldn’t take her eyes off the boy in front of her. “You’re not really supposed to talk that loud, either.”

“Grace, there’s like no one down here.” Popping the lipgloss back in her giant bag (which was never full of books), Stacey flicked her eyes in my direction for a split second, taking on a tone of disgusting superiority. “Besides, you were laughing your head off two minutes ago.”

I looked down quickly, hoping my hair would cover the rising red in my cheeks. Had I been that loud? That obvious? I was trying so hard to keep my adoration in check, but if Stacey had seen it, how undercover could it be?

“Are you taking this class?” Maybe sensing the tension, maybe blissfully unaware of it, Sasha lifted his book in Stacey’s direction. “It’s a giant freshman clusterf*ck.”

“Oh, I’m not taking any science this semester. It gives me wrinkles.” Stacey smiled at him and batted her lashes. “Seriously. I’m not even kidding.”

Under the table, I felt a slight kick. I looked over at him quickly and bit my lip, letting my hair cover my face one more time. He understood. Sasha had seen Stacey for who she was, and understood.

My love for him was out of control.