Boring, monotonous days used to be a part of my life. But not anymore. Now I wake up fully aware that today will be wonderful, unpredictable, and unforgettable. But here's the catch — do I even need all of this? Still, every time I find myself looking forward to it.
Yesterday we had a really nice time at Collins's place: we talked about heartfelt things, the guys reminisced about their fun university days, and I listened with genuine interest.
Apparently, back in college, the biology teacher somehow managed to combine the status of a troublemaker with that of a diligent student.
Impressive. Vicky and I sometimes dabble in minor crimes too. Smearing wax on the board or putting a tack on a teacher's chair — classic. But unscrewing the nails that were already barely holding things together in a classroom — that's something more original. Especially on the official prank day, which, by the way, we actually have at school. Sometimes I do feel a little ashamed, of course, but it's funny, isn't it?
Once, the vice principal caught us red-handed. Oh, there was such a fuss back then. Mrs. Stone didn't like me even before that, but after the incident she started openly hating me. Vicky and I had to endure countless pointless lectures and scoldings: "Such exemplary students! Smith and Stryker, I expected this from you least of all!" Yes, that "perfect" teacher certainly knew how to reprimand us — and in such a way that it was hard to look her in the eyes afterward. But since then, my friend and I worked on our mistakes, and nothing like that will happen again.
Despite being an early bird, I woke up rather late today. Probably because I got home around midnight yesterday. The first thing I did was check my email — recently I'd started corresponding with a guy who was also a fan of Connelly. And he was quite an interesting conversationalist, actually. Just then, the doorbell rang unexpectedly.
For some reason, I immediately thought of Collins, who had already managed to show up unexpectedly once. But all my assumptions vanished the moment I opened the door and saw Vicky standing on the doorstep. With smudged mascara, disheveled, tearful — but still my friend.
"Alex dumped me," Smith barely managed to say between sobs before throwing herself into my arms.
"Hey," I said softly, letting her inside and gently rubbing her back. "Everything's going to be okay."
After a while, we were already sitting in the kitchen, drinking chamomile tea, and Victoria was telling me everything in detail. Despite my empty stomach constantly reminding me of itself, I listened attentively, pushing my hunger aside.
"I decided to figure out why Michael suddenly started getting handsy, and Alex just started yelling at me, saying it was all my fault. And Michael was just a victim of circumstances," Vicky explained once she had calmed down a little, wiping the smeared mascara from her face with a dry tissue from her bag.
"What a jerk," I muttered harshly, sighing angrily. "It's like I forced him to drink until he lost control and then hit on me. What's next?"
By the way, I kept quiet about the fact that Collins had saved me from that guy.
"Well, I couldn't take it anymore and slapped Alex," my friend continued with growing enthusiasm, even smiling slightly. "Served him right, the bastard. And he goes, 'That's it, I'm dumping you, you bitch,' and nearly ran out of the room in tears."
Yeah, appearances can be deceiving. Alexander looked like a huge, muscular guy who could protect anyone with more than just a slap — someone who could easily throw a punch. But in reality, he was a complete wimp.
"Why the hell would you even need someone like that?" I said encouragingly, nudging Smith lightly in the side. "A parasite living off his dad's money. What's there to expect from him?"
I hadn't liked Alex from the very beginning, the moment I first saw him. I have a good instinct for bad people. Too bad my friends never listen until they step on the rake themselves.
Suddenly, a loud thud came from my bedroom, as if something had fallen. Confused, my friend and I exchanged glances. I jumped up from my chair and, just in case, grabbed a kitchen knife before heading there. Victoria followed me, nervously glancing around as if someone else could be in the apartment.
Placing my hand on the cold metal handle, I slowly pushed the door open.
No one was inside.
Everything would have been fine… if not for the large red message stretched across the big window directly opposite the door — written from the outside:
"He's mine."
Just two words. But they echoed in my head like a threat, chilling and ominous.
"What the fuck is that?" Smith blurted out, staring at the words in shock, her mouth hanging open.
"If only I knew…"
I didn't wait long and contacted Collins almost immediately.
"Are you sure this is about me?" Even in a situation like this, Christopher managed to be ironic. It irritated me to no end. Some lunatic leaves messages like that on my window, and he's joking. Thank God I managed to see my grief-stricken friend out before the biology teacher arrived.
"Are you kidding me? I can't even figure out who would be stupid enough to do something like this," I said, almost sobbing, as a lump formed in my throat and my eyes stung with tears.
"Hey, hey," the teacher pulled me tightly into his arms, letting me bury my face in his neck and breathe in the scent of his cologne, which filled me completely for a moment. His presence calmed me. I didn't even realize when Collins had become so important to me. And I didn't really want to think about it right now.
"I'm sorry," Chris whispered sadly into my ear, holding me even tighter.
"It's okay," I nodded in understanding. "But who could've done this?"
Bringing his fingers to his temples and staring intently at the red words on the glass, the teacher sighed heavily.
"Maybe Dora," he suggested. "She came by a few days ago to talk… You know what I mean."
"And what did you say?" My whole body suddenly tensed so sharply that I felt a dull ache somewhere inside. It felt suspiciously like… jealousy?
"Of course I turned her down, silly," Collins smiled, gently ruffling my hair. "And she said I was making a huge mistake and that I'd regret my choice."
"Will you ask Katherine? Maybe she saw something," I asked, looking up at Chris. He nodded without hesitation.
"Of course I will."
"Why do you think she did it?"
"Lily," he said my name softly, in a slightly different way than usual, "don't fill your head with nonsense. I'm sure it's just another prank. Why don't we do something more interesting instead?"
I didn't even notice how I ended up pinned between him and the wall. My shoulder blades suddenly ached, but I ignored it, staring into his blue eyes, trying to understand what he meant. But reading a man's thoughts wasn't exactly easy — I could only guess.
He leaned in so close that I felt his minty breath on my lips. For some reason, the biologist smiled expectantly, stirring uncertainty and a strange fear inside me. And then, in the next second, the doorbell rang — a true спасение for me — and I greedily took a deep breath when the teacher finally stepped back.
"Speaking of something interesting," Christopher perked up, pulling me toward him and spinning me into some kind of improvised dance, until I ended up with my back pressed against his chest. "I ordered pizza for us. I have a feeling you're hungry."
You really can read my mind, Collins.