Chapter 2

Freya

I had barely made it back to my room to rest a little when Hilda rushed in behind me.

-Where have you been? She asked going straight for her closet.

-Nowhere. Why? I lied, not because I was ashamed but because I didn't think she would understand.

-There's this group of friends I met back in the cafeteria and they said they were organizing a little gathering in someone's room. Want to join us?

-Is that even allowed? I asked even though I knew the rules by heart and none of them mentioned that we had the right to mingle in the dorms.

-Who cares? She said taking off her clothes and quickly replacing them with some even more revealing than the previous ones.

-I don't want to get kicked on my first day so thanks for the invite, but no thanks.

-Your loss. Technically school hasn't begun just yet. So, none of the rules apply.

I laughed at how clueless she was of any kind of policy. The girl must have never heard the word no in her life and was never given any rule to follow. This is going to be tough for her.

I watched her check her make up before she left and I was finally granted some time alone, in peace. I pulled my phone out and texted Josh, letting him know that I was okay and that everything was going accordingly. Over the years, he has become more like a father to me than big brother. The age difference isn't that big after all, he was only five years older than me yet he has grown so much since our parents' death and he had to take all the responsibility. He has grown to be an adult who has his whole life figured out by now, just the way our parents had planned it for him.

Hilda

-This is my twin sister, Danielle. Daniel introduced while his sister and I shook hands.

She seemed to be a nice girl, even nicer than her brother. Only, being true to who I am, I couldn't help but speak my mind.

-Daniel and Danielle. Hum.

-There's a difference in the way you pronounce it. Danielle said trying to justify her parents' poor choice of names. Or maybe they did it on purpose as an inside joke.

-We get that a lot. It's embarrassing. Daniel said with a chuckle and a sheepish smile and for a second, I felt guilty for making him feel uncomfortable but then I remembered the sound of that chuckle from earlier, and all trace of guilt has vanished from my heart.

-Now I can laugh at you the way you laughed at me earlier. I said with a triumphant smile on my face. He laughed and nodded.

-Touché. But it's nice to have someone like you in here.

I was about to reply to that when the room got flooded with several people, some I recognized from lunch. What I liked the most about Daniel's group of friends was that it had almost all kinds of ethnicities. Two cousins who were LatinAmerican, the guy was an athlete and the girl a dancer, an Asian nerdy girl, the twins, and me. There was also Daniel's roommate and his girlfriend, they weren't a part of the group, but they stayed for the little gathering.

We ran out of food and we have missed dinner so I decided to take a quick trip to the vending machine they had down the hallway before I went to sleep. The lack of lights didn't help me get safely to the vending machine without bumping into walls but the truth is, I was buzzed as well because I kept sipping booze from my flask the whole night whenever no one was looking.

On my way back to my room, I was walking on my tip toes, trying my best to make any noise or fall when I bumped into something hard that knocked me over and I hit the floor on my butt. I groaned trying to find that wall again that knocked me over, for support when I felt something pulling me up to my feet. I yelped, feeling the grip of two hands on my waist.

-Hush before you wake anyone up.

A voice whispered in my ear. With my purse still clutched in both hands, I fished my phone out then switched on the light. The person in front of me flinched away from the blinding light pushing my hand down.

-Who are you?

-If I tell you, I'll have to punish you. The British male voice said again.

My eyes grew wide in the dark and for the first time, fear creeped into my heart. Only the booze was stronger than the fear as I felt bubbles of giggle escape my mouth.

-Have you been drinking? He asked noticing my sudden change of demeanor. I took a step back and replied, trying to master the best serious tone I could in that situation.

-If I tell you, I'll have to kill you so you wouldn't rat me out. I joked, earning a small laugh from the other person.

-Fair enough. How about you go back to your room and neither of us speaks of this to anyone?

-Deal. I said with a firm nod even though it was dark and he couldn't see me. When I lifted my phone up again, he was gone and the hallway was empty.

I walked to my room and shut the door behind me as quietly as possible so not to wake my roommate. I slipped under the covers of my bed and unlocked my phone to check my messages.

There was a whole conversation going between Derek and Andrew but I wasn't there to reply to any of their comments.

A tear streamed down my cheek and fell on the pillow as I read the messages and silently laughed at my best friends' silliness, wishing nothing more than to be with them. Where I belonged.

Freya

An annoying sound disturbed my sleep and woke me. It was the first time I've had a long night of peaceful sleep, with no nightmares or waking up crying in the middle of the night. I groaned as I opened my eyes and looked around, searching for where the sound was coming from.

-What the hell is this? Hilda groaned from the other side of the room, stopping her cursing mid-sentence as she lifted herself up while rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

-I don't know. I replied throwing the covers off and getting up.

I opened the door to find a flood of students in the hallway, already dressed and ready for school. It didn't take a genius to figure it out as I slammed the door shut again and rushed to small bathroom we had.

-It's the school bell! Get up and get dressed. We're already late. I shouted at Hilda as I hurried to wash my face and get dressed under ten minutes.

Luckily, my work at the kitchen was part time and I only had to be there for lunch and dinner, breakfast wasn't included. I almost flew to my classroom to find everyone already sitting with their books open on their desks and the teacher was writing something on the chalkboard.

I knocked on the door twice before I took a step inside, my cheeks flush with heat and all eyes were on me.

-You're late. The old man said, stating the obvious.

-I'm sorry. I replied not knowing exactly what to say else beside that I have slept in.

-Are you new here? He asked seizing me up and down. I nodded and he hummed to himself before he said:

-Go take a seat before I change my mind.

I rushed inside the classroom toward the only empty seat left trying not to trip on the school bags thrown on the floor.

-Your name? The teacher asked, holding a paper between his hands.

-Freya Richardson. I replied praying that he would get on with his lesson already so the attention would lift from me and back to him.

He nodded then wrote something down and said:

-You'll have Mr. Brown catch you up with what you have missed.

I was fifteen minutes late and I had already missed something that I needed to be caught up with. My eyes roamed around trying to find whoever the teacher was referring to until they met a hazel set of eyes that made my mouth go dry.

Hilda

Obviously, I was late for class because I had to get ready first then search for the classroom. I took my time getting dressed, modifying a 'few things' about my school uniform, and putting my make up on since my moto in life is better to arrive late than ugly.

When I reached the classroom, I found the door open and everyone was already sitting focused on whatever the teacher was writing on the board. He had his back to me so instead of knocking and asking permission to come in, I sneaked in and sat on the last chair in the corner of the room without making any noise so not to draw attention to me. I pulled out my notebook just to use it to hide the fact that I was texting on my phone. I was going through all of my social media accounts, reading left messages and occasionally replying, viewing the new pictures my friends have been posting and envying every moment they spent together while I wasn't there with them.

I heard someone clear their throat startling me and making me drop my phone to the floor and curse. I bent down to pick it up when I saw a pair of fancy shoes standing in front of me. My eyes followed them up traveling along the body until they reached the face. And what a face it was. Not in a million years have I expected a teacher to be that hot. He looked like a nerd, but his looks made up for that. The man before me was tall with broad shoulders and had curly brown hair that fell to his forehead. He was wearing a three-piece suit that completed the nerdy glasses he had on. He was staring down at me with those dark chocolate eyes and an amused ever so small smile on his lips making my cheeks flush. I found myself ogling him for a little too long when all eyes were on me. I looked down to notice that he had his palm open to me. I frowned at it then looked back up at him. He raised his eyebrows and gestured with his chin toward my desk where I placed my phone after picking it up.

-Thank you. He said the minute I placed it in his palm. Only then I realized what I had just done.

-I'll need to speak with you after class. He added before walking away from me but I wasn't paying attention to his words, my mind was focused on that voice I felt like I have heard before.