The POPSTAR that got away

The school village

As the instructor dismisses us, I want to hide and wait for Austin and Oliver to leave because I am still scared. Austin doesn't scare me, because he acts out in a dumb way, but Oliver's silent angry look terrified me, so I want to avoid him. 

That doesn't seem possible as Shakill drags me to the back of the auditorium where Oliver was sitting. I try to look at the floor the whole time while Shakill signs us up to be roommates and collects our keys. 

After me and Shakill are given the key to our apartment, off we go to discover the school village on our own. 

After we are far away enough from the auditorium I feel confident enough to lift my gaze.

As night is descending, bringing along its colors, we walk along the village, crowded with students, that are all looking for their respective apartment. 

Neither me or Shakill seem to be able to follow the map. And this is an old drawing on a paper map. There is no wifi in the village. The only internet that we can use needs to be accessed from the library for homework purposes.

Because we are lost, we pass a French coffee shop three times and we see the central fountain so often we start to grow nauseated by its sight. Most of the students have already found their place and are chatting with each from their respective small balconies.

Shakill and I, both being incredibly shy, do not even attempt to ask for directions to the seasoned students. Instead we keep walking, feeling a bit too conscious now of having everyone's eyes on us. They clearly must know we are lost. 

This is very embarassing given this school has a reputation for being ruthless to people who are not extremely book and street smart. 

The admission rate is less than 0.001%.

Yet, somehow, although having passed the admission test, me and Shakill cannot even find our room in a small student village. 

"People are looking at us," I whisper in her ear. 

"Yes, I know" she replies with a whisper that is softer than mine.

"Let's pretend we are just looking around the place," I say between my teeth.

So we cease our search and start perlustrating the area instead.

We decide to abandon the main crowded plaza and find the secondary streets of this village. Alleys depart from this central square in every direction. Some alleys look festives, others look seducing, others make us shiver in fear.

We resolve to choose the one from which a deliciously mouth watering smell is coming from.

"Pretty weird what Austin did in the auditoria don't you think?"

She asks as we squeeze into the allay to follow the mouth watering smell.

"Yeah, I mean and the way he reacted? Have you ever seen someone so entitled? He pushed you, just say sorry am I right?"

I say laughing nervously.

Our conversation is interrupted by the smell growing stronger. We soon find the source. It's coming out from the open doors of this small pastries shop that is covered in christmas lights and cute decorations of all kinds.

"Welcome" says the girl behind the counter as we set foot in. She looks our age. "I am Diane" she says before neither of us can chip a word in. "I saw you guys from way before you chose to pick this alley. I knew you would come this way. Hey it was crazy the way you scolded Austin. People around here don't do that. You are now the new school's celebrity!"

Then she looks us up and down for half a second and before we can say anything in response she is talking again. "You are Shakill, the studious girl that spends all her time in the library and somehow manages to not have any friends and you must be the new comer, Deity".

"Wow, aren't you informed?" says Shakill, clearly impressed "I didn't think anyone knew my name".

"I know everybody's name," says Diane with a mischevious smile on her face. 

"So who is this Austin and why does he have such a reputation?" I ask nonchalantly. Truly tho, I couldn't care less about Austin. I started the topic so that I could diverge it towards Oliver.

"Well" says Diane coming to the customer side of the shop and encircling us both in a half hug. "Aren't you a sweet thing, pretending you don't know who he is. But I'll tell you anyways, like if I really believe you don't know. According to the majority of the girls around here, quote and quote 'he is the most handsome Junior at EscapeDreams high' end quote and quote".

"Oh so... this is what OTHER girls think of him" I tease. "You are not like all the other girls around here"

"Ah shut up you, even if I did have a crush on him, I'll never admit it" she winks. "He is a heartbreaker. And piecing together a broken heart is a waste of time. I don't go for the heartbreakers. I go for the heartfixers. You'll need to find the Forest if you find yourself a heartbreaker''.

She goes back to the other side of the counter, grabs her phone, taps it here and there and then starts to talk into the piece of metal. "Mum, you need to come back to the shop, I am going to a party with my new friends. No mum I can't cover for that long. Came on, it's Austin's party. Ah, I knew you would understand".

"Came on ladies," she says as she frogmarch us out of the shop. "We are going to a party".

---