rubbing her bleary, mascara smeared eyes, Katya stretched, before jolting upright. today. leaping out of bed and tripping on her oversized pyjama pants in the process, she rushed to where her calendar hung on the wall, each day meticulously crossed off with purple sharpie. August 23. the first day of college.
sliding open the closet door, she grabbed a folded London sweatshirt and some jeans, before heading out to the garage. driving to the closest Starbucks, Katya got her usual, an iced coffee with vanilla cream, and, because she felt like surprising her best friend on the first day of college, a London Fog.
Upon unlocking the back door of their shared home, Katya tiptoed in, setting Leah's drink on the counter, along with a little note and a muffin. Katya sat down at the counter to think for a moment. "classes start at 8...that leaves enough time to get a quick workout in...maybe get breakfast...then wake up Leah...and head to class." she thought, aggressively sipping her coffee.
The sound of padded footsteps snapped Katya out of the daze, and put a smile on her face, as the noise of those little feet never failed to. "Morning, sleepy bean..." Katya said, when the blonde bedhead of her best friend peeked around the corner, hopped off the stool and slid across the kitchen to give her a hug.
"...what time is it...?" Leah's deep morning growl caught Katya by surprise, and she startled.
"It's 7:15, aaa! where'd that come from?!" she asked, amused. Leah yawned then glanced around, sniffing.
"is that..."
"a London fog? mhm... I felt like surprising you."
"aww, thanks! I haven't had one of these in forever." Leah said, waddling over to the counter and wrapping her sweatshirt covered hands around the cup, warming herself.
The rest of the morning passed in a blur, pencils and pens were stashed away, new notebooks and textbooks, sticky notes and page markers. The parking lot at the college was a mess. students, teachers, police on golf carts going everywhere. posters advertising fraternities hung from fences and were plastered on doors.
"Join world language club! First meeting on Tuesday! Come see us there!" a red-haired girl shouted, waving a banner with all sorts of colourful languages printed on it.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a guy wearing a black leather jacket riding a bike came barrelling down the sidewalk, making people jump out of his way to avoid being hit. "Katya! move!" Leah grabbed her backpack handle and pulled her backwards, sending them both tumbling onto the grass.
"didn't you see him?!" she asked, surprised. but Katya wasn't listening. she watched the guy as he sped past, who tossed a backward glance over his shoulder, pinning her with his stormy gaze.
"who...was...that?" Katya asked, breathless.
"I don't know, and I don't care, but you almost got flattened, so you're welcome!" Leah exclaimed, shaking her by the shoulders to get her attention.
"oh, yeah. sorry, thanks." but Katya's mind was elsewhere.
They found their way around campus, thanks to the help of a map Leah had found on a table. By the time lunch rolled around, their backpacks were filled with syllabi from various classes, and first homework assignments, mostly some get to know you stuff, with a couple of math problems mixed in.
"so, who's your favourite teacher so far?" Katya asked as they waited to find a table.
"I like Mr. park the best, he just seems really nice," Leah replied, a faraway look in her eyes.
"hello...earth to Leah..." Katya waved a hand in front of her eyes, giving her a teasing smile.
"find any cute guys yet?"
"Nope, just the average college male." Leah laughed and looked away.
Their final classes passed without a hitch, and before they knew it, it was time to go home. walking down the tiled hallway, the girls intermingled with the wave of people headed for the door. Leah looked around, having lost visuals on Katya in the mass chaos that was the hall. her phone buzzed in her hand, and looking down, she saw a text that read "where r u, meet @ statue" so Leah began the long trek across campus, alone.
Finally, after an arduous 5 whole minutes of speed walking, Leah spotted Katya's backpack and caramel coloured hair in the shadow of the statue.
"Katya!" she called, skipping the last couple of steps. Whirling round, Katya's eyes lit up at the sight of her best friend, and it was then that Leah saw the mysterious biker guy from earlier leaning against a tree, watching them from afar. not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention, Leah ignored him, and they fell into step, arm in arm, heading for the car.
At around 10 pm that night, the girls were sprawled on their bunk bed, Katya taking the top. face illuminated by the screen, Katya was typing furiously on her MacBook, working on a paper for English.
"could you type any louder, honestly!" Leah sighed dramatically, then hoisted herself up next to katya, resting her head on her shoulder. "so...today, remember that guy on the bike?"
"yeah..." Katya stopped working and turned to look at Leah.
"He was watching us when I met you by the statue earlier today."
Katya's eyebrows shot up, and a blush rose to her cheeks.
"Really!?"
"yes...what is this colour I'm seeing in your cheeks...does someone like him...?" Leah asked, wiggling her eyebrows.
Katya looked back at the screen and continued working.
"come on.....spillll" Leah said, pouring an imaginary cup of tea.
"I just think he's kind of a bad boy and attractive, that's all. I wouldn't want to date him or anything." Katya kept her eyes focused on the screen, avoiding eye contact. rolling her eyes, Leah climbed down from the bed and shut off the light.
YOU ARE READING
His Artist
Fanfictiona studious, and innocent college girl meets a damaged and seeming heartless bad boy. will he teach her the lesson she needs to learn most of all?
