Catch Me If You Can

<Chapter 5>

I watched with a small bit of amusement as the professor shot a pointed glare at the group while he spoke. "Welcome to government eleven oh one. For some of you, welcome back. My name is Frank Cardell. You may call me Frank, Mr. Cardell, or just Cardell."

He stood and moved to the corner of the room. "Coming around now is a syllabus with everything you need to know about this course, including due dates for all assignments as well as required material."

Someone murmured something behind me and let out a low chuckle, catching Mr. Cardell's attention. I briefly looked over my shoulder to identify who laughed. The boy had sandy blond hair and an amused smirk as he relaxed back in his chair with nothing but his phone, wallet and keys. He was a part of the group that had come in, disturbing the peace.

"Mr. Hicks. How lovely to see you again this year. I pray you'll only have to redo this class once. I'd hate to see you again next semester or even next year."

"I just wasn't trying last year. I know the material. It's a waste of everyone's time to have me back in this class."

"Then you should have passed it last year. Unfortunately, you didn't and this college doesn't go off the word of students claiming they know what's being taught. Otherwise, we'd have a higher graduation rate," Mr. Cardell shot back with brutal efficiency.

Some of the boy's friends snickered at the retort but quieted down when he glared at them. I couldn't help it when my lip curled up in amusement. Turning my head away quickly, I hid my grin against my arm as I continued to listen to the conversation.

"I swear I know it. I just got caught up in having fun. Doesn't everyone say college is supposed to be fun?"

"That's true, but college should also be teaching you haw to maintain a healthy balance between work and play. You should know by now when it's time to focus on school and when it's time for you to have fun." Before the boy could deign to respond, Mr. Cardell continued, "As I was saying, the syllabus has all the information you will need for this semester so I suggest that you keep up with it."

I took the stack of papers from the outstretched hand of the kid next to me and pulled one off the top before passing it along again. My eyes scanned over the syllabus, marking the two textbooks I'd need and the general overview of the class. Later, I'd see if I could find free, online versions of the textbooks so I could avoid the excessive amount of money I would have to spend for an actual textbook.

"Because I generally don't feel like teaching anything on the first day, why don't we get to know each other?" My eyes shot up to the professor standing at the front of the room. "This is a small enough class that I want to know your names if you come to me with a question. Just for fun, why don't we start at the back of the room and work our way up? State your name and something you enjoy."

My chest squeezed in until it felt like I couldn't breathe. God, I hated class introductions. I had hoped I escaped it in college but clearly not. I distantly heard people standing and saying their names. Mr. Cardell was nodding and smiling at each one so it couldn't be that bad. The girl who sat next to me stood and I finally tuned in enough to comprehend what was said.

"My name is Sarah Bale and...I like to party." There were a few giggles from her friends as she sat back down.

Mr. Cardell nodded and moved his eyes to me. Sucking in a deep breath, I stood. "My name is Paige O'Brien and, I don't know, I like to paint."

As I sat down again, his smiled widened just slightly in comfort as he looked to the boy sitting at the next table. Introductions continued on until the last person stood and introduced herself. Mr. Cardell let us have the rest of class to ourselves, prompting the obnoxiously loud group to start up another conversation.

I dropped my cheek back to my arm and pulled out my phone to begin scrolling through Instagram again. A lot of my feed was from old high school friends, showing off their new campuses and dorm rooms. I liked a few but ultimately scrolled past all of them.

<>

An hour and a half later, the campus bell rang, signalling everyone that class was over. I stood and began pulling on my backpack when the girl who sat next to me stood up on her chair.

"For the freshies who don't know already, the Alpha Delta Pi sorority and the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity are throwing a huge party for the start of the year. Anyone is invited to come and get to know everyone."

So that was the party Ripley was talking about. I nodded more to myself as others started talking and murmuring to each other about the party. Slipping out with the crowd, I hugged the wall to avoid the majority of the crowd.

Once I was outside, I took a deep breath and started walking toward the garden built in the middle of the campus. I had noticed it when I arrived yesterday but was too busy to visit.

Just like I thought, it was a small, serene area where different plants were maintained. I studied the different flowers and bushes, trying to figure out what they were just by their features. I wanted to take pictures of the area and imagined different shots in different lighting but I couldn't do anything yet. I preferred the camera Harley had gotten me one Christmas a few years back. The shots were clearer and much more professional than a regular phone camera.

My next class started in two hours so I had time to kill until then. I was half-tempted to text Feshuna and see where she was but I didn't want to bother her. I didn't have Ripley's number yet but I had a feeling she would be trying to take a power nap to make up for the early class. The only other option was to find somewhere to hang out until my next class.

I knew my next class was my literature class and a quick glance at my map told me it was close to the library. I didn't have to think any harder on it and picked my stuff up, heading in the direction of the library. Maybe while I'm there, I could look to see if there's any chance of them carrying the textbooks I needed. I knew there was a strong chance against it but it wouldn't hurt to check.