Love Lessons (Marina Diamandis)

Chapter One

I wake up to nothing but white. White room, white sheets, white curtains letting all the light inside. An empty room and more empty apartment.

One glance at my phone confirms my theory: I will be late, once again. Whether it's fifteen minutes or an hour, late is late and the professor won't allow me in, so there is no further harm in taking my time to get ready. I take a long, warm bath, since it's cold outside, then I spend about ten minutes choosing my clothes - and by that I mean wearing ten different things until I give up -, make myself a sandwich for breakfast and also make sure I have everything I need in my bag. Phone, notebook, pen, money... Keys? I sigh and make my way back to the room, where did I leave them if I used them last night? I open every drawer until I see something silver and shiny, when I reach for it, I see it's not actually my keys but a key shaped necklace with a heart in the end. The one Marina gave to me years ago. Memories of us hit me hard, bringing back all the pain I believed was left behind.

"Where are you??!" - Sam.

"Why am I sitting here alone?" - Sam.

"Gabriela, I'm going to punch you if you don't get your ass over here." - Sam.

I run to the door and close it behind me, deciding I will find my keys later in the day. They can't be lost, yet I know I don't have the time to look for them just know, I have to get to university if I want to pass my classes, and apparently, don't get punched by my best friend. I walk to the bus stop and patiently wait for it to arrive. Whilst I do, the memories keep hitting me over and over again, and they're slowly taking me back to the hole I believed I'd crawled out of. I guess a broken heart never mends, we simply learn to live with it.

When the bus finally arrives, I get in, pay the driver and take a seat. There is nobody else but an old lady with a grocery bag and a kid who must be her grandson. She's wearing a thick wool sweater and a scarf, but she still seems to be shaking underneath all those layers. The kid is another story, he is too busy playing with a toy car to notice what's going on around him. That is one thing I envy of kids, they don't have to worry about anything other than being kids. I feel the bus come to a stop, and looking out the windows I see I have reached my destination. I get off and rush to the classroom, thinking the class has already started. It has not, but I am quick to spot the tiny girl sitting by herself in one of the corners. Other people are sitting too, but she doesn't get along with many of our classmates.

"It was about time!" She exclaimed. "Where were you?"

"I think I didn't hear the alarm, or forgot to set it, I'm not sure." I take my notebook out and place it on the table, flip through some pages and check my schedule for today. Monday: Culture - 7 to 8:30 I missed that. English Literature - 9:00 to 10:30 am. I check the time on my phone, it reads 8:50 am, so we're still early. "What's the problem?"

"I had to sit through an hour and a half of Culture and not talk to anyone." The tiny girl says, clearly annoyed.

"Yes, that's what you're supposed to do!" I tell her.

"Oh, shut up." She laughs.

Minutes later everybody walks in and the teacher follows them. A tall, dark man who seems to talk endlessly about the different genres and how to difference them. I write down as much as I can, and as much as the tiny brunette lets me, since she always has something to talk about. If she were as good at writing as she is with gossip, she wouldn't need to be here. But I love her a lot, she is a wonderful friend. Sometimes I think I would be lost without her, I am still the lone wolf type, the days she's not here I have nobody to talk to.