Twice The Trouble Book 2 of 2: Twice The Love

Chapter 12: Rule of Thumb

Sophia

Friday morning found me in my favorite place in Orion University.

The Campus Library.

Cold. Tranquil. Aromatic of old book pages and wooden tables.

I felt as horrible as I looked, something my blunt sister pointed out earlier.

"Dark circles under your eyes. Dry lips. Pale skin. Unruly hair," she had stated.

I haven't been taking care of myself for the past two weeks--for the past two weeks I've stayed up past midnight, staring at my phone, waiting for Lucas to respond to my calls ,texts, and emails.

I can recall when I was a child,those various waits that seemed too insignificant to even own up to: Waiting for pocket money. Waiting for my birthday. Waiting for Christmas. But this was absolute torture.

With a sigh, I started to mentally count my school tasks. I have one term paper, one research report, and one project for one of my major subjects.

Done, done, and done. Not being able to sleep for five consecutive nights, I used the opportunity to finish my academic duties. Thank God I didn't sign up for Student Council this year, otherwise I could be swamped with more responsibilities, on top of my current position as Editor-in-Chief of the university paper, The Orion Arrow, not to mention my incoming part-time job at the mall.

Was it normal to be this stressed at nineteen?

I ran my hand down my face. My skin felt sticky and a sickly pallor. I didn't even bother to tie my long brown mane in a ponytail this morning. I just didn't have the energy to do much this week.

With forty minutes left until my 7am class, I bent down under the wooden desk and rummaged inside my green backpack, producing the new novel I had bought a few days ago but never got around to perusing it.

I'm a fast reader, so in about twenty minutes, I had already consumed half the book.

"Telly didn't kill his parents or the people at the convenience store."

I looked over my shoulder to see a tall guy hovering behind me.

"Sandra had a secret past," he continued with a sly grin. "One where she left her crime boss father when she was sixteen and never looked back. When she left she took the account number for her father's secret off-shore account with $20 Million in ill-gotten funds. When her father died of cancer - Sandra lost the one thing her father offered her - a protection of sorts from his colleagues who wanted to get their hands on that money. At the very end it is revealed that it was Sharlah that killed their mother, not Telly."

I briskly clapped my book shut before I glared up at him through wary brown eyes.

"Did you.. just.." I could barely contain my boiling anger. "Spoil the ending?"

The young, handsome stranger gave me a wide smile. "Yeah. Now aren't you sorry for wasting your money?"

My breathing became shallow, as though I was hyperventilating, but I only felt sheer fury toward him.

"Great. Just great," I hissed beneath my breath, my fists clenched on my blue-clad lap.

As if I wasn't irritated enough, the tall guy in a white shirt and azure necktie spoke again.

"You should have just read the online version in advance," he had the gall to tell me.

He ruined the book for me. He just swooped in and destroyed everything. Now I either continue to finish the story minus the thrill of pure discovery or I surrender to this stranger's destruction of the only source of happiness for the past fourteen days.

I am a very considerate and reasonable person, but he has crossed the line.

So I might as well listen to Stacy's voice in my head saying: Annihilate him.

My baby brown eyes narrowed at the young man standing before me. "Okay, firstly, mister, a digital book cannot be infused with smells,you can't press flowers between its pages. It can't contain spilled tears or coffee stains. No. Only a real book can do those things." I inhaled sharply, completely on a roll now. "Even though digital novels are more convenient, there's something about holding a physical copy that's far more satisfying than being able to have it with me at all times." I folded my arms across my chest and scowled at the tall guy. "Kindly apologize for what you've done."

He held his palms up in mock surrender,one corner of his mouth rising in a smirk. "Nope."

"Pardon me?" I stared at him, my pulse racing with annoyance.

"I didn't do anything wrong," he said in a self-righteous tone which grated my nerves.

My phone suddenly vibrated in my vest, making me jump slightly in my seat. I slid my phone out of my vest's pocket and saw that my silent alarm had gone off, warning me that my 7am class would be starting in ten minutes.

I began to gather my things without making eye-contact with Mr. Spoiler. "I have to go," I muttered below my breath.

"Nobody's stopping you."

Just ignore him, Sophia.

Once inside my classroom, I violently dropped my bag on the floor with a loud THUD!

"What's wrong, Sop?" asked Alexis from my right side.

I sharply turned to him. "How would you feel if you're halfway through a book and some random person spoils the whole ending?!" I said in a low undertone.

Trevor, seated behind us, leaned forward,his hands clasping the back of my chair. He piped up: "I would be crazily pissed."

His brother, Travis, gave a derisive scoff. "The last literary piece you read was a porn magazine."

Trevor made an X shape with his arms when I sent him an incredulous stare. "Hey, I'm a man. I have needs," he said in his defense.

"Guys, try to keep the conversation clean," admonished Ronald, who is seated next to Travis.

I mustered a straight face despite my flushed cheeks. "I-it's fine, you guys don't have to tread on eggshells around me. I don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable just because I'm here."

"Now look what you've done," Ronald chastised Trevor.

"She said it was fine!"

Alexis sighed at his friends' banter. His gaze flickered to me. "Do you have a boyfriend, Sophia?"

The blunt question caught me off-guard, but I said in response: "N-no.. I don't." As I spoke, I never tore my brown eyes away from Alexis, though the wistfulness in my voice may have given me away nonetheless.

"What's with the third degree, Al?" asked Travis while focused on his phone in his hands.

Alexis shrugged. "Like us, she's nineteen. And we're all aware that Sophia has her heart set on someone.. I have no doubt they'll end up together, and when it happens, she'll have to delve into more.. adult.. experiences."

Ronald's mouth fell open. Travis simply raised his eyebrow. Trevor tactfully avoided my eye.

My heart stilled for a second, and I managed a meek: "W-what?" A blush crept up from the back of my neck, there were hundreds of butterflies fluttering inside my stomach.

"Sophia, it's probably too soon to tell you this." Alexis regarded me seriously. "We're all young adults here. You know what I meant. I just wanted to give you a heads up. I don't know what goes on in Lucas' head, but I can guarantee he'll be patient and understanding."

A new flame spread across my cheeks. I can nearly hear my heartbeat pounding in my chest.

Before I could garble a reply,our professor, Sir Calderon, scarily marched inside our classroom.

"Clear your desks," he commanded with authority. "Pop quiz," he announced.

The whole class groaned in unison.

After the quiz sheets were distributed, I clicked open my black pen, poised to answer, but my mind kept drifting back to my friends' earlier topic.

Adult... experiences..