In a world of constant hurt, she'd thought the pain would be an everlasting imprint of hell. She seeks normalcy, but is repeatedly denied the satisfaction.
He is swallowed by loneliness and drowns in his misfortune. As each day goes by, more and mo...
"Layla... Layla wake up." The voice spliced through her sleepy state. "I made your favorite! Pancakes!" She immediately recognized Jesse's vibrant voice in her ear as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
She arose from her bed as Jesse stood near the bed post with hands on his hips.
"I've been calling you for twenty minutes, missy! I would've thought you were dead, but your snoring gave you away," he scolded her playfully.
Did I really snore?
He ushered her up and out of the dark room, nearly tripping over the art supplies she had stacked by the foot of her bed.
She had spent the majority of the night sketching various people and designs, hence her extended sleep. But that's exactly what she loved - quiet time to herself with endless sheets of crisp paper and a variety of pencils. Jesse never got upset about it, he knew just how talented she was. He could still recall finding a magnificent hand-drawn pony when Layla was only four. But she never bragged about her work. She couldn't even admit that she was good. It was never about ego for Layla, it was simply her knack.
Jesse set a heaping pile of fluffy pancakes in front of Layla. She absolutely loved them- blueberry, chocolate chip, banana, cinnamon, you name it. But every Sunday when Jesse whipped up a batch of his "famous cakes" , she desired only a thin pad of butter between each, and of course a heavy drizzle of maple syrup.
After Layla had gorged herself on the decadent breakfast, Jesse finally broke the silence. "So apparently today is open house at Kentwood. I thought maybe we could go and check it out together so that tomorrow is no big deal?" Jesse's statement held question.
He knew how she was. Layla was incredibly shy and needed time to adjust. She didn't like crowds or loud people, and certainly not a new place filled with thousands of rowdy college kids.
She smiled brightly at his suggestion. He knew her all too well. "That sounds great. Thanks, Jes." She hugged him with all her might and of course he returned the gesture.
Layla got dressed quickly, as she didn't want to keep Jesse waiting. Even though her curly hair had been a bit disastrous, she just threw the thick mass into a ponytail and raced downstairs. She refused to make this day about her, Jesse still needed to rest and lately he'd been overworking himself.
After giving her simple grey v-neck and black jeans a once-over, she slipped on her old converse and hopped into the car with Jesse. She offered to drive several times, but of course he refused. He was her Uber for the day.
His words, not hers.
He reversed out of the driveway and they were on their way. The soft 'hum' of the car did nothing to ease her nerves. Her mind continued to race with thunderous thoughts. How would college be? Will my teachers be monstrous? What if I get lost? What if I trip down the stairs? And then one certain possibility, amongst all the others, made her stomach drop. What if I disappoint Jesse? It left a bitter taste in her mouth. He had done so much to get her where she is, and the last thing she wanted was for him to think less of her.
When the light shake of Jesse's hand on her shoulder broke her out of her thoughts, she hadn't even realized the car stopped. Yes, she had worried herself sick throughout the entire twenty minute duration to the university. When she finally turned to face Jesse, he recognized that face - she was stressed to the max.
"Hey... I know you're scared, but it's gonna be fine! No pressure. I'm here for you, Lay. You got this!" Jesse reassured Layla and tossed a big smile at her.
She nodded with a smile. He was right. She couldn't be a baby her whole life.
They left the tranquil car and faced the large campus. She read the lit up sign on the face of the building. 'KENTWOOD UNIVERSITY' glowed in maroon lettering and was embellished with gold trim.
As they headed inside to check in and pick up her schedule, she observed the grassy walkway and benches strewn about. They would make for a lovely spot to draw in peace, she noted.
Waiting in the lengthy line organized by last name, had taken much longer than anticipated. But she and Jesse just kept busy by playing a few rounds of 'Would You Rather' and gawking at the enormous school. Finally, they made it to the front of the line where an older lady with graying hair and glasses requested her name and student ID. As she dug through a folder, Layla's eyes landed on her name tag. In small black letters, it read 'Esther.'
Esther had located her schedule and shoved the paper at her while simultaneously shouting "Next!" Pulling the sheet from the old woman's aged hands, suddenly she was eager to see what classes she'd be attending tomorrow. Jesse looked at her expectantly as she turned the paper over. They stepped out of the line and observed Layla's schedule:
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She was ecstatic at this point. Every class she had originally chosen during registration was now displayed on her schedule. Even better, she was only required to attend class four days per week.
"Damn. That looks pretty sweet!" Jesse commented. He supported her in every aspect, even when she chose to major in art. Of course her parents never cared enough to know, but they wouldn't be happy to find that she was majoring in such a subject.
In their eyes, unless she became a doctor or lawyer, she was a disgrace. But she honestly didn't give a rat's ass about what they thought. If Jesse taught her one thing, it would be to do what you love.
After leaving the building, they decided to check out the career booths splayed about the campus lawn. People who manned the booths shouted and attempted to persuade her to approach their programs, but she only had her eyes set on one.
A quiet little stand sat in the midst of the open, grass-covered lawn. A beautifully decorated banner hung from the front and balloons framed the booth.
"Hi! I'm Gwen, and this is Josh!" The girl with a pixie-cut and large blue eyes spoke. "We're enrolled in the art program and if you're interested, feel free to take any pamphlets and a complementary button," she smiled genuinely at Layla.
Layla was truly an art geek. She loved art exhibits and any such memorabilia, so she absolutely took that button. It was a tiny pin with a golden paintbrush and palette crossed with the school's initials. Gwen and Josh seemed like nice people, hopefully she had art with them.
Layla smiled as she gathered the program's brochures and waved goodbye. She tucked them away safely in her bag and pinned the button to the strap.
Maybe tomorrow wouldn't be so bad. ______________________________________
Hello beautiful people, I apologize for being absent from Wattpad for so long! Though, my school just went on spring break so I'm really trying to whip out some good chapters! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed chapter 5! Please feel free to vote, or comment, or ask me questions or something lol!!! Xoxo, _phantom_writer_vl
