metanoia.

1.

Although I was sitting in the car, I could feel the loud music pulsating through the house across the street and vibrating the ground under me like an earthquake. College students spilled out the front and sides of the white and light blue structure well into the street. I could smell the strong stench of booze and weed, which made me nauseous.

"Where is this girl..." I mumbled to myself. My best friend, Monica, was inside said house apparently having the time of her life. We had arrived at 10:30pm and it was now going on 1am that I had been waiting in this car for her. I wasn't a partier, but i didn't want Monica going alone, so i offered to be her DD, thinking I could finish up my assignment while she was inside. Well, a thousand word essay typed up and she still wasn't out. I drummed my fingers against the steering wheel and bit the inside of my cheek, contemplating going inside and dragging her ass out.

I leaned back against the head rest and sighed. As much as it frustrated me sometimes, I wouldn't change the person Monica was. I'll admit that I didn't have anyone but her. Sure, I have my family but Monica was my person, my best friend. The first day we'd met she had me bent over in laughter that made my stomach ache. I had my fair share of friends growing up, but it seemed that once high school left us, we'd done the same to each other. Monica and I had met senior year of high school. She had just moved to Chicago from California, as her parents were going through a divorce and her mother's family was here. She'd walked into English, a class that we shared, and aimlessly glanced around the classroom before her eyes landed on me and she smiled. She walked straight up to me and said, "I love your glasses. Can I sit by you?"

I had been so taken aback that I gave a quick nod and removed my bag from the chair opposite me , where Monica  plopped down with a cheeky grin. From then on she always found me in the hallway, always searched for me in the cafeteria, and, once we had figured out we lived in the same neighborhood, walked home together everyday.

When it came time to think about college, we knew we had to go together. Now here we were, Monica a fashion major because nothing suited her better, and me a law major. Even though polar opposites, nothing could break the bond we shared. While I was quiet and reserved, Monica was outgoing and friendly, which I think is what made us mesh so well.

my thoughts were interrupted by a knock on my car window that caused me to jerk my head up and my heart to start pounding wildly. I stared into soft chocolate orbs, topped off with a pearly white smile. He signaled for me to roll the window down, so I obliged.

"can I help you?" I asked curiously. This man didn't look familiar so I had no idea what he wanted with me.

"you gone stay in this car all night? I been watching you since you and ya girl got here. Why aren't you inside with her?" he questioned, giving me a knowing look

"oh uh... this isn't my thing. I guess i'm just here for moral support?" I gave a nervous laugh, studying the man peeking through my window. His skin was a velvety chocolate and he had nice white teeth framed with full lips that his tongue darted out every so often to moisten. His eyes were a smooth brown and he looked at me through long, soft lashes. He had a beard I was tempted to run my fingers through, but I thought otherwise since I hardly knew him.

"what's your name?" he asked, his eyes flicked down to my lips then back up to my eyes.

"Vivianna. Vivi."

"Hmm," he hummed, "I like that. I'm Quint." He stuck his hand through the window at me, and I placed mine into his.