[2022 Wattys Winner] When love cynic Madison Watson starts university, she vows to follow three simple rules.
One: Work out at least twice a week.
Two: Get an internship.
Three: Stay away from men.
But after a chance encounter with th...
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"He totally ghosted her!"
I looked up from my notes, peering over my lab partner's oversized head to the two girls gossiping at the table opposite ours.
"After he slept with her?" the second asked.
I tried not to gasp. Because I wasn't actually part of the conversation. Sometimes it felt like I was, felt like the whole class was; Ruby and Pearl, as Id come to identify them, probably thought they were whispering, but they were louder than a steam train in the dead of night.
Most of my classmates found them irritating. I thought they kept biology interesting.
"Yep." The first girl confirmed with a fervent nod. I'd dubbed her Ruby, a tribute to the dark red lipstick she wore religiously, even during our eight AM lectures. "The worst part is that it's happened more than once. They sleep together, he ghosts her. He hits her up, they sleep together, he ghosts her again."
The other girl—who I'd nicknamed Pearl, a nod to the vile necklace she'd worn to class that one time—scrunched up her face in disgust. "Jerk."
"Oh, totally."
"Is this the guy she brought to the game?"
"No no no." Ruby tutted. "This is the blond."
Pearl stared back at her, obviously clueless.
"You know. Tall, sparkling smile. Abs that could grate cheese."
Pearl only shrugged again.
"He lives in the dorm off the quad."
My heart skipped a beat. My fingers fumbled around my pen.
I lived in the dorm off the quad.
James lived in the dorm off the quad.
"Oh," Pearl cooed. "Ocean Eyes."
My heart might have officially stopped altogether.
"I mean, he's definitely the type." Pearl crinkled up her nose, swapping the cell under their microscope for another. "Even I could've told her that."
"Elodie knows him from high school," Ruby mumbled excitedly. "Total babe magnet, but a huge player. Double dated, never settled down with one girl. He practically had a new girlfriend every weekend."
"You don't need to convince me. But what can I say? Girls see what they want to see—"
"Are you right there?" my lab partner snapped, scowling at me over his shoulder. I'd leaned over so much that I was practically on top of him, lost in Ruby and Pearl's gossip and oblivious to the feeling of his skin on mine.
I froze in place, their conversation replaying in my mind. A theory was piecing itself together, and it caused something fierce to simmer inside of me.
