The Scars of Anatomy

2. Olivia

Groggy, I roll over to check my alarm clock and see that it's just past ten in the morning. With a groan, I throw back the blankets and force myself to get my ass up.

It's Wednesday during the first week of classes, and I've already skipped Monday and Tuesday. Football practice has been kicking my ass so I've been sleeping in, figuring the first day of classes are all syllabus days anyway, so what does it matter. Kids are floating around with schedule changes too, so it's not like teachers will assign any real homework. But today I have lab for my anatomy class, and I don't want to get stuck with some random as my partner. I at least want some control over who I'll be paired with for the whole semester.

After a quick shower, I get dressed in a simple black T-shirt and some dark ripped jeans. I manage to slip a pen into my back pocket, deciding to skip out on carrying my backpack around, before heading out the door to the science building.

I find room 109, the anatomy lab, and walk in. The stench of formaldehyde immediately wafts through my nose, and I look around to see that most of the tables are already full, the class starting in ten minutes.

I glance around, weighing my limited options when a wave of long raven hair and piercing green eyes catch mine. Adrianna looks up and I see a hint of a smirk tug at her plump lips. Her table of four is already full, but she waves me over.

I just give her a simple nod in greeting, refusing to go over to her table. I know she wants me to be her partner, but I'm not willing to go down that road. I don't want to blur anymore lines with her and give her any false hope.

I scan the room again, finding a table of three guys that all look like loners. They glare at me.

Alright, clearly I'm not welcome.

There's a table of two girls sitting next to each other, eyeing me intently with hunger in their eyes.

Pass.

The only table left has a boy and girl sitting together, the both of them total nerds, but they'll have to do. Maybe with them I'll have a chance of passing this class, try to see if they'll carry the load.

I walk over and take a seat across from them. The boy has short dark hair and he's pale as fuck. He doesn't even acknowledge me as I sit down, his rodent like face buried in his phone. The girl next to him looks to be of Indian decent with her dark curly hair and light brown skin. Her narrow face and high cheekbones are nearly covered by her large, thick rimmed glasses that seem to take up a majority of her face. She looks up at me from the thick textbook she's reading and her dark brown eyes widen, recognizing who I am.

She gapes at me for a few moments, and I pull my phone out of my pocket, staring at it to try to make things less awkward. I'm starting to rethink my decision about sitting here.

I look over my shoulder at Adrianna's table to see her and the other three girls in a heated discussion, managing to keep their voices low as they argue over who's going to be exiled from the table to make room for me.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have her as a partner...

"Olivia!" the girl across from me excitedly shouts, nearly giving me, and almost everyone else in the class, a heart attack.

I turn back around to look at the girl sitting across from me, and she's smiling wide while looking at the door. Rodent boy looks up from his phone, surprise written all over his face as he sits up straighter.

I look to the doorway to find a tall, slender brunette standing there, a deep blush spreading across her cheeks. She gives a quick sheepish and apologetic smile to the class for her friend's outburst while stepping through the threshold, keeping her head down as she briskly strides to our table, her long caramel hair flowing behind her.