Three

Lenora

The crisp morning air hit my face as I rushed for lectures, surrounded by the chatter of students. 

It was my third month here and despite my bittersweet connection with my course of study and my last-minute decision to come to Eldridge, I had grown to love it.

My dad was shocked to the core and Mariselle was pissed when she heard my change of plans, but I'd made up a flimsy excuse of wanting to be independent.

I hated leaving my dad and our town which was a six-hour drive from Eldridge, but it was the wisest decision I made.

It was a shame that I chose environmental management as a result of my stupid crush on CJ. 

I was such an idiot, head over heels in love with him, and wanted to impress him. 

That's why when I noticed his passion for wildlife conservation and environmental management, I looked into it just to impress him and be on the same wavelength.

Despite all my efforts, he didn't like me and instead slammed me with a painful heartbreak. 

Strangely, I'd genuinely grown to love this field and loved talking about protecting our planet. So instead of changing my course, I embraced it.

CJ wasn't here and his validation didn't matter to me anymore. 

"Liar," my inner thoughts mocked me.

"Fuck you," I said loudly and rushed into my faculty. 

Arriving in the lecture hall, I took a seat in the middle row and adjusted my laptop after waving at Tracy and Linda, my friends from high school.

My stomach rumbled with hunger, but my demon-in-human-form roommate, Jovita had made me self-conscious about my appetite. I ate like a hungry nanny goat and needed to get a grip on myself.

The lecture began, but I couldn't concentrate due to my hunger. I glanced at my wallpaper, a picture of me and Esme on a cliff. 

Sighing, I decided it was time to change it. It had been three agonizing months since I last spoke with my sister. 

She'd turned into a distant stranger, all because of a man. I couldn't bring myself to forgive her or let my dad know about our strained relationship. 

He would be furious and disappointed if he knew about CJ. He already had enough on his plate, struggling with our mum's absence and raising two girls.

Esme crossed the line, kissing CJ behind my back without even telling me that she liked him. I had every right to be hurt and angry.

 She didn't bother calling or texting to say she was sorry. She had a stupid habit of not apologizing whenever she offended people so I wasn't surprised. 

 I headed to my second class, walking past the library and administrative office when I caught sight of my boyfriend Ronin.

I looked away quickly because he was with his loud, frat boys.

"Hey, Lenora!" Tony whistled. "Over here, Len!"

I hated public attention, and I had told Ron countless times to warn his friends not to scream my name in public. But would he ever learn? I guess not.

"Hey, guys," I mustered the fakest smile, casting my eyes downward and crossing to the other side. Some other students sat in groups and I hoped Ronin wouldn't do anything stupid.

"Baby," Ron drawled, trying to kiss my neck, but I pulled away. "Are you heading to the next class?" 

"Yup," I stated the obvious. "I'm five minutes late, babe. I'll see you later."

A bicycle rolled by, and the rider turned around, a boy with acne on his face. "Holy fuck, your girl's ass is huge!," he said loudly to Ron, and I cringed as Ron and his friends laughed.

Open-mouthed like a fish, I watched Ron's reaction. Instead of standing up for me, he beamed, lifting his chin.

Idiot. 

"Can I go now?" I said, trying hard not to lose my temper.

"Sure. You should have lunch or dinner with us after school. We'll meet at the same place."

I nodded and walked away immediately, wanting to escape from the annoying crowd. 

I didn't know how long I could keep up with Ron and his friends. It made me wonder why I even agreed to be his girlfriend in the first place.

Ron was a classmate from high school, the same one who gave me a designer bag for my birthday. 

He was nineteen, tall as a building, and nearly as hairy as a bulldog. He applied to Eldridge because of me, majoring in business management to take over his family's coffee empire.

 Before agreeing to his request, I made it clear that I felt nothing for him. But he kept torturing me to give him a chance, and in the hopes of forgetting about CJ and letting go of my foolish infatuation, I said yes to someone interested in me, but now I had to deal with his foolishness every day.

CJ…

He and Ron were like opposites. Ron was young, immature, and a crybaby. But CJ was a whole different story. Older, incredibly sexy, mysterious, and sophisticated. 

Unfortunately, CJ was history and I did every possible thing to erase him from my mind. 

After the next class, I took a break and headed to my dorm, climbing the stairs to my room and panting like an exhausted dog. 

Entering my room, my eyes were assaulted by clothes and papers scattered everywhere, a half-finished bowl of cereal with bread crumbs on the table.

"Of course," I muttered under my breath. Jovita couldn't be bothered to clean up again, and now I, once again, had to be the one to tidy up the mess that I didn't create.

I didn't understand why my roommate couldn't clean up after herself and how my arch-rival in high school ended up being my roommate in college.

Jovita was always trying to outshine me in middle and high school. It was exhausting to be stuck with her now and it seemed the universe was destined to keep me unhappy. I really needed to talk to the housing officers again before she drives me insane.

With a sigh, I tidied up the room, opened the cabinet, retrieved a box of my cereal, grabbed a gallon of milk from the refrigerator, and poured a generous amount into a bowl.

After eating to my satisfaction, I cleaned up and took a quick bath before heading to my last class. 

The lecture hall was in a frenzy with some girls behind me giggling and gossiping about some new professor.

"Oh my God, our new professor is super tall and sexy, like a mature runway model. I saw him downstairs," one girl exclaimed.

"We know you're exaggerating, Tanya," another girl said. "Who doesn't know that you have horrible taste in men?"

"She's telling the truth," Amy, the third girl chimed in. "The man is so hot. He looks like a Viking."

"Can you girls stop?" a boy whose name I could never memorize spoke up. "You think the so-called professor won't be married with kids? There are boys your age who are begging for your attention, but instead of giving us a chance, you're swooning over a professor who won't even look at you twice."

Ouch!

To pass the time, I texted my best friend Mariselle, who attended a different university.

/We're getting a new professor in class, and the girls are going crazy claiming he's a total heartthrob/ 

/Lucky you, I guess. Unlike the ones here who are old goons and do nothing other than frustrate our lives. Speaking of hot guys, guess what?/

/What? You know how I hate guessing/

I waited for some seconds for her to type. Mariselle typed haphazardly and never sent her messages at once. It annoyed me all the time but I loved her. 

/Well, I met a hot guy last night when I went for dinner/

/ Oh my God, Lenora, you need to see him/

/At first, I was surprised that he would come after me, with my boobless and assless body. But he asked for my number, and we've been texting ever since./

A chuckle escaped my lips. 

/Really? Spill the details, girl. Tell me everything./

/There's not much to say for now. But the chemistry was instant. Gosh, I can't stop thinking about him./

The class fell silent when the lecturers walked in. I quickly texted my friend.

/New professor just walked in. Let's see if he lives up to the hype. I'll keep you posted./

/Can't wait,/ wink emoji. /Don't get too distracted by Mr. Hottie./

I slipped my phone back into my bag and raised my head. Three men dressed in sharp suits stood in front of us. Two of them were our old professors, and one...

Holy shit!

The shock hit me like a fist under my ribs. It couldn't be, could it? I recognized that familiar face—the one who made my insides go weak and also brought me immense pain.

What was CJ doing in my school?