11

Jennie’s POV

I’m walking away from them so fast that I don’t bother looking up at my surroundings.

I really don’t like those guys. I know it’s the introvert in me speaking, but something about them feels so off.

The noise of students talking to each other grows louder as I join the group of people walking into the building. I tuck my hair behind my ear and look over my shoulder to make sure they’re not following me or anything.

“Jennie?” I hear a soft female voice call my name and I turn around just in time to see Anna, the girl who sat next to me yesterday, approaching me with a huge smile on her face.

“Hi.” She waves with a friendly look on her face and I return her wave.

“Hi.” I say softly to her and hold on to the strap of my bag tighter.

“It’s so nice to see you again. I actually saw you in the two other classes I had yesterday, but you seemed so out of it, and I didn’t want to intrude,” she says and I soften slightly.

“That’s so sweet of you. I was just having a really weird day.” I tell her and she gives me a sympathetic smile to show me she understands. “It’s understandable. First day of college felt really weird for me yesterday too,” she says and I nod.

I don’t know what else to say to her, so I smile awkwardly.

This brief moment of awkward silence makes me miss Cara. If my best friend was here, she would have said something that’s both funny and embarrassing. “So…uh…what class do you have right now?” Anna asks cautiously.

“My morning is pretty free for about an hour time.”

“Oh my gosh, me too. I was so worried about not being able to meet up with anyone who shares my schedule. Is it okay if I hang around with you?” she asks and I shrug.

“Yeah, no problem at all. I was actually going to check out the art studio we’ll be having the next class in,” I say and she gasps. “Oh my gosh, the next class with Professor Moreau is going to be held in the art studio with a live model” Anna says, putting a hand over her mouth and I start to blush.

Right. Of all things the hot stranger from that night could possibly be teaching, he’s somehow the Professor in charge of teaching Life Drawing, my favorite class.

“Come on, I’m excited to see the studio too,” Anna grabs my hand and leads the way to the school’s studio.

We’re both unimpressed as we get into the studio.

It’s an otherwise plain room, but according to the sign on the door, it’s the room for freshers like me and Anna. It states that there are two more advanced art studios in the university.

Anna and I pace the room as we study some of the paintings on the wall.

“This looks really nice.” Anna murmurs as she leans forward to take a closer look at one of the paintings in the room.

I also move to the other side of the room and occupy myself with looking at a painting. It's a well made oil painting of a man in the middle of the crowd. The man in the painting looks serene for someone being ostracized.

“I wonder who made this,” I say quietly.

The artwork is too much of a masterpiece to be kept in a place like this. It should be hanging on the wall of a museum. It should be appreciated by everyone in the world.

“It feels so odd to see something this good here, doesn’t it?” Anna asks from behind me and I nod in agreement.

My phone starts to ring, and I check the screen to turn off the noise. It’s an alarm I set as a reminder for the first class of the day. “It’s time for Introduction to art history, right?” Anna asks and I nod.

We leave the art studio together and as we walk down the hallway, she suddenly points at a door.

“Oh, look at that door,” Anna says with a giggle and my eyes follow her direction. “That’s the door to Professor Moreau’s office,” she whispers.

“How do you know that?” I ask.

“I might have a little crush on him,” she says and my mood sours immediately. “Oh,” I say flatly, and she doesn’t catch the change in my tone.

“He’s super attractive and brilliant. I’ve always liked intellectual men. I hope he looks at me at some point.” she giggles and I grip the strap of my bag tightly.

“What about you? do you like anybody so far?” she asks me.

“I have a boyfriend,” I say.

I meant to sound happy, but the words came out of my mouth with a rough bitterness. I sound the exact way I feel. I sound like I have a boyfriend who I don’t really want.

“That’s super sweet. I wish you and your boyfriend all the best things,” Anna says and we quietly walk to the next class. The class goes by without any unnecessary issues and once it ends, Oliver shows up at the door.

“Hi,” I greet him quietly and he grins at me with happiness.

“Hey baby,” he says as I walk into his arm. “Shall we?” he asks and I nod in agreement.

“They said the man is one of the best professors,” Oliver says and I hum to show him I’m listening even though I’m not.

My mind is still on that painting even after a one-hour thirty-minute class.

“Don’t worry, babe. I’ll take you out on a date tonight, okay?” my boyfriend says and puts his hand around my waist to pull me closer to his side.

A lot of other couples pass by us, but none of them look as fake as we do. Oliver leads us to a part of the university building that I just walked past with Anna almost two hours ago.

“Oh great, I thought I was going in the wrong direction. That’s the professor’s door.” he points at the same door Anna pointed at a few minutes ago and I freeze.

No way.

There is no fucking way.