Chapter 1: The Pizza Girl

Katie Clyde's slender long fingers clenched as she knocked on the door, she had tried calling the customer who ordered the pizza but she wasn't able to get through to him.

She heard footfalls behind the door before, and a creaking sound followed afterwards, a tall frame appear at the opened door, and his broad chest, his well-defined abs, and brooding eyes sent a chill down her spine.

She subconsciously stepped back two steps, intimidated by his burly body structure, “Jake, who is at the door?” she heard someone asking from inside.

Without delaying any longer, she is working overtime again, she is yet to conclude her thesis, and summer is coming.

“Hey, this is the pizza that you ordered,” she said, and stretched her slender arms forward, with a package, the man without retracting his gaze from her face, received it, allowing his fingers to brush her arm.

Katie retreated her arms immediately after she felt his warm touch, “damn, who is the beauty, man? You never told me you have a girlfriend now, fuck you!” Katie stared wide-eyed at the owner of the voice earlier, when he punched lightly at the arm of his friend.

She bade them goodbye and slid down the alley, she could hear the two of them talking about her,

 but she couldn't bother about it at all, she is contemplating getting home, and soak herself in a warm bath and then burying her head in writing her thesis.

She climbed on her electric bike and rode to her workplace, she parked and met with the manager, a short man with a bulging stomach, he watched him adjust his eyeglasses.

His thin lips parted, and Katie's heart skipped a beat, he knew the manager is going to nag and then deduct her hourly earnings

 “You are trying Katie, no longer clumsy, no longer delaying, and fast delivery, no customer complaint, you earn your full hourly paycheck” he analyzed her job for the day.

She took a sharp breath and accepted the pay with a big smile on her face, the moment she came out of the company, 

she ran into a college classmate, “Katie Clyde, do you work here?” she inquired with a tone of mockery.

Katie ignored her, she knew Catherine better than anyone, she is a piece of bad news and nothing more, she tried to walk away, but Catherine grasped her wrist and glared at her.

With a smile that didn't reach her eyes on her face, Katie had the urge to smack her face and make the smile disappear with a slap.

 “Katie, so you are a pizza girl, it is a pity, don't worry…” she glanced at the company building “I will be requesting my delivery from this company so that you can earn more”

Katie Clyde snatched her arm from her grasp and glared at her “Catherine, stop bitching, I am not interested in your College bad boy Kelvin, just get over it” she snapped.

And stormed away angrily “Katie, think about it, stop showing your face before Kelvin, and you will be fine”

Katie scolded Catherine in her head, and when she saw the trunk that reminded her of her miserable life, she sighed heavily.

The weird trunk looked worn out, and the tyres and the metal looked more like scrap, parked in midst of flashy cars, it looked improper.

Some high school kids were walking by and spotted the trunk “hey, is that a soviet trunk?” someone pointed a finger at Katie's trunk, her eyes widened, and she cringed inwardly.

She couldn't retort, and it will be embarrassing to get into argument with High School kids “not today, not today” she stuttered while shutting her eyes tightly, she got into the trunk, ignoring the mockery and uproar.

She did a cross sign and thrust the key, she twitched it, and the trunk make an earth-shattering sound before it went dead, she slumped into the driver's seat and frowned in agony.

“Hello, miss” he heard someone say from the windshield, she turned around and gave him an askance look “is there a problem?” she inquired.

“Oh- no, go on, nothing at all…” he fumbled with his words, trying so hard to suppress the laughter “well, you are pretty, and I want you to get into my car instead of driving this sham, and get into trouble with environmentalist”

Katie started the trunk and this time, the engine steamed and roared, giving a sense of joy and pride, she turned to the man standing beside her trunk “you were saying?” she inquired curiously.

The man shrugged in defeat and stepped backwards, Katie drove off, and sped down the tarred road, she got numerous eyes on her trunk.

Praying not to meet the red light on her way, she couldn't afford to get stuck in the middle of the road, she started singing Michael Jackson's song when she got out of the bustling City to its outskirt.

Suddenly, her beaming headlight caught sight of someone lying on the tarred road, she stepped on the brake, and the trunk skidded to a halt.

She came down, making sure her headlights remained on, she padded her feet afraid that she might walk into a trap.

Her thumb hovered over the green button on her screen phone, she will readily tap on it and get the emergency team all worked up.

Her phone started ringing, she nearly threw it away but her phone flipped in her hands before she caught it. she managed to calm herself and took a sharp deep breath before answering the call.

“Katie, you bitch! I am in your house for an hour now, trying to reach you, but, nay, girl, you got your phone off, and now, I am gonna immediately face the grumpy professor Stalwart, where the fuck are you girl? You will be the death of me”

She kept hearing the ranting voice from the phone's speaker, without giving her any chance to respond at all “Katie darling, please, don't worry about bringing the textbook over, I dropped my book with you, just do it for both of us, please”