The Perfect Distance

Chapter Two-2

CLASSES THE NEXT DAY were exhausting.

It was only Lucy's third day, and so far, she and her roommate Kendra only had their pre-calculus class together.

Lucy was pleased that she was getting along so well with the freshman, whose blonde hair was so long it reached the middle of her back, but she found that she didn't recognize many students from her building in any of her classes, and it was primarily the students in her co-ed dorm building who she knew the best.

Well...make that a select few of the students in her building who she knew the best. The list included Harley, of course, and Kendra, because they were roommates. It also included Owen, an extremely enthusiastic freshman who threw himself into any and every conversation even if he didn't know who he was talking to; this antic was the only reason Lucy could say that she knew a third person on campus.

And she knew Matt.

The thought made her smile.

But...other than that, I pretty much know no one, Lucy sighed, walking to her first class of the day.

Chem lab.

At 9:05 in the morning.

How she despised morning classes!

What was this life anyway, forcing her to go to college in order to be successful, extracting all of the money from her bank account—in addition to the most expensive sport known to the world—and making classes start at ungodly hours that trudged on until sunset when she would drag herself over to the dining hall and eat food that tasted like it had been last week's left overs, spending her days running from building to building, only to find inside every single classroom the same chalkboards, strict professors, cramped desks, and—

Familiar blonde hair!?

Lucy's eyes widened as she entered the chemistry lab.

What was that rider doing here? Lucy had thought she was a trainer, maybe. Or a worker exercising the horses. Because she clearly hadn't been participating in the tryouts.

But regardless, here she was.

And she knew every humiliating little thing that had happened a mere twenty four hours ago.

The blonde hadn't seen her, so Lucy took a seat at the opposite side of the room. She occupied herself with the lab manual until the professor came in and started talking about the course, and proper sanitation, and safety procedures—

"And I have already assigned lab partners, so please come look at the roster and see who you've been paired with for the semester."

Lucy sighed. She hated assigned partners, but it looked like in the long run, it would be a good thing. She didn't know anyone in this class, and so the predetermined arrangement would save her some trouble, and of course, the embarrassment that seemed to follow her everywhere.

She waited in the line of students to find out who she had been paired with, but before she even made it to the paper, she heard her name.

"You're Lucy Sumner, right?"

She turned in the direction of the voice that belonged to none other than the blonde rider.

What had Lucy done to deserve this? Life hated her.

And how had she already known Lucy's name?

But Lucy didn't dare ask. All she did was nod her head and follow the blonde over to the lab table where she had been sitting before.

"I already read through everything. Go get a graduated cylinder and a beaker. And make sure they're clean."

Yes ma'am, Lucy rolled her eyes once she had turned her back to the blonde.

And while the entire lab followed accordingly—as horribly as it had begun—Lucy couldn't deny that she was, ever so slightly, lucky in her lab partner assignment. She may not have a lab partner who was...how should she put it...nice.

But she certainly had a lab partner who knew exactly what she was doing.

And that, Lucy knew as she watched the rest of the class working, was something she could be grateful for. Because after completing the lab with half an hour still left of the two-hour lab period, Lucy realized that she might actually be able to take nap before her class at noon.

But first she needed to settle one thing.

"Who are you, anyway?" Lucy demanded, turning towards the blonde the second they had left the classroom.

"My name is Elise Kyon."

And as if that explained everything, she walked out the door without looking back.

Exasperated, Lucy made her way back to her dorm room, and was greeted by her roommate with the very uplifting question of: "So, are you going to have nightmares about it tonight?"

"Ugh, Kendra, it was awful!" Lucy wailed as she collapsed face-first onto her pillow.

"Well, you know what they say. Chem lab is the stuff that horror movies are made of."

"The lab itself wasn't even that bad! It's who I have to work with for the entire semester!"

So much for her nap. She was going to have to vent about this for at least an hour.

"Well, who is it?" Kendra asked.

"Elise Kyon."

"Wait. Are we talking about the Elise Kyon?" Kendra asked.

Lucy's head shot upright, "Do you know her?"

"Not personally, no. But I've heard everything about her. She's like the talk of the school. I know we've only been here for, what, three days now? Minus orientation. But please tell me that I'm not the only one who has been hearing about her nonstop."

"Uh, as far as I know, you're the only one. Please, enlighten me so I know what I'm going to be forced to deal with for two hours of every Wednesday of my life."

"She's the daughter of the ones who own Akiyama Riding Academy and founded the city of Kyon, hence the last name. They live there. I'm surprised you didn't notice it when you went for your tryout. I've heard the house is almost like a mansion. She's a senior, a business major, and manages all of the papers and financial stuff for the team and the barn. But everyone talks about her because she's never joined the riding team. And no one ever sees her ride. And not that I know anything about horses—because I don't, it's just not my thing—but I've heard that she'll only get on and warm up when other people are watching. She'll never actually ride in front of anyone, and she never jumps when anyone else is watching, either."

"Okay. So I'll admit I feel a little stupid for not realizing the connection," Lucy grinned sheepishly, "But I still don't understand why it gives her the right to act like she's better than everyone else."

Kendra shrugged, "Does anyone? I mean, from what I've heard, she pretty much keeps to herself. So...good luck with all of that. This is why I try to stay out of the way of upperclassmen. Although that junior, Flynn, is extremely good-looking."

"Yeah, well, we all knew that you were after him the minute you saw he was our tour guide during orientation," Lucy rolled her eyes, "Although...I can't quite say I agree with your opinion anymore after seeing a certain someone that I ran into. Like, I literally ran into him."

"Oh, Lucy, details! Is he tall? Handsome? Is he an equestrian too?" Kendra fired off questions, completely ignoring Lucy's mention of her clumsiness, which, if Lucy were being honest, she was completely okay with.

"Yes, yes, and yes," Lucy answered, the picture of Matt, with his red hair and, dare she admit it, dreamy eyes, coming to mind.

"What's his name?"

"Matt."

"Is he a freshman?"

"Actually," Lucy frowned, "I'm not sure. But...he gave me his number yesterday, and I guess you could say we kind of have an unofficial date on Friday."

"And when were you going to tell me this!" Kendra grinned, "This is so exciting!"

"I was going to get around to it," Lucy waved her hand as if to dismiss it all, "Clearly I've got plenty of other things on my mind."

"Have you talked to him about it yet?"

"No. I was going to text him tonight. He wants to meet me at the café, but I work in the morning. Good thing I don't have any classes on Fridays, huh?"

"Oh, don't rub it in!" Kendra exclaimed.

"I'd never," Lucy grinned playfully, "I just think it would be the best thing in the world to have to wake up for an eight a.m. biology lab on Friday mornings."

"Well, you know what?" Kendra huffed, "Maybe Flynn will be in it."

"Flynn is a junior. Why would he be in an entry level biology course?" Lucy laughed.

"Hey, wait a minute," Kendra stopped, growing serious, "That actually makes no sense. Elise's a senior. Why is she in a freshman chemistry lab?"

Lucy let the thought sink in.

"You know what, that is a very good question."

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