Repeat and Retribution

Chapter 11

Being surrounded by all school mates whom she knew but did not know her, felt both nostalgic and awkward at the same time.

Quite well aware of the people around her, she was already distancing herself from the people she knew she needed to avoid.

She sat at the chair within the third row up front, near the window side, as it was the best choice she had for that subject.

All through out this time she was already making a mental though of the things that she needs to focus on. What subjects she needs to excel in and what things she needed to save up for. His train of though was only disrupted when she notices a shadow suddenly loomed over her.

She could not help but frown as she looked at the person in front of her. Her brows furrowed even more as she notices who it was.

“Hi miss, is anyone occupying this chair?” the young man asked.

A deep set of grey eyes were looking straight at her, dark and perfect set of brows raised, along with a wide smile plastered on his face that showed a perfect set of teeth and dimples on his cheeks. His jaw line was quite well emphasized because of the sideburn that was just starting to grow.

There was no mistaking that the person in front of him is Larse August, a face that would be impossible to forget after a few more years. As she recalls her memory from her previous life, the man was going to be the star of the school’s basketball team, as well as a hearth rob s***h most eligible and dreamed of bachelor, giving him the tag of notorious s***h scandalous womanizer.

“No,” she just answered when she noticed that the young man was frowning at him, feeling suddenly awkward.

It was only then that she noticed that she had been so deep in thought trying to recall her memory that she ended up staring at him with a straight face.

“Is it okay if I sit here?” Larse asked pointing at the chair in front of her.

“Sure,” she quickly replied, though a bit confused and wary at the young mans sudden approach.

Though she wasn’t quite sure whom the boy was with, during the first day of school, she was quite sure, that he did not sit within the front row the same as her and was quite well acquainted with a certain group within the class.

Crystal made a quick glance behind them as she tride to recall whom the people the man was usually with, during her previous life. She was more baffled now, seeing that the said group whom was going to be close with the person beside her, were already getting along.

“I’m Larse by the way,” the young man said as he sat on, giving out one hand to her.

“Crystal,” she says giving him a quick and firm handshake.

There was this weird jolt of electricity that course through her veins as their hands touched, but she quickly ignored it, as she knew it was just the effect of the young man on her.

“Nice name,” Larse chuckled as their hands parted.

“Thank you,” she just nods.

But Crystal still made a quick peek behind them as she noticed the sudden attention the said group was giving them.

“I wasn’t really comfortable with the noise they were making back there,” the young said noticing how she kept looking behind them.

She could not help the sudden squinting of her eyes as she noticed a sort of tingling sensation of within her, reminding her to be cautious. Yet she was still able to give him a warm and sweet smile.

Luckily at that time the professor comes in and gives her a reason not to answer and just ignore him. If she wanted to make it out of college in one piece, she knew that she needed to avoid this person as she remembers several tales and gossips that surrounded him.

It wasn’t really that hard as she was too focus in making an impression with their professor on their first day. As she had experience from her past life, first impression always counts.

Several hours passed by so quickly unlike before as Crystal was so entranced how easy the lectures were to her now.

With a new found enthusiasm, she was already out of the room and off to the library, as she had learned the hard way before, that the cheapest and most effective way for researching the assignments given to them can easily be found there.

“Hey, wait up!” A voiced ehoed.

Crystal immediately turns as she noticed that the voice was directed to her. Again she was surprised to see that Larse was running behind her, smiles and with a bright sunny composure.

“Yes?” she smiles as the man came closer.

“You’re also a freshman right?” he said gasping for air after dashing towards her.

“Yes, we both are, aren’t we,” she tries to hold her laugh at the question.

“Yeah,” Larse ended up blushing. “Uhm, so. Where are you off to now?”

“The library, since some professors also gave us homework. It’s the best place to do research since a lot of professor usually use the books there,” she answers with a monotone as she was still feeling a bit uncomfortable and cautious, because of the sudden attention she was getting from a man, soon to be known as a womanizer.

“Oh, I didn’t know that,” Larse ended up scratching the back of his head as he chuckled.

It was only at that time that it dawned to her that she was being to all knowing, that would really make other people weirded out.

“Oh, ah yeah. It’s usually like that, so I’ve heard,” she answers back immediately, not wanting to sound too arrogant.

Thought she wanted a total change in her life, she didn’t really want to be branded as the weird all knowing one.

“That’s great then,” Larse said smiling.

“I better get going, there’s still some stuff I need to do,” she says as she begins to turn away from him.

“Mind if I tag along? I don’t have anything to do with my free time!” The man was already walking beside her at that time.

“Uhm, sure,” she just shrugs as she didn’t want to be too out of place with her actions.

Awkward silence came between for a few moments as it seems the young man had nothing to say, as they were walking by. She notices the weird smile and glances that the boy was giving him, so she just decided to start their conversation to at least break the ice.

“So, you’re planning on trying out for the basketball team right,” she says.

Remember that part quite well and also seeing the flyers about the said activity a while ago.

The smile on Larse’s face was suddenly replaced by a wide eye and a very awkward grin upon hearing that question.

“Yeah, how’d you know,” he asks surprised at the question.

Noticing another slip of the tongue, she quickly scans the young man trying to look for a proper excuse.

“Uhm, your bag,” she points out at the long duffle bag.

Larse ended up looking at the thing that was hanging on his shoulder. “Oh, you noticed that, yeah. You like basketball?” he says after turning to Crystal once more.

His sunny look and composure was suddenly back as she laughed out about the obvious detail.

“It’s okay,” Crystal just answers with a half smile, not wanting to cause any mis-interpretations with her actions.

“Great,” Larse ended up lowering his head.

Noticing the hard and strong impression she was giving out she decided to finally lighten it up a bit.

“You do know that once you get in, you’ll have to work extra hard on your studies, cause you need to maintain your grades if you want to stay on the team,” she says.

“Really?” They young man frowned.

“Yes, that’s why you better not think that it’s going to be a walk in the park, since the school board won’t allow it, even if you become the school’s MVP,” She explains to him.

Larse was suddenly straight faced as he scratched his head. “Wow, I didn’t know that,” he tried to smile, but was suddenly a but dumbfounded.

“So, you better not slack off, else you might end up ruining a possible school championship.” Crystal says in a jokingly manner.

Though she was sure it was one of the reason why their school lost in her previous life. The ace player wasn’t allowed to play, as it the young man had several conflicts with his grades and some professors.

She really didn’t want that to happen this time around and since she was already there to change her life, she decided why not influence a little good along the way.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Larse chuckles as his vibrant and lively attitude came back.

Crystal just gave the young man a quick nod before turning her attention to their front. Causing her to regret it, as she saw familiar faces in front of them as they neared the library.

She felt a sudden tightness inside her chest and drying of her throat as her eyes gazed upon the young Clyde with his current girlfriend s***h the woman who was also the reason of her demise cuddling along the hall.

She could not help the sudden shakiness of her body and gasping of air, as the pain was still fresh in her heart. Specially since that was also the exact moment that she had laid eyes on the man before.

For some reason the same exact scene was happening right now. Once again their eyes met and the time seemed to have stopped as they passed one another. Though this time Clyde had a somewhat surprised look in his eyes as he gave her that dazzling grin, showing a pair of perfectly aligned pearly whites, looking all smooth, young and fresh with his neatly brushed up hair and clean-shaven face.

Thankfully her burning anger had manage to give her a warning that this dashing young man was going to be her downfall in the near future, making her break their gaze immediately.

“You know them?” Larse asked noticing how Crystal looked at the young man that passed by them.

“I think he’s in our class,” she just says in a monotone, devoid of any emotions as her temper was starting to rise from the said encounter.

“Really?” Larse ended up looking back at the couple who was already a few feet apart from them. He could not help but frown seeing the quick glances the man gave at them. “I didn’t see him though,” he says seeing the young man’s face properly.

“Oh, you will,” Crystal’s smile was a bit crooked.

For she knew that the reason why Larse didn’t see Clyde was because he wasn’t really in any of their classes during that first day, for the man was so bent on being with his girl friend all through out the first day.

Knowing that made her insides boil even hotter, as she was now starting to realize as she was now having a sudden comparison with their relationships.

“We better go, the chairs in the library are usually a first come first serve basis,” she just says as she quickens her step.

Wanting to move away farther from the two as quickly as possible as she could still feel that effects of what the future Clyde had done to her.

“All right,” Larse just follows along, easily catching up with Crystal’s phase because of his tall and well built figure.

She was already breathing heavily as she kept her long and fast strides. Taking out her little notebook where he wrote her current goals and the things she needed to fix. She quickly glances at the number one priority on her list.

As fury inflamed her feeling after seeing the two, she was now more bent on keeping it that way, not wanting to experience that pain and disappointment once more.

“Erase them and make sure to avoid them,” she whispers to herself as it was the one that was on her number one to do.