Ivy's Diary

Cassie

College was not as easy as I had imagined.

Some days, I understood everything in class.

Other days, I would sit there listening to the lecturer and wondering if everyone else understood something I had somehow missed.

There was pressure everywhere.

Assignments.

Lectures.

Reading.

Trying to adjust.

Trying to understand people.

Trying to understand myself.

I had no choice but to keep going.

One afternoon, after sitting through a class where almost nothing seemed to enter my head, I decided I needed food.

Maybe hunger was the problem.

Maybe that was why my brain had suddenly decided to stop cooperating.

So I headed to the cafeteria.

On my way there, I bumped into someone.

"Oh, sorry! Sorry."

"It's fine."

I looked up.

Cassie.

I knew him. He was in my class, and I'd heard enough about him to know the kind of reputation he had.

He was one of those guys people talked about.

And, of course, he had a beautiful girlfriend.

The kind of girl people noticed immediately.

I wasn't interested in their business, though.

I apologized again and continued toward the cafeteria.

Then I saw Jack.

My face immediately lit up.

I smiled and waved.

He smiled back and walked toward me.

"Hi."

"Hi."

We exchanged pleasantries, and then he told me something I wasn't expecting.

He wanted me to be his date for the school party.

I blinked.

"Your date?"

"Yes."

I honestly didn't know what to say.

The party I had barely planned to attend had suddenly turned into something I was supposed to attend with someone.

And the biggest problem?

I didn't even have anything to wear.

What exactly was I supposed to wear as somebody's date?

I didn't answer him immediately.

"I'll let you know," I said.

He nodded.

I went to get my food, but my mind wasn't really on it anymore.

Jack wanted me to be his date.

Me.

The girl who had planned to sit somewhere quietly, eat free food and go home.

Life was funny.

When I got back to class later, I sat at my usual spot toward the back.

It had somehow become my favorite place.

Sometimes I'd move toward the middle, but I liked sitting at the back because I could observe everything without being too involved.

And that day, I saw something that had me completely entertained.

Cassie was sitting with some of his guys.

They were talking when one of them suddenly dared another guy to approach a particular girl in our class.

She was beautiful.

Very beautiful.

And she had that kind of confidence that made it obvious she wasn't easily impressed.

The dare was simple.

Walk up to her.

Start a conversation.

Get her number.

The guy tried.

He failed.

His friends burst out laughing.

Then someone challenged Cassie.

Cassie leaned back confidently.

"Wait. Let me go there."

He walked toward the girl.

I watched.

They started talking.

Then something happened that shocked me.

She smiled.

Not just a polite smile.

She was actually enjoying the conversation.

A few minutes later, Cassie came back with her number.

The boys went crazy.

"Haaa!"

"Guy!"

"See you!"

They were hailing him like he'd just won a championship.

I sat there watching them.

What the hell?

Was that how it worked?

You just walked up to someone, talked confidently, collected her number, and suddenly you were the man?

I couldn't help laughing.

But the funniest part came later when I realized the guys had already turned the whole thing into something else.

Apparently, getting her number meant Cassie had successfully secured a date.

And she didn't even know it.

I shook my head.

These boys........what about his girlfriend??

I murmured to myself and laugh

After college, I called Noah.

There was no way I could keep all these stories to myself; even though I fought myself not to call him so I told him about the classroom dare.

I told him everything that had happened.

Noah laughed.

But I didn't tell him about Jack asking me to be his date.

I was still angry with him, I didn't tell him what was really bothering me.

I didn't mention the strange feeling I'd had since he told me Angel visited him.

I didn't ask him any more questions.

I didn't tell him that part of me didn't believe the editing story.

I simply kept talking like everything was normal.

Maybe I didn't want to ruin the comfort between us.

Maybe I wasn't ready to admit that the little warning he had planted in my mind was already growing.

Eventually, I told him I had other things to do.

We said our goodbyes.

I ended the call and dropped my phone beside me.

For a moment, everything was quiet.

The party was coming.

Jack wanted me as his date.

College was getting harder.

And somewhere in the middle of all that, Noah had told me something I couldn't completely shake off.

At the time, I didn't know which of those things would matter most.

I only knew that Westbridge was becoming a lot more interesting than I had expected.