Anchoridge University

CHAPTER NINE

Today I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock. I had finally gotten a full night of sleep. After not really getting any the past few days it felt great, even if I was still a little tired. I stretched and slowly rolled out of bed.

I made myself some tea and checked my phone to see if I had any notifications and I had one from my mom. “Hello honey! Hope you had a great first day of school, call me and tell me about it when you get the chance!” I made a mental note to call her later. Right now I needed to get ready for class.

After I had finished my tea I decided to get ready for the day. I pulled on some jeans and my favorite black blouse, it was low cut and had a light floral design on it. Then I pulled the outfit together with some black boots.

I shook out my curls and put on some light make-up. I was starting to get hungry, so I decided to head down to the dining hall for breakfast. I hope they hadn't run out of pancakes yet.

It was a beautiful day outside. It was sunny giving me a clear view of the mountains. I looked toward the forest and thought back to what I thought I had seen yesterday. Were there wolfs in the area? I would have to look into it before using that trail for a run again.

By the time I had finally made it to the dining hall my stomach was growling. I made my way over to the buffet area and loaded my plate with the staples. Bacon, eggs, and pancakes with lots of syrup. There was some fresh fruit so I grabbed some of that as well. I looked around and didn’t spot anyone I knew, so I took a seat at an empty table.

Right when I had taken a giant bite of pancakes I looked up and saw Warren standing in front of me. “Hello beautiful.” He said smiling as he took the seat across from me and setting down his tray. Of course I had just taken a giant bite of food, so I just smiled at him and waived. “Looks like you’re enjoying your food.” He laughed.

“Yeah nothing beats pancakes.” I said with a smile. “So have you started reading the book yet?” He sat up little bit and pulled it out of his back pocket. “I actually finished it already, I was going to return it to you during class but then I saw you sitting here." I was surprised. “Wow that was fast, did you enjoy it?”

“I couldn’t put it down, plus it is a really short book.” I took the book back from him and put it in my bag. “Yeah, I suppose it is pretty short, I’m glad you liked it.” I said as I took another healthy bite of pancakes.

We started talking about our presentation when suddenly someone pulled up a chair next to me. I looked over and saw Zane putting down his tray and his thermos as he sat down.

“Hey there little Star.” He said with a smirk. I smiled at him. “Hi Zane.” Then I heard Warren clearing his throat. He was looking at Zane and looked pretty annoyed. “Right, I should introduce you two, Zane this is Warren, Warren this is Zane.”

I swear it looked like they were trying to throw daggers at each other with their eyes. What’s with these two?” We were just discussing our English project we’re partners. How do you know Celeste?”

Was it just me or did he look kind of cocky when he said that? Zane sat his thermos down and leaned back in his chair and smirked. “Oh we’re friends, me and Little Star here we go WAY back.”

OK, this was weird. “So Little Star I was wondering if you’d wanna hang out for lunch maybe grab some coffee?” I turned to look at Zane. “Yeah sure, sounds good.” He leaned his chin on his hand looking smug. “Great”

I snuck a glance at Warren and he looked irritated. We sat there for a while longer finishing our breakfast. It was tense to say the least, but Zane acted as if he didn’t even notice. After I was done, Warren rushed up to grab my tray.

“Come on let's walk to class together.” He said shooting a look at Zane. “I guess I’ll see you later then Little Star.” Zane gave me a wink, making me blush while he walked off.

Warren and I left the dining hall and started to make our way to class. “So “Little Star”? he laughed. I shook my head. “Yeah I don’t know how he came up with that one.”

He ran his hand through his hair. “So are you and Zane close then?” I laughed. “No we actually just met. He helped me when I was lost and couldn’t find my dorm.”

He looked a little relieved. “Oh I see. Anyone special back at home then?” I was starting to get a little nervous for some reason.I shook my head and tucked a stray curl behind my ear. “Nope no one like that.” He smiled at me. “A beautiful girl like you single?”

I blushed. “I’ve really only ever focused on my studies. If it happens it happens.” He stopped walking and turned to me. “Wait, are you telling me you’ve never had a boyfriend?"

I swear I turned beet red. “I-uh well I mean kinda?” Why does this guy turn me into a stammering mess?He laughed, shaking his head. “Kinda huh?”

We started walking again and luckily he left it at that. He looked down at me. “So, since you’re going to be busy during lunch, did you want to meet up around dinner time? To go over our project that is?”

He smirked and ran his hand through his hair again. His hair wasn’t as curly as mine. I wonder how soft it is. I wanted to run my fingers through it. He kept smirking at me like he knew something I didn’t.

Oh right, he was still waiting for an answer. I blushed, giving him a smile. “Yeah, sure sounds perfect.” We arrived at our class and he opened the door for me. “Thanks” He walked in behind me. “Anytime beautiful.” I turned my face away trying to hide my smile and took a seat. He sat down next to me as class began.