Chapter 3
It was Saturday morning when I woke with my head, literally, in a book. I'd never worked so hard or long in my life, and had eventually collapsed, I guess, with my forehead planted firmly into one of those $100 textbooks I was forced to buy.
The bright morning was dowsing a sharp light into the room as I lifted my head, neck aching furiously, and swivelled in my chair to see that Jen had gone.
A fairly prominent frown grew on my face as my vision cleared on the room. She wasn't just gone, she was gone. As in, all her stuff from gone too. What the hell?
I walked to her side of the room, as if to double check that her things were actually missing. There was suddenly no color in the room, her throws and rugs and bright bedding now absent. I checked her wardrobe: there were no clothes there, nothing.
Then I noticed something, a piece of paper perched on my bedside table. I darted over to it, hoping to quell my confusion with a reasonable explanation.
Hey Alice,
I know we never really got to know each that well but I still thought I'd better tell you what's going on. I've been kicked out of school, and I'm not coming back. I guess they're going to find you a new room-mate now. Good luck with all your studies and for everything in the future.
Love,
Jenny
I ran my eyes over the note once more. Um, an actual explanation would have been nice Jen. She didn't even say why she'd been chucked out.
I wasn't really a self involved person but this was just what I needed. With everything that was going on I'd have to bunk up with a new room-mate now as well. I mean, sure, Jen wasn't my best mate or anything, but at least she was comfortable, and barely around. It was almost like I was living on my own most of the time.
I shot off out into the hall and up a couple of floors to Tess's room. I realized as I banged on the door that I hadn't even checked the time.
“Jesus Alice, what is it? It's 7 am on a Saturday!” she said, opening her pristine room to me. She was a real girly girl, with pink and various shades of red and purple being her preferred colors. It was so much more welcoming than my dive down below, large cushions dotted around her bed and various posters and pictures littering the walls. She was lucky enough to have parents who could, and would, pay for just about anything she wanted, so didn't have to suffer a room-mate like I did.
I walked in and sat down, my tiredness now banished as my head tried to compute what exactly was going on with Jenny.
“So, get this,” I said with more energy than you could reasonably expect a college student to have at that time on a weekend morning, “Jen's moved out. Literally, she's just gone like a puff of smoke. I wake up, right, and she's not there. She must have moved all her stuff at the crack of dawn or something.”
I think I was speaking too quickly for Tess to keep up. That's what the look on her face told me: I could tell she had no idea what I was on about.
She could only manage a “huh?” and a bewildered expression before I slowed down and tried again.
“Ok, so I got in yesterday night after being in the library and Jen was there. She literally went straight to bed at about 7 pm and I carried on working. I woke up just now, about ten minutes ago, and she was gone. All her stuff, everything. Oh, and she left a note.”
I handed the note to Tess, who sent her sleep deprived eyes over the words, her confused expression not abating as she read.
“Sooo, she's gone? But she doesn't say why?”
“No,” I shook my head, “weird huh? Guess I'm gonna get a new room-mate now though.” My voice deflated slightly at the thought.
“Not necessarily,” said Tess, “there might be no one to fill it. It's the middle of the year Alice, you might get lucky.”
I smile threatened to spread across my face. “Really?”
“Yeah, you might just get your wish of living alone after all.”
After a few more minutes of natter Tess shooed me away and I returned to my room. It was so weird walking in there without Jen's side all pimped out, the place looking like an empty shell: more like a prison cell than a college dorm room.
For the rest of the morning and into the afternoon I continued to beaver away, my mind working overtime to get the paper done. I had always been a 'last-minute' sort of girl, often leaving my work until the day before it was due, so the fact that I was pushing for the finish line more than a day in advance was pretty shocking to me.
It was mid-afternoon when I heard a knock at the door. I ignored it, not expecting anyone or wanting a visitor right now, and turned back to my books.
The door knocked again.
“Look Tess, if that's you asking me to go to Tom's party again tonight then you can leave it, OK!”
There was a silence on the other end, then a man's voice, deep and smooth.
“I'm looking for Jenny. This is her dorm isn't it?”
I wanted to tell the man that she wasn't in, but my curiosity got the better of me. Jenny had never had a gentleman caller to my knowledge. Maybe this guy knew something about her leaving?
I stepped towards the door. “It was,” I said, “but she's gone now.”
I peered through the peephole and saw him, his strong chin dimpled and dusted in stubble, his cheekbones perfect, his eyes a piercing blue. Even through the blurry glass I could tell he was gorgeous.
His voice went suddenly stern. “What do you mean, gone?”
I could see his jaw clenching on the other side of the door, the dimples in his cheeks growing deeper.
“That's all I know. She left suddenly this morning.”
He brushed his hand vigorously through his long dark hair. He seemed agitated, his eyes narrowing. He wore a dark jacket with a high collar - or was it a hood - that shrouded the top and sides of his head, creating a shadow overhis face that made his complexion hard to see.
“Who are you anyway,” I asked.
He turned suddenly and seemed to look right at me, causing my heart to jump into my throat. I stepped back from the peephole, my breath caught in my lungs. Surely he couldn't see me? Not from a foot away from the door?
“I'm just a friend, I need to talk to her. Are you sure she's not in there?” He spoke slower now, his words distrusting.
I stayed back from the door, the nerves building inside me. “No, I'm not lying to you. She's gone.”
“What's your name?” he said suddenly as soon as I'd answered. He had an authority to him, one that forced me to answer.
“Alice.”
“Well Alice, my name's Kyle. If you see Jen, please tell her I dropped by.”
Clearly he didn't trust that she'd left. I stepped back towards the door and before I could try to convince him further, he was gone, walking swiftly away back down the corridor.
My pulse began to slow as I sat back down at my desk. Who the hell was this guy? If that's Jen's boyfriend, then my God she's done well for herself. Those eyes, that jawline, those puffy lips.
I tried to steady my mind as I returned my gaze to my books, but my heartbeat kept up, pumping away inside my chest. I couldn't focus, I needed a break, needed a distraction, and I knew just where I'd get it from.
Tess is gonna love me for this.