Chapter Four
Ava
“Now I want all of you to look at this young woman right here,” Professor Hamburg strode up to my desk and laid a bony hand down. “Ava is the only one of you to get an A on her test yesterday. The rest of you either failed or barely passed with a C. As far as I’m concerned, she’s one of two human beings in this room.”
I wanted to drown her out, but I knew that if I did, I’d just end up staring at my phone during the rest of her presentation, so I smiled up at her. Then I got comfortable and rested my eyes on the blank projector screen.
“You know what I think you should do? Go straight up to your room and pack your bags. Why wait? You’re gonna fail. Do any of you care about your lives? Do you know what it’s like out there without a degree? You’re all gonna be living in shitty apartments, eating microwaved food—that’s if you find a job.”
I pursed my lips. She was getting worse every week. She spent 10 minutes on how badly we were screwing up our lives. Then she went on to talk about how bad the economy was, and how we were probably all going to end up homeless and starving in the streets.
The person next to me was wearing a pair of wireless earbuds hidden behind her blonde hair. She had her phone hidden under her desk and she was watching a video. I would have been doing the same thing if it weren’t for the fact that Hamburg was throwing out little bits of class info to make sure we failed if we didn’t listen to her crap.
She was the only one of my teachers that tested my patience. She spent more time screaming at us than she did going over the material. I was relieved when she finally sat back down at her desk and turned the projector on.
I took out my notebook and wrote down everything she put up on the board. I didn’t need to, but it would be easy to go back to the notes instead of flipping through my textbook when I was reviewing the material.
When she ended the presentation, Hamburg slammed her computer closed and walked around to the front of the desk. “Can anyone but Ava tell me one thing that I just said?” Nobody raised their hands. “Get out of my class, all of you,” she pointed a bony finger at the door.
Everyone rushed out of their desks and headed for the door at once. There were blank stares, downturned heads, and averted eyes. The old woman sapped all the energy out of the room. I grabbed my bag and walked out into the hall, where Nicole was waiting, leaning against the wall with two mochas in hand.
“Here you go,” she held one out to me.
I took a gulp the second I grabbed it away. “I’m dying.”
“The hag got you down?” We started walking out towards the courtyard.
“You’d think she’d get that screaming at the students is only going to make them tune her out.”
“She’s just old and cranky. Where are we eating?” Nicole held the door open for me and I walked into the courtyard.
“I want something light. Let’s go get a salad.”
“Sounds good to me.”
The dining hall might as well have been a mall food court. They had all the major fast food chains and a sit-down burger place with a patio. We got our food and took it outside, where they had misters spewing a cloud out onto the sidewalk. The water caught the wind and I had to cover my burger to keep it from getting wet.
“Tell me that you’re not staying in tonight,” Nicole sat down and nursed her mocha.
“I have to.”
“You’re not coming to the game?”
I clicked my tongue and drenched a fry in ranch. “Why would I want to take a trip to the zoo? I already deal with the animals all day.” I popped the fry in my mouth and moved on to the next one.
“I’m jealous.”
“Don’t be,” I laughed.
“Who are you kidding? You spend three hours a day alone in a room with some of the hottest guys in school.”
“Why should it matter? To them, I’m just a piece of meat. They’re charming about it, sure. They laugh at all the right times and pretend that they’re listening, but it’s all an act. It’s disgusting.”
“I wouldn’t care.” Nicole ate one of her fries. “Some of those boys…” She shook her head.
“They’re animals. I’m not going to the game.”
“Frankie’s having a pool party. You don’t have to go to the game.”
“I’ve got four papers due Monday and a calculus test Tuesday. You have work too. I don’t know why you’re going out.”
“You’re wasting away your best years, Ava. You need to get out of the library and get you some. You’re getting cobwebs.”
“I’ve got priorities,” I met her eyes, “and I’m not going to get knocked up by some stoner that can’t spell. Choices matter.”
“Use a condom.” Nicole slurped her mocha with a smile. “It’s Friday. You’ve got all weekend to study, and we both know that you already have the material covered.”
“To be honest, I found a good book.”
Nicole gasped. “I knew it. You’re taking extra extra credit.” She pointed a fry at me. “You’ve completely lost it.”
“I like reading. We just have different ideas of what recreation entails. That’s all.”
“Don’t give me that crap. You’re purposely ostracizing yourself from the entire student body.”
“Because that’s what it takes to succeed.” I took a bite of my burger so I wouldn’t have to say anything else. Nicole was too busy staring at something behind me. “What?”
“Look behind you,” she leaned in and whispered.
“Why?”
“Just…do it.”
“Fine,” I turned back and caught a flash of gold shaggy hair reflecting the light of the afternoon sun. He was tall, with a chest twice as wide as mine, and a square jaw. He was also wearing a blue and white jersey with a pair of label jeans. “Why should I care?”
“Because he looks like a Norse god.”
“I don’t deal with the rich, especially when they’re under 30; some of the most vicious creatures you will ever meet, trust me.”
“It’s not about what’s in his wallet, Ava.”
“It’s about what’s up here,” I pointed at my head. “Nothing but beef.”
“I wouldn’t mind a cut,” Nicole went back to her burger.