Marissa’s Halloween charity event seems very intriguing. I wasn’t kidding when I offered my help with it.

For starters, I’d do anything to have a reason to talk to her. She’s the type of girl who’s beautiful but doesn’t know it, which makes her even more attractive. I hate that we don’t have any classes together. It means that I’m limited to seeing her at work or on the occasion that I bump into her at the cafeteria. I’m not the partying type, so I never attend any of the wild parties that most of the others go to but that’s okay; I’d rather study and focus on my classes.

Going to college wasn’t easy. My mom did the best she could but my childhood was a constant struggle. We were very poor and even though my mom often worked two jobs to take care of us, it seemed like there were always setbacks. She’d start to get ahead but then the car would break down or one of us would get sick and she’d have to miss work. My mom tried her best but she told me early on that college wasn’t in the cards for me unless I won scholarships.

I love a challenge and took it to heart to do as well as I could with my studies. During my junior and senior year of high school, I applied for dozens of scholarships and grants but none of them panned out. At least, not until right before my high school graduation.

I’ve always wanted to study psychology so I could understand people’s behavior. My (absent) father is my biggest attribute. Growing up, I always wondered what my mom or I did wrong. It was hard understanding why he didn’t want us and I couldn’t wrap my mind around why he’d walk away without ever looking back. My mom said he stuck around until I was almost three but I don’t remember him. She has a few pictures of my dad and me but he might as well be a stranger.

Today must be my lucky day because all I had this morning were a few classes but I have the rest of the afternoon off, which almost never happens. Usually, I have to work at the bookstore or shadow Dr. Bradley as part of my credit hours toward my degree but they hired another part-time student and Dr. Bradley went on vacation to celebrate his and his wife’s anniversary.

I’m going to make the most of it and try to ‘accidentally’ run into Marissa in the cafeteria. I’ve seen her eating with a few of her sorority sisters around noon, but I’m hoping my luck won’t run out and I’ll catch her alone.

Trekking across campus, the bitter October wind slaps my face, reminding me that aftershave is a horrible idea in these temps but it’s worth it to go see Marissa. Girls like her are rare, and I’d walk over burning coals if I had to just to be with her.

When I walk inside the cafeteria, I notice how crowded it is. It’s never this busy but I don’t come here often, so maybe this is the new norm. My stomach grumbles, reminding me that I’m hungry, and not wanting to seem like I’m seeking her out, I grab a tray and make my way through the line. After getting a bowl of chili and a drink, I slowly walk through the busy room while searching for her.

I spot her sitting with a couple of the Mi Alpha Alpha girls. It’s not hard to notice them with their matching sorority shirts, especially with loud-mouth Curtis sitting at their table. That dude is such a fucking creep, just like my old co-worker. He’s known as a ladies man is always bragging about the notches on his bedpost. I think the only reason he gets so many chicks is because he’s an Alpha Delta Phi frat boy. If it weren’t for that, I don’t imagine he’d have most of the girls he’s been with because he’s a total douche.

I take a seat two tables from Marissa and her friends, making sure to stay low-key while I wait for the opportunity to have her to myself. She’s sitting closest to Abby, who looks stoned out of her mind and won’t stop eating. Then there’s Stacy, the president, and finally, Curtis. Watching her while I eat, I notice she has some of the flyers that I ran off for her yesterday. She gives Stacy and Abby small stacks of them, keeping the rest for either herself or some of the others. They nod their heads as she talks to them and take the papers from her before scooting their chairs back and leaving.

Sitting alone, Marissa stuffs the remaining flyers in her backpack before she begins to gather up her trash. I know my time is limited so I grab my tray and head toward her table.

“Good afternoon,” I smile at her. “Can I take that for you?” Reaching for her tray, I stack it on top of mine even though I wasn’t finished eating. It doesn’t matter, though. I can eat later; right now I have to talk to her.

“Thank you,” she grins. “I was just about to throw all that away.”

“It’s no problem,” I reply as she stands from the table and pushes her chair back in. She walks along side of me as we make our way to the trash cans. “So, have you figured out how I might be able to help with the haunted house?”

She laughs and the apples of her cheeks turn red. “You don’t want to help. I know you’re just being polite.”

“Are you kidding me?” I grab my shirt and gather the material around my chest. “I’m hurt.” We both laugh and then I say, “I’m just playing around but I really would like to help. I’ve always wanted to work in a haunted house to scare the shit of someone. I mean, when do you ever have the chance to scare a bunch of people in one night without any of them punching you? And believe it or not, I have a bit of experience with them.”

“Sometimes they do punch you,” she says. “But since you’re sort of expecting it, you learn to keep your distance.”

“So tell me, how does it work?” I ask.

“How does what work?”

“The haunted house. Do you guys come up with a different theme each year and decorate the house, or is it always the same, or what?”

“Oh!” She says. “No, there’s no way we could all decide on one theme. You know how it goes when there’s about fifteen or so people working together. There’s always too many chiefs and not enough Indians; they all want to be the leader.” She tucks her hair behind her ear, and I love when she does that. Her features are so small and petite, and I love the little diamond earrings that she always wears. They’re cute on her. “The Shackleford Mansion has a bunch of different rooms because the place is huge! We each get assigned our own room and we can decorate it any way we want.”

“That sounds neat,” I say. “I like that. So every room is different and the guests don’t know what to expect?”

“Yep, that’s exactly how it works.”

“What’s your theme going to be?” I ask. I’d just love to know more about her little mind works. She’s absolutely brilliant. Even though she’s still a student, I’ve heard that she’s breaking ground on some very important cures and vaccines. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if her name appears in a medical journal in the very near future, and I like that. Intelligent women are even more attractive and I find it very sexy.

She looks over her shoulder to make sure she can’t be overheard and steps closer to me. A light scent of vanilla floats around her like it belongs there and she smells delicious. I almost hope she says Little Red Riding Hood so I can be the big, bad wolf and eat her.

“My room is going to be pure hell,” she brags.

“Oh, yeah? Tell me more.”

“I’m going to call it Satan’s Revenge,” she says in a hushed tone. “There’s going to be blood, guts, and gore.”

Her nose scrunches in satisfaction while her face lights up. I watch her eyes dance while she fills me in on all the details and she has me completely mesmerized with her ideas. I love the fact that she has a dark, twisted side.

“I love the idea!” I say after she’s finished pouring out all the details. “You can never go wrong with a devil’s lair for Halloween.”

“I know! And I already have a costume,” she shrieks. “But I’m still working on decorations. That part is a bit of a downer because my budget is extremely limited but I’m sure I’ll figure it out.”

“I can help you,” I offer. “Believe it or not, I’ve got a lot of props from when I was a teenager.”

“Really?” She gasps. “That’d be great!”

“Yeah, they’re all at my mom’s place. She lives about an hour from here. We could go this weekend if you’re interested. There’s a ton of stuff in the garage.”

“That’d be amazing. I’m free Saturday if you’re not busy.”

“I’ll pick you up around 4:00, is that okay?” I ask her.

“Absolutely, thank you so much!” She looks at her watch and pouts. “I’m sorry, but I’ve got to get to class. Here,” she digs in her bag and fishes out an ink pen. “This is my phone number. Call me any time.”

Her tiny, cold fingers grab hold of me as she writes her number on the back of my hand. It takes everything I’ve got not to hold her hand and warm her fingers. Instead, I tell her I’ll call her before I come over and watch her firm round ass walk down the sidewalk as she makes her way over to a nearby academic building.