“Drinks and food will not be allowed. Cellphones, tablets, and/or computers will not be needed as everything will be handwritten in class. And last but most certainly not least, there will be no talking of any kind until it is time to work with yourpartner. All of this is repeated within the syllabus. Therefore, any questions you may have will be answered there.”
This professor is a real piece of work. Her rules make it sound as if we’re back in middle school.
I fidget with my pen and take another peek at Cameron to see his reaction to all of this. Only when I do, he’s already looking at me. He scans me from head to toe. His eyes avoiding mine with a blank expression. My stomach dips, and after three seconds, he goes back to doodling.
What the hell was that?
“I will expect one person from each group to have the textbook by this Friday and everyone to have it by next Tuesday.”
The class goes on with Mills giving a brief review of what she is going to teach us this semester. This is a disaster. My GPA has never been below 3.7, and I don’t plan for this class to change that, even if it does mean working with Cameron twice a week…every week…for the rest of the semester.
Kill me. Kill me now.
Finally, after what feels like much more than an hour and fifteen minutes, the professor announces that class is over. There are sounds of people shuffling and zippers opening. I keep my head down and put my stuff away swiftly, wanting to get out of here as fast as I can without drawing attention to myself.
“Well, Kamila, I guess I’ll see you this Friday.” Reluctantly, I look at the source of the voice. Cameron gives me an evil smirk. “Bye, Kam.” I narrow my eyes. He only used to call me Kam as a joke to annoy me playfully. Now, it sounds taunting.
Thankfully, he leaves before I finish putting my things away, giving me the opportunity to go to my next class in peace. Why did I let him get on my nerves so much? Why did he get to have the last word?
It’s because you didn’t say anything, you idiot.
My anger and frustration worsen as I walk to the front exit of the building. Once my foot is out of the front door, I feel my lungs fully expand as I take in a deep breath of fresh air, relaxingslightly. The anxiety has dimmed, but the anger remains. In fact, it’s gotten worse.
There is no way I’m capable of ignoring his taunting comments. He’s never spoken to me in such a condescending tone before. Nostrils flaring, teeth grinding, I spot him walking to the Liberal Arts building.
Rather than taking the time to think my actions through, I jog towards him. It takes me a minute to catch up to where he is due to our height difference, but once I’m about three feet away from him, I freeze, second guessing what I’m about to do.
The hell with it.
He’s about to open the door when I tap one of his arms. Cameron turns around and looks down at me with a mix of surprise and amusement. Before I know it, I knee him in the groin. He grunts and bends over in pain. I take his body position as an opportunity to clock him right in the face, sending pain throughout my entire hand and forearm.
“What the fuck?!” he yells.
“Jesus Christ, is your face made of steel?!” I scream while shaking my hand, knowing it’ll leave a bruise. Composing myself long enough to get my next words out, I point to the man still cupping his eye. “Don’t mess with me, Kahlo.” I walk away before he’s able to say anything else, concerned that that was what it took for my body to relax.
Chapter Four
CAMERON
1 hour and 40 minutes earlier
“Cam, over here!” Will waves at the back of the cafe like an idiot, with an annoyed-looking Zoey next to him.
“Hey Will, what’s up?” We clap hands, and I lean over to kiss Zo’s head. Will shoots me a nasty look over his shoulder while I fight a smile. He’s terrible at hiding his jealousy towards his crush.
He fidgets with Zoey’s hair and pulls her closer to him, clearly claiming her. “We’ve been waiting for our orders that are taking forever. Hope you aren’t in a rush.”
I lift my phone, showing him the app where I put my order in twenty minutes ago. He gives me a nod. “Wish I would’ve thought of that.”
“Will you stop playing with my damn hair already?” Zoey swats his hand away and takes a step back.
“Ow.” Will pouts, looking like a hurt little puppy.
“I know you get all worked up about being even a second late to class, but you need to chill.” Zo fixes her untamed curls.
“Yeah, Will, listen to the lady and chill.” I look down at Zo and give her a wink with a smile. She rolls her eyes.
“I told you I’m immune to your charm, Cam.”
