Thanks :)
Originally, I wanted to add a heart, but I got nervous and sent the smiley face instead. Then a picture came through.
My bed at her place. The pile of clothes she picked out for me—the ones I wasn’t wearing—and a nice white bag with a familiar tech logo on it.
Emerson
For when you get back. Though I’m not too happy you didn’t wear what I picked out for you today.
My face heated, and I looked down at what I was wearing.The flannel.Her flannel. The same one I’d taken and never given back.
It was silly, but when I attended class before, it was one of my favorite outfits. Sometimes it made me feel like I wasn’t so alone.
There is no fucking way I’m telling her what I’m actually wearing.
I typed back a quick reply. Something I normally wouldn’t say, but I felt emboldened given it was just text.
Me
I’ll wear it the next time you make me come.
Thanks for the computer… it means a lot.
I hastily put my phone in my pocket before I could see her response and focused back on the classroom, a newfound giddiness lighting up my chest.
Get your head back in the game, Pearl.
Taking a deep breath, I shifted my backpack on my shoulder and went inside. It was a smaller, intimate classroom setting with only a few tables and chairs. Given that this was one of the higher-level classes and how many students attended, they didn't need a huge auditorium.
There were two students inside, one at the very front and one at the very back. The teacher was at his desk, focused on one of the required readings for the class.
He looked up when I came in, and I smiled at him, but his face twisted as I got closer. It made me regret trying to go for one of the front seats.
Deep breaths, no big deal.
I ignored it and grabbed the stuff from my backpack, placing one thing at a time on the table in front of me in an attempt to stall.
“It's Pearl, right?” he asked. His voice made me jump. I looked back up at him, and this time he was looking at me from over the glasses that were perched on his nose.
He seemed nice enough. One of those professors who would be chill with anything as long as you showed up to class.
“You know me?” I asked with a nervous laugh. It had been years since I’d been on campus, and I wasn't what you would call popular back then.
“Of course!”
He wheeled his chair from his desk toward me in an oddly comfortable gesture that made me a bit nervous inside. He dropped his voice to a whisper.
“I'm glad you're back,” he said. “I heard about… You know. All the teachers knew. I expected you to join my class that year. I saw you were enrolled, but you never showed up.”
Oh.Dread filled my stomach. This was not what I wanted to be talking about on my first day back.
From the moment I was sold at Club Pétale’s auction, my life has taken a different turn. Everything I never thought possible started coming true. So I allowed myself to forget as much as I could about what had happened.
It seemed the faculty never would.
“I took a break,” I replied, shooting a glance at the other students. Luckily none of them were looking. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to come back.”
He gave me a concerned look.
