Caufield's girl

Chapter Two

I finally get back to my dorm, but don't even have a chance to take my coat off because I'm immediately greeted by the voice of my lovely roommate. „Hey there. Where've you been, for lord's sake, for so long?" asks Maddie, with a half curious and half pissed-off expression on her immaculate little face. „Chill out, Mad. I was just having my daily dose of vanilla latte at Celestine's, and suddenly I was snapped of my perfect aesthetic moment by another call from my mother." I say it with comical disgust on my face.

„Gosh, again?... That woman must be bored to death when she's calling you every like two fucking hours." said Maddie, and I couldn't agree more. Yeah, she's crazy; I didn't even pick it up. I'm too tired to listen to her fake sweet little tales about how she cares about me and shit. But never mind; just forget about it. I don't want to spoil my own mood even more. "So tell me, what've you been up to?" I ask in order to think about something other than my crazy family.

Maddie takes her eyes off her phone, and she sits up on her bed to face me. „Nothing much, honestly. I've just survived a couple boring lectures, and I've had lunch with Mark. Oh, by the way, he's coming over tonight." She replies, and judging by the look on her face, I think today is one of those nights I should just disappear for my own good, but at least it corresponds with my plans tonight. They love doing movie nights together, and sometimes I have the privilege to hang out with them too. But most of the time, I just take the hint and give them space while I drown my thoughts in some random bar downtown.

„Oh, great then. I'll just head to the city tonight, so don't worry, love birds, I'll be out of sight." I reply with a noble gesture. „Really? You'll be alright? You could stay with us; we wouldn't mind." Maddie tries to sound kind, but I know she doesn't really mean it. „I'll be fine. Have fun, you two, but not too much fun. I don't want the dorm manager to kick us out because you two woke up the whole campus with your screams." I say it teasingly, but I immediately regret saying that as her pillow hits me.

„Shut up! At least I have some sort of sex life." She tries to defend herself, but I'm not particularly interested in continuing a conversation of this kind. Mainly because she is right, and secondly, because I have to get ready for my date, which I haven't mentioned to her yet. „Actually, I have to get ready for my date, so if you'll excuse me..." I say with a half-smirk as I try to rush out of the door in my bathrobe with the intention of hitting the showers.

„Wait?! What did you just say? Why didn't you tell me just right away?!" Maddie freaks out, and her reaction is the exact reason why I haven't told her. "You see, this is exactly why. You start freaking out and giving me your dating advice that I clearly do not want to hear." I justify my actions by giving her a response that she clearly didn't like. She didn't even have the chance to say anything else, because I shake my head and laugh as I leave our room. „The only word I hear from the hallway is "unbelievable," and then her kind of cute laughter follows afterwards.

It's not a big deal. Both my date and teasing each other like this. In fact, we have been doing this ever since we became roommates. But, honestly, I can't complain about Maddie. Even though she can be annoying as hell at times, I still wouldn't trade her for anyone else. I think that overall, we make a pretty good duo. But I'm still kind of shocked we get along, especially since I am probably the biggest introverted pessimist that could possibly exist and she's the exact opposite. She's the life of the party—sociable, optimistic, and outgoing. But I guess that we fit together like a puzzle, and it works pretty well, and neither of us can complain.

When I'm finished with my shower and make-up, I put on my favourite cocktail pants, a satin blouse, and my beige coat—in other words, my essential part of my outfit since it's Montreal where I chose to spend the next three years of my life. And after I'm fully done trying to filter every remark of Maddie's related to dating, I leave her and Mark to their couple things. I really don't have the desire to witness any of their activities besides binge-watching Netflix, and I have my own date to worry about.

I grab my purse and head to the nearest metro station. Although I've lived here for a month, I still get hepelessly lost in the streets of Montreal and all of the French street signs. But what can I do? I hope I'll figure it out by the end of my studies. At least I'm not that dumb, and I manage to take the metro downtown. Thankfully, I've been there a couple of times, and I feel confident enough to return to the dorm without any evident difficulties every time—well, most of the time.

When the metro reaches my final station, I get off and head straight to a nearby restaurant, where I'm supposed to meet a guy named Dylan with bad boy vibes, a perfect jawline, and clearly muscular features. My nerves start to kick in a little bit, but I still remain calm because I don't have expectations and I don't get my hopes up too high. Life taught me not to, and I'm just doing this to get out of my comfort zone, but I still hope he'll be at least worth my time and that the food will be good, because I'm starving.

I finally walk in, and I search through the crowd of people around the place, looking for a lonesome hottie. After a while, I am able to spot the only man who is sitting alone in the very corner of the restaurant, but right now he's too damn occupied talking to the waitress and searching for something that's clearly hidden in her cleavage. I suppose that ordering an appetizer isn't the only intention he has tonight. And my assumptions weren't wrong when his hand wandered until it met her thigh.

What a disgusting piece of shit! I gather my courage for confusion, and I'm not even sure how, but suddenly I'm standing right in front of them, blurting out the first thing that comes to mind. „Dylan?" My simple question is all it takes for him to stop undressing that waitress with his eyes and turn his gaze to me? This is probably the exact moment he realises what the original purpose of his being here was.

„Sophia, it's really not what it looks like. I..." he stutters in a defensive tone, but I don't give him the chance to continue. "Oh, Dylan, I think I know all too well what this looks like. And I'll tell you that it's definitely you politely ordering an appetizer. So, I'll gladly leave you to eye-fuck this lovely girl. And by the way, thanks for reminding me how narrow-minded and fucked up your species are."

Now I turn over to face the waitress and continue: „Oh, and feel free to keep that lying traitor who wears his dick instead of a head. I'm so glad I dodged a bullet here. Have a lovely evening!" I finish my monologue with a smile and a passive, aggressive undertone as I turn on my heel and confidently walk out of that shitty place.

Now I stand in the cold of the October night, slowly breating the fresh Canadian air, considering all of the potential scenarios of how this evening is going to continue. It doesn't take long until I'm already on my way to my favourite bistro in Montreal, with the best poutine, my obsession since I moved here. I think it'll hit the spot after the series of unconventional events of this disappointing evening.

After I finish my fair portion of Poutine, block a few calls from my mother, and scroll my Instagram feed, I decide it's time to change the scenery. As I'm outside again, I start to wander through the night-kissed streets of Montreal, and my steps lead to the first bar that I spot along the way. I don't even care where I end up tonight, but the only thing I'm sure about is the fact that I need a drink as soon as possible. So I let my blind intuition lead the way.

I don't think much, and I walk through the doors of the first place that appears to me as a solid bar. At first glance, it may seem a bit too fancy. The lighting is dim, and the whole place gives off lush and modern vibes. It's definitely out of my price range. But after tonight, I think I deserve a little treat. And besides, right now all I can think about is some kind of alcohol running through my veins. I don't hesitate to walk over to the bar and order my all-time favourite Gin & Tonic.

This place is not crowded, but there is definitely a solid amount of city strangers dressed up to the nines in clothes that are probably worth all of my life savings. Well, it feels quite nice to at least pretend to be a part of this cultivated society. My thoughts wander as I'm silently getting tipsy on my GNT.