Growing up for Naomi Warner was nothing less than a nightmare. She was bullied by her peers, and her home life wasn't always easy. On top of that, Naomi was very different from other people. In fact, she wasn't human at all. She was a shapeshifter...
Today was Monday. If it wasn't for the fact that I got to see Naomi this morning, I would have felt gloomy. Monday's usually suck, but now, I was looking forward to them. Over the weekend, I spent some time with Danny, and we got to know each other better. I was really happy I'd met someone that I wasn't attracted to. It made building a relationship much easier. I felt close to him already. I jumped out of bed, determined to be on time for class this morning. I took care to choose my outfit for the day, which was shocking to me. I guess I wanted to impress Naomi. I picked out a pair of blue jeans, ones that hugged my hips nicely, and a short sleeve blouse that showed just enough cleavage.
I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth, and finish getting ready. I wanted to look natural so I was light on the makeup, and then I did my hair in a french braid updo that I tied back into a ponytail. I checked myself out in the bathroom mirror, and was pleased with my appearance. I looked pretty damn good. I went back into the bedroom, then packed my messenger bag with my school books, notebooks, and my sketchpad. I was ready.
I picked up my phone, and checked the time. I was twenty minutes ahead of schedule, and knowing that put a smile on my face. My morning was going great so far! I stuck my phone in my front pocket, then grabbed my room keys, and my school badge. I skipped those into the front pockets of my bag before I left my dorm room, and locked the door behind me. Heather was still sleeping. As much as I wanted to slam the door, the decency in me held me back.
By the time I got to class, it was still half empty. I scanned the cluster of students who were there already, searching for any sign Naomi. I finally spotted her a few rows down, and over to the left. She was closer to the front of the room than last week. Or at least I hoped that was her, I could only see the back of her head from where I stood. If I wanted to confirm, then I had to get closer. I took a deep breath, and made my way to the girl I hoped was Naomi.
My heart pounded with each step I took. I finally made it to her row. It was her. I noticed her backpack was placed in the seat next to her, but the seat beside her bag was empty. I looked around and saw that the room started to fill up with more students. I hastily shuffled down the aisle until I was next to her. She was looking down at her cell phone at first, but then she looked up at me. When our eyes met I lost my breath.
The last time we met, I was so busy ogling her body, I hadn't paid attention to her eyes. And wow. They were mesmerizing! Such a beautiful color brown mixed with hues of orange. I got lost in them easily. She gave me an awkward smile that broke our gaze, then moved her backpack down to the floor beside her chair. Was she telling me to sit beside her? The professor started to speak, not giving me time to process Naomi's gesture, so I quickly sat down in the chair she seemed to have saved for me.
Once class began, she was completely focused on the lesson, just as she was last week. I tried my best to pay attention, but once again, the low hum of the students chatter throughout the lecture hall was just too distracting. How was I going to pass the class?! That was it! An idea came to me. I could start a conversation with Naomi by asking about Physics! I peeked over at her, and she was taking notes. I sort of felt guilty for interrupting her, but...
"Hey... Naomi," I whispered.
She glanced over at me with curious eyes.
"Y–Yeah?" She whispered back.
"How do you block out the talking in order to pay attention?"
Naomi shrugged. "I guess... I just ignore it. I'm sorry, I know that's unhelpful."
She was right. Her answer wasn't helpful at all.
"You... like to draw?" she asked. Her sight was on my messenger bag.
I looked down. The flap to my bag was open, and my sketchbook was showing. I was surprised that she changed the subject.
"I love to," I answered honestly. "Actually, I'm majoring in illustration design."
Her eyes lit up and she smiled.
"That's really cool...! My major is computer programming," she stated.
Computer programming? Naomi was gorgeous, but now I knew she was also incredibly intelligent.
"That's..." I began to say.
"Lame? Nerdy? Complex? Yeah, I know..." Naomi cut in.
Could she get any cuter?!
"Actually, I was going to say that's really awesome!"
She was stunned at my statement.
"Yeah, right—"
"No, really, you're definitely admirable. Not only were you interested in computer programming, you wanted to study it! Most people just take the lazy way out," I told her.
After that she went silent on me, and went back to paying attention to the professor. Was it something I said? I mean, I just gave her a compliment! It was times like these when I wished I was a Seer!
I had done the first thing that came to mind, I started copying her notes. She must have noticed eventually, because she moved her notebook so I could see it better. Unfortunately, class came to an end. I wasn't sure what to say to Naomi, but I definitely wanted her number. We slowly gathered our stuff, and walked together out of the lecture hall. It was the perfect time for me to ask for her number, but I chickened out!
"I guess I'll see you next week," I said with a smile. How stupid! Just ask for her number! I yelled at myself internally. But for some reason the words just wouldn't come out.
Naomi nodded and gave me a small smile back. She walked off, and as I watched her my mood deflated. I was so disappointed in myself. Not only did I possibly hurt her feelings, I also didn't have the courage to ask for her number! I was now at two strikes, but I wasn't going to get a third. I refused.
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