''Ian Romero, the person I hate the most in the whole wide world. He turned the entire school against me, and then just left me alone in the hell he created.''
There's no one Cody Walker hates more than Ian Romero, who is the reason he has been bull...
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*Cody Walker's POV
The next morning I woke up when a blonde, tattooed guy was shouting from the doorway: "Rise and shine, it's time for French toast!"
Are you ready to meet my roommates? The guy, who cruelly woke me up before my alarm, was Mylo Evans. His brawny arms covered with tattoos, the rings on his fingers and the fiery look on his angular face made him look intimidating — but believe me, that guy was such a softy. Mylo wouldn't hurt a fly, literally. He was a vegan, absolutely crazy about cats and he spent all his free time reading and painting.
There were only four things that could really anger him: open cupboard doors, Republicans, mess and people who hurt the ones he loved. Otherwise he was a chill, although a tiny bit weird person.
My other roommate, Kobe, was already sitting at the kitchen table. There was a pile of French toasts in front of him. Kobe Lewis have been dating Mylo for seven years and they fit together perfectly: both having an odd sense of humor and similar ways of seeing the world.
Kobe was eight years older than me. His brown hair was long and curly, he had stubble and he was as tall as he was skinny. He wasn't very tidy and he had way too much energy. I'm also pretty sure he's the only person in the whole wide world that loves food even more than I do.
"What's the occasion?" I mumbled drowsily, while sitting at the table next to Kobe. Princess jumped on my lap as soon as my butt touched the seat.
"It's your first day in the university." Mylo pointed out and set another plate full of French toasts on the table.
"Um.. That was yesterday." I corrected the first French toast halfway to my mouth.
"What, really? What day is it?" Mylo asked. Kobe just shrugged, apparently as out as his boyfriend.
"Tuesday." I mumbled and took a big bite of the toast. It was perfectly crispy from the outside and soft from the inside. You bet I had more than one. I would say I ate until I couldn't possibly fit more in my belly, but I don't seem to be having that sort of physical limitation.
Anyway, the rest of the joined breakfast Mylo got immersed in a book, Kobe browsed his phone and I petted Princess and prayed I wouldn't have to see Ian Romero or his idiot friends today.
***
Unfortunately I didn't just see Ian Romero and his friends. I had to spend my morning doing a project with a girl named Callie Adams and, who else but, Ian Romero. I can't believe it was just yesterday when I thought university could be fun.
"So, if I read about the sensory information, you read about the brain parts and how they process the memories and you read about the different levels of the memory storage?" Callie was already making a work distribution.
She was a true beauty with her light blue eyes, spotless skin, blonde hair and a curvy yet petite body she didn't bother hiding. By the looks she gave to Ian Romero, she had probably realised they would be a striking couple. Too bad Callie actually seemed like a nice girl and she didn't know what she was getting into.
"Yeah, I'll take the brain parts. I'm just not sure if Ian can manage his share." I said casually.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ian frowned. I could see I was getting on his nerves just as much as he was getting on mine.
"Nothing much, just that I'm not sure if you can write about a brain if you don't have one." I answered casually, opening my notebook and getting ready to immerse myself in an article about Basal Ganglia.
"Could you at least pretend to be nice till we get this done?" Ian sighed, having a pained expression on his face.
"Oh, but I am nice. Just not for you." I was very much enjoying seeing the frustration and anger on his face. He was clenching his pen so tightly his knuckles were white.
Nevertheless, as I had my grades to keep up, I didn't say anything more. I kept reading and making notes in silence, until it was time for lunch.
There's three principles in my School survival guide that get you through the lunch break: find the farthest corner table to sit at, hold your tray firmly and always look at your feet when you're walking.
The first one is obviously because you do not want to sit near the popular students. The second is to avoid getting your tray being slammed on the floor while you make it to your table and the third one is to avoid getting tripped. I've learned all of these from experience, so believe me I know.
This time I was shoved by someone at the lunch line, but as I was gripping my tray, I didn't drop it and I managed to stay on my feet. I only stumbled slightly, thumping my hip against the counter. Not that it wasn't painful, but rather a few bruises here and there than tripping on the floor and making a mess with my lunch.
Then I found myself a vacant table, from the farthest corner of course, and started eating. I was hunched, so my hair curtained my face and it took me a while before I noticed someone had sat at my table. I lifted my gaze and looked at the person sitting opposite to me. That was officially the first time in five years when someone had willingly sat at my table.
"Hi. You were amazing yesterday." It was Oat, the one who had talked to me yesterday in the tryouts. Oat had told me to use pronouns they/them, as they were non-binary. They had short warm blonde hair and big green eyes.
"Uh, hi. Thanks." I muttered, considering whether or not I should warn them it wasn't wise to be seen with me in front of everyone.
"Are they giving you a hard time? Those three idiots who were watching us yesterday?" Okay wow, I really didn't think the conversation was going this deep this fast. I wasn't sure if I was comfortable talking about that with a stranger.
"No, not really. Or well, maybe. But it's not a big deal." I shrugged, turning my focus back on my half-eaten lunch.
"It is a big deal." Oat answered and seemed genuinely indignant. I'm not sure why, since I was pretty sure we weren't friends. At least we weren't quite there yet.
"It's not. I'm fine with it." I lied.
"Well, I'm not." They gushed. After that the conversation turned to more idle things. Oat was funny and chatty, and before I knew it I was actually smiling. They made me smile. At school. Who would have believed that?
♡♡♡
Question of the day: Books or movies?
(Me: Books! My all time favorite is Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower.)
