Crossing Into Forever

Chapter 16

The walk to the cafeteria was filled with chattering, but Ella wasn't paying much attention to what was being said. As everyone got their lunch and sat down, Millicent could see that Ella was preoccupied in thought. "What's wrong. You look like something is bothering you."

"Ella, what could be wrong? You got the highest grade in the class on our test." Lucy was her usual smiling chipper self.

"I'm afraid I may have offended the professor. I know he could tell I was a little uncomfortable after everyone had walked out. I hope he didn't think I was being rude. I think I should apologize to him. What do you all think? I hope I didn't make him angry."

The other girls looked at each other. They all thought he was a very handsome man, but they had heard rumors about him being overly friendly with some of the girls. No one thought much about her having to stay after for a moment with him, since they were right outside the door.

"What exactly did he say to you?" Lucy asked.  Ella told them the entire conversation and they decided that even though it sounded innocent enough, there were a couple of comments that they had to wonder about. The fact that she did get an "off" feeling from it, told them that she should be wary of too much attention from him.

"No, you shouldn't apologize." Spoke Sibylla. "You did nothing wrong. I doubt if there was anything to it, but I think you should trust your instincts. You may not have had to worry about such things at the convent, but things are different here and way different out in the world. If you feel something is amiss, there is usually a reason for it. If he ever wants you to stay after again, make sure someone stays with you, at least outside the door, like we did. If we aren't around, make sure someone that you trust is close by."

She was starting to feel like she had painted a bad picture of the professor's actions and she felt bad now.

"Ella don't be worrying about this. It's over and you did nothing wrong, so just continue on with class like normal, but remember to trust your instincts. Promise me you won't obsess over this." Millicent chimed in.

"I think once you get more used to being here , you will feel a lot better about everything. Lucy continued on, it's hard being at a new school. You just have to give yourself time. Most of the professors here are really great and some are super cute. There are a lot of cute boys here too." She had a big smile on her face, "and the cute one's are really fun to flirt with." She loved to flirt, but she would be the first to admit that you have to be careful. You have to know when to stop. You have to stop before you get yourself in a situation you don't want to be in. She was wise to those sorts of problems, so she knew her boundaries. Lucy was a beautiful red headed tall, slender girl with pale white skin and stunning emerald, green eyes. She was accustomed to having boys and even some men looking at her. Mostly she just ignored them, unless she thought they were cute too. She had decided she didn't want a boyfriend right now though. She wanted to hang out with her friends, but in her opinion, it never hurt to have a little fun flirting around. She knew a lot about sex even though she had never done it before, and she knew she wasn't ready for that. That's one reason she didn't want a steady boyfriend. She knew a lot of girls that had them, and the guys always wanted to have sex, and they would put a big guilt trip on their girlfriends if they didn't want to. She didn't need that kind of pressure right now. She liked the way her life was right now. She felt happy most of the time and enjoyed everything about life.

Ella loved being around Lucy because she enjoyed her carefree spirit. She always made things seem brighter and if Ella were feeling down, Lucy would lift her spirits. Actually, all of her friends helped Ella in one way or another. They all had their unique way of helping her cope with her new life. Millicent was down to earth and helped her stay calm and look at things logically. Sibylla was the feisty one that would offer to kick someone's butt should the need arise. She didn't know what she would do without them here with her. She tried not to think of that though, because it made her feel sick to think she would be at the school alone with no true friends like they were.