A New Vista

Chapter 8

I woke up the next day and walked into the bathroom. After brushing my teeth with powder, I went into my room and slipped on my clothes.

"Are you having breakfast, Liz?" Mildred asked as I walked into the kitchen. The kitchen was a spacious one, with an island in the center big enough for all of us girls to eat on.

Virginia was sitting while eating bacon and sunny side up eggs. I placed the school books I held in hand on the island.

"Nope, I think I'm going to just head out after a drink." I told her as I went into a cabinet to retrieve a glass.

"How was your night?" Virginia asked as I filled my glass with water at the sink.

I paused, then turned around to face her. "Just fine."

Virginia smirked as she bit into her bacon. Then Shirley walked into the kitchen.

"Hey everyone!" Shirley smiled as she sat next to Virginia. "Genie, are you going to the football game today?" She asked as she started sharing out her food onto her plate.

"I sure am. So many cute boys on there." Virginia smiled. "Like Dave, and Bobby, and Fred."

Then she paused to giggle. "And Paul." She said under her breath.

"Paul?" Shirley grinned. "Paul Newman?"

"Mhm. Because he's on the football team as you know." Virginia smiled. "I hope he got his rest for the big game today."

The girls were definitely acting strange, but I didn't think much of it. I took my books and began heading out. "See everyone later!"

"Bye now!" Mildred shouted out. Virginia and Shirley told me goodbye as well.

I put on my coat and stepped outside of the house. As I walked down the walkway, I slightly tripped on a pebble on the ground.

Paul from last night. I picked up the pebble and walked on the yard to throw the pebble into the flower bushes and hedges in front of the house.

Then, I saw legs sprawled out on the floor coming out of the bushes. I slowly walked over to the bushes, and peeked between the branches to see exactly who it was.

Paul laid there, eyes closed and fast asleep. He still didn't have on a shirt, his jacket that was once open last night was now buttoned up to keep him warm. He began to stir in his slip, and I rolled my eyes and began to walk off.

"Wait!" He tried to shout out, but his voice was raspy and cracked since he just woke up. "Hold on, now."

I turned around, holding my books against my chest in one hand and my other hand on my hip.

"I slept outside in the cold for you and you don't even stop to say hi?" He asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"Hello, Paul." I said sarcastically. "No one told you to sleep in the bushes. And besides, it wasn't even that cold last night."

I turned around and began walking off. Paul immediately got up off the ground and ran up to me.

"I wanted us to go back out but you wouldn't come down." He announced as he walked beside me.

"I was never coming down." I insisted to him. Then, I stopped walking and looked him up and down. "Now you feel okay walking with me?"

I began to walk forward again. "Is that what's this is about?" He asked and stood in front of me. "Because I wouldn't walk with you?"

"That and the fact that I made a mistake by going with you last night. I'm not interested in your escapades." I told him and he smiled.

"Come on, you had fun. I know you did." He said as I walked in front of him. He stood there for a moment, hoping I'd stop or slow down, but then ran up to me once again. "I want to do it again."

"I'm not going to be anyone's secret." I told him as we slowly made our way across campus.

"You're not my secret!" He said. Then, he held my shoulders and pressed my back against a building. "Please, just hear me out."

I was quiet as I waited for him to say something. He just stared at me. "I'm listening."

"You know me, I'm Paul Newman, I'm on the football team. All that great stuff." He said as he touched his chest. "I never intended in coming to college and finding a girl I really liked."

"We've hated each other all year and now we've suddenly decided to have passionate spur of the moments. That doesn't mean you really like me." I contradicted him.

"All I'm saying is that people don't expect a guy like me to have a girl." He shrugged. "And they especially don't expect me to have a girl like you. I mean— you're academic, you're put together, you're dry."

"I'm negro." I told him and he frowned.

"Yeah." He nodded. I tried to push past him but he placed his hands on my shoulders again. "But I don't care about that, Elizabeth. To hell with them about that."

"This is all some game to you, isn't it?" I asked him. "I'm a human being. I'm not your sports trophy or praise from a crowd."

"You're a human being I want to have around me." He told me, his blue eyes looking in mine. His hair was extra curly since he didn't have time to style it, and it was puffy around his head. "Come on, Liz."

"I don't know what you're asking of me." I shook my head.

"Go steady with me." He proposed. I looked at him, and he didn't have that stupid grin he usually wore. He was dead serious, and may I add, out of his mind.

"You've gone bonkers." I told him. "Now excuse me, you're going to make me late for class."

He followed behind me as I walked to my building. I'd occasionally look behind me to see if he was still there, and he definitely was.

I'd see him a few feet behind, at one point accidentally bumping into someone as he kept his eyes on me. I opened my classroom door and entered my class room, and when I looked at the door he poked his head through the window.

"My gosh." I said under my breath as I sunk in my seat.

"Do you know him?" My classmate asked. Her name was Myrtle Gibbons.  I had quite a few classes with her. She was extremely smart, although she and I didn't really spend time outside of class. "Paul Newman?"

"Yeah." I said with an eye roll. "He's so—"

"Dreamy." Myrtle sighed as she placed her cheek in the palm of her hand.

"Or irritating." I huffed as I looked forward at the board. I heard the door swing opened behind me and in came Paul, barreling in the room.

He stood next to my seat, and I kept my eyes forward, trying to ignore him. Then, he pulled up a chair next to the desk I shared with Myrtle and sat in the aisle.

"Alright, what are we learning today?" Paul asked as he leaned his arms on the table in front of him.

"You're not learning a damn thing." I said with a risen brow.

"Elizabeth! Language!" Myrtle said as she tapped my shoulder. "Besides, you should be kind to our new classmate."

"He's not our classmate. He's intruding in our class and he needs to go." I told her and Myrtle smiled at Paul, holding out her hand.

"I'm Myrtle." She said with an enthusiastic tone in her voice.

"Paul." He winked and shook her hand. I looked between the two of them as they shook hands while I sat between them.

"You know what?" I asked as I held my hands up. "I'm sitting elsewhere."

Myrtle looked surprised as I pushed my chair back and sat in the desk behind them. A quiet boy with glasses looked up at me after I sat next to him.

"No one ever sits here." He announced. I looked to Paul, and he was laughing at us. He rose a brow at me as he began looking me up and down.