Whispers woke her up. Cheryl frowned and poked her head out of the
covers, with eyes still closed. She groped for her cell phone. It should have
been somewhere under her pillow...ah, here it was. 9:30 AM. She tried to ignore
the whispers and burrowed back under the covers. She did not have her first
class for the day till 12. She could sleep for at least another hour.
But the voices persisted. Damn.
“Joy.” She tried to keep the grumpiness out of her own voice, as she got
into a half-sitting position and yawned.
“Sorry, Cher,” Joyce apologized. “I had forgotten that you were sleeping
in today and we were already here, so..”
It was then that Cheryl noticed the guy. Lanky, on the taller side. Dark
hair. She could not make out the eyes at this distance but he smiled
apologetically at her.
“Hey”, he said.
“Hey.” Cheryl was polite.
“Cher, meet Ashton. He is my project guide. Ash, this is my room-mate,
Cheryl”, Joyce introduced. “And we will soon be on our way. Bye, Cher. See ya
in the evening.”
Project guide, Cheryl wondered. He looked too young. More like a student. She shrugged.
“How does it matter, anyway?” she wondered aloud and contemplated her options.
She could try and catch a nap before getting up or she could get up.
In the end, she decided to sleep a little more.
The day turned out to be more hectic than she had thought. She missed
lunch. So, she grabbed a quick sandwich on the go from the cafeteria and
settled down for ten minutes of break in the university garden. She just sat
there, trying hard to empty her minds of all thoughts.
She had almost succeeded, when she had company.
“Hey.”
She looked up to find the guy from the morning. Ashton. “Hi.”
“We met in the morning. When I woke you up.” He smiled disarmingly.
“No worries.” Cheryl smiled back. She resumed eating, feeling awkward
and conscious. Apparently, he had no such issues. He plopped next to her, very
comfortable and carefree.
“So? How are you liking here?”
“Good.”
“Joyce tells me that you are studying Literature. Do you want to teach?”
“No.”
“Write?”
Cheryl got up, gathered her books. “Look, I am sorry but I gotta go. See
ya around. Bye.”
