Chapter 2- Taunting Footballs

[] A M E L I A []

Brown. Not quite like the color of mud, but more like the color of a chocolate cake.

That was the first splash of colour I saw in a long time. It was almost like it pulled me out of the void that I felt myself drowning in.

I snapped my eyes away from the mystery boy's gaze and headed to the back of the room, my head still hung low. The whispers continued on around me and I fisted my hands together in order to block them out. They weren't talking about me, but just thinking that they could be, was nauseating enough.

To distract myself, I pulled out my notebook and pen. Just then, the professor walked in with a jolly smile on her face and a laptop bag in her hand. By the time I was settled, the professor had already begun the lecture. I was a week late enrolling into classes, and now, I couldn't afford to be more behind than I already was. Besides the piles of work that I had to catch up on already, the new material seemed to be taking a toll on my brain as well.

Before I knew it, the one hour and twenty minute lecture came to an end. I sighed and started packing my things. Once I was ready to go, I grabbed my bag and headed outside.

So far, I had concluded that this college wasn't half bad. I had already taken a liking for this place since they were the only one in the province willing to accommodate a dorm room for me, even though I was three weeks late in applying. I had wondered if there was something wrong with the school when I got the acceptance letter, but then I reminded myself that it's a community college and they probably would've accepted me no matter what. Not only that, it was quite a ways away from the city so I bet accepting me was good for them.

I made my way to my dorm room quietly and set down my things once I got inside. It was a single room, exactly what I had wanted, and there was enough space for me to actually spread out and not feel claustrophobic. It also faced away from the college itself, and instead, looked over to a garden of trees. I loved the place more than I could say.

Deciding to put my time to use, I began to unpack the rest of my luggage. It had already been three days since I came, and if my mother found out that I hadn't even unpacked yet, I would never hear the end of it. Starting with my clothes, I arranged the most I could into the small cubby hole, which was considered a closet in dorm rooms, then moved onto unpacking the rest. When I was done unbagging necessary items, I decided to take a break and move onto something else. Sitting at my desk, I pulled out the notes from today and started writing.

For a moment, I briefly wondered if I could stay at peace like this for the rest of my life.

But that would be too much to ask for.

* * *

I was late to class. It was my second day here, and I was already late. I was studying so late into the night that I didn't even realize when I had  fallen asleep on the desk. Then I had woken up in the same position this morning. Very, very, late.

Shaking off my tiredness, I kept walking towards what I hoped was my destination. My sociology class started in less than ten minutes and I was still trying to locate it. Since asking someone was absolutely out of question, I stopped briefly to look for any sign that could lead me in the right direction.

Suddenly, I heard loud noises coming up behind me and I tensed. It sounded like there was lots of cheering going on, and I had the sudden urge to get away from here as fast as possible.

I looked left and right, anywhere that would give me a clue about where the Sociology building was. But of course, I have been directionally since birth so this was much harder than it needed to-

Thump!

I gasped as a sudden burst of pain shot up the back of my head. I reached for the back of my head in shock, trying to decipher what happened. I really couldn't feel the pain, since the confusion of what had just happened was more overpowering.

When I realized that the hit wasn't even that hard, I slowly turned around to the source of the pain. Lying by my feet, was a large, oval-shaped ball.

A football.

I picked it up unsurely and courageously looked up.

A boy, taller than me by at least 2 feet, was jogging up to me with a look of pure horror etched on his face. He was racing to get to me with his spread his arms out. For a moment, I tensed, thinking that he was about to grab me. My feet took a step back on their own accord, but I fought the urge to run.

The boy finally made it to me, huffing and puffing as he eyed me up and down.

"Shit, I am so sorry," he said sincerely. "Are you okay?" he asked.

I nodded and held the ball out for him to take. He squatted to get a better look at me, and I shied away from him.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked, taking another step closer to me.

I backed up slightly and nodded.

"You don't look so good... Maybe we should take you to the doctor?" he suggested.

I shook my head, counting down the seconds in my head before I fled. Suddenly, he was pulled back roughly, and I let out the breath I had been holding.

Another guy, with brown hair and matching eyes, was standing slightly behind the tall guy, holding him away by the collar.

"Jamal! You're scaring the wits out of her, you giant," the second guy said.

Jamal scratched the back of his head and looked at me apologetically.

"Sorry about that," he said with a chuckle. "I'll take the ball then."

Jamal then grabbed the ball out of my hands without any warning and headed back towards a group of guys who were crowded just behind the guy in front of me. Speaking of the guy in front of me, he was staring at me with a grin and I started the mental countdown again.

"Sorry about that. He thought it'd be cool to try and throw it with his eyes closed," he explained.

I nodded with a small smile, which probably looked more like a grimace.

"My name's Andre by the way," he said, holding out his hand for me to take.

I hesitantly took it and gave it a shake.

"Amelia," I introduced. "Uh, it's okay. He didn't mean to hit me. Don't worry about it."

Andre nodded and I let out a sigh.

"Well Amelia, to make it up to you, why don't you tell me where you're headed. You look a little lost, so I can walk you there as an apology. "

Any other time, I would've declined the proposition. Meeting strangers, and walking  with them, was definitely something I didn't do on a daily basis. But seeing as I was running late, and I had no idea where I was headed anyway, I slowly nodded.

"Sociology building. And you don't have to walk me there. If you could just point out where it is, that would be great," I said, awkwardly rubbing my arm.

"Sociology? Great, I'm headed there now too."

'Oh great. Just my luck.'

"Oh," I said.

"Well then let's go," he said, walking in the complete opposite direction from where I was about to go.

I followed after him cautiously, cursing my luck for putting me in this position. Before we made it far, he turned around and faced the direction Jamal had run off to earlier.

"Later, Jamal!" Andre hollered.

I followed his gaze, and where there was a crowd before, now only two boys remained standing. In front of Jamal, stood a guy with a hood on. He was leaning against the wall with one foot propped up on the building. He had his hands crossed in front of his chest and it seemed like he was giving Jamal a lecture.

At the sound of Andre's voice, both boys turned around. Jamal waved at him, and the other boy simply nodded to him. His eye caught mine and suddenly, my breath hitched as I recognized him as the guy from yesterday's class.

"Later, Leo!" Andre yelled.

I turned back around swiftly and continued following Andre to class.

* * *

It turned out that Andre and I were in the same class. I had thought that once we reached, we would part ways. However, Andre insisted on sitting next to me and I sadly couldn't decline. He carried on most of the conversation, seeing as I barely talked, and I replied when needed. After a while though, I didn't mind. He seemed like a nice guy and I didn't see any reason as to believe otherwise.

However, I was not looking to make friends here. I just wanted to get my work done, and leave. Hopefully, Andre would get the hint soon.

After class, we both packed up quietly.

"Well what do you have now, Amelia?" Andre asked casually.

"I have a break until 4:30," I hesitantly explained.

"Really? Well why don't you join us for lunch? I'm sure Jamal wants to properly apologize to you," he said, sounding a little worried.

I think he was just more worried that I might report him or something, but really, what's a football going to do?

"Uh...It's okay Andre. Really. You don't have to worry about it. The ball wasn't that hard. You don't have to do...this," I said, gesturing between the two of us.

"Whoa there Amelia. I don't just invite people to sit with us. I'm not saying this out of guilt or anything. I really think it'd be cool if you joined us," he said with a friendly grin.

Now I was confused. Why would he think me joining them for lunch would be cool? I was literally wearing stained jeans and a hoodie from another college. Was this some sort of prank? Do people still do those?

Still skeptical about his offer, I decided to conjure up an excuse for now.

"I think I'll skip for today. There's lots of material I have to catch up on. Maybe another day?" I offered.

He pouted at first, then grinned again.

"Alright, but you can't say no every time," he playfully warned.

I gave him another awkward smile in response. We finally headed out of class and made our separate ways after that.

* * *

[] L E O []

"She's really nice. A little quiet but nice."

Andre and Jamal were gathered at my place for lunch today. Since most of the on-campus restaurants suck to say the least, we usually grab takeout to eat at my place. Other times, we head to one of the better places on campus. Today, it was Chinese takeout at my place. The topic of conversation was none other than mystery girl that I've just been happening to see everywhere.

Amelia.

The girl from English.

"Awe man, now I just feel worse," Jamal said, dropping his fork and putting his head in his hands.

Andre sighed.

"You should. It was a dick move," he said, making a tsk-tsk sound.

"She's in my English too," I said, contributing to the conversation.

I slurped on the noodles, and realized that I had apparently said something I shouldn't have. Andre and Jamal turned to look at me in shock, their food forgotten for the time being.

"Whoa, you went to English?" Andre questioned.

I gave him the finger.

"Yes, you dick."

"And noticed something besides what the lecture was about? Shit dude, someone record the date, Leo Kennedy has officially returned to the planet," Jamal said, waving his hands for extra effect.

"You know, both of you can leave anytime."

Andre and Jamal instantly quieted down and focused on their food. We ate in silence for a little while after that, then Andre spoke again.

"I invited her for lunch too, but she totally declined man," Andre said.

"And why was that necessary?" I asked.

Andre shrugged.

"She's a nice girl. Befriending  another human wouldn't hurt."

I shared a look with Jamal. Then we looked to Andre.

"You like her?" Jamal asked with raised brow.

Somehow, this didn't sit well with me.

Andre shook his head.

"I mean, yeah. But not like, like like, man. She's different. She seems like someone more important than that," he said with a dazed look.

The way he was saying all this made me uncomfortable.

"Whoa dude. Did you literally just fall in love?" Jamal asked dumbly.

Andre suddenly went into a daze. It seemed like he was completely lost. Jamal and I leaned closer to him.

And then...

Andre burst out laughing.

Jamal and I both sighed and fell back into our seats.

"You're a douche," Jamal stated.

I nodded in agreement.

"No guys, I'm telling you," Andre said, taking a deep breath. "She's special, this one. I can feel it. I just don't know what kind yet."