Chapter 5

Manya's POV

what a night! I can't wait to tell my- no wait, I cannot tell anyone about this can I?

Look at that! Someone finally came to their senses.

Not the best feeling in the world... but we made a deal 'No one can know '. And for the life in me, no one will

Sleep didn't come easy that night. Something kept panging, keeping me from drowning into that homely void that I call sleep, kept pulling me out of it to remember that today that void started getting filled up, that the vacuum wasn't sucking me in anymore. Something had changed. And much as I would hate to admit it, that change was a green-eyed, 6-foot tall brunette who... who pulled me into a kiss and out of that void all in a moment without any notice or inkling. And, man! was I grateful for it.

***

'Miss Mal! Wake the fuck up and get that booty into the shower before I have to do it myself!'

'Huh? wha-, it's the first day, Sophie!' I half yawned, half spoke the words as if they were an explanation.

'Oh! so u do realize how important today is! you just decide to remain completely OBLIVIOUS to it. Well, lucky for you' She darted the last word at me with a mom-like tone which I had a feeling I would be hearing a lot in the future ' You are my only friend yet so I care if you're on time or not.'

'Thanks, Sophie, I have a feeling you could have been more polite in pointing out that you CARE about me but I appreciate it' I responded

That softened her voice, face- which was as scrunched up as a discarded letter-, and the whole atmosphere by more than a fraction.

It was a nice feeling, having someone to bicker with. I know it was only two days till now but we were getting this connection, this sisterly bond that I just knew would last and be cherished.

I wore Sophie's clothes that day since she was already a bit mad at me, and admittedly, had a MUCH better taste in clothes than me.

'My my Manya! Don't you look foxy! Carter is gonna have a hard time getting his jaw off the ground.' She told me as she nudged me towards the mirror.

'(A) What does Carter have to do with it?' I asked

Everything!

Yeah, I gotta agree with you on that one

Of course, you have to!

I'm regretting my decision now... I'm never gonna hear the end of this

I ignored my inner conflict and continued rationalizing the situation

'(B) I look like a cheerleader' I continued to blab as I avoided the mirror and looked at Sophie to make my point clear

'Maybe, but what's wrong with that?' she dismissed my argument and turned my eyes towards the mirror

I took a chance and looked towards the mirror but was shocked by what I saw.

'And (C), you're a fucking miracle worker' I sighed out

'I know, it's one of my many talents. You can think of me as your fairy godmother. Now, next order of business, make-up, and hair'

She pulled my hair up in a bun, then towards the sides giving me a rodeo look, and then pulled all of it back into a pony

'Okay! let's leave my hair now. I like wearing them down' I blurted in an attempt to save what was left of them.

'Alright, make-up then?' She continued

'Sure, just some gloss, liner,' and blush, okay' I listed the things I knew were safe to be put on by anyone.

Turned out, as long as my hair was out of Sophie's hands, she might as well be my fairy godmother. We were almost done when a knock came on the door.

'It's open!' we yelled in unison. The door opened to reveal Carter and Ben.

'Hey, Soph! you guys ready?' Carter asked making direct eye contact with me before serving me one of his silly smirk

'Yeah, almost' Sophie answered

'Bedhead? late as usual?' He asked as he dared me to answer

'Don't bother yourself too much about me and shut up' I replied unable to stop myself from smiling

'Awww, that's sweet but you gotta work more on being intimidating, bedhead' He countered

'We're done' Sophie almost yelled and got the two boys out of the room

'What about the blush?' I whispered as low as I could

'You don't need it anymore' she whispered back as she winked at me playfully

For some reason, I blushed harder at that. Sophie let out a small chuckle as we gathered our stuff and walked out the door.

Carter and I parted ways with Sophie and Ben halfway through the lecture hall but not before Sophie cornered me and said 'I know something happened, as your roommate, I have a right to know. So you better not hide anything from me'

'What was that about? you break her favorite lamp or something already?' Carter inquired referring to the "threat" Sophie gave me.

'You know? For just once, if you talk like a normal person, I just might tell you '

'What?'

'Why do you have to be so cryptic when you talk? There is always an underlying meaning to what you say ' I spit out

Yes! You tell him, girl! You're not trash and he can't treat you like it

Just soften the blow the next time though... what if there's something wrong with him or maybe you just make him uncomfortable.

Ugh! Barf! Do you ever say anything that is mildly empowering?

I encourage her to take a new point of view based on emotions. The empowering part is yours.

'I- I'm sorry. I'm not used to people like you and I'm having a hard time reading you' He answered in the most humble tone I had ever heard him speak in.

' You don't need to read me... you can just ask. ' I replied

'Hmm... so that means I can just ask you stuff and you won't gossip about it, right?'

'Yes'

'So does that also mean that I can just tell you stuff and you won't gossip about it ?'

'You're scaring me. Did you kill somebody? Are you having an affair with the teacher? So many questions...' I joked and raised my hand to my head in feigned confusion.

'You look amazing today. I meant to tell it to you earlier but I...' he trailed off

'You were shy?'

'Yes'

'Wow! it's true, you learn something new every day'

He glared at me and picked up his pace. I ran up to him and thankfully caught up after cursing my height multiple times.

'Hey!' I called out to him

He stopped and turned to continue glaring at me

'What?'

'I'm sorry... and thank you'

He raised an eyebrow as if to question my sincerity

'I mean it' I swallowed trying to figure out what he was thinking

He sighed and then smiled at me. A genuine smile, and then said 'I never said you didn't. Come on, let's find our seats'