Chapter 7 One More Day

• -Corrine-
• “You’re daydreaming again.”
• I jumped at the sound of Gary’s, my classmate, voice. I blinked and turned towards him, then returned his smile. “Busted,” I murmured.
• “The lecture’s over.” Gary nodded towards the front, letting me know that the professor had left the classroom.
• “Oh...” It took me a few seconds to realize what I should do. Gather my books and stationery. “Oh!” I exclaimed.
• I bent down to grab my bag from under the desk and placed it on my lap. My movements paused when I saw what was inside.
• Andrew’s jacket.
• Yeah, call me a pervert. I have been carrying that jacket for the past week. Ever since I met him at Houghton Commons, I thought I would meet him again. Maybe he would show up at the same place, or he could suddenly appear in front of my dorm room.
• Who knows?
• “Nice jacket,” Gary said, peeking into my open bag.
• Reflexively, I closed the bag and grimaced at him. “Not mine,” I muttered.
• Gary withdrew and gazed at me. The gleam in his eyes radiated curiosity.
• “Boyfriend?” he inquired.
• I didn’t confirm it and only answered him with a smile. I should have said yes, as it could make Gary keep his distance from me.
• You could say that I was too confident because I thought Gary liked me, but I dare bet that Gary did like me. He had approached me first on the first day of class and always sat next to me. He talked to me and even offered to do my assignments.
• And the thing was... I was not interested in him. He was not my type. He was the type of innocent-looking guy with glasses and a buttoned-up shirt. My type was more like a bad boy. Andrew’s face immediately came to mind.
• “Where are you going?” Gary followed me as I stood up and walked out of the classroom.
• “Dorm,” I replied shortly. “I haven’t showered."
• Gary’s expression when he heard my confession made me want to laugh. Hopefully, after this, he won’t approach me again.
• I smiled and waved at him. “See you.”
• When I returned to the dorm, Eva was not there. She said she left later today because there was a shift in her class schedule. Before going to class, I told her that I would come back after morning class to shower, and we agreed to have breakfast together.
• I took the opportunity of Eva's absence to take Andrew's jacket out of my bag. It seemed like I'd been carrying this jacket around enough this week. Returning the jacket to the wardrobe was the same as giving up hope of seeing him again. Because I'm tired of hoping.
• Besides, this wasn’t right. I felt like I was betraying Eva.
• Just as I was thinking about Eva, someone opened the door and startled me. Eva walked in and stopped when she saw me. “You’re back." She glanced at the closet and I tried to cover up the contents of it, although it seemed pointless.
• “The bathroom is empty,” she said. “You should go there now before the other girls come in.”
• She frowned when she saw me change positions and stand with my hands behind my back. “What are you doing?” A towel hung from her hand and water dripped from her wet hair.
• “I’m looking for clothes,” I said while forcing a smile. I took two wide steps towards her and half-pushed her in front of the mirror. “Quick! You need to dry your hair or your clothes will get wet.”
• I pulled a chair and plugged in the hair dryer, then turned it on. Eva slowly sat down, still looking at me, confused, through the mirror. “I can do it myself,” she said, taking the hair dryer from my hand.
• “Yeah, sure."
• Eva continued to stare at me as I walked towards the closet and opened it. My gaze fell on Andrew's jacket on the top of the pile. I quickly grabbed some clothes and closed the closet. I didn't want Eva to know that I was paying too much attention to something belonging to the brother she hated so much.
• "I'll take a shower," I said then.
• Eva nodded but didn't say anything. It seemed like she knew, as her expression turned cold.
• When I returned from the bathroom, she was no longer in the room. I checked my phone. She had sent me a message saying that she was running late and that we should have breakfast separately today.
• I exhaled. She must have known that I had feelings for Andrew. Well, it might be too early to say that I had specific feelings for Andrew, but I couldn’t deny that I paid attention to him.
• Eva shouldn’t blame my feelings. Because who could actually stop a feeling from growing? She should blame Andrew for showing up in front of me... and for being too sexy. And for being a werewolf like me.
• I opened the closet to grab my jeans and my gaze fell back to that black jacket. My hand stopped there. My heart was in a battle with my mind. One side forbidding me from taking it, while the other begged me to grab it and put it back in my bag.
• It took a few seconds of contemplation before I decided to follow my heart, with the determination that today would be the last day I would carry it in my bag.
• Since I had no one to have breakfast with, I skipped it. I headed straight to the department building for my next class.
• A day after I broke up with Daniel, I changed my major. And I was grateful I could do it, so I wouldn’t have to see his disgusting face every day.
• I chose biology as my major, not only because I was interested in it but also because the department building was located far from the building where Daniel studied.
• Yeah, I knew I was foolish. Please, mock me.
• "Have you showered?" Gary greeted me.
• "Yup," I answered firmly. I pulled the chair next to him and sat there. Since I arrived a bit late, almost all the seats were filled, and I had no choice but to sit next to Gary or sit in the front row. Of course, I chose the first option.
• “Have you finished the assignment?” Gary asked.
• I stared at him. “Isn’t it due next week?”
• “Yes.”
• I held my chest and breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank Moo—“ I glanced at Gary and saw him frown, and I quickly corrected myself. “God. Thank God.”
• “You haven’t started it yet?” Gary inched closer. “I can help.” He leaned in too close, and I could smell his overpowering and dizzying perfume.
• I instinctively pulled away. “No, thanks!” I exclaimed, a bit too loudly as the people in front of us turned to look.
• “Are you sure? Because in high school, my friends often asked for my help with their assignments.” Gary reached out his hand and I didn’t know what he was going to do, as suddenly, someone’s hand reached out from behind me and grabbed his hand.
• “Let me guess. They beat you up first so you would do their assignments for them. Am I right?”
• I turned my head back and found Andrew standing behind me. “Andrew?” My voice was high-pitched, full of surprise.
• Andrew glanced at me and smiled wryly. “Corrine.”
• The way he said my name made my heart race. This was the first time he had called me by name since we first met.
• “Who are you?” Gary pulled his hand away from Andrew and asked rudely.
• His question made me realize something. I blinked and stood up from my seat. “What are you doing here?” I asked anxiously. “You’re not supposed to be here.”
• “The professor won’t know there’s an intruder here,” Andrew replied calmly.
• He put his hand in the front pocket of his jeans. As he tilted his head, a strand of his hair moved to the side and covered the corner of his eye. I wanted to move the hair away, but I held my hand back.
• I clenched my fists and looked down. “Get out,” I begged.
• “I have to bring something first.”
• “What?”
• “You.”
• I looked up, my eyes shaking as I gazed at his face. My lips opened, then closed again. “Bullshit,” I hissed.
• Andrew smirked. I hated seeing his reaction every time I acted annoyed towards him. Instead of being annoyed, he seemed to be anticipating my rough behavior. It was like... he liked me rough.
• “I won’t leave this place without you.”
• “Is he bothering you?” Gary stood behind me.
• I could feel the tension in his voice. And although I couldn’t see him now, I knew his whole body was shaking. He was scared, but he pretended to be brave to protect me.
• That was sweet. But I didn’t need any heroic acts from anyone. Especially not from Gary. I didn’t want him to misunderstand and think that I needed him.
• I looked past my shoulder, catching a glimpse of Gary in the corner of my eye. “No, he’s not.”
• I turned back to Andrew. “Leave,” I urged. “I don’t want any trouble.”
• “Then go with me.”
• “Why should I go with you?”
• The front door opened and the professor for the Introduction to Molecular and Cellular Biology class walked in. “Have a seat,” he ordered. He walked towards the teacher’s desk and began preparing today’s lecture materials.
• Andrew remained still. It seemed that his words earlier were not an empty threat. I stared at him and glanced at the teacher. When he wasn’t paying attention, I grabbed my bag, grabbed Andrew’s wrist, and dragged him out through the back door.