Page 3 of Of Flesh & Bone

“That’s right, Sunshine” and she beams at me.

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"Humpf."

Looking out across the expertly landscaped parking lot at the prestigious Eden University, I muse.This place again.My own personal fancy little hell.

Frances, my cherry red Jeep, is my most prized possession.Hopping out of her onto the smooth blacktop, I take inventory of my appearance.

Gray hoodie, check.

Heavily worn jeans, check.

Black converse, check.

Bob Dylan-worthy aviators, CHECK.

Approximately zero minutes of my day are spent worrying about how I appear to others.This look helps me to fly under the radar, which is right where I want to be.I prefer to go completely unnoticed.The weight of the penetrating eyes of others sets my nerves on edge.It’s not that I care what they think.It’s just that I don’t want the attention.I don’t like to answer questions, and I don’t like to engage in unnecessary conversation.

My thoughts wander and I ask myself probing questions.Am I unapproachable?Am I a snob?Is that why the girls on my team want nothing to do with me?

I want to not care but I do care.Although, I would never admit that out loud.Those girls are the majority of the reason that I came to Eden in the first place, and they hated me on sight.It's been several months since we first started practicing in the summer, and our relationships have definitely not improved.I’m not sure what I could’ve or should’ve done differently or if it would’ve had any impact on the way they feel about me but there's nothing to be done about it now.

The only time I have ever made a good first impression was with Vaughn and Eli.I can’t even explain what happened that day.I guess the stars just perfectly aligned and the sun shone down on our faces in the best weather day.

My phone starts playing Freebird by Lynyrd Skynyrd and I look at it with confusion.That's the event alarm in my calendar.I can’t remember for the life of me what I set it for until...I open the alert.

DAMN IT!

I was supposed to be in class early today for a conference with Professor Stalk.Why did I set the alarm for now?I’m going to be late.Time to run, Eve.

Bursting through the gilded double doors of Hampton Tower, I hotfoot it down the passageway in a dead sprint.The large baroque hall is nearly empty and I’m thankful for that because, as I mentioned earlier, I hate attention, and nothing draws more attention than running through the halls of a prestigious university dressed like a hobo with the expression of a methed up squirrel on one's face.

I’m running so fast, and I'm so focused on the end goal that I don’t see those three Sasquatch assholes step into the hall until it’s too late.I hit him so hard that I swear my teeth rattle, and I can see the big comic bubble above my head that says‘SMACK!’

When I hit the brick wall that is the gorgeous drink stealing yeti, I bounce right back off and hit the marble floor HARD, groaning, “UGH.”

Without even looking up I can feel their intense gazes on me.They say nothing and they make no attempt to help me up.They just stand and stare down at me.

Assholes.

Wasting no time and rolling to my side, I say in a groan “Fucker.”

Getting to my knees first, I then quickly stand.Without ever looking their way, I hear the two non-drink stealers cackling and one of them says, “I think she’s talking to you, Captain.”I don’t know the Captain, aka the yeti, but I do know that his eyes are on me all the way into my classroom.It’s a scalding heat that I feel on every inch of my skin.I felt that same heat yesterday when he looked at me for the first time.Feeling it in my hands at first, it quickly crawls up my arms and into my chest by way of the blood in my veins.I feel it on the back of my neck, and it moves up into my scalp, tingling and burning.

What.The.Hell.Is.That?

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