Chapter 7

Hailey's POV;

I had a late night, a late wake-up, a late departure from home, a late arrival at college, and now I'm running late to my class. Such a day! As I was rushing to my lesson, the first bell rang, sh*t! I have to get there before the third bell or I'll get held up once more. I unexpectedly ran into someone in the corridor. Saying "I'm sorry." Without even turning to look at them, I apologised and hurried to my class. Thank goodness, the third bell didn't ring when I entered the classroom. 

I was mocked by Riley, who said, "I thought you wouldn't make it." When I sat beside her. Since I was racing to get my breath, I was unable to react to her.

"I bet you didn't look at the notice board," she said. "Am I correct?" "This weekend, we're going to Big Bend National Park," she remarked. "Let's have some fun--" she halted and questioned, "Hey, are you listening to me? What exactly are you looking for?" 

I looked up at her and said, "I think I lost my necklace somewhere." And went through my pockets and backpack.

"Wasn't that with Dean?" 

"I took it away from him last night." I stated that I was checking my bag.

"Last night?" 

"I think I dropped it when I bumped into that person."

"Bumped into who?"

"Inform Mr Grey that I went to the toilet if he asks," I added as I rose from my seat. "I'll be right back."

"What exactly are you-" 

I walked out of the classroom and came to the hallway. There was nothing on the floor that resembled a necklace. 'Shouldn't it be here? What happened to it?'

"Are you looking for this?" 

When I turned to look, a tall, hunky guy in a black leather jacket was holding my necklace. Wow. He appears to be in good physique, but I don't have time for this right now.

"Yes, that's mine," I said as I took it from him. "Thank you very much." 

"Aren't you going to repay me for finding your necklace?" he questioned when I tried to leave.

"Huh?" 

"That necklace does appear to be expensive, and your demeanour suggests that it is important to you, so don't I deserve something in return?" 

"What do you want?" 

He approached me and said, "I'll ask when we meet again." And gave me a friendly smile. "Aren't you in a hurry to get somewhere?" he questioned while I was still staring at him. 

After coming so close to him, I completely forgot about it. I nodded my head and went to class.

I showed Riley the necklace in class and said, "I found it!" with a big smile on my face. 

She frowned and asked, "What do you mean you got it from him last night? Did you go to the boy's dorm last night? Don't you know you'll get detention for this?"

"How dare he keep my necklace even after he cheated on me with another bitch?" I tapped on her shoulder. "And how could he refuse to return it to me? That's why I took it without his permission." And then laughed.

"I'm getting more and more curious when you do things like this," she murmured, taking the necklace from my grasp. "I'm curious who owns this jewellery. To the point when you jump into a boy's dorm while knowing it may result in detention." And fixed her gaze on mine.

I took it from her and questioned, looking down at the necklace in my fingers, "Why are you asking me if you already know that?" 

"All you said was someone you care about. You didn't even address them by name. How will I recognise them if you don't tell me their name? Furthermore, you didn't date just one guy to find it." And shrugged her shoulders. 

"By the way, why must you know the name? Wasn't it enough to know why I'm clutching at straws?"

"I don't want to know anymore," she remarked as she opened her notebook. "You'll rant the same thing over and again no matter how many times I ask. Allow me to finish my homework in solitude."

"Then why do you keep asking me?" I jabbed her in the cheek and chuckled. "What happened?" I inquired after noticing her discomfort. 

"Headache."

"Did you get wasted last night?" 

"I've been doing my assignment all night and didn't get much sleep," she said with a scowl. "So my head has been hurting since this morning."

"Do you want me to get you some tablets from the infirmary?"

"It's okay," she responded, shaking her head. "It will be OK soon." 

"All right, let me know if you need anything."

She nodded and returned to her homework. 

When I looked over at Austin's desk, it was empty. Was it empty from the start? I noticed that the individuals around his desk didn't seem to care. Why didn't he come to college if he asked me to give him the money today? I sighed and returned my attention to the class. 

At the cafeteria, While I was enjoying my lunch, I heard something lovely in the air. 

"Who's playing music in the middle of the cafeteria?" Riley inquires. "Don't they know how..."

I looked around to see where the music was coming from and noticed the same person I saw this morning. He was strumming a few strings on his guitar, generating beautiful music. I thought he's from a sports club when I saw his physique. He surprised me with the guitar. 

Riley stepped up and said, "Hey, the guy with the guitar!" 

"Riley, what are you doing?" When she called out to him, I asked her. 

"Let me teach him some manners." And turned to face him, saying, "Hey! Do you believe you're the only one here? If you want to play that little piece of your toy, go to your club or somewhere where no one else has to listen to it..." She charged at him without pausing. Is this a headache side effect? 

I finally drew her arm and forced her to sit beside me, telling her to remain calm. The guy stopped playing his guitar, and everyone looked at us as though we had done something wrong to them. With his food plate in hand, he took a seat at our table. 

"What are you doing here?" Riley inquired about him.

"I'm eating my lunch," he said.

"Can't you see that this table is already occupied?"

"Aren't I not allowed to eat here?" he questioned, turning to face me. 

"Why are you questioning her? I'm speaking to you."

"Come find me at the swimming club at 2 p.m.," he said into my ear. "I'll tell you what I expect in exchange." He smiled at me, took his food platter, and walked away from us.

Riley, "Do you know who he is?"

"He's the one who helped me find my necklace," I groaned. "So he wants me to reimburse him." 

"What exactly did he ask you to do?"

I shrugged and answered, "He hasn't said anything yet. He only told me to come to the pool."

"All right, be careful with him. He appears to be sus."

I nodded and went back to eating.

As I came inside the swimming club, I noticed guys in swimming trunks and several girls in the audience cheering, making the scene more vibrant. Why did he invite me here? Is he a part of the swimming club? Is he a  swimmer? I recognised him as one of the swimmers. He waved his hand at me, which drew the attention of the girls in the audience. Did he invite me to embarrass me? He stepped down from the platform, put a towel around his waist, and approached me with water dripping all over him. 

"What exactly do you want me to do?" I asked.

"I'll be done with my practice in a few minutes. Could you please wait here if you don't mind?" 

"Be quick."

He smiled as he returned to the swimmers' stand. 

I sat in the audience and watched the swimmers. So, he's a swimmer. The swimmers dove into the water like cannonballs when the trainer whistled. Wow! They swam aggressively, splashing water on each other. Who is this guy? He strums strings so precisely while he plays music, yet when he swims, he appears like a completely different person. 

"Are you two friends?" a female said as she knocked on my shoulder. 

I don't even know what his name is. So how am I going to be friends with him? Her friend contacted her before I could respond, and the two spoke. 

When the swimmers finished their practice, the audience began to leave. He came in with clean clothes and sat near me. 

"What exactly do you-" 

"I'm Alex," he said, reaching out his hand to cut me off. "What is your name?" 

"Hailey." 

"Hailey," he responded with a nod. "What a sweet name." 

"What exactly do you want me to do?" 

"I'm an exchange student. I was transferred here a week ago and have yet to learn anything about the area. Would you mind showing me around the campus?" 

"Why don't you ask someone from your department?"

"I didn't get to know them because I was so busy with the swimming club. Furthermore, I find it difficult to strike up a conversation with someone I don't know."

Because of his responses, I nodded and looked at him with scepticism. Sudden transfer, introvert, and attractive man. That brings me back to Austin. Nowadays, it's frightening to approach strangers after learning that vampires exist in this world. What if the person in front of me is also a vampire? What does he want from me? 

"But you're the one who's doing the talking here with me."

"Because we've gotten to know each other now."

'Why is he acting as though we're friends? He does look and sound like Riley said. Let's show him around campus and then break ties.'

I sprang up and said, "Come, let's go see the campus."

"Can we do this the next day? I'm exhausted from practising." 

"Okay, then, let's go tomorrow."

When I attempted to leave, he remarked, "Aren't you interested in getting to know me?" 

"No."

"How heartbreaking. Una mujer, you just broke my heart."

"What?" 

"I said you had just broken my heart."

"No. You then said something like una..."

"Oh, it's a lady. In Spanish, it means "woman." My father is Mexican, and my mother is American. I'm mixed." And he laughed at himself. 

I nodded and began to walk away. He approached me and inquired, "Where are you going now?"

"Home."

"Do you have some time to spare?" 

"Why?"

"Because I'm new here, I don't know much about the diners. Because it's tough to find with a map, I'm relying on take-out these days. Could you perhaps show me around if you don't mind?"

"Okay. Come with me." And lead the way. 

"You don't have any plans, right?"

"No." 

"Thank you." 

Alex and I ate our meal in a diner after showing him around. "Where are you staying?" I asked him once we finished. 

"I haven't started looking for houses yet, so I'm currently staying at the dorm." 

"You appear to have been transported here without prior notification. You have no knowledge about the college, or its surroundings. Did you not realise you were being transferred here?" 

"Yes, it was sudden," he responded, his visage changing from sunny to flat lips. "I had great food," he remarked, changing his face. "Thank you for the suggestion." "I'll get going then," he remarked, looking at his watch. "How will you get to your place?"

"I'll get a taxi." 

"I'll accompany you then."

"It's alright. I can go by myself."

"Let me accompany you, please."

I nodded and waited for the taxi. He stopped me as I was ready to get into the taxi and said, "I saw those pictures that were circulating among many departments." 

So he saw those photographs as well. So why didn't he question me about it like everyone else? What was he waiting for? 

"So?"

He commented, "You looked pretty cute in those pictures." And then he smiled and said, "Have a good night. We'll get together again tomorrow." And went away as I watched him vanish at the corner of the street. I grinned to myself and got into the taxi back home.