Picking Up the Pieces

We took...notes. I see absolutely no point in taking notes.

“Well, you have to know how to read the music and stuff like that, right?” Cory explained to me patronizingly, like I was the one being unreasonable.

I scowled. “Shut it.”

“Don’t tell me to shut it!”

“Cory, shut up,” Mr James, the teacher, snapped, pausing in his lecture.

My eyes widened. Is he allowed to say that? “Whatever,” Cory muttered, crossing his arms, making my eyes go even wider.

No insults? Well, this is strange. I wish I had that ability.

“Shut up!”

“Oh god, did I say that out loud?” Why is it that I always do that?

“Yes you did! I don’t always insult people!”

I snorted. “From what little I’ve seen of you, that is something I highly doubt.”

“Excuse me!”

“Excuse you,” I mocked.

“I have a lesson going on, and you two are supposed to take notes!” Mr James said, glaring at the two of us.

“Freaking hell. Notes?” I muttered, casting my eyes down to the paper. “What kind of world have we come to?”

“The kind were you take notes!” he snapped. I looked up to see a vein almost bursting in Mr James’s forehead. The sight kind of made me want to laugh, but I didn’t want to offend him or anything.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized, fighting the urge to laugh, because, contrary to what my instincts were telling me, I knew that I would get into some serious trouble.

Cory jabbed me in the side with his elbow. I turned to him discreetly as Mr James continued his lecture. He mouthed, “We need to talk after class.”

I scrunched my eyebrows together. Now why the hell would I want to do something like that? Who knows, maybe he’s going to drag me off to court for bad-mouthing him. I knew my smart-ass comments were going to get my ass hauled in jail sooner or later.

“I don’t think so,” I mouthed back.

He frowned. “Why the hell not?” he complained.

“Do I need to spank you, Cory?” Mr James threatened.

Well, that was...an interesting way to threaten him...”No, Uncle Gil,” Cory muttered.

My eyebrows almost disappeared into my hair. Uncle? Oh...that was why he was taking this class...and why Mr James could get away with ridiculing him periodically.

After class, I went up to Mr James’s desk and waited for him to finish a phone call to someone or the other.

“You wanted to talk to me?” I asked politely.

“Ah, yes, Miss Hill. I just wanted to tell you to be careful of Cory, alright?”

“He’s hardly dangerous,” I countered.

“Yes, but he is incredibly infuriating, I can tell you that much.”

“I’m sure I could’ve figured that out for myself,” I responded dryly.

“Yes, I’m sure you could have. Well, go on now. Don’t you have another class?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow,” I replied vaguely, walking out without looking at him. He wasn’t going to be my favourite teacher, I could tell that much.

English was my minour and besides that, I was also taking Psychology. I had English until lunch, then lunch, and then Psychology. The schedule mixed up on the other days, so I had different timings every day. I bet it was to “make things less boring,” but I can tell you they’re going to be equally boring, no matter what order the classes are in.

I slipped into the class and scanned the desks, trying to figure out where my best bet would be.

When I spotted a familiar face, I blanched, and then smirked. “Hey, No-name,” I greeted, sitting next to the tree-boy.

He stiffened and turned slowly to face me. I noticed a few people give me apprehensive looks, which was really weird. How come I always befriended the ones everyone else was afraid of? It was the same in senior year of high school.

“Not talking?” I mocked, my smirk widening.

“You’re irritating,” he declared flatly, glaring at me.

“Hey, you know, you never told me your name.”

“And you never told me yours,” he retorted.

“You tell me yours first,” I said, crossing my arms.

“No you.”

“No, y--”

“Is the new girl here, yet? Miss Jordan Hill?” the English professor called. Tree-boy smirked back at me and I rolled my eyes.

Wow, very mature.

***

Although, I suppose that would more likely describe me than him. I don’t know what it was about him, but he made me want to be the immature one instead of the mature one I usually am, because of his reactions. He got so offended all the time, that it was so funny.

In English, the professor, who I had yet to learn the name of, had set us loose to pick partners for a book project, and since nobody wanted the new girl or Tree-boy, I latched onto him. By then, I had figured out his name was Dillon. I didn’t know his surname, however.

It obviously pissed him off. But it was funny.

I followed him to lunch, even though he made it clear that I was not too. But it was too golden of a chance to pass up.

I followed him to the campus cantine, chattering all the while.

“Don’t you ever shut up?” he seethed.

“I usually do,” I replied cheerily. “But you’re special.”

“More like cursed,” he muttered.

“Wow, that was harsh. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you didn’t want me here,” I said sarcastically.

“You obviously don’t know any better!”

“Oof!” I grunted, as I crashed into someone. Dillon glanced back at my cry, and upon seeing the person, he started walking as fast as he could. “Wait, Dillon!” I said, from the spot on the floor that I was now currently occupying. “I haven’t poisoned your water yet!”

I glanced at the woman who was now on the floor, her face twisted in pain.

What was interesting was that no one bothered to help her, just walked by her. Some people tried to help me, but I waved them off when they stared contemptuously at the woman next to me.

Really people? I thought we were in university, not high school.

“Oh crap, I’m sorry!” I yelled, when I realized the woman I had knocked over was pregnant. “Here, let me help!” I stood up and dusted off my butt, then extended out my arms. She looked warily at me, like I was going to trick her and then shove her over.

She was incredibly beautiful...that was one of the first things I noticed. The second, to be exact. The first was, obviously, was that she was pregnant. With a grunt, I lifted her up. It was quite a feat for me, seeing as she was probably half a foot taller than me.

“Hi,” I said indifferently to the beautiful lady. She was staring wistfully at the other tables filled with other people that didn’t even glance at her.

“Hello,” she replied softly.

“What’s your name?”

“December,” she whispered.

With that, I grinned. “It’s been like a permanent December, so much colder than I can remember, when I get you back, this time I swear that I won’t, won’t ever let you go, won’t let you go, no, won’t let you go, go, go, go, won’t let you go-oh, go, go, go, go, nananana!”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Wait, I have more!” I protested. “Please remember, remember, December! We were so long love and that are you listening? With what we say don’t go that far, remember, remember, December! Please remember!”

“You’re new, right?”

I smirked. “No, I’ve just been invisible for half the year.”

December sighed bitterly. “I knew it. Otherwise you wouldn’t be talking to me.”

Now it was my turn to raise an eyebrow. “Self-pitying, are we?”

“You know, you should leave before you get in trouble for talking to me.”

“And why would I get into trouble?”

“Because I’m the one who did the wrong thing.”

I cocked my head to the side. “I’m going to pretend that made sense. Am I right in guessing that you did not do it?”

“Oh, I did it alright,” she replied, still bitter, gesturing to her stomach.

“What? Are you not allowed to get pregnant in university? My best friend is pregnant and I bet she’s younger than you?”

“Did she sleep with her best friend’s boyfriend because she was in love with him?” She waited, as though waiting for me to shun her like all the rest. Really, I honestly thought we left this kind of drama back in high school. Apparently not.

“Well, for one, I don’t have a boyfriend,” I started, being a smart-ass. “And for another, there’s this thing called forgiveness. Want to eat lunch with me?”

That obviously shocked December so much that she jumped, holding a hand tightly to her enlarged belly. She looked at me with large, innocent, doe-like brown eyes, as though waiting for a loop hole.

I rolled my eyes. “Come on, I’m not spending the whole hour looking for my friends and I’m betting you need someone to sit with too.”

She smiled slightly. “Yeah. I do.”