It Started With a Whisper

"You totally have the hots for Mr. Franco!" Amelia squealed as we sat down at a random table in Starbucks. I rolled my eyes. Boys were always the topic of Amelia's conversation. If I didn't know that she was so smart, I'd probably ask her how she got into USC. School was never her main focus.

"Of course. Who wouldn't? He's gorgeous." Anyone who said Mr. Franco was unattractive was blind and needed to be shot between the eyes.

"So you admit it?" I raised an eyebrow at her, sipping my green tea.

"Admit what?"

"That you want Mr. Franco to shove his penis in your mouth and coat your face with his baby juice." Of course my cheeks turned red. I'd had to deal with graphic conversations a lot when it came to Amelia, but I would never get used to them. Every time she mentioned the word penis or anything having to do with sex, I nearly choked on my own saliva. This girl had no filter.

"Why are you so crude?" I mumbled, pulling a piece off of my muffin.

"Because my parents are crude. In fact, they're ten times worse than me." And right she was. The first time I met Amelia's parents, they were having sex on the couch. Us walking in hadn't stopped them either. I remember shielding my eyes and telling them that I could come back later, but Amelia's mom said that they only needed two more minutes and to wait in the kitchen. I shuddered at the mental image and shook my head to rid myself of the picture.

"Don't remind me." I still had another couple hours before my next class, and I desperately wanted to go home and sleep for at least an hour and a half, but I knew that wasn't likely. As soon as I stepped back into my apartment, there would be something for me to do, whether it was the dishes or straightening the living room. Messes always seemed to find their way into my apartment, no matter how many times a week I cleaned. It was frustrating, but I learned to live with it.

"When's your next class?" I asked, hoping I would be free of Amelia's crude comments soon. I loved the girl, but I could only take so much pervertedness. I wanted to slap her half the time.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch. I have class in thirty minutes. You'll be rid of my wisdom soon." I scoffed because nothing Amelia ever said was wise. She spoke without thinking, and a lot of the time, it got her into trouble.

"Wonderful. I think you should start walking now. Isn't your class across campus?"

"Nice way of telling me to leave, jackass." She kissed my cheek before walking out of the small coffee shop, leaving me with my thoughts of what the rest of the day held. I still had Biology and Calculus today, and I was free to begin the mountain of homework that I knew was waiting for me. Common sense told me that I should have whipped out my psychology text book then and there and started the reading we were assigned, but the more I thought about that assignment, the more my mind traveled to Mr. Franco's dark eyes.

"Hello, Aria." It was as if someone read my mind and made him appear in front of me. My breath got caught in my throat, and I wasn't sure what to do with myself. I sort of spazzed out and knocked my muffin off the table, causing me to let out a huff. I bent down to pick it up and coincidentally hit my head on the table trying to sit up. I held the back of my head and groaned, all while Mr. Franco was chuckling at my expense. I felt my cheeks heat up, and I set the soiled muffin on the table.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's fine," I mumbled, trying not to embarrass myself further.

"If you want, I can get you another one." I shook my head. Why? I don't know. Anyone else would have jumped at the opportunity to have their hot teacher buy them a muffin from Starbucks.

"I'm assuming you don't have class for a while?" He asked, taking the seat across from me. I looked around, wondering if this was some kind of joke. My professor was sitting across from me like we were old friends, and I didn't really know how to handle it.

"Uhm...no. Not for a couple hours." I had let my hair loose from its bun after class and attempted to comb the knots out with my fingers. I cursed my mother for having curly hair and passing the gene down to me as I did so. Around Amelia and anyone else on campus, I didn't care what I looked like. I wasn't here to make friends, and I wasn't looking for a relationship either. But being here with Mr. Franco sitting across from me, I felt the need to impress him, so I busied myself with pulling my hair into a side braid, something that always seemed to work for me when I couldn't get my curls under control.

"What's your major?" Why was he still talking to me? The sky must have been falling or pigs were flying around outside. There had to be some type of explanation as to why this gorgeous specimen of a man was sitting across from me in a Starbucks making small talk.

"Biology." He seemed shocked by my answer, and I didn't know whether to be offended or not.

"You want to be a doctor?" I nodded once.

"What made you decide on that?" I didn't really know how to answer him. No one had ever taken the time to ask me.

"I don't know. It's kind of been set up for me, I guess. My dad is a cardiovascular surgeon in New York, and my mom is an OB/GYN. My sister is a pediatric surgeon. I just come from a family in medicine, and I've always loved helping people. I considered being a Veterinarian for a while, but me I don't get along with cats very well. I also want to do it because doctors give people second chances, and everyone deserves a second chance." His eyes showed that he was impressed by my answer, but I couldn't imagine why. I felt like I gave a typical answer to the question. His expression told me otherwise.

"That's amazing." He smiled lightly at me, and I felt my heart stutter.

"Thank you." I wasn't really sure what to say after that.

"Why USC?"

"A lot of reasons. Obviously, it's an amazing school. I really didn't want to go through the process of attending another school and then applying to medical school when I could just start out here. I had the grades for it. And also, to spite my father. He was a bruin. Makes family dinners interesting." We were all competitive to begin with, but add in rival schools, and our house became a mess. It was hilarious.

"And what do you want to be?"

"I'm kind of bouncing back and forth. I want to be a radiation oncologist for children, but I think that would be a little too sad for me. I love kids and even want a few of my own. To just watch them possibly die out...I don't think I could handle that. My other option is to be a cardiovascular surgeon like my dad. I still have a lot of time before I have to choose though." I took another sip of my green tea, trying to decide if I was boring him or not. He was just staring at my face, and it was slightly uncomfortable.

"You seem like you have everything figured out." His tone wasn't accusing like I heard from most people when I talked about my plans. He seemed pleased.

"Almost. I'm not really a person that likes chaos or doing things at the last minute. I've always been very organized. OCD, if you would call it that."

"Maybe even a little neurotic." I wanted to be offended by his statement, but I couldn't for two reasons. One, his smile made it absolutely impossible. And two, he was right. I was neurotic at times, but it was how I kept myself in check. He glanced down at his watch, and I was afraid for the words that were going to leave his mouth next.

"I have to head to my next class, but I'll see you Wednesday?" He asked, standing up from the table. I nodded once, pulling at the end of my braid absentmindedly.

"Yes. See you Wednesday." I watched him leave, my heart jumping around in my chest. I looked around the shop once again, wondering if there were cameras and I was being Punk'd, but Ashton Kutcher didn't make an appearance from the back, and I knew I wasn't dreaming. That had actually happened.