Lake Larson

Present Time

Wednesday.

The worst day of the week. No wonder The Addams family named their daughter Wednesday. The only good thing it had going for it was I only had half the week left of school before the weekend.

I glanced at the test on the desk in front of me. My eyes blurred as the question multiplied like someone was spinning my chair in a circle. The pencil in my hand shook as I blacked out the answer card.

"Done," I whispered, looking up to see I was the last person in the classroom.

I stood from my desk, rushing to the front of the class to drop my work in the basket. Why am I even taking this class? Geography was prime education, but why am I forced to take a pop quiz on a book that had nothing to do with the world?

"How do you think you did?" the professor asked with a pen in his mouth.

I doubled back at the basket, looking at my paper. "I think okay," I replied with a frown smile.

"Oh, maybe next time you will study."

My jaw dropped as I picked at my fingernails. "Maybe," I replied, walking backward away from the teacher.

He nodded with a single wave as I turned, rushing out of the room. I could hear his huff behind me as I stepped into a crowd of students.

University of Eastern Washington. In my third year here, I walked to the only class designed around my future. Advanced Marine Biology was my favorite class on campus.

"Caw! Caw! Caw! Let's go! Eagles!" a frat boy yelled down the hallway, bumping into my body.

I rolled my eyes as he held my shoulders, not noticing me but making sure I didn't tumble to the ground. His eyes focused on the crowd behind me as he let go of me and walked away. He laughed, holding his hand out to another guy, looking for a fist pump.

"Sorry would be nice," I whispered, shaking my head.

I watched as he ignored me and wrapped his arm around a blonde girl, forcing her in his direction. With a huff, I darted to my class.

I sprinted around the corner too fast and ran into the back of a tall man. The backside of his blonde head gave away everything. Hudson Lee, the guy I had been crushing on for years, was tall, blonde, blue eyes, and in the same program as me. And entirely out of my league.

Me, Lake Larson, average, blending into the world. The average height, bland brown hair, and matching eyes. Everything about me was boring. Nothing about me shined.

"I-I," I stuttered while holding my nose in pain. "I'm sorry," I whispered and walked around him into my classroom.

Hudson walked in behind me, but this time, he acknowledged me. "Hey, it's Lake, right?" he asked, following me to the front seats.

"Yes." I tucked my hair behind my ears while he sat beside me.

I glanced at the clock at the back of the class, seeing fifteen minutes until the professor would arrive. My heart tightened with fear, knowing my small talk would ruin this moment.

"I like your haircut," he said with a smile from the heavens.

"Thank you," I replied, brushing my fingers through my short hair.

The lady cut off about ten inches, lifting the heavy weight off my head. Now, my strands barely touch my shoulders.

"So, this weather, right?" Hudson said, trying to keep the conversation going, but I knew I made him feel awkward.

A typical conversation with the guy I had been crushing on sounded like oil and water mixing. Impossible. My cheeks burned, radiating down my neck as my heart thudded.

"Yeah, fall," I responded, like the idiot I was.

With a shaky hand, I spun my backpack around to my lap, pulling out my supplies. My spiral notebook and two pens, just in case one went out.

"Did you do anything for Halloween?" Hudson asked, being too nice to me.

I shook my head, thinking about my night. My comfortable sweater and cuddled up to my blanket on my bed with my laptop open. I watched some scary movie with popcorn all over my sheets, jumping at everything. How many ghost movies will they create?

Hudson watched me awkwardly before he pulled his school supplies from his backpack and placed them on the desk. He leaned into his chair, twirling the pen in his hand. Was he going to sit next to me instead of his group of friends?

"You?" I whispered.

"What was that?" Hudson glanced at me.

I opened my mouth to repeat myself, but a weird croaking sound echoed from my lips. Loud footsteps and whispering had Hudson looking away from me.

"Hudson, my man," a deep voice echoed behind us with laughter.

I glanced over my shoulder to see his two jock friends. The big football player, Darrin, nudged Steve while wiggling his brows.

"You going to sit here?" Darrin asked, eyeing Steve.

They both laughed deeply with one another before glancing at me. "Hey, Lake," Steve said with a welcoming smile.

"Hey, Steve." My eyes bobbed between them. "Darrin."

Even though we know each other's names from being in the same program for the past years, this was the only conversation I've had with these two. I guess a nerdy, quiet girl was not on their football radar.

"Yeah, I'm going to sit next to Lake today," Hudson said to them with an expressionless face. "I'll see you after class."

"Still on for—" Darrin said, pausing while glancing at me. "You know?"

Hudson straightened his shoulders, coughing into his palms. His blue eyes met mine before glaring at his friend. "Yeah."

Professor Lewis walked into class quickly with his briefcase in hand. He eyed Darrin and Steve while setting his things on the desk in front of the class.

"Let's sit down and continue our lesson from yesterday." Professor Lewis clicked on the projector, showing us his computer screen. "Can anyone tell me where we left off?"

A voice in the back of the room responded with a whisper, making it hard to hear, but Lewis nodded while clicking on his computer. A hammerhead shark popped up on the screen while Lewis paced back and forth, lecturing.

As I wrote in my notebook, Hudson leaned closer to me. "What did you say earlier?" he whispered.

I glanced at his notebook, seeing a blank page. He wasn't writing anything down. What will he look at for studying? I side-eyed him, seeing he was watching me.

"What did you do for Halloween?" I whispered to him.

Hudson smiled, happy that I asked him. "I went to that frat party at Darrin's house. It was sick with everyone dressed in costumes." He leaned into his chair, crossing his arms. "I went as a Greek God."

I smiled at him, not showing my teeth, trying to pay attention to Lewis simultaneously. I scribbled down a few things and saw Hudson was still watching me.

"That's, um, cool," I responded.

Professor Lewis cleared his throat loudly, prompting me to look at him. "So, Lake, can you tell me what I was telling the class?" He knew we weren't paying attention.

"No." I shook my head, trying to sink into my chair, hoping I would become invisible.

"Okay, can you tell me what you two discussed that was more important than my lecture? Since you two seem to like the attention." His voice echoed loudly with anger.

I shook my head, not being able to choke up words. I could puke from embarrassment while my hand clammed with sweat.

"Sorry, Mr. Lewis, this is my fault," Hudson chimed. "I was asking her some questions from yesterday's lesson."

The professor stepped closer, putting his hand on my desk. "Well, you two could talk about it when I am not talking," Professor Lewis said, walking to the front of the class and lecturing.

"Jerk," Hudson whispered with a huff to himself.

I glanced at him as he mouthed sorry with a straight smile. He raised a brow before writing in his notebook. Grinning to myself, I copied the lecture while stealing brief looks at Hudson.

His blonde hair brushed his bushy eyebrows while he blinked his almond-shaped eyes. His jaw clenched as he bit his cheek. Hudson bobbed his face from the front of the class to the notes before looking at me. I awkwardly looked away, acting like I was writing.

"Okay, don't forget the homework is due today," Lewis said. "Drop it off at the basket at the door on your way out."

Hudson shoved everything in his backpack and rushed toward his friends. I watched him leave the classroom before grabbing my notebook and placing it in my bag.

I reached to grab my two pens on the desk, and a hand gripped mine. I glanced up at a gray hairy arm connected to Professor Lewis. His dull eyes widened as he smirked.

"Lake, I trust this is the last year I will teach you. Come by if you ever have questions." His thumb rubbed circles on my skin.

I glanced at his hand, freezing in the situation. Was he hitting on me? I pulled my palm away slowly, with the pens squeezing tight. He walked backward without taking his eyes off me before whistling a high-pitched tone, stinging my ears.

Confused by the encounter, I rushed out of the classroom without dropping off my homework. I raced down the hallway without a plan on where to go. With my head down, I watched my feet. I knew Professor Lewis was a jerk, but now I could add perv to the list.

A rough hand gripped my shoulder, bringing me around to look at Hudson. His smile dropped when he saw my expression. What was going on with this Wednesday? Hudson hadn't spoken to me the past year, and now here he was for the second time.

"Hey, Lake." He looked over his shoulder at his buddies. They laughed, covering their muzzles before showing him two thumbs up. "So, I wanted to ask you something." Hudson tapped his hand on his shorts, then gripped the straps on his backpack.

I tucked my hair behind my ears, biting my bottom lip. "Yeah?"

He took a deep breath. "Well, I never noticed, but I saw you last week. You are on the women's soccer team."

I nodded my head slowly in agreement. I had been on the soccer team on a scholarship since my first year at EWU.

"Well, there's this girl." Hudson looked down, playing with his hands. "Her name is Gabby."

You have got to be kidding me. Gabby Lopez, the most beautiful girl in our school, was athletic and had model-good looks. Every girl wanted to be her, and every guy wanted to have her.

I blacked out while watching Hudson's lips move, but nothing clear echoed into my ears. This situation was a nightmare. Gabby was by far the worst person in the world.

"Would you?" Hudson asked, while I only got the last part of his sentence.

"What?" I panicked, feeling a drop of sweat drip down my back.

"Would you be able to introduce me to her?" His words stabbed me in the chest like the knife of Chucky.

My cheeks burned red as I brought my hands to my face to cover them. I looked down at my feet and shook my head no. My heartbeat skipped as my breath became uneasy.

"Sorry," I whispered before shoving alongside him and racing away.

Of course, the one guy I had been crushing on for many years would like the devil herself. Everything about Gabby was evil. Her demon smile bewitched even the sweetest ones, while minions followed her like a queen.

I pushed the double doors open into the fall air. Leaves danced by my feet on the brick path as I rushed to the locker rooms for practice, hoping to forget my encounter with Hudson.

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