Elizabeth

Three weeks dragged on for what seemed like an eternity. I made myself busy and was the perfect, dutiful daughter in the house, cleaning and cooking for my grandparents, helping Ah-ma with any letters or notices she received and of course, finalizing my schedule for the upcoming semester. I liked the routine, as tedious it may be, but I would rather be in a lecture, listening to a professor drone on as I took my notes studiously and meticulously. It was fine though, because the next day, I would be back in the coach bus and getting situated in my dorm.

"Has Father gotten back to you?" I asked suddenly as Ah-ma helped me fold my clothes into my suitcase. She paused for a moment, turning to me slowly.

"Not yet. He said the business trip was taking longer than usual," she answered, looking down at my neatly-folded clothes.

I frowned at her, pushing my new glasses up the bridge of my nose. "How long has it been?"

"Since your first semester this year," she mumbled, unable to meet my eyes.

My frown deepened and I rubbed my forehead out of habit, trying to remove the worried creases before Ah-ma finally looked at me.

"That's a very long time. Have you tried to call him at least? He is still sending money right?"

She nodded silently, smoothly standing up from her kneeling position. Ah-ma and Father were not on great terms since I had first started college two years ago and the main reason revolved around the fact that he was never home. I had tried to ignore their silent arguments and Father had left in a hurry after their last argument, stating that he had to return to Germany due to some business emergency. He owned a company there, something to do with automobiles, and it generated a healthy income for the entire family, especially since Ah-ma didn't work, staying at home to take care of my grandparents, as they were getting older and frailer. The house was purchased when they had gotten married, and it was a nice two-floored house with a renovated basement but my father's lack of presence concerned me.

"Do you want me to talk with him?" I finally said as she went to my bookcase to rearrange the wilted roses. I could see her back tense automatically, her slim shoulders hunching over slightly.

"No, Elizabeth. This is not your job," Ah-ma stated firmly. "You stay focused and graduate, okay? Your dad will reach out to me when he can."

My frown deepened as the edge in her soft voice sharpened. She turned around quickly with a seemingly unbothered smile which turned into a frown as she saw my face. "Aiya, Elizabeth, stop making that face right now. You're going to get frown lines like that," she clucked, approaching me and reaching over to pat my cheek gently.

I smoothed my expression and nodded at her, exhaling in relief as she smiled once more. Her dark eyes searched mine and she tilted her head slightly, looking perplexed.

"Did you not find where your old glasses went?" She asked, raising a thin brow at me.

I flushed in embarrassment. "I'm not sure. I tried to look for them everywhere, but I can't find them," I admitted quietly.

"It's not like you to lose things," she grumbled in response. Her gaze sharpened on my blush. "Don't tell me...you were sleeping on the bus, again? You could have missed your stop again, someone could have taken advantage..."

"I was just really tired, okay? It won't happen again," I said meekly, lowering my head under her admonishing stare.

"Be careful, you never know how these people are," she warned, finally stepping away. "For all you know, someone stole your glasses."

I nodded, keeping my expression neutral as I went back to packing all of my binders and folders. She left my room eventually and finally, I let my face morph naturally into a seething scowl.

It was her. I knew it.

I knew she was bad news from the very moment I laid eyes on her.

🍓🍓🍓

I bid Ah-ma and my grandparents a lengthy farewell with a promise I would call them on Wechat on a weekly basis and that I will be careful. By the time I left the house, it was snowing lightly, the sky a blurry, pale gray and the town painted in a white hush of fresh show.

The bus terminal was just a five minute walk and I walked carefully over the soft slush of snow, thankful that I had wisely chosen to wear the waterproof boots that Father had shipped over to me during Christmas. It kept my feet suitably warm and cozy and I didn't have to wait long before the familiar bus came around the corner. Of course, I had timed it perfectly on arrival and stepped up the stairs with my luggages in tow as I entered the warm compartment of the bus.

To my surprise, the same bus driver was there and she gave me an easy smile, scanning my ticket. I returned her smile slightly, greeting her shyly.

"Howdy there, young lady," she answered, beaming at me as the bus door clacked shut. "The snow is going to get heavier later but thank goodness not everyone is deciding to come back at this time."

My brows rose in surprise. But then again, I wasn't like any students who loved to laze around and procrastinate before the semester even started. I liked to make sure I was well-prepared, situated in my dorm and finding out where my classes were ahead of time.

"I guess I'm one of the lucky ones," I stated dryly, lingering as she began driving. I held onto the rail, placing my backpack on the first seat as I struggled to balance my two suitcases behind me.

She smiled at me through the rearview mirror as I placed the luggages neatly into the compartment above my head, finally taking a seat. As she stopped at a red light, I leaned forward in my seat to speak to her.

"Do you know if Leo will be going back today?" I asked her boldly.

Her dark-blonde brows rose and she turned to look at me over her shoulder with a knowing smile. It made me slightly uncomfortable, seeing her secretive expression.

"You miss her already?" She chuckled, turning back around just in time for the light to turn green.

Miss her? More like hate her.

"Um," I began, feeling my face grow warm. "I just wanted to talk to her," I finally answered, hearing my voice shake slightly.

"To thank her, you mean? For telling me to wake you when it was your stop?" I could hear her smile in her voice as she turned the wheel to the left, making a smooth entrance into the snow-coated highway. She didn't glance back again, but if she did, she would have seen my look of utter disgust.

Thank her? Thank her for what? Stealing my glasses? No–I want to strangle her!

"Right," I said pleasantly, gritting my molars together. "Yes, I want to thank her."

"Hm, I am not sure, she's probably going to be working tonight but then again, I don't keep tabs on her," she replied lightly, meeting my eyes through the mirror again.

Thankfully, I had managed to keep my facial muscles in control as I gave her a tight-lip smile. I leaned back on my seat, nodding slightly.

"No worries, then. I am sure I will be able to catch her in school then," I muttered, ignoring her amused chuckle.

I was going to find her. And although this burning anger was unbecoming of me, I embraced it with wide arms.

I'll need it when I give that delinquent a piece of my mind.

🍓🍓🍓

The bus halted to a stop two hours later, parking in the familiar terminal. The few students who had managed to catch the bus waited as I carefully hauled my suitcases down, carrying them gingerly over the steps.

"I'll tell Leo you're looking for her!" The bus driver called out to me with a friendly wave as I made my exit.

I gave a small nod and a fake smile before marching away towards the tall, dorming buildings surrounding the large, snow-covered campus. The campus was beautiful during the summer, with cherry blossom trees lined in an aesthetic row across the library and towards the man-made lake further down the expanse of land. During the winter, it was an icy wonderland, the snow crunching under my boots as I made my way into the hallway of the building.

I brushed the snow off my parka as I leaned over the long, curved desk. The student working behind the desk glanced up, popping her gum disinterestedly. It was the same girl with the bright pink hair, but this time, her hair was in an odd shade of lime green. Her gum was also green as she popped it again. Apparently, she was one of the dorm directors and her name was Olivia.

"Name?" She asked as I parked my suitcases securely next to me.

"Elizabeth Lee Fischer."

"What year?"

"Second year."

She clicked on the keyboard with her long, obnoxiously green glue-on nails and looked up at me after a moment, reaching behind her to grab the paper, sliding it brusquely towards my direction.

"Dorm 3B. It's on the left hall," she stated, as I scanned over the slip.

"Do I have a roommate?" I questioned and she sighed, looking behind me pointedly. There was already a line of students waiting to be assigned to their dorms accordingly and they already looked disgruntled.

"Not yet. You will know when you get one," she grumbled, gesturing for the next student to come up to the desk.

I was slightly miffed by her response, hoping that I wouldn't have one this semester but last semester was annoying. I had five different roommates in the span of one semester and each and every one of them got on my nerves.

Kimberly Gomez was the first one and she loved to talk, even when I had no interest in being friends with her. Bella Richardson was a drunkard and came late at night disturbing my circadian rhythm at odd hours. Jessie Howards kept bringing her boy toys over until I reported her and Brenda Jones snored ridiculously loud. The only roommate that I was almost able to tolerate was Lily O'Neil because she was quiet and seemed like a good student, but she was only in my dorm for a short amount of period before she found out she was pregnant–after that, she moved somewhere else and I didn't bother to find out where. And I could care less.

Dorm 3B was easy to find and I sighed in relief, noting that it was at the end of the hallway, far away from the elevators where I would not be able to hear students entering and exiting. The room was large enough that two twin-side beds were placed on the opposite side of each room, with a privacy curtain in the center. I nodded in satisfaction at the adequate closet space and desk nookie, noting that the small but functional bathroom was clean and sanitized. All that was left for me was to unpack everything else and situate myself before planning my excursions before the semester started on Monday.

I didn't have much to do, except for checking out the locations of each class and then looking over the textbooks I needed to purchase or borrow. Two of my professors had already sent the syllabus in an email and it made me extra prepared. The next agenda of my list, which I hoped would be completed before the first week, was the most difficult of them all.

Confronting that girl.

And hopefully I could get my glasses back.