We meet again
Chapter One.
A smooth palm ran across her chest, slowly moving itself down towards her toned stomach. Her hand gripped the bed sheets so tightly her knuckles turned white.
"Cosima." That French accent burned her ears but she couldn't help but want to listen to it over and over again. "Cosima." That French accent disappeared and turned into the yell of a very angry Mrs Niehaus who was going to be late for work if her daughter didn't get her ass up out of bed.
"I'm coming mom!" A little flushed, Cosima almost fell out of her double bed which she always thought was quiet unnecessary, but with her father insisting she would need it for 'room to grow', she never really argued. Leaning against the doorframe of her wardrobe she regained composure after that, to say the least, very vivid dream. She could feel the sweat dripping from her hair line. Grabbing a pair of faded blue jeans and a t-shirt that was far too big for her, she headed for the bathroom to wash off the results of her imagination.
The whole ride to school was awkward, Cosima's mom gave her the silent treatment for the twenty minutes they spent together that morning – obviously pissed about the extra ten minutes she had to wait as her daughter readied herself. But Cosima couldn't apologise, "Sorry mom, I was having an amazing dream about the French girl from AP biology." That would just make things even more unbearable and frankly, the silence was much needed. It meant both could concentrate on their schedules for the day. Mrs Niehaus was thinking about her latest test results from a 'top secret' project she was working on with her husband. Cosima was thinking how she was going to break the news to Lucia that she didn't have time to finish the science assignment that the bitch practically forced her to do for her.
That's how the school ran. There were four elite girls, four elite boys. The rest of the school had to follow their rules and demands or face the backing boys. The backing boys were the group of thirty/thirty five boys and girls, some football players, some cheerleaders. If you didn't do your job, well. You were fucked. Lucia Fox was the 'queen of the school' as she'd like to call herself, surrounded by Brandy Monroe (which isn't her last name, she thought it was 'original), Lily Carroll who basically knew her own name and that was about all the knowledge she could retain and finally, Delphine Cormier. Delphine was strange, not so much character-wise but placement wise. She never once used any of the "homework nerds" to help her education. In fact, her test-scores almost tied with Cosima's in their AP biology class. It was rumoured that the only reason she ran with the elite was because of the fact she was dating Cooper James.
Cooper James aka the biggest douche that has ever dirtied the earth.
Everyone in school knew that he had been sleeping with Lucia for the majority of his and Delphine's relationship but no one was brave enough to tell her. To be honest, she probably knew but was just too comfortable with her high-school life to make a big deal out of it.
The cold sound of the morning bell ran through the steel speakers all around the school and in seconds the corridors were ghostly empty. Cosima was running late, as per usual, for her first class. She had just turned the corner after dodging a water-fountain before almost crashing into a mass of pink in front of her.
"Jesus, watch it!" The valley girl voice caused Cosima's heart to skip twice. 'Shit.' She thought, Lucia.
"Sorry, I-I'm late for class. I really need to get go-" Cosima tried to avoid what was inevitable to come next. She edged herself around the girl but was pulled back before she could say goodbye.
"I'm in chemistry now..." Lucia's voice was dragging as she held out her hand, waiting for the papers to be laid neatly on her palm. When nothing appeared, she starred at the messy haired girl who was shaking like a leaf in front of her. "Well?"
"I didn't get time to- I mean I had a family thing last night and I couldn't get it done in time and my-" The more Cosima tried to explain the higher her voice got. Her face was beetroot red. The shower she took this morning turned out pointless as the sweat she got rid of slowly creeped back down her forehead.
She was cut off by the commanding hand from the bitch in front of her. "We'll talk about this at lunch."
"No! We won't." The words flooded out of Cosima's mouth before she had anytime to build a dam. What the fuck did she just say? Lucia's face went from initial shock to disbelief. Cosima was internally bleeding fear but she wanted to stick to her words. This was the first time she had stood up to any of the elite, never mind queen B. Pumping her chest out, she crossed her arms across it and waited for a response to her foolish bravery.
"Alright, we won't." Lucia's back was turned and she strolled down the corridor to her classroom. Her laughter bounced off the concrete walls and straight back into Cosima's face which caused it to drop from its original proud expression to one that was on the verge of tears.
Entering biology, all eyes were on her. Cosima never lifted her head for the entire class, for the entire morning. She stalked the corridors only wishing that something would eat her up before she exploded. Nerves consumed her completely and she could barely function properly. Alexis, her chemistry lab partner, tried to speak to her but Cosima couldn't form words to reply with. It seemed rude but she couldn't help it, all she could do was sit and wait in anticipation for her fate to come and flush her thick mat of brown hair and acne covered face down the STD infested, public school toilets.
The dreaded moment finally came. The lunch bell.
Cosima thought about her options. She could hide in the school's chapel; I mean who would look for her there? Then again, she would have to walk through the cafeteria to get there. If she hurried now, she could grab something to eat before the elite could make their way to torture her. She was wrong.
There, at the centre of the large room, were eight seniors who all turned at the exact same time to lock eyes with Cosima. Before she had time to sprint out of there, Brandy stood on top of the table that the group were eating at. Behind her, she could hear the clunk of the metal doors shutting. She had no idea what was to come, not even her worst nightmares could predict Brandy's next words.
"Excuse me everyone," The hall was silenced in three words. "I'm going to keep this nice and short but I would just like to inform you all that Delphine is not gay." Heads turned and whispers began to build to confused laughter. Even Delphine was looking confused at this point. "Some of you may have thought differently," Brandy's eyes found those of Cosima's and a smug smile drove a stake right into Cosima's heart, "But Cosima Niehaus' lesbian obsession with her has only repulsed Delphine more than anything. Thank you!" The tall, red haired girl, jumped back down into her seat and the whole cafeteria was silent for a few seconds.
That was until a shrill laugh shot out from Lucia's mouth and it wasn't long before that painful noise was joined by hundreds more.
Cosima couldn't breathe. Her chest wasn't moving, she was sure she was taking a heart-attack right there and then. She used the last bit of energy she had to push the metal doors open and stumble into the old girls bathrooms. They were on lock down but she ripped down the warning tape that covered the entrance. Sliding down the broken tiled wall, she sat on a pile of rubble and tried to regain a healthy breathing pattern but it didn't come. She began to cough and she couldn't stop, her head became light and then bam, lights out.
When Cosima came back around into reality, cold harsh lights caused her to squint her eyes. A coldness surrounded her which resurrected goose bumps on her arms. She could taste the dust from the bathroom in her mouth and it made her stomach churn. The event in the cafeteria came back to her and she couldn't help herself but to turn on her left side and hurl all the embarrassment up.
"Shit, here." A rough hand gently moved the hair from her face to the back of her neck and placed a mop bucket under her chin. After puking for five or ten minutes, Cosima rolled back and tried to sit up but a devastating headache wouldn't allow it. When she finally got control over her brain, she tried her best to make out the slim figure in front of her.
"Where's my glasses?" Her voice was breathy and the words sounded gruff. A pair of large black rims where placed in her grip and she pushed them onto her face. With a better view of the world, she attempted once more to get up off the yoga mat that she was lying on.
"Hey." An acne faced boy tried out his most sympathetic smile he could to try and console Cosima.
"Scott?" She recognised him from her calculus class. He was wearing one of his typical grandpa sweaters that was a little right around the waist and his messy hair fell all over his face trying to hide the spots that hid underneath it.
"I someone coughing in the bathroom, what happened? Are you okay?" He was genuinely concerned and Cosima couldn't help but smile. She knew the little dorky kid from elementary school, his parents were acquaintances with hers and every time he saw her, he would always give a nervous little wave.
"Yeah, I'm good now. Totally blanked out." Cosima attempted a laugh to brush things off but Scott seen through it. He raised an eyebrow but once the smile drowned off her face, he shrugged it off not wanting to pry.
"Good- I mean, good that you're better. Not good that you blanked out, that's not-" He fumbled with his hands but Cosima giggled knowing his intentions were in the right place.
"Scott." She shut him up, "Thanks."
And that was that, the two little dorks found themselves hanging out daily. They ate lunch in the little room off the gym with the yoga mats. Cosima found herself almost living in his garage, mostly because it was filled with the most brilliant science apparatus she had ever seen in her life. She never had many friends, but Scott was one of the best.
The day came when it slipped out, she confessed to him truths about her sexuality that she had never told anyone else. The only other person who knew she liked the ladies was Alexis, the shithead who told Lucia about Cosima's crush after seeing the back of her's chemistry book that had a little drawing of Delphine enveloped in a heart.
To her relief, Scott confessed some truths of his own concerning his sexuality and it was then the master plan was created. They were to be beards. After the school found out about it, things died down and Cosima was left alone, the plan had worked. She never seen the elites after the lunch hall incident as they were always skipping afternoons to organise the end of year beach party that of course, Cosima was never invited to. But she didn't mind, if she ever had to see any of those bitches again, she might need another bucket to hurl in.
Senior year finally ended.
But to Cosima's surprise, she was moving. Her parents got a job in a new lab, still working on their 'top secret experiment'. She didn't mind, it wasn't like she was leaving anything behind in the dreary town she grew up in. Apart from Scott, but he was heading to the University of Minnesota and they had already shared their goodbyes.
The University of San Francisco didn't sound too bad. She spent the summer at a camp working as a camp counsellor and got those credit points that were desired to do well at USF. While at camp, she met Corrie, an aspiring beauty guru and her sister Nadine, a major stoner. With these two characters combined, Cosima left camp a different woman. Her first year at USF was cool, but nothing too special. At the end of her first year, her parents insisted she transferred because they didn't see the grades they wanted to see. They blamed the professors at USF and Cosima didn't have the heart to tell them it was the plants she grew in the green house that the gardening club owned.
Switching Universities was difficult and a little risky, trying to get into a second year placement meant that Cosima wasn't guaranteed a place but with her outstanding grades despite her smoking habits and those volunteer points she picked up the summer before – she was accepted into the Minnesota third level education centre.
Her first day was amazing, she joined all the science-related clubs she could find. The University was the most beautiful building she had ever seen and she couldn't help but explore it. It was much bigger that USF. After a few hours of taking a look around, she was led to her accommodation and from then she began decorating it to suit her needs, meaning a lot of open windows and keeping bottles of air fresheners everywhere.
During her adventure of the castle-like place she now called home, she ran into Scott who was over the moon to see her. He hadn't changed a bit! His mop of hair still hung over his face even though his skin cleared up slightly. The sweaters still remained a big part of his wardrobe but that was the best part about Scott, his completely horrible sense of fashion.
That night, they shared a bottle of wine and a joint back at Cosima's apartment which didn't go so well, it ended up becoming a repeat of the day they first properly met back during Senior Year.
"You've changed Cos, like completely. I mean you don't look like Cosima." Scott's words were slurred and he, very obviously, had too much. Although Cosima couldn't help look at herself in the long mirror hanging on the bathroom door. She had changed.
The tangled, messy brown hair she used to sport back in high school was now pulled back into hundreds of tight black dreads. A silver nose ring popped out from the nose and as she stared at it she recalled the drunken night she spent with Nadine at summer camp, she smiled at the memory of the cold needle piercing through her skin, she sighed at memory of Nadine's baby-soft skin rubbing against hers. Smirking to herself, she turned from the mirror and pulled a purple dressing robe over a white tank top that was a little too small for her but still cupped her curves perfectly. She headed into the living room to find a passed out Scott.
The next morning Scott woke up, paralysed from head to toe.
"That's what they call a hangover, Scotty." Cosima gloated at her lack of illness from the previous night's antics as she strolled around the apartment getting dressed.
This was her first day of classes at the University and man was she excited, Scott filled her in about all the new equipment that they brought into the evolutionary development labs and she was busting her ass to get her hands on it.
The halls were a never ending maze but she finally found her class. Settling in wasn't a problem for her, since high school she'd mastered her social skills but was never really able to master her friendship skills but hey, at least she didn't sweat anymore! She was partnered with a stocky guy named Ryan. He practically drooled over Cosima as they discussed the topic that was given to them to research and trying to be polite she simply smiled at him. "Great." She thought, stuck with this guy for the rest of the year.
On the bright side however, the professor was pretty hot. She was a typical Irish gem. Emerald eyes with deep burgundy hair that flowed in curls until they dropped at the back of her spine. Cosima spent the rest of the class drooling over Prof. Barr while Ryan drooled over her.
Cosima was the last out of the classroom, she packed up as slowly as possible just to get a better look at the woman who was to educate her for the rest of the term. She'd charm her on another occasion, Cosima thought. There was no way she wasn't going to try and flirt with that one. Barr went straight to the top of her 'to do' list.
It was noon by the time the class finished and Cosima had a couple of hours to waste before heading to her last class of the day. She decided to hit the library up, Scott said he'd meet her there at one thirty, an hour and a half wasn't too long to wait and plus, she hadn't seen the place yet.
The path to the library was beautiful and extremely scenic. It led from the main building out threw a little 'mini' forest that made the ten minute journey that little bit nicer.
Emerging from the trees, Cosima found herself drinking in the image of the library. It was nostalgic, as if she had just entered a different time period. Marching up the marble steps to the main entrance, she fumbled in her pocket to grab her student card that she would slide in the doors to let herself in.
It was just as breath-taking in the inside than it was on the outside, she could almost taste the words on the books. There was rows upon rows of bookshelves that was filled with millions of pages of divine literature.
Just as she was putting her key card back into her pocket, she crashed straight into the person in front. The key card, her books she was carrying and almost her own body tumbled to the ground. She looked up to apologise before picking anything up but no words escaped her mouth.
Delphine Cormier stood in front of her, looking as shocked as Cosima.
"Cosima?" The way she said her name in that mouth-watering French accent was exactly the way Cosima dreamed that she would say it. Only this time, Delphine was confused – could this be the dork that she knew from high school? Because it certainly does not look like her.
"Delphine." Cosima confirmed her identity and not wanting to shrink back into the scared and sweaty nerd from high school, she reached out her hand after mentally slapping the shocked look of her face but instead lighting it up with the best smile she could pull off with her heart beating as fast as it did.