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Chapter 1
Elsa sat at the back corner of the room, hoping to avoid attention and proximity to others. The only chairs near her own were the ones in front of her and beside her. Two people were better than four. She was the first person in the class, beating even the teacher. It was a habit she'd gotten into because of her parents. They had always said that it was better to be early to things rather than late.
Over the next five minutes, more and more people filtered in to the room, and she cast her eyes over the other students in concealed amusement as they came in. Nearly every one of them were yawning and half asleep. Elsa had always been a morning person, and had never really needed much sleep. In fact, she only slept about six hours a night, from midnight to six in the morning. Her current class was at seven thirty, so she had already been awake for an hour and a half, unlike many of the other students.
A glance at the clock told her class was going to start in a couple of minutes, and she saw the teacher come into the room and begin setting up. By this point, the only chair left unoccupied was the one next to her. A flash of movement by the door caught her eye, and she turned to see what had caused it with a mild curiosity. She felt a flicker of interest as the last student walked into the room.
A boy with white hair and blue eyes staggered into the class. He was wearing a blue hoodie and grey sweatpants, with black sneakers on his feet. He looked like he was about to fall asleep standing up. His eyes blearily scanned the room for an empty seat, and they came to rest on the chair beside Elsa. His gaze didn't reach her, and he shuffled his way across the room in her direction.
When he arrived, he set down the biggest coffee mug Elsa had ever seen and flopped down. He opened his backpack and pulled out a huge can of Monster and set it down beside the cup of coffee that was no doubt caffeinated. Elsa watched as the white-haired boy considered the two drinks, then opened the Monster and poured it into his cup of coffee.
Her eyes widened at the thought of that much caffeine, and she briefly worried about the possibility that he could have a heart attack right here in the classroom. Then she thought about the taste of the combined drinks and grimaced. The guy was clearly as uncertain about the flavor as she was, because he looked at the cup with a slightly queasy expression. A moment later he yawned so hard his jaw popped, and he looked at the cup with renewed interest and picked it up.
"I am going to die." He said, staring into the cup thoughtfully. He pondered that statement for a moment, before shrugging and putting the mug to his lips and drinking several mouthfuls of the liquid like he was drinking shots. He immediately set the cup back down, and started coughing at the taste, his face screwed up in disgust. "Oh my god. That tastes disgusting." Despite herself, Elsa laughed at his horrified tone.
"Even I could have told you that, and I don't drink either of those." she commented quietly to the boy, right when he reluctantly was taking another gulp of his potentially lethal drink. His eyes flicked to her, then widened as he began to cough again. Elsa's amusement was soon replaced by concern as he spluttered beside her. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." he wheezed back, his eyes watering slightly. "Though if I keep drinking this, I might not be. If I start choking or have a heart attack from this, feel free to call an ambulance." Elsa gave a small smile and couldn't help the quiet chuckle that escaped her at the slightly morbid humor.
"I'll keep that in mind." Her eyes drifted to the front of the room again, and she noticed the professor starting his lesson. She returned her attention to the front of the class, putting the half-awake young man she'd been talking with at the back of her mind. For the next hour, she took notes diligently. She was surprised at how easy college English seemed to be. Granted, it was only the first lesson and they didn't cover much, but from what it sounded like, this class was going to be easier than expected.
When the lesson was over, she put her things away in her backpack neatly and stood up. Around the room, people were in various stages of leaving, some already gone. Beside her, the white-haired boy was standing as well, and she was surprised to see that the giant mug was empty.
"So, I see you aren't dead yet. I suppose if I see you here Thursday it means you survived all that caffeine." she commented. The boy laughed, and Elsa vaguely noted that it was the kind of laugh that meant someone laughed often and easily.
"Here's to surviving until then." He replied, then seemed to realize something. He held out his hand to Elsa with a friendly grin. "I'm Jack by the way. Nice to meet you." Elsa hesitated for a moment, then noticed the brief flash of uncertainty that crossed his features and took his hand lightly.
"Elsa. Nice to meet you too." she said, before dropping her hand again. Remembering her schedule for the day, she glanced at the clock then widened her eyes when she saw the time. "I have to go. My next class is in half an hour and it's on the other side of campus." She felt almost apologetic for cutting their conversation short, though it wasn't her fault. Jack winced sympathetically.
"Ouch. Back to back classes this early in the morning on the first day? That's rough. I'll stop holding you up though, and let you get going." Elsa gave him a grateful smile and a small wave then left the classroom, heading towards her next class with a small smile on her face.
Jack's morning hadn't started off well. He had hit the snooze button on his alarm one too many times, and had ended up running late. What made everything worse was that it was the first day of classes, and it was the time for the best first impressions, not the worst. He'd had just enough time to throw on some comfy clothing and scarf a piece of toast before he had to grab his stuff and go. Luckily, he had several cans of Monster to choose from, and he snagged one to support the caffeine from his coffee.
He'd made his way across campus in a sort of daze, squinting at the sunshine. He'd never really been a morning person, preferring the dark and quiet of the night. Not that he didn't like the daytime; the day was when all of the people were out and fun things happened. Still, he'd definitely take late nights over early mornings. Jack reached his class with only a couple of minutes to spare.
For a moment he'd been worried that there weren't any seats left, but then he saw one way in the back corner. Jack shuffled his way over to the seat and set down his mug of coffee before flopping down into the chair. He looked at the cup and realized that the amount of caffeine in there really wasn't enough to wake him up properly so he could pay full attention. He considered his options, then pulled out the can of Monster he'd snagged on his way out of the dorm room and set it beside his coffee cup, gauging whether or not it would fit in the mug.
Figuring it would work well enough, he opened the can and poured the entire thing into his coffee. A cream soda-y, Mountain Dew-y scent mixed with the smell of his coffee. It didn't smell all that appetizing. On top of that, his coffee went from a rich brown to a putrid green-brown. It was that wonderful image that brought Jack to his senses. Not only would this taste really weird, but it could quite possibly kill him. A yawn halted his thoughts, and his jaw dropped so dramatically he felt it pop. That was it.
"I am going to die." He commented aloud, staring at the mixture. He shrugged, what was the worst that could happen? Wary of the taste, he brought the cup to his lips, then threw back several mouthfuls of the liquid like he was downing shots. It burned his throat, and it tasted like acid, or something toxic. He began coughing. "Oh my god. That tastes disgusting."
He grimaced at the thought of finishing his drink. However, he knew that without his morning dose of caffeine, he wouldn't be fully awake until eleven-ish. He couldn't afford to be that out of it in his first class of the semester, so he picked up his cup and took another wary mouthful. A gentle laugh met his ears before its owner spoke.
"Even I could have told you that, and I don't drink either of those." Jack flicked his eyes to the side to look at the speaker. His eyes widened as he saw her, and he began coughing again in his surprise. Beside him was a gorgeous young woman with platinum blonde hair and sapphire eyes. She was wearing a green and purple shirt with black jeans and flats. Her hair was braided into an updo that looked almost regal. As he watched, her amusement morphed into concern. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." Jack wheezed back as his eyes watered, slightly embarrassed. Seriously, how did he miss seeing her when he sat down? "Though if I keep drinking this, I might not be. If I start choking or have a heart attack from this, feel free to call an ambulance."
He hoped she hadn't noticed that he hadn't started to cough until he looked at her, and to his relief, she seemed not to notice, writing it off as the toxic mixture he'd made. She laughed again, and Jack felt unexpectedly proud that he was the reason for it.
"I'll keep that in mind." She said with a small smile. The professor started the lesson for the day, and soon her attention was riveted to the front of the room. Jack tried to pay attention, he really did. But every five minutes or so, he realized that his gaze had drifted once again from the teacher to the girl beside him. By the end of the lesson, he'd learned a lot. He just hadn't learned a lot about his English class.
Jack had learned that the young woman beside him was right handed, and wrote very tidy notes. He'd learned that when she focused, a small crease developed between her eyebrows, and her nose crinkled slightly. He'd learned that her eyes lit up when she understood something. Before he knew it, the people around him were packing up, and he'd heard only half the lesson. He stood up just before she did, and tried to think of something to say to her.
"So, I see you aren't dead yet. I suppose if I see you here Thursday it means you survived all that caffeine." She had initiated the conversation instead, with a reference to his earlier comment. He laughed at the unexpected dry humor.
"Here's to surviving until then." He said with a grin. Please let me survive until then. He suddenly realized that he didn't even know her name, and stuck out his hand. "I'm Jack by the way. Nice to meet you." She hesitated just long enough for him to worry she wasn't going to accept the handshake, then placed her hand lightly in his.
"Elsa. Nice to meet you too." She flicked her eyes to the clock, and they widened in surprise at the time. "I have to go. My next class is in half an hour and it's on the other side of campus." Jack winced in sympathy. That sucked, having two classes each Monday morning. He didn't think that he could do it if their roles were reversed.
"Ouch. Back to back classes this early in the morning on the first day? That's rough. I'll stop holding you up though, and let you get going." Despite the fact that he wanted to keep talking to her, Jack figured that Elsa probably wouldn't appreciate him making her late to the first lesson of her next class. She gave him a grateful smile and a small wave before sweeping out the door in a hurry. Jack watched her go with a lingering grin, and was only a little surprised to realize that he was already looking forward to Thursday's lesson.
