A/N: Thank you to all who have tuned in! I wish to apologize in advance for the Italian I put in here. Never spoke a lick of it in my life, so all I have is Google translate.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Ugh.
Alarm.
School.
Elena moaned as she slammed her hand over her obnoxious alarm clock. Nine o'clock in the morning was just too early right now. Even though her previous wake up time used to be six o'clock, after the summer, it just felt like she could use more sleep. She rubbed her eyes, slowly getting out of bed. Caroline was lucky, because from what Elena remembered of her rambling yesterday, her first class was the class she shared with Elena. Which meant about another hour of sleep for her. How lucky. Elena walked into the bathroom to do what would probably become her daily routine. Brush her hair, her teeth, change her clothes, apply a dash of make-up, do her hair however she felt like having it that day. Today, she felt like having it up in a neat ponytail.
She grabbed what books were necessary, stuffing them into her backpack, along with some extra items. Elena liked being prepared for the unexpected. Making sure to take things like tissues, cough drops, gum, hand sanitizer, etc. Her breakfast this morning would consist of a granola bar, a banana, and a bottle of water. Until she knew what it was like in her classes, how long it would take her to get there, etc…it would probably be best to pack light. Caroline let out a loud snore that made Elena chuckle to herself before quietly slipping out of their room.
The walk to her first class, Italian, wasn't too long. It was about a five minute walk from her dorm to the building that housed all the classes for each language. The campus seemed tiny, but there were buildings that were a farther walk than that from her dorm. Her class was on the fifth floor…the elevator would be required. For once, she just wanted a class on the first floor. As the elevator dinged to announce her arrival, she briskly walked out and headed straight for her classroom.
When she entered the room, she headed straight for the back. It was still another ten minutes before the class would actually start. The teacher wasn't even in the room yet. The only ones in the room were her, some girl at the front of the class, and a boy that was in the same row as her with only two seats separating them.
She sneaked a glance over at him, noticing that he was kind of cute. His hair was a mix of brown and blonde, but mostly it was dark. His eyes were a really bright green and he had the most attractive jawline. Not something she would normally notice about a guy. His attire consisted of a leather jacket with a light gray shirt on underneath, and a pair of dark blue jeans. He happened to be stealing glances her way too. He smiled when they finally caught each other staring, getting up from his seat and moving to sit next to her.
"Hello there."
"Hi." She spoke shyly.
"Are you a freshman?"
"I am. You?"
"I am as well. Looks like we have something in common already." He gave her a dazzling smile. His teeth were so white!
"That's reassuring." She giggled.
"Stefan Salvatore." He extended his hand.
"Elena Gilbert."
"Pleasure to meet you, Elena Gilbert. Before you ask by the way…yes. I am Damon's brother."
"I thought your last name sounded familiar. You seem nothing like him though."
"I take it you've had the pleasure of meeting him then?"
"No, just saw him at The Howler last night. He seems…outgoing."
"That's putting it mildly," he scoffed, "I like to keep my business private. I don't want people knowing about my personal life."
"That's understandable. I wouldn't want my life out there for everybody to judge. How do you keep it so secret? Someone told me that Damon's roommate gets a lot of attention just because he does. You're his brother…so how do you get out of that?"
"I know things." He smirked, apparently set on keeping that a secret.
"Ok then. Next question…"
Before she got a chance to ask it though, the teacher came walking into the classroom. Elena hadn't even realized that most of the class was still not here. A few more students had walked in since she had arrived, but not that much more. Maybe this class was just small.
"Ciao, e benvenuto italiana 101. Lo sono il tuo insegnante, Signore Cooper. Abbiamo molto da discutere questa classe quindi cerchiamo di iniziare," said the teacher.
Well that didn't mean a thing to her. Stefan chuckled beside her.
"Did you understand any of that?" She asked.
"All of it. Parents moved here from Italy before Damon and I were born. Taught the both of us growing up, therefore, we're both fluent in the language."
"Why are you in an introductory class then?"
"Easy credit. I have other classes to worry about. I'm not above taking an easy class to help with the work load of my others."
Looked as if Stefan was no idiot. She smiled. At least if she had trouble in this class, there was someone that would be able to tutor her.
"Oh that's right, you all are little freshmen. You don't know a thing I just said," the teacher tapped his chin, narrowing his eyes while he feigned contemplation; "I guess I'll have to just speak in English for this class. For…well, everyone…I said 'Hello, and welcome to Italian 101. I am your teacher, Mr. Cooper. We have a lot to discuss this class so let's get started.' I would also like it if you all called me Signore Cooper."
Elena smiled. At least her teacher seemed pretty cool. That had to be a plus. Signore Cooper started in on the lesson while her and Stefan would whisper to each other every now and then. At least her first class of the day was enjoyable. Hopefully the others would be as well.
After forty-five minutes, Elena bid farewell to Stefan, walking to English by herself. She had hoped that since it was the first day, her classes would be cut a little shorter than usual. Signore Cooper had made sure to go the entire length provided for him though. Hopefully her next two would be much different than that. Her stomach was already starting to growl. The student center had some food that she could buy, but it was probably better to wait for Caroline. She'd be upset if she found out Elena went to eat without her.
She did make sure to take her time getting to the building. There was about fifteen minutes to spare before English started. However, there wasn't a whole lot to do. The English building was close to where she just came from. Not even a three minute walk. This time, her class was on the third floor. The elevator was broken in this one too. It had to happen at some point. She took the stairs to the classroom.
Apparently, Caroline had beaten her to the almost empty room. No one but Caroline occupied it. Elena sat down beside her, both of them in the back corner.
"You're earlier than I thought you would be."
"It's my first class. I didn't want to be late."
"No worries of that." Elena giggled, Caroline soon joining her.
"Can we get something to eat after this? I'm hungry."
"Me too! All I had this morning was a small bagel." Caroline pouted.
"Well then let's hope Martin let's us out early."
The girls sat and talked until eleven, when the majority of the students and Mr. Martin walked in. He went over everything fairly quickly. He was aware of the first day attention spans of the students. All they talked about was what their first class novel would be. Mr. Martin gave three choices for the class. Choice one was Shakespeare's Macbeth, the second choice was Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, and the third was The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins. Since the majority of the class happened to be girls, it was decided that Jane Eyre would be the novel for the time being. Mr. Martin told them to be sure to pick up a copy before their next class, and then he dismissed everyone. They had been in class for a total of thirty minutes.
Elena and Caroline giggled with excitement once they were outside of the building, glad to have been released early from their classroom prison. Even if it was only an extra fifteen minutes. They walked to the student center so they could have lunch in the food court. It was not exactly the size of a mall's food court, but it had a good selection. Elena got a slice of pizza and a diet soda. Caroline got a salad and some water. The two of them sat down at a table near the window, happy to finally be getting a chance to eat.
"So, where are you going after this?" Elena asked after she had swallowed a bite of her pizza.
"Art. Then I have History. I was wrong by the way. I thought I didn't have Saltzman, but I do. Doesn't matter anyway since we have our classes at different times, but for some reason I thought if we had the same teacher, we'd be in the same class."
"Well, your theory worked for one class." Elena chuckled.
"Very true. I'm glad it did work too. I'm not sure I could handle Jane Eyre of all books by myself."
"I've always wanted to read it honestly. It's a classic."
"Classic or not, I'd rather just catch the movie. I would prefer reading Twilight. I'm already halfway through it!"
"Caroline! You read that?"
"Team Edward all the way. There's just something about vampires that make them so…alluring. Sexy too." She grinned, taking a bite of her salad.
"I'm going to have to widen your reading selection then. Most vampires don't sparkle."
"You do that. I still have three more books in the series to read before I'm through though. Just keep that in mind. And says you! I don't see why they can't sparkle. I didn't see a set of rules anywhere."
Elena chuckled and shook her head. She checked her watch. Twenty minutes until the next class started. Probably wouldn't hurt to be early. She finished her pizza and stood up, packing away what was left of her drink.
"I have to go. I want to stop by the bookstore before I go to History. See you back in the room later." She smiled and waved goodbye to Caroline, heading in the direction of the bookstore. Her first day of classes was almost over.
Elena turned the paperback over in her hands, reading the back of the book as she walked into the elevator. How was Caroline not interested in this? There was romance in it. Shouldn't that have been enough to peak her interest? Elena smiled to herself as she walked out of the elevator and onto the fourth floor.
Upon entering the classroom, she realized it was the smallest of her classes that day. The actual room size that is. As usual, she went to the back of the classroom, hoping to go unnoticed as she had in the other classes. About five students including her were there, only ten minutes to go before class officially started. One girl sat at the very front, right in the middle of the classroom. Two students were scattered throughout the middle of the room, and one sat in the back close to her.
The situation reminded her of earlier today. Only it wasn't Stefan who was so close to her. This man had very dark, brown hair. His eyes looked just as dark, but she could swear they were a light brown. He was dressed in khaki pants and a light gray hoodie. Just like Stefan, he too was stealing glances her way, and even moved to sit closer to her. She must be having a good hair day or something.
"Good afternoon." He said smoothly. His voice was like velvet and sounded ever so soft.
"Good afternoon." She attempted to return, just as politely as he had. He had a certain elegance to the way he talked, the way he moved. Elena kind of liked it. Not something you saw on a daily basis.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I should have introduced myself sooner. Elijah. Elijah Mikaelson."
"I'm Elena Gilbert." She smiled, extending her hand. He grinned back, taking her hand to gently place a kiss on it. She couldn't help the blush that appeared on her cheeks after. He was very well mannered.
"It is lovely to meet you, Elena. How has your first day been?"
"It's been pretty good. I'm still getting used to college, but overall it's been nice. How has yours been?"
"It has been as pleasant as school could possibly be. You should let me show you around campus, if you haven't already taken a tour that is."
"I think that would be wonderful, thank you. I guess you've taken a tour already?"
"Oh goodness no. I've been here a couple years already. I could show you places the tour guides probably don't even know exist."
"You're a junior? What are you doing in a freshman history class?"
"I never took my first history class until last year. My freshman schedule was so full, they thought moving it to my sophomore year wouldn't hurt anything. Unfortunately, I was not the best of students last year, and failed this class. So now, I must retake it, since I have yet to receive credit for it."
"So do I have to watch you now and make sure you do all of your work?" Elena raised an eyebrow, smirking as she did.
"That won't be necessary. I've learned my lesson since. Although…I would be honored to have a beautiful woman such as yourself watching out for me." Elijah smiled brightly, giving her a wink. A small blush appeared on her cheeks. Oh…he was good. His gaze fell to the book in her hand.
"Jane Eyre? I love that book. How far into it are you?"
"Oh, I just got it. It's for English."
"I see. Well, if you ever wish to discuss it with someone, or need help with a related assignment, feel free to talk with me. I would love to help."
"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks."
A man rushed into the classroom before she was able to talk with Elijah further. His hair was a little disheveled from running to class she presumed. He put his briefcase on the desk that was cluttered with papers at the front of the room. His hair seemed to be dark brown, mixed with blonde. He was tall, and wore a dark blue, long sleeved, button up shirt with dark blue jeans. So this must be Alaric Saltzman. The one she saw decently smashed at The Howler last night.
It was weird seeing him in a classroom setting after his party with Damon last night. True, he was only a grad student. Not to mention they were all adults. It's just…shouldn't he be a little more professional? Like not go out the night before he has to teach a class? Elena could see he was dealing with a hangover as he walked into class. He was rubbing his forehead with his hand, his eyes squinting at the pain that was probably throbbing. His expression went back to normal almost instantly though.
"Hey guys. Call me Mr. Saltzman. As I'm sure the most of you know, this is History. If you're not in the right class, I would suggest gettin your ass out of here and to the right one." He smirked, going to the chalkboard and writing his name out.
"I'll make this short and sweet, because I know you all have such important lives to live." He picked up a stack of orange papers and started walking around the classroom to hand them to the students.
"This…is your syllabus. Follow it, worship it, and don't lose it. Do that, and everything will run smoothly, making my job a lot easier." Once he had finished passing out all of the syllabuses, he went back to the front of the room and checked a piece of paper.
"Hmm…I should probably do attendance the first day, shouldn't I? Or…I could make you all do those lame introductions for the class," his face brightened as the class moaned in unison, "yeah, I think that's the more entertaining choice. Tell ya what…after the whole class has introduced themselves…I'll let everybody go. Deal?" The class cheered and clapped.
"Awesome. Ok, we'll just go around the room then, starting at the front. State your first and last name, where you're from, and…I don't know…some kind of fun fact about yourself. Ready? Go!" He smiled and pointed to the girl in the very front of the room before leaning against his desk. It was the one Elena had seen there earlier when she arrived.
"I'm Meredith Fell, I'm from Long Island, New York, and I love cats." She said excitedly, pushing her glasses back up her nose as she did. Meredith struck Elena has a teacher's pet. Got good grades, not many friends. Maybe they would be able to talk sometime. Everyone needed a friend starting out in college.
The students went down the rows, reciting the same things over and over again. It was finally down to Elijah and Elena. He went first, standing up just like every other kid had.
"My name is Elijah Mikaelson, I am from Los Angeles, California, and I used to live in New Zealand until I moved to LA halfway through high school." He smiled, sitting back down. Now it was Elena's turn. She stood up and tucked a strand of hair behind her hair as she did. Presenting to groups sucked, even if it was just about herself.
"I'm Elena Gilbert, I've lived in Mystic Falls my whole life, and my favorite flowers are Lilacs and Cherry Blossoms."
She nodded her head and sat back down. The entire class had finally gone. Alaric uncrossed his arms after a few seconds and clapped his hands together.
"Well, very nice to all of you. I can't promise I'll remember any of your names tomorrow, but that's just how the cookie crumbles. All of you, out. See you on Wednesday."
The class hummed with students talking and chairs squeaking as they left the room quickly. Mr. Saltzman went to sit back down at his desk, rubbing his hands on his forehead again. Elena bit her lower lip. She wasn't exactly proud of his behavior the night before, but she was always one to offer help when possible. Elijah stood beside her.
"Shall I give you that tour now? If your classes are through for the day that is."
"Um…you go on ahead. Maybe we could do the tour Wednesday after class?"
"Sounds wonderful. I shall see you then, Elena." He gave her a warm smile before making his way out of the classroom. Elijah really was a gentleman, and not to mention a cute one. She rummaged through her backpack; suddenly happy she packed those extra little things this morning. She pulled out a couple of aspirins she carried with her in case she got a headache at some point throughout the day.
Elena walked up to Mr. Saltzman and placed the pills on his desk.
"I-uh…saw you at The Howler last night. Figured you needed these more than I do."
Mr. Saltzman opened his eyes and looked up at her, a small smile on his face. Which quickly turned to a groan as the previous night was brought to his attention.
"I didn't make a complete ass of myself last night, did I? And it's probably not proper taking pills from a student. However, my hangover thanks you and tells me to take the damn things." He chuckled popping the pills in his mouth and chugging down some water from his bottle on the desk. Good to know Elena didn't look like a threatening student or anything.
"No problem at all. Glad I was able to help. And no, not completely…only half ass." She smiled, showing him she was only joking. Hopefully he learned his lesson and she wouldn't have to be helping him out again though. He returned her smile, but as she turned to walk away, she stopped when she heard him speak.
"What color?"
Elena turned back around to look at him, a confused look on her face.
"Color?"
"Um, Lilacs. Sorry. What's your favorite color Lilac? Each color has a different meaning. White is symbolic for confidence and youthful innocence, while purple is symbolic for first love. My knowledge of flower meanings is a bit rusty…so you'll have to take that information with a grain of salt obviously."
Elena couldn't help but smile. She thought she was the only one who was curious about that stuff.
"Purple…purple ones are my favorite."
"Huh. Mine too," he said quietly, "let's just keep that between us though. My other students would never let me hear the end of it."
"Of course," she chuckled softly, "see you Wednesday, Mr. Saltzman." Elena smiled and turned around to walk out of the classroom.
"See you then, Elena."
She couldn't help but smile to herself as she walked out the door. Huh. Maybe there was more to Alaric Saltzman than met the eye.
