This story finally got a cover art! You can check it out on my tumblr(username is the same). I'm forever grateful to all of you followers for reading this story. Reviews and feedback greatly appreciated! Please let me know what you think of the OCs(Sage and Ciara) so far in this story. Enjoy this chapter and don't kill me for all the feels! :)
Gail leans against the wall next to the door to the classroom for Introduction to Criminology. Today is the day. Gail gets to see Holly and for a second she gets excited. However, she remembers immediately that she must follow her plan of avoiding Holly as much as possible. She knows that Holly is in the classroom already as she always arrives with at least ten minutes to spare and will be waiting for Gail to sit next to her. Normally, Gail would walk in not long after Holly and nurse her cup of coffee in silence while Holly studies. That is a comforting moment for both as they enjoy each other's company without feeling compelled to say something. Sadly, Gail knows it must stop now, before her feelings get too obvious for anyone to see, especially Holly and Sage. The stoic Peck armor enshrouds her face as she prepares herself to enter the classroom with only a minute left.
Gail slowly open the door without making any noise and sneaks in the room. She can see Holly sitting in her usual seat, reading a book with a serious expression. She peeks over to the empty desk, her desk, and notices a travel mug on it. Holly must have bought some coffee for Gail. Why does she have to be so nice? That makes it more difficult for Gail to execute her plan right now. She decides to take advantage of the fact Holly is unaware of her presence and takes in her appearance. Holly is wearing a simple dark red t-shirt and denim jean tucked in brown boots. God, she looks really great in red. Holly turns around and catches Gail in the eyes as if she can feel Gail staring at her. Gail freezes and is unsure what to do. All she can do is to drown herself in Holly's soulful chocolate eyes. Stop staring, Gail. You're a Peck so shake it off and stick to the plan! Gail shakes her head to get herself out of the Holly's inspired self hypnosis.
Gail slides along the wall to the last row of desks away from where Holly sits and quickly picks a seat that is as far away as possible. What she fails to realize is that she is sitting next to one of the most annoying classmates in this course. Holly and she would mock this guy for being egotistical even though he barely knows anything about the course materials being discussed in the class sessions. Of course Gail just has to pick the seat next to this idiot. Just as she is about to get up to go to a different seat, the professor enters the classroom to begin the session. Great, she is stuck.
"Hey there lovely. What's your name?" the idiot suavely asks.
"Stop talking. Don't say another word to me and I won't stab you in your eye with my pencil," Gail growls.
He simply swallows his nervousness and looks away like the obedient schoolboy he really is. Gail rolls her eyes and decides to sneak a side peek over to where Holly is. Holly is already staring at her with confusion and hurt in her face. Gail is already several minutes into her plan and she already hates every single minute of it. She is not sure if she can endure any longer and is about to look over and maybe mouth an apology to Holly.
"Class, last week we went over key vocabulary and different units from the textbook. Today I will split you all in pairs for your semester-long project. Each pair will be assigned a certain demographic group and at the end of the semester you will do a major presentation about how each unit affects the group and what needs to be improved upon to provide fair justice. I will be picking randomly from this vase with all of your names. I will not accept any complaints or desired changes, so be prepared to work with whoever you are assigned to."
Gail groans in disgust. She cannot stand group projects and she hates everyone in the class, except for Holly. Holly is the last person on earth she would work with though. That will smash her plan in bits and she will not be able to do anything about. Gail mentally says a prayer that she will not be assigned to work with Holly as the professor announce partners. So far he already mentions four pairs. There are twenty students including herself, so that means six left.
"Holly Stewart…"
Gail begs whoever is up there if there is indeed someone bigger out there to intervene and make sure her name is not called.
"And… Gail Peck. You both will work together. "
Shit. Shit. It is confirmed. She is meant to suffer in this life. Gail's cheeks flush in redness and she just cannot look at Holly out of embarrassment. She really wants to murder her professor and might ask Holly to help her bury the body if she is not already ashamed of her behavior. How the hell is she supposed to avoid Holly now that they have to do a project together? A semester long project!
"Alright, those who are to left of their partner, please go and sit with your partner. I will go by each pair and hand out a folder. You will find all of the information you need on your demographic group. Again, no complaints or switching the folders. You all got to deal with what you get like you would in real world."
Gail lets out a long sigh and slowly gets up, since she is the one to the left of Holly. Slowly, she sulks back to her "old" seat next to Holly without looking at her face. She does not want to see Holly upset like she knows she will be. Gail flops down on the chair and stays silent because she does not know what to say. The atmosphere between them is beyond awkward and Gail cringes as Holly watches her.
"So… is everything okay?"
"Just peachy."
"Did I do something wrong? You acted differently since the other night at that bar."
"Nope. This is how I am. I already told you I hate people."
"And I am one of those now?"
Gail remains silent. She cannot find it in herself to be that cruel to Holly. Truthfully, Holly has not done anything to warrant the treatment, so Gail decides that silence is the best answer she can give at the moment.
"So you won't tell me. That's okay. Guess we will keep it strictly professional today," Holly says as she takes the folder and pulls out the papers.
Gail simply grunts and watches Holly put down the papers in orderly fashion. Gail's heart clenches in fear as she reads the demographic group they are covering.
Indigenous People.
Fuck, the world is against Gail. Of all possible groups, why do they have to do their project on them? All of a sudden Gail could not breathe and shuts her eyes. A blast from a dark past pops up in her head.
Gail is sitting on a bench in the Toronto Police 15 Station and it is late into the night, technically it's morning since it is 4am. She hears footsteps coming out of the door and she turns around to the source. She sees Sage's older brother, Brenly, walking out of the interrogation room. He is tall and slender and wears his long raven hair proudly in a couple of thin braids. He doesn't notice Gail's presence yet, so Gail decides to stand up and holler "Brenly!"
Brenly hears Gail and looks over quietly. He stops walking for a minute and stares sadly at Gail. Police officers are walking around without paying attention to either of them. Gail never felt so small and powerless in her life. She wants so badly to tell the officers the actual truth. However, her fear of her mother is holding her back from saying anything. A detective comes out of the interrogation room and pushes Brenly to start walking again. Brenly obliges and nods in Gail's direction before walking to his caged fate. Gail slumps back on her chair and feels sick to her stomach. For the first time in her life, she is truly ashamed of her family name. Peck is tarnished with corruption and white privilege and there is nothing Gail can do about that right now and perhaps not ever.
"Gail?"
Holly softly touches Gail's shoulder and startles Gail out of her flashback. Gail stood up abruptly and walks out of the classroom. She just cannot deal with the feelings gnashing in her chest and she desperately need some air.
Gail bursts out of the building and strides down the courtyard. She finds a huge maple tree with thick branches creating large circle of cool shade, a retreat as she sits by the trunk. She bends up her knees and put her head down between them in her attempt to calm down. As she takes a deep breath, she feels a soothing presence sitting next to her. A soft touch gently brushes Gail's back and she can feel herself begin to calm down. Her heart is returning to normal rhythm and tension is smoothing out of her body. Gail peeks over her knee and realizes the person sitting next to her is Holly. Holly gives her a small smile and continues to rub Gail's back. They remains like this for a little while under protection of the tree and away from rest of the world.
"Gail, you okay now? I brought your bag here," Holly whispers.
"Yeah, I'm okay."
Holly nods her head in acceptance and takes out one of her textbooks to read. Gail watches her in disbelief. Holly does not even ask her why she freaked out earlier in the classroom and practically had a panic attack moments ago. It is as if she knows how to handle Gail's prickly self with ease. Gail sighs as she feels her heart beating strongly for Holly. In that moment, Gail really wants to brush Holly's lush lips with hers, and let her know how she makes her feel at peace. This is not part of the plan. Gail internally tells herself to shake it off and gets up suddenly. Holly looks up in concern, and Gail turns around so Holly cannot see her face.
"Thanks for the bag, Holly. See you in class on Wednesday," Gail says coldly and walks away without waiting for Holly's response.