After my inner pep talk to myself, I took a deep breath. “Good morning, class, and thank you Headmaster,” I said, plastering a smile onto my face and getting ready to begin my lecture. I turned to face the class and continued. “It may seem hard to believe, but many years ago, I sat precisely where you guys are right now…”
An hour later, the lecture was over and I bid farewell to the class as they applauded me, satisfied with the ways I had answered their questions. I stayed behind as they filed out of the room, preparing to head to their next classes, shaking some of their hands as they made their exits.
“Fantastic job, Tobias,” Headmaster Greene said as we stepped out into the hall once the room was empty.
“Thank you, sir. And thanks again for inviting me to speak. It’s been an honor to come back here,” I said.
I glanced around the hall, a strong feeling of nostalgia coming over me. Now that the lecture was over, I was able to relax and take in my surroundings more. I remembered this particular section of the campus well. Anderson and I had spent a lot of time roaming these halls, discussing homework assignments and eyeing girls.
“Taking a trip down memory lane?” Headmaster Greene correctly guessed.
I nodded. “Yeah. Just thinking about the time I spent here with my best friend. Do you remember Anderson Lawrence?”
Headmaster Greene laughed. “I most certainly do! He was quite the trouble-maker at times, but he had a wonderful sense of humor and a brilliant mind, much like yourself.”
“Yeah,” I said, nodding and laughing. “We had some good times in this hall. We’re still good friends to this very day.”
“That’s wonderful. Have you run into any of your other classmates?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I have actually. Just last night, I ran into Scarlet Kale. I don’t have much memory of her as a student here though. She thought she remembered me, but she had me mistaken for someone else.”
“Scarlet Kale,” Headmaster Greene said, but this time, there was no fondness in his voice.
I raised my eyebrows. “Do you remember her?”
“Oh yes,” he said. “I may be old, but my memory is still good, especially when it comes to someone like Scarlet.”
I tilted my head, finding something curious about the way he spoke of her. “What do you mean? What do you remember about her?”
The Headmaster shook his head and sighed. “No offense if Scarlet is a friend of yours. But I like you, Tobias, so I feel compelled to warn you. Scarlet…Let’s just say she’s a bad girl, and I don’t mean that in a good way, like the kids say these days. I mean that she’s nothing but trouble.”
CHAPTER 7
Scarlet
With my eyes still closed, I took a long stretch, spreading my limbs and arms straight over the bed before realizing the mattress felt different. Slowly, I cracked open my eyes, taking in the unfamiliar environment around me. That’s when I remembered where I was, and what had happened.
Images of Preston came back to mind, particularly of the long and passionate night we’d shared. In the space beside me, I could still smell traces of his cologne.
I smiled to myself, laughing at the charade he’d kept up all night, pretending to be some guy named Tobias. I had to admit, Preston had probably missed his calling to be an actor. As the night wore on, I had to admire the effort he was putting into his role-playing. He had managed to change so much about himself, from his mannerisms, to the way he kissed…
A pleasurable tingle ran through my body, wondering if when he returned, would I be treated to a date with some other man of his invention. He certainly knew how to keep things interesting, that was for sure.
Climbing out of bed, I stretched again as my bare feet hit the plush carpet. I then retrieved the first shirt I found, which was one of Preston’s. Sliding it on, it came all the way down to my knees.
I walked across the hotel suite, retrieving my cell phone from the coffee table and feeling a twinge of regret as I saw the messages I’d missed, most of them being from Mila. I scrolled through them, seeing that she had been requesting an update of my night and wanting to make sure that I was all right. When I got to the last one, it read: If u don’t say something to me within the next hour or so, I’m gonna hurt u.
I laughed, knowing she didn’t mean it literally. She was just being her regular overdramatic self, and I couldn’t really blame her. If the shoe was on the other foot, I would have been worried about my friend too. After all, it’s against girl-code to let one of your best friends run off with a guy if you don’t know much about him. Our group of friends had always had our set of safety rules when it came to hooking up with guys, although those rules hadn’t been used much lately since most of them were in healthy long-term relationships now. I was the odd-woman out these days.
Maybe not for long though, I thought to myself, thinking about how Preston and I had so easily reconnected with each other despite all the years we’d spent apart.
I stared at Mila’s messages for a while longer, trying to think of what to say. Finally, I typed: Hey girl. I’m fine. I’m with Preston, my old bf from high school.
Just as I had suspected, she must have been literally waiting by her phone for my response, because her reply came instantly. Girrlllll! Details!
I laughed and wrote back, U know a lady never kisses and tells.
Since when have u ever been lady-like, she retorted.