9. Tour

Previous Chapter

I was finally able to doze off when my alarm sounded at nine. Sleepily, I got up, showered, and got dressed. I looked out my window, saw a cloudless sky, and knew it would be another scorching day. With this in mind, I chose a nice, comfortable pair of khaki capri pants and a light blue tank top and my favorite pair of worn-in tennis shoes. With nothing else to do while I was waiting, I flipped through the channels, watching whatever I found interesting until around ten, when Randall called me.

“Hey, are you ready?” He asked, his voice sounding excited.

“Sure, where are you?” I turned off the television.

“I’m downstairs, sitting on a bench outside.”

“Okay, I’ll be right down.” I made sure I had my key, my schedule, and my phone. I grabbed two bottles of water for us, since we would be doing a bit of walking, and then I went downstairs to meet him. It was already hot, even though it was still morning.

He was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, lounging on one of the several benches in front of my dorm. He looked so much like a normal person. Nothing suggested what he really was. His red hair, brighter in the sunlight, was messy like he had just gotten up and ran a comb through it, and he hadn’t shaved, so the lower part of his face was darker with orange-brown stubble. Even like that, he still looked yummy.

I waved to him as I walked up and he sat up and smiled. He got up and began to lead me around the campus. I gave him my schedule and he took me to each building, one by one.

The campus basically had two types of buildings. They were either red-brick or white stone and they all looked old, but well-kept. My first class on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays was American Literature, in a four-story rounded building made of rough white stone. It was about a five-minute walk from my dorm. Next was a required Political Science class, across campus in one of the oldest buildings, a huge, red-brick structure that was connected to a mirrored twin building with a courtyard in the middle. It had huge arches and columns bigger around than me. After those two classes, I would have an hour break for lunch, and then I had Spanish, in another red-brick building back over by the rounded white one. After Spanish was a lab lecture for Biology back across campus in the old building. I had a few hours break after that until I had to go to Biology Lab only on Monday evenings in the furthest building from my dorm, the science building, the newest and largest building on campus, five-stories tall with huge lecture halls and an arboretum with computers and study areas and floor-to-ceiling windows. To walk from my dorm to that building was a twenty-minute endeavor.

Tuesdays and Thursdays, I had Biology in the science building and then I had to go back across campus to an L-shaped building made of smooth white stone for Calculus. I was taking sixteen hours, since all the classes counted for three hours except Biology, which counted for four because of the lab. With my classes spread out all over campus and I had no idea how I was going to make it from one side of campus to another in the allotted ten minutes.

“Your schedule is all messed up,” He remarked after we finished the tour. “Do you have a bike?”

“No, I didn’t even think of it.” I sighed, I didn’t have the money to go buy a bicycle, but I didn’t really have any other alternative. It was that or be late for class.

“I think we have an extra one you can borrow. You’re going to need it.”

I looked at him in gratitude. His family was already doing so much for me and he didn’t think anything of it.

After our tour, he led me to his truck, parked back over by my dorm. It was a white, two-door pickup that had seen better days. At least it had air conditioning, I noted as he took me to his house to pick up the bike. We were both a bit sweaty and hot after our walk around the campus. I had never realized quite how large it was.

In their storage shed, there were several old bicycles. He dug around until he found what he was looking for and brought it outside, brushing off the spider webs.

“It’s a little old. It hasn’t been used in a few years, but we can dust it off, air up the tires, and it’ll be as good as new, or at least, it’ll work. It’s been in this shed all this time, so it should be fine,” He wheeled it over to me.

“Thanks, Randall. I’ll probably have to get my own sooner or later. I’ll have to talk my parents into getting me one, but this’ll work until then.”

“Use it as long as you need it,” He went to work on the tires and gave me an old rag to start cleaning it off.

The bike was certainly dirty, but after I cleaned it up, it looked halfway decent. I rode it around for a few minutes and Randall found me a bike chain, complete with lock and key for me to secure it to the bike racks all around campus.

We loaded the bicycle up in his truck and then went in his house for lunch. “Hmm, I think we have some stuff for sandwiches, if someone hasn’t eaten all of it,” He rummaged through the refrigerator. I sat at the small table in the kitchen, trying to stay out of the way.

A person who looked around our age walked into the kitchen with a thick sandwich in his hand, several large bites taken out of it. “You talkin’ ‘bout me?” He grinned, bits of food stuck in his teeth. The newcomer was short and rotund, with brown hair shaved close to his head and beady dark eyes set in a young face, red face. He was wearing a black t-shirt stretched across his bulk and jean shorts.

“Pete!” Randall glared at him and his massive sandwich.

“Hey, your dad said if we were in the area and ever needed somethin’, we could help ourselves. I was just followin’ orders.” He took another chunk out of the sandwich and chewed happily.

“Did you eat it all?” Randall groaned.

“Nah, there should be enough left for another sandwich.” He looked at me, “Maybe two.” He went into the fridge and dug out some meat for Randall, his crack showing when he bent over. I looked away at Randall and he had the same expression of disgust on his face.

“How gracious of you,” Randall said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Pete sat down at the kitchen table next to where I was sitting, the chair groaning in protest. “Who is this lovely lady?” He said, switching on the charm. He sniffed the air around me, “You aren’t Pack.”

“Not yet,” Randall said, chopping up a tomato and some lettuce.

“Oh, you’re still a newbie,” He took another bite of his sandwich, chewed thoughtfully, and then grinned at me, the food in his mouth making me lose my appetite. “You’re prolly gonna be the most eligible female in our Pack. You’d best watch yourself. Maybe you’d like me to protect ya?” Bits of bread and meat fell out of his mouth as he talked.

“Uh-” I started, not really knowing what to say, but Randall interrupted me.

“She’ll be fine without the help of a freeloader like you, Pete. I’m taking care of her for the time being.” He looked as if he was going to start a fight with the guy.

“Oh, I see how it is. You’re already stakin’ your claim, daddy’s boy.” He growled at Randall, clutching the remains of his sandwich in his chubby hand.

“I am Alpha and you know it. Don’t make me put you in your place.” He snarled back, much more menacingly.

“Hey, I’m not lookin’ for a fight now, ‘specially in front of a lady,” He finished his sandwich in another giant bite.

“Then go. You’ve had your meal. Leave us.” Randall said with an air of authority.

Pete quickly shuffled out and Randall slumped into a chair across the table from me. “Sorry,” He said, “That guy is such a freeloader. I wish my dad would do something about him, but dad’s too nice. He tells everyone if they need food or other things, they can help themselves. You don’t know how frustrating it is to buy something and then when you go to eat it, it’s partially eaten or gone completely. I have to hide food in my room if I want it for myself.”

I laughed and patted his arm comfortingly, “It’s okay. We can go out for something if you want. My treat.”

“No, no, it’s fine, I already have most of the stuff ready,” He went back over to the counter and began stacking the lunchmeats and vegetables on the bread. I gave him my preferences and he made the sandwich for me.

After we ate, we drove back over to my dorm and unloaded the bicycle, chaining it to the rack with all the others. We then sat on a bench shaded under an aged oak tree. It wasn’t much cooler in the shade, but much better then the direct sunlight.

“School starts tomorrow, are you excited?” He asked.

I shrugged, “It’ll give me something to do at least.”

“You’ll have plenty to do once you join the Pack,” He smiled, “We have lots of smart people in the Pack, so they can help you with your schoolwork. Some of them are even professors here.”

“Really?” I perked up at this revelation, “I’d love to meet them. I could maybe even take some of their classes another semester.” How cool it would be to be taught by a werewolf professor, being the only one to know what he truly was, running with him on the full moon nights.

“Just wait until the full moon and you’ll get to meet a lot of people. The whole Pack assembles on that night.” He absently fidgeted with a leaf that had fallen into his hair, shredding it as he spoke.

I sighed, “I’m just impatient.”

“The moon likes to tease all of us, but school will help pass the time,” He looked down at the little green pieces in his hand and brushed them off. “Are we going to meet for lunch tomorrow?”

“Sure, I hadn’t planned that far ahead, but that’s fine.”

“Good, we should meet in front of Saybrook tomorrow, that’s the best dining hall on campus. Come right after your Poli Sci class.” He got up from the bench and helped me up.

“I’m pretty sure I remember where that is. I’ll come right after it’s over!” I scolded myself inwardly for sounding too excited, but I couldn’t fight back a wide smile.

He grinned back at me, “Well have a good afternoon…what’s left of it. See you tomorrow.” He kissed my cheek and then went back to his truck while I went back to my room to waste away the remainder of the day.

-----

A/N: I meant to post this earlier today, but it needed a bit more revising than I thought. The part about the schedule and the buildings wasn't in the original draft, so I hope it sounds okay. I'll eventually get around to naming the buildings when I feel a little bit more creative.

Next Chapter