AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I laugh and try not to let him see how taken aback I am by his show of affection. “Alright, lover boy. I want this stud of a man to let me go so we can get some good seats.” I shrug off his arm and head into the classroom.
What the hell is wrong with me?
Conner is someone I should be attracted to. The man has no issue getting dates. Yet still, I want to shrink away from his touch, even if that simple head kiss was the most action I’ve ever gotten.
Broken, I must be broken.
Conner doesn’t show remorse over his flirting but doesn’t try to touch me again as he follows me. I’m relieved.
“Hey, you always gotta shoot your shot.” He says as we make our way to our seats.
Roman history is in an auditorium-style room, similar to most of our classes. However, this class holds rows of seats with foldable personal desks instead of tables. I spot Sarah and Isaac in one of the upper rows. Unfortunately, the seats next to them are taken. It’s apopular class and usually a full house. Instead, we claim the two seats in front of them.
Sarah taps my shoulder. She’s sporting her hair in a high ponytail and looks radiant without any makeup. “Good morning, sunshine!” she says with a smile. “I hope you got some decent sleep after yesterday’s surfing fiasco. I still can’t believe that jerk charged for the board when HE didn’t give lessons. Complete negligence.”
I smile back, grateful my friend isn’t still interested in that asshole. “He’s a piece of work. And I’m doing okay, thanks. I was up early, though.”
Sarah snorts, “Obviously. Your eyes aren’t half-closed like they normally are in morning classes. Did you finally take up sunrise running? Can we go together? Please be my running buddy!”
I snort at the sheer absurdity of Sarah’s statements.
A morning person? Not happening.
I’m too drawn to the cozy atmosphere of twinkle lights, candles, and a full moon to dream about going to bed early.
“Not gonna happen,” I answer as I flip my notebook to my latest page.
Conner is talking to Isaac but pauses and turns to me, looking surprised. I was confused about what might have stunned him when I realized my notebook was open to the Ouija board outline. I move to turn the page, but Conner is faster. “Thinking about calling some ghosts? I have to say, you never fail to surprise me.”
Sarah and Isaac lean over to see my sketch as well. Isaac can’t help but give his two cents. “Obviously, none of the guys here meet her fantasy romance standards, so she’s conjuring up a dead one.” He and Conner bothburst out laughing. Sarah almost smiles but stops herself in time.
My cheeks are on fire. It would be nice if the ground could open up and swallow me whole. Sarah notices.
“I think it’s cool,” Sarah remarks. “I made one once in high school after my Nan died.” She has an undertone of defensiveness, like she’s daring the guys to keep making fun of me.
Isaac stops chuckling at his joke and kicks the back of Conner’s chair to get him to stop. “Oh yeah, did it work?”
“I’m not sure. Nan was blind in the end, and the letters spelled out a bunch of jumbled words, so... maybe?”
Conner turns back to me. “So, who are you trying to call, Viv?”
“I – I’m not sure,” I answer truthfully. “I just read about it this morning and thought it looked interesting.”
“Can this be our first spooky season activity?” Sarah asks excitedly.
“I’m in!” Isaac chimes in.
“GHOSTBUSTERS!” Conner exclaims as he pumps his fist into the air.
“I’m not sure that...” I begin to respond, but honestly, I have no idea how to object to this. The website said it’s better if there are at least two people. My friends are all staring at me with eager excitement. “You know what? Awesome, yes. Let’s do this. My house tonight?”
The others agree just as the lecture begins. Roman history is a great class. Our teacher asked us to pair up as she explained the assignment. We are to pretend we have a time machine and will be travelling back to Rome. Wecan bring any items we want, so long as they fit into a 1-meter square box.
The goal is to take over the government and establish yourselves as new rulers. Item lists and our ‘Evil Plan to Take Over the World’ are due at the end of class.
Conner and I team up since we’re already next to each other. We settle on a box of vaccines (at my insistence that if Malaria can take out Alexander the Great, then we sure as hell aren’t going to take chances), along with instructions for making gunpowder, canons, and war techniques from empires a few hundred years following the Romans.
We plan to become indispensable to the military and then stage a coup. We fill the rest of the box with pizza, chocolate, and other necessities because we aren’t leaving the best parts of the twenty-first century behind without some mementos to tide us over.
