The lecture hall is full when I get there, but my space on the middle row is empty as usual. I don’t know why, but no one other than me and Scarlett Voss sits on this row. It’s a perfect arrangement for our classroom arguments, and even better now that I can slide into my seat without having to step on any toes to get past.
The class hasn’t officially started yet, so I let my shoulders drop a little when I sit down. I start unpacking my laptop and notebooks on the table, and I feel Scarlett’s eyes on me. I catch her leaning closer to me in my periphery, her dark-brown hair a slight curtain between the two of us. I try my best to ignore her and the strong smell of something fresh that follows her.
“Do my eyes deceive me or are youlate, Branson?” she asks, her voice low and teasing.
“Your eyes do deceive you,” I mutter, fidgeting with the sleeve of my shirt.
“Really? Because judging by that clock over there, you’reverylate.”
“By two minutes. That doesn’t count,” I say, trying to remind myself that it’s okay to be late every once in a while. I can tell Scarlett’s smiling without even having to look over at her.
“Oh, but itdoescount,” she taunts. “You always get here five minutes before Lawrence gets here. You’re never late.”
I turn to her and her eyes are still on me.
“Wow, I didn’t know you paid that much attention to me,” I say, leaning into her. Her gaze drops to the space between us, and I can tell she doesn’t know if she should retreat or keep pushing. There’s always this slight hesitancy about her when she gets closer to me like this, like she’s afraid the closer she gets, the clearer it’ll become that I’m not particularly interested in this rivalry of ours. Either that, or she’s afraid she’s going to get cooties.
“I don’t,” she seethes. “It’s an observation.”
“Same thing,” I say, rolling my eyes. “I’d rather be late than two hours early like you. It shows I have something to do with my morning.”
“Really, like what? Stare in the mirror and decide which boring tie you want to wear?”
My mouth pops open, pretending to be shocked. “Do you spendallyour time thinking about me, Scarlett? Or is it just before class when you miss me?”
I inch closer. She backs up finally, flicking her hair over her shoulder, intentionally letting the ends of it swipe across my face.
“Miss you?” she scoffs. “Every morning I pray you get into an accident on your way to campus. It seems like my manifestations aren’t working.”
“Hm. Maybe you should try a little harder next time.”
She smiles evilly. “Oh, believe me, I will.”
I smirk, happy to know that I’ve got a rise out of her just like she did to me last week.
I’m used to having these short-lived arguments with her. It’s the dynamic we’ve established over the last two years or so. But since Miles started dating her best friend, Wren, I’ve seen Scarlett a lot more than I’d like to.
I try to keep things civil because I’ve already burned my family’s reputation once by letting my feelings get the better of me and I’m not going to do it again. But that doesn’t mean Scarlett won’t try. And as much as I hate to admit it, I’m way too eager to play along.
It’s fun—the back and forth, the waiting, the anticipation of what insult she’s going to come up with next. It’s one of the most exciting things about college, and maybe if my dad saw me doing more ofthis, he would realize just how well things are going for me.
We both work quietly, taking notes as Professor Lawrence presents his lecture. At the one-hour mark, he lets us have a break, during which I check through my B&Co appointed email only to find out that I’ve been taken off the email list and I haven’t received any updates since last week.
I guess my dad really isn’t playing around.
Professor Lawrence’s voice brings me back to the lecture as he steps to the front of the room and claps his hands for our attention. “I know you’re all curious to know what project you will be working on this semester, and I’m glad to announce that this one could significantly impact your future careers.”
I lift my head, my fingers pausing on the keyboard as everyone else in the room quiets down.
“This semester, we’re going to be looking at fashion venture development in three phases,” he explains, and some murmurs scatter across the room. “For the first phase, you will be paired up with another classmate to create a comprehensive businessplan for a start-up in the fashion industry. For the second phase, you will all attend a networking event for a weekend, where you’ll meet people in the industry, talk about your project and, if you’re lucky, get the interest of a sponsor.”
That starts another round of excited chatter, and I smile to myself. Networking is a piece of cake when you’ve done it enough. Lawrence raises his voice a little to get everyone’s attention again.
“And for the final phase, I will be expecting each pair to do a presentation about the progress of the project, the engagement with this module and any challenges you’ve faced along the way. This project will be great for those of you who want to boost your grades if you wish to be considered for the SEI next spring.”
Excitement buzzes through the room, and Scarlett sits up straighter beside me. I’ve been interested in the SEI since I joined NU, and this semester is finally my chance to apply for it. I’m not going to take a second of this project for granted. Opportunities like this don’t come often, and gaining this experience now before I go into senior year is perfect timing.
Getting a summer internship is just what I need to focus on right now and it fits into the plan I’ve been working on for years.Get the SEI, prove to my dad I can do the work and have a social life, graduate in a year’s time and work for B&Co.
