MIA
“All right, I’ll need you to break down into groups of four.” The instructor stands at her desk in the front of the room and waits for us to shuffle around and find our study group arrangements.
I can’t pretend it doesn’t make me feel good when Posey immediately turns around and points at me, eyebrows raised. I nod quickly and try to hide my happiness. How pathetic. Am I that desperate for friendship? The desk next to mine is now empty, so she scoots over and plops down in the chair. “Awesome. I was afraid she would assign us to people we didn’t know.”
“I know, right? I didn’t think we’d have our own choice.” I look around the room, letting my gaze drift over Zeke like I don’t even notice him. Like I’m not constantly aware of his presence. He’s sitting by the door, one ankle crossed over the other knee while he slouches in his plastic chair. He could be asleep with his eyes open for all I know. He’s not moving.
I can’t help but want to ask Posey if it’s weird, him being here, but I also don’t want to draw even more attention to him.
Another girl comes over, tucking her bright pink hair behind one ear before pointing at the empty desk in front of me. I wonder how I’d look with hair that color. I’ve always wanted to try. “Do you have room for another?” she asks, pointing at the nearest empty desk.
“Sure!” Posey reaches over to the desk and pulls it closer while introducing herself. I wish I had her confidence. I guess it comes from growing up privileged and believing the whole world will move out of your way when you want it to. I might have the same resources at my fingertips that she has, but I don’t have that deep, ingrained belief. I wonder if I ever will.
“Lucky me.” A guy I recognize from class but haven’t yet met slides into the desk in front of Posey. “Finding three gorgeous ladies in need of a study partner.”
“Who says we need a partner?” I ask. “Maybe we were waiting for the fourth girl to show up.”
“If that’s true, I’ll get up right now.” He shrugs and tries to hide a playful grin. “Four girls pulling all-nighters to get their project finished? I think I watched a movie like that once.”
“We have room,” Posey tells him. “But are you sure you don’t want to group up with your bros?” She nods toward a cluster of guys near the back of the room dressed the way he is: jeans, hoodies, ball caps. It’s like their uniform. Somebody spent a lot of money so they could look sloppy.
He scoffs, rolling his eyes. “No, thanks. I was thinking maybe I could pull a decent grade in this class if I had study partners who want to, you know, study.” He flashes me a grin, and I can’t help but grin back. He’s got that kind of personality that makes people feel easy. “I’m Dean Saunders.”
“Mia Casteel.” I don’t know what gave me the confidence to announce my name like that before he even asked. The girls introduce themselves, too. Zoe thinks he’s cute-which he is-and Posey immediately jumps in as the group leader.
“Once we get our assignment, we can break down the work.” Without waiting to see if everybody agrees, Posey gets up and goes to the front of the room to get our assignment for the project.
I can’t help but sigh and wish I was more like her. “She’s going to make a kick-ass CEO someday.”
“Or she’ll just sit back and live off her trust once she turns twenty-one.” Dean lifts a shoulder. “That’s what I would do.”
“Oh, I didn’t know you knew Posey.”
“Her dad’s some big finance guy in Chicago. You never heard of him?”
Now I want to melt into my chair. Zoe is looking at me with interest, too. “No, I don’t pay attention to stuff like that, I guess.”
“Trust me, she’ll be fine no matter what. Unless she wants to take over the company, but I don’t think her brothers would want her to do that.” He jerks his chin at me. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“You’re the girl who walks around campus with Frankenstein trailing you all the time.” He turns in his chair, looking toward the back of the room. “And there he is.”
I don’t know whether to laugh or cringe. “Are you serious? Is that what people think? Has word, like, spread or something?”
Zoe at least looks sympathetic. “Not like it’s a bad thing. Lots of us know what it’s like to have bodyguards or security or whatever.”
“Just not here, at school,” Dean finishes. “Sorry. I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad. I was only making a joke.”
“It’s okay. Yeah, my dad is super overprotective.” I roll my eyes and try to laugh it off, and it’s obvious from their expressions they can relate.
“If anything, my family is probably glad to have me out of the house. Out of sight, out of mind, right?” Dean and Zoe exchange a knowing look as they can relate to each other. I wonder if my dad feels the same way. I guess I could understand if he did since he’s not used to having a daughter in his life in the first place. I must have mixed things up for him. Now things can go back to the way they were before.
Posey returns wearing a triumphant smile. “We’re group number three. We’ll be studying the effects of organized crime on society.”
Dean sits up a little straighter. “Sweet. I volunteer to watch Scarface and take notes.”
Posey looks him up and down before scoffing. “Don’t even pretend you don’t have a Scarface poster in your room.”
“How the hell did you know that?”
“Lucky guess.” She rolls her eyes, making me and Zoe giggle.
“Well, I’ll do it. You’re welcome.” He folds his hands behind his head and wears a shit-eating grin.
“Thanks for your help. I wouldn’t want to have to watch it myself.” I pretend to gag, and the girls laugh while Dean only shakes his head.
“You don’t know what you’re missing.”
“Oh, I haven’t missed anything. I’ve watched that movie. I just don’t wanna watch it again.” I offer a shrug. “To each their own.”
“I think we are missing the point here.” Of course, Posey would be the one to bring us all back around. “We’re going to have to research different eras. Prohibition is a big one. Then there were all kinds of turf wars. Money laundering fronts. Trafficking rings. How do those activities affect communities and society as a whole?” I can’t help but feel more interested in the project as she goes on. Call me a nerd, but I love learning about stuff like this.
“You know, I did see a TV documentary once that said Prohibition was what brought organized crime to the forefront in the US. If it hadn’t been for that, they might have had to find a foothold someplace else, in another industry.”
“Then you would be perfect to continue the research on that era. If you’re interested.”
“Sure. That would be great.” I type a quick note on my laptop. I’m looking forward to it. God, no wonder it’s so hard for me to make friends. Though, now that we’ve been sitting around and chatting for a minute or two, it seems dumb that I was ever nervous. This isn’t high school. And I’m not the poor girl anymore. I need to remember that.
“Maybe we should all get together and talk about this after class,” Dean suggests. “Maybe we could all hang out at my place tonight. I was going to the Pi Beta party, but we could always pregame there before heading over.”
Zoe bursts out laughing, swatting at him. “Wow, slick.”
“Yeah, way to invite three girls over to your place so we can drink.” Posey rolls her eyes. “Amateur.”
“Have a little more faith in me,” he begs, his eyes landing on me. “Well, are you going to bust my balls, too? Come on, I can take it.”
“You better be careful, or somebody would say you have a fetish for getting your balls busted.” Posey bursts out laughing and high-fives me before the instructor shoots a warning look our way. We’re the loudest group in the room.
“I was opening my home to three lovely young ladies,” Dean explains in a prim little voice. “And as any good host would, I’ve offered the contents of my liquor cabinet to my guests.”
“That’s fine, but let’s leave the whole study group pretense out of it, yeah?” We exchange a smile, and it occurs to me he’s pretty cute. One of those all-American boys faces with a square jaw and big, blue eyes. The little bit of hair peeking out from under his cap is the color of wheat. And when he smiles, he flashes dimples that threaten to make my heart flutter.