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Excuse your mistakes

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“Are you dead?”

The whispered words crept into my ears, and I frowned and made a moaning sound. I winced at the awful taste in my mouth, and I rolled off of my side and onto my stomach. My eyes fluttered open, and I let out a scream.

The girl who’d been leaning over me let out a cry of surprise, and she jumped back. I sat straight up, wincing slightly at the head rush, and I stared at the girl. She had curly, chocolate brown hair and wide, dark eyes that were staring at me in surprise.

“Why did you scream?” she breathed, her hand clutching her heart.

“You scared the crap out of me!” I replied, and the girl frowned.

“Sorry,” she said, shrugging, “I didn’t realize I was that close.”

I resisted the urge to point out that our noses were practically touching, and I yawned. I ran a hand through my tangled hair, and I looked around the room. That’s when my brain fart ended, and I realized that the girl standing across the room from me was my roommate.

“I’m Bridget,” I stated, sticking my hand out.

“Teagan,” the girl replied, shaking my hand. Then, she pointed to my cheek and said, “You know you have dried drool all over your face, right?”

“It’s a fashion statement,” I retorted quickly, and I licked my hand and wiped it furiously against my cheek. I dragged my body lazily off of my bed, and I grabbed my phone out of my backpack. I checked the time and raised an eyebrow. I’d apparently been asleep for about five hours, since it was close to six in the evening.

I looked back over at Teagan and noticed that she was wearing a pair of leggings as well as an oversized sweatshirt. “How long have you been here?” I asked curiously, as I pulled my backpack up onto my bed.

“I got back from the campus library around one,” Teagan replied, gesturing towards a stack of books, “I was going to let you sleep, but I was heading over to dinner at the dining hall in about five minutes. I thought you might want to get something to eat, seeing as you’ve been passed out since you got here.”

“How do you know that?” I asked, and Teagan raised an eyebrow.

“Dude, you were sleeping on a bare mattress,” she stated, pointing at my bed.

“Oh, right,” I replied, and my stomach growled loudly. I chuckled and said, “Apparently I’m hungry, so thanks for waking me up.”

“No problem,” Teagan said with a laugh, “you may want to change your clothes before we go, though.”

At that, I looked down at my body and frowned. I was wearing a pair of baggy, black sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt that I’d spilled coke on during one of my many plane rides. They were wrinkled from being traveled in and slept in, and despite how comfortable I was feeling, I thought it would be a good idea to change. I didn’t need people thinking that I was a slob.

I pushed my suitcase flat on the ground, and I unzipped the lid. I flipped it back and grabbed the first couple of articles of clothing that I saw that made a respectable outfit. Without giving Teagan a second glance, I stripped down to my underwear, and I shimmied into a pair of gray skinny jeans. I tugged on an olive green v-neck t-shirt and pulled on a black bomber jacket.

“Ready to go?” Teagan asked, and I nodded as I tugged my hair up into a messy ponytail. “Awesome,” she replied, and she grabbed her cell phone. Together, we walked out of the room, and Teagan locked the door behind us.

As we hopped down the stairs and walked out the front door of Bristol, I noticed people sneaking glances at me. I ignored them, since it was probably just because I was new, and people were always curious about the new kid, even if they didn’t want to admit it.

“So,” Teagan drawled as we strolled down the path, “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure,” I replied with a shrug, “We’re going to be living in the same room for the next few months, so go right ahead.”

“Is it true that you let a cow loose in your school?”

It took me a moment to process the question, and I stared at Teagan in surprise. “What are you talking about?” I asked, putting my hands in the pockets of my jacket.

“Everyone’s been talking about it since we found out there was a new girl,” Teagan explained as we walked, “People are saying you pulled some prank with a cow at your school, and rumors spread fast here since it’s such a small campus.”

“Oh,” I said, mentally filing away that information in case I would need it later, “Well, it wasn’t a cow. My friends and I set three pigs loose.”

“Wait, really?” Teagan asked, her eyes widening.

“Yeah,” I replied simply, “The senior prank this year was awful, so I decided to pull my own. I never thought I’d get caught, though.”

“That is so badass!” Teagan cried, giggling, “I wish I had been there to see that!” Teagan’s excited grin made me smile, and as we walked towards the dining hall, Teagan and I discussed the details of my prank. I was actually pretty pumped, seeing as Teagan appeared to be a little mischievous like me.

Teagan stopped in front of a building with a sign in front of it that read “Samson Hall”. “This is the building that has the dining hall, library, and student lounge,” she said, gesturing towards the building.

“Cool,” I murmured, and I studied the rustic building, with its dark red brick walls covered in climbing vines.

“C’mon,” Teagan said, surprising me by looping her elbow in mine, “Tonight’s taco night, and I want to get there before all the crunchy taco shells are taken.”

“Yes ma’am,” I replied, since I too liked crunchy tacos, and we both hurried into Samson Hall. Teagan steered me down the hall, and suddenly, I was standing in a cafeteria filled with Trinity Prep students.

Teagan didn’t give me the opportunity to turn and run back to our dorm room, as she tugged me towards the lunch line full of people I didn’t know. I didn’t have time to feel uncomfortable, though, because Teagan started up a conversation about which food not to eat as we went through the lunch line.

I ignored the way that people were looking at me and whispering with their friends, and I loaded up my tray with a piece of pizza that Teagan said was delicious, as well as an apple and a can of root beer.

“How do we pay?” I asked, as Teagan started to walk out of the lunch line with her tray in hand.

“We don’t,” Teagan replied, “Our food was paid for in our tuition.”

“Really?” I said, and Teagan nodded. I grinned, locking that information away in the back of my mind, and I followed Teagan through the lunch room to a table that already had two girls seated at it.

“Hey guys,” Teagan said as she plopped down, “This is Bridget, the new girl.” She gestured for me to sit down, which I did hesitantly, and then Teagan pointed at each of the girls respectively and said, “This is Maddie, and that’s Kyla.”

Kyla, whose hair was dyed bright, neon red, grinned at me and said, “Nice to meet you, Bridget. We’ve heard quite a few things about you through the grapevine.”

“Yeah,” Maddie chimed in, “Did you really steal a bunch of chickens from a farm and set them loose on a teacher to pick at him with their beaks?”

I snorted and looked over at Teagan, who was laughing as well. “I worry about how rumors fester with teenagers,” I commented, and I turned back to Maddie and Kyla. “They weren’t chickens, but pigs, and I just let them loose in the school as an innocent prank.”

“That’s still really awesome,” Kyla stated, and she clapped her hands together, “I wish we could do something like that here.”

“Dean Hayes is a hard ass, though,” Maddie grumbled, “If we did anything bad, he’d probably skin us alive, cut off our fingers one by one, and then force us to eat them.”

“That’s a really nice visual, Mads,” Teagan said sarcastically, as she winced at the lovely mental image Maddie had drummed up in our minds.

“I met Dean Hayes earlier,” I stated, and I shrugged, “He seemed really nice.”

“Oh, that’s how he acts the first time you see him,” Kyla replied as she chomped on a few French fries, “I transferred here in the middle of last year, and he was really nice when I had my first meeting with him. However, the one time I got in trouble for sleeping in class, he pretty much told me if I didn’t shape up, I’d be shipped out.”

“Wow,” I said, raising my eyebrows, “That’s pretty harsh.” All three girls nodded, and then I had a thought. “What do you guys think about his son?”

“Jack?” Teagan asked, “Jack Hayes?”

“Jack Hayes is literally the smartest person that I’ve ever met,” Kyla stated, “Plus, he’s just really fucking attractive.”

“That’s a fact!” Maddie added enthusiastically, and I laughed.

Suddenly, I caught sight of the very person that we’d been talking about. Jack entered the cafeteria with a two other guys, and they looked like they were having a fun conversation, since they had animated, amused looks on their faces.

Jack and I met each other’s gaze, and he grinned at me. I waved, and he waved back before disappearing into the lunch line. When I turned back to the lunch table, I noticed all three girls staring at me.

“What the hell was that?” Kyla demanded.

I shrugged. “His dad had Jack show me to my dorm room,” I stated simply, “He took care of my suitcase for me.”

“Let me warn you about something,” Kyla said, and she leaned across the table and pointed at me. “Jack Hayes may look incredibly yummy, and be really nice, but if you’re going to go for that, beware of Chelsea Stern.”

“Chelsea Stern?” I echoed confusedly.

“She’s pretty much the female Jack Hayes,” Teagan said, putting her hand on my shoulder. “Chelsea is extremely smart and gorgeous, and she has had her eye on Jack Hayes since freshmen year. If you even want to be friends with Jack, you have to deal with that bitch.”

“Sounds like fun,” I commented with a smirk, and the girls laughed.

I picked up the warm, extra cheesy piece of pizza and my mouth started to water. I didn’t waste any time as I took a giant bite of the pizza, and I grinned at the taste. Teagan had been right; this pizza was amazing. As I chomped again on the pizza, I sensed someone sit down on the other side of Teagan, and I looked over lazily.

I almost choked on my pizza.

It was the kid from the airport, Simon I think his name was, and he looked just as cocky, if not more so. Before I could ask what was going on, or before he could even recognize me, Simon planted a long, noisy kiss on Teagan’s lips.

After what seemed like a ridiculous time to be sucking face, Teagan and Simon separated, and she had this smitten look on her face. I was personally grossed out, but that was probably because I’d seen their tongues poking in each other’s mouths.

That virtual image you’re seeing? Yeah, I saw that first hand. Feel bad for me.

“How was your aunt’s wedding?” Teagan asked Simon, which explained why he was at the airport. He’d apparently been coming back from a wedding.

“It was kickass,” Simon replied with a grin, “My parents got hammered half an hour into the reception, so I took the opportunity and used my fake ID to get some beers with my cousins.”

Wow, wasn’t that charming? Apparently, Teagan likes boys who are pigs. I was trying not to judge her, since I thought that Teagan was a really nice and funny girl, but it was hard. Simon was just so, well, gross to me. She could do better, and I knew that after spending less than an hour with her.

“Baby!” Teagan said excitedly, and she grabbed my shoulder, “This is Bridget, the new girl. She’s my roommate.”

Simon glanced past Teagan and looked at me. His eyes widened slightly in recognition, and he got a surprised look on his face. However, that disappeared quickly as he stuck his hand out and shook mine. “It’s nice to meet you, Bridget,” Simon said, and I realized instantly that he was pretending that he’d never met me before.

How classy.                       

“It’s nice to meet you as well,” I replied, plastering a fake smile on my face. However, with my eyes, I was telling Simon to watch himself. Simon was a player, that much was obvious, and there just something about him that didn’t seem right.

With an eyebrow raised at Simon, I took another bite of my delicious pizza.

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