♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
Jennifer

My morning after spending Sunday at Audrey's watching movies all day and then drinking alcohol all night to show support, I had one hell of a hangover.

While she talked non-stop about how insufferable her boyfriend's cat is, I on the other hand, compared the said cat to Mr. Reynolds as they both have one thing in common. The smirk.

A movie was playing out in the background but we were too busy cursing the annoying people or animals in our lives to watch it.

"I bet the catta thore awayyyy that sweecher I bout im." Audrey's words were hard to understand at one point and I didn't bother to point it out.

"You know he is the same, I get furious every time I think about how he tricked me into becoming his CR." I thumped my hand loudly onto the table. The frustration is so damn annoying.

"If only I could have kept my mouth shut. Now I need to contact him on a daily basis." I cried out.

"Aleast eeee won't scratch yaa." She yawned loudly and before I knew it, she was fast asleep leaving me talking to myself till I fall asleep.

I stepped out of the cafe close to Audrey's apartment with a lemonade in my hand and decided to walk to the college, which is like ten minutes away.

I still have a mild headache even though I took a tylenol this morning. Out of nowhere, it started raining. Now talk about all the good luck I got in this life. I started to run towards the shed but it was of no use as I already got drenched.

In my peripheral view, I saw a car stopping in front of me but out of instinct, I ignored it. The window rolled down revealing the devil who has been the center of my issues since the moment he stepped into my life, also known as Mr. Reynolds, smiling devilishly.

"Need help?" He asked amusingly, while I tried to cover my head with my bag which is in fact waterproof as I walked towards him.

"Yeah, I do need help. But unfortunately, not from you." I replied, bending down a little to come to an eye level with him.

"Oh! In that case, I should probably leave." He made a show of checking his watch before looking up, "I don't like to be late unlike some people." He looked through his stuff and retrieved something, "This is for you." He handed me a paper and took off.

Out of curiosity, I opened the paper to find coordinates of an unknown place. Is he trying to learn my tricks? I quickly put in the information on the maps app, and it turns out to be the address of a Zoo. What does he think of himself? The nerve of this man, truly he's a devil. Huh.

I quickly booked an Uber. When it arrived, I settled down and it took me a few minutes to reach college. I still needed to walk in the heavy rain again because the building is a little bit away from the main entrance covered by lawns. How bad can my day get?

After covering my head, I sprinted my way towards the building and only stopped once I was in the washroom. Standing in front of the mirror, a loud gasp left my mouth as I looked at the current version of me.

I look worse than I did this morning after I woke up with a pile of cans and food containers by my side. If my parents had seen me like this, I would have been dead by now. Thank god I keep extra clothes with me always, it's the only habit I got from my mother. I changed into a black dress.

I dialed my friends' numbers but they didn't pick up. So I texted in the group chat instead.

Where are you guys? —8:32 am
The message is only delivered to Monica.

I took the handkerchief out of my bag and started to dry my hair. My phone started to ring, it must be Monica. So I quickly picked it up without checking the Caller ID.

"Monica, you called rather quickly. Can you bring a hair dryer and extra sandals for me? It's been raining heavily and I got completely drenched." I said in one go.

"Calm down Jennifer, it's me." Oh shit. I checked the Caller ID—Hyena—and it was indeed Hiten. How stupid? Could this day be any worse than this?

"Oh" I don't know what to say now. So the best option I could find was to hang up. But before I could do so, I heard him talking to someone. Maybe I should wait. And he must have called me for a reason. Oh yeah, a reason, my foot, he just wants me to be his girlfriend or whatever. My conscience told me.

"Where are you right now?" He asked and I could hear the noise of shuffling in the background.

Before I could stop myself, the words left my lips, "Washroom right around the corner of the Administration Office? Can you help me?" I facepalmed myself. How stupid! But the only viable option at the moment because no one's there in the college this early for a 9:30 am class on a rainy day.

"Okay, I'll be there in about fifteen minutes." He said before hanging up. What just happened? What did he say again? I can't believe this. Should I wait for him? There are so many questions in my mind and now I'm stuck here. Great!

After my countless efforts to dry my shoes which made a weird squishy sound everytime I walked, I realised my efforts failed miserably. A knock on the door made me turn.

"Jennifer," It was Hiten's voice.

"Yes, I'm in here." I called out. He slightly opened the door, only putting his hand forward with a bag. Thank god, he didn't come in. Otherwise it would have been very awkward. It's still awkward, I reminded myself.

"Here." He said, holding out a bag for me to take. I took it and found a hair dryer and a pair of weird-looking snail slippers? Well, let's keep that thought aside for a moment.

"You got it for me?" I never expected that he could... help me. I just hope that the hair dryer works and those weird looking slippers could turn into the glass slippers worn by Cinderella.

"I had to because it sounded like you forgot to carry an umbrella." He replied with an edge of smugness.

"Well in my defense, I did check the weather. Until tomorrow, there was no chance of rain. That's why I didn't bring the damn umbrella." I said as a matter of fact. "Thank you so much for helping me though."

"You do know that you can always thank me by accompanying me on a date. Girls line up for a spot and here I am handing it out to you freely." He replied, and trust me with this, without even looking at him, I can say that he must be proud of himself for sliding that line in smoothly. Why do boys always have to be self conceited?

"Well, I have better plans." I remarked as I plugged the hair dryer in place and once again combed through my hair.

"Well trust me sweetheart, you are missing out from getting the best man in the world even if it's just for one night." Look, here it is, I knew it. What did I do wrong in my life to get surrounded by such idiots?

"Not interested. Now go away. Since we won't be able to talk in the noise of the hair dryer anyway." I made up a good excuse. Now, I am proud of myself.

"As you wish, my lady." Thankfully, he left after that.

I quickly dried my hair but what do I do with these slippers? No way in hell that I'll be walking around in college wearing these. Mr. Reynolds already implied this morning that I belong in the Zoo and wearing these to his class today would only solidify his statement in some sense.

So, instead of wearing these I started to blow dry my own sneakers. Now I have an obligation to return the favour to Hiten. What should I get for him? I'll think about it later.

My phone pinged,

Monica:
Hey I'm sorry, I was kinda busy.

Why did you call me? 
—09:04 am

Me:
I got completely drenched today because of this sudden rain.

I need some decent looking sandals.

When will you come?
—09:04 am

Monica:
Got it, your fairy godmother is on her way with your slippers.

I'll be there in about 10 minutes.
—09:04 am

Me:
You're a lifesaver!
—09:05 am

Monica:
For you, always ;)
—09:05 am

Now at least I don't need to dry these sneakers. I picked up the sneakers and put them inside the bag bought by Hiten. Finally, I walked out of the washroom, turned the corner in the direction of the lecture halls and sat on the stairs overlooking the lawns.

For the time being I checked my Instagram and noticed Audrey posted a photo with her boyfriend and that cat with a caption with so many typos that it is really difficult to interpret what she wants to say.

Since I am aware of all her issues, I tried to interpret it, "My man with his beauty and the beast. The beef I have with this cat is irreparable. I am on the verge of losing him because she acts innocent in front of him but is a total disaster behind his back. I'm losing my mind. Damn, you meow. He always takes that freaking meow's side like they were lovers in the past life. I'm doomed! Because of the creature who could only MEOW all day long!"

I burst into a fit of laughter. What the hell? I was with her all night. When did she post this? There are literal tears in my eyes. I checked the comments and her boyfriend's comment reads: Aww you love her so much that you typed everything in the language only she understands♡♡

When someone tapped my shoulder, I was laughing with my hands holding my stomach. I can't breathe.

"CR? What happened? What's so funny that made you laugh like that?" What? Mr. Reynolds? I turned a little to look up, only to find him looking at the length of me with suspicion.

"What are you wearing?" His gaze settled on snail slippers and my laughter instantly died. Oh no. He saw me wearing these. I braced myself for his remarks but they never left his lips.

"An acquaintance brought these for me because I had nothing to wear. Isn't it great? He even bought a hair dryer unlike 'some people' who abandons people on their own when the weather is this bad." I said waving my hand towards the heavy rain, wetting it in the process.

A look passed in his eyes, "You told me to leave you alone."

"You could have asked again."

"Would you have agreed if I did?"

"No way!"

"Then what's the point?"

"The thought professor, the thought counts."

"You don't need to wear those hideous slippers. I'll bring you the new ones." He said so seriously that for a moment I felt as if something was wrong. Is this a dream? Why in the world would he bring me new slippers? Did I hear him correctly?

"Why would you do that?" I whispered. I am so confused right now. Does he think the snails don't match my personality? Maybe he was thinking about some other animal when he handed me that chit.

Before he could reply, Monica came just in time like she told me with a giant umbrella in one hand and a paper bag in another.

"Good Morning, Mr. Reynolds." Monica greeted him with a bright smile as soon as she was standing in front of us.

"Good Morning to you too, Ms. Rodriguez. I should get back to my class." What? He came out to have a chat with me in the middle of teaching his class?

“See you in class, Mr. Reynolds.” Monica responded happily.

He gave me an indecipherable look before entering the lecture hall.

"Hey! You look pretty—" Monica halted when she noticed the slippers brought by none other than Hiten, "But what the hell are those?" She said laughing like a maniac.

"If only you had seen me half an hour ago. It's much better, trust me." I replied sarcastically as I took the paper bag from her so she could close her umbrella.

"Now you don't need to worry as you have me, your fairy godmother!" She said, pulling out a box from the paper bag, "Wear these and you'll find your prince charming soon." She exclaimed at the same time she mimed using a wand to make it look real. I chuckled at her silliness.

"What would I do without you?" I stood up and wrapped my arms around her after I changed into heels.

"Let's go to the Cafeteria and have some hot coffee." She suggested, eyeing a few girls from Mr. Reynolds lecture hall who were staring at us.

"Okay, we still have some time before the class starts so why not. And where is Kathy?" I wondered as I packed the snail slippers in the box.

"Nick is dropping her today. I guess she will be here any minute now."

"Okay, let's go then. We should grab her coffee as well."

Monica and I just talked about the most random topics here and there. She showed me some of the pictures of her crushes and told me about her witch of a cousin who is planning to make a reappearance in her life by returning from the US after studying psychology.

I told her everything that happened in the short time span today from Mr. Reynolds to Hiten. Before we knew, it was time for our first class, meaning mathematics with the devil himself.

Kathy joined us in the class, she kept gushing about how Nick gave her chocolates and flowers as they completed their four years of friendship. Monica and I just laughed as we saw the bundle of red roses. How can she confuse red roses for the symbolism of friendship? Mr. Reynolds entered the class like usual and began to teach the topic for today.

When the class ended I deliberately put all of my stuff in my bag at a speed as that of a turtle. When everyone was out including my friends, I strode towards Mr. Reynolds and put the paper on his desk.

"Oh, I just wanted to thank you for giving me the coordinates of the Zoo of your choice. I have talked to them on the phone, and they informed me that they have an empty space for Chimpanzees in there. Thank you very much." And bam, the mic dropped. Serves you right.

"Wait..." Even though he stopped me in my tracks, nothing came out of his mouth. I rendered him speechless. It was indeed an unexpected move.

Jennifer—1
Mr. Reynolds—0

A/N: What do think will happen next?

Don't forget to vote, comment and add this book to your library.