Diner Girl

Chapter 9

Sleep didn't come easy. There was absolutely no way that this day was going to let me rest. It was already after midnight when I was still awake, today's event's replaying in the back of my mind. I didn't want to close my eyes and find out that all of this was only a dream.

I looked at my desk with a sigh, I wasn't in the mood for any assignments at this moment. I just wanted to lie here and let the day consume my thoughts. I decided to pull out a book from underneath my pillow, one that I have been planning on finish reading but never really gotten the chance to.

Even though it had no meaning whatsoever on my life, I was captivated by the intense chemistry between the two main characters both of them were equally stubborn. I was nose deep in my book when fatigue finally decided to take over my body. My eyes closed on their own record and sleep came unexpectedly.

"Run, squirt. Run!" I heard a man yell. I was standing on a field, more importantly in a stadium. The seats empty. I was little, dressed up in a green tutu and I was holding a football in my hands. My eyes widened at the image in front of me big men were running over to where I was standing. The earth underneath my feet actually moved. I tried to run away but no matter how hard I tried to move, I was glued on the spot. And in a matter of seconds, I was overwhelmed by a bunch of strong, scary men.

I came up screaming and kicking when I felt hands on me. "Zoey, calm down, it's just me." Eliza said trying to calm me down. I opened my eyes and looked at her. "You scared me." I told her holding onto my chest. "I knocked on the door but you never answered. I got worried and used the key you gave me." She held up my extra room key. "When I came in you were anything but calm in your sleep."

"Just these stupid nightmares bothering me whenever I close my eyes." I said getting up from my bed and moving around in my room. "Still the same ones?" She asked watching me. "Yeah, and they are not getting any better or making any sense." I answered. She nodded. "What are you doing here, anyway?" I asked her.

"You are off, I don't have classes today and so, I thought we could give your room an uplift."

"An uplift?"

"Yeah, make it more homely. It feels so cold and lonely in here."

"It's meant to." She rolled her eyes at me. "Go get dressed, we are leaving."

"Leaving?"

"We are going shopping." Kill me now.

Eliza had all these kinds of ideas in her head about how we can make my dorm room more homely. I rejected the idea of anything shiny, sparkly, and had a face on of a boy from a boy band. I told Eliza about my try-outs for the team on our way back to the dorm, she was pretty excited for me and believed that I will definitely make the team.

"I don't know why it is so important to brighten up my room." I told Eliza who was busy pushing everything away from the walls so she could start covering the walls with new paint. I didn't get why we had to paint the walls, they looked pretty fine to me. "Come one, I'm doing this for you, all you can do is say thank you or start helping me out." She handed me a roller.

"Don't you have assignments to get to? Or even a boy that requires your attention?" I asked dipping the roller into the paint and then pressed against the wall where I started applying paint to the wall. "You won't believe me but I cleaned up the bench a month ago." She said. "What? Why?" She pulled up her shoulders. "Maybe because I'm kind of over hanging out with a guy who has no intention of wanting to get to know me."

"I thought that was what you were looking for in the beginning."

"I did but it got boring. He is boring. And what I really want is someone who will drive me over the edge not only through s*x but the way he makes me feel."

"You want a guy who loves you." She nodded. "I know it sounds ridiculous."

"It doesn't actually. Everyone wants to be loved." I answered. We were almost done with the walls when Eliza got hungry and ordered takeaways over her phone. "Where did you even get the money to do this?" I asked. "I sold one of my paintings to the Gallery." She answered. "The one they have been bothering you for over months?" I asked. "Yup. I finally gave in. They even offered me a job." I looked at her with surprise. "That's good news, isn't it?" She pulled up her shoulders. "I don't know. It's not like it is something I want. I want to paint, not sell paintings." She explained.

"I love the feeling of the pencil gliding over the page, the brush of paint filling the expression of the empty lines. One moment it looks sad and then the next moment it is transformed into a painting with four different expressions."

"Then why don't you reject their offer?"

"Because according to everyone I would be stupid if I reject their offer, they could open doors for me."

"Eliza, you are talented with or without them. They discovered you, I imagine someone higher than them will discover you too."

"You should listen to your own advice, Zoey." A knock on the door stopped me from replying. "It's probably just our take-aways." She said crossing the room, I finished up my last section of the wall while she got our take-aways. "Uhm, Zoey."

"Yeah." I didn't look at her. "There is a freaken good-looking guy standing outside." I looked at her over my shoulder when Duncan made his entrance. He was taking in the room and slowly his eyes met mine in a questioning manner. "Renovating?" He asked. "Yup." I stood up, not trying to hide the fact that I probably looked like a hobo. I was dressed in leggings, an oversize t-shirt with spilled paint, and then my hair tied up into a messy bun on top of my head.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Here to pick you up."

"Pick me up, for what?" I asked confused.

"Practice." He began. "You made the team. You are our new Quarterback."