Touch of Deception

THREE

The room was big enough. At least big enough for two, she thought. There were two bedrooms, a bathroom, a small living room, and a kitchen. She roamed her eyes around. The earth-colored paint calmed her eyes from the sunshine outside.

"Morgan? Celeste Morgan?" They all looked at the woman. She was short and stout. She was wearing a dress and her eyeglasses make her look like she's glaring at them. She was holding a notebook and a pen.

"Yes?" I answered.

"I'm Mrs. Hudson, the landlady. Here are your spare keys," she said and handed her a spare key. "Your roommate will arrive tomorrow. For tonight, you'll have the room for yourself."

"Thank you, Mrs. Hudson. I'm Celeste's mother," her mother said and followed Mrs. Hudson to her office together with her father. She got inside the room and walked to the window. She could see the school grounds from here. Her room's on the fourth floor and the school is just a five-minute walk from the apartment. She slowly dragged her things inside her room. She chose the one on the right. There was a bed, a closet, and a study table in front of the window, and a padded chair. She nodded and scanned the room.

She slowly organized her things on the table and on her closet. She also put her bedsheet on the bed. By the time she was almost done, she heard a knock, and her parents came in.

"It's a nice room. Do you like it?" Her mom asked.

She nodded. "It's not bad. It's bigger than I expected."

"It's safe, too," her father said and she couldn't agree more.

They stayed for a couple of hours before they decided to go home. And she was all left alone in the room, in another city.

It wasn't that bad. In fact, she likes it. Nobody here knows her. Nobody will look at her and say something. Nobody would spy on her through their windows just like what her neighbors did. It's another life. A completely different life.

She decided to get out three hours later. She doesn't have groceries yet so she had to eat dinner outside. The street was as busy even at night. Very opposite to the province. She could also see some students walking around the vicinity. She wrapped her coat tighter around her and continued to walk until she found a small restaurant where she decided to eat. 

The restaurant was just a few minutes away and there wasn't a lot of people too. Very convenient. 

She glanced at her phone when it beeped and saw her mother's message asking if she's had her dinner. She smiled and took a picture of her food and sent it to her. 

She finished her meal and decided to go back to her room when she bumped into someone, spilling drinks the person was holding. 

"I'm so sorry," she exclaimed and looked at the person. He was looking at his clothes spilled with the drinks. She groaned inwardly. Why does she have to cause trouble the first night in this city?

"I'm very sorry. I didn't see you. Please accept this for the dry cleaning," she said and handed him some money. The guy just looked at her, perhaps unable to say something because of what had happened. Then she took that chance to walk away, muttering a swear under her breath. 

She walked faster and was about to reach the overpass when she felt someone grabbed her. The sudden contact made her jump on her feet and accidentally smacking the guy's hand. He ran after her! 

"Look, Miss. I can't accept this," the stranger said and handed her the money. She took a step back. 

"No, please. It was my fault," she said, maintaining a safe distance.

"I also didn't see you so I was also at fault--"

"Please, just accept the money," she insisted and the stranger didn't reply. She immediately climbed up the stairs to the overpass without looking back. 

The next morning, she was awoken by a loud noise coming from outside her room. It was still six o'clock in the morning and her first class is still at ten. She went out and saw a girl dragging a bag inside the room. The girl looked at her and gave her a toothy grin. She blinked. 

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" the girl asked. 

She just shook her head, unable to form words. The girl came closer and extended her hand. "I am Gail and you must be my roommate." 

She looked at Gail's extended hand. Then to her face, expecting. She cleared her throat and shook her roommate's hand. "Yes. I'm Celeste," she answered. 

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Gail said as she walked back to her bags on the floor. "Bad dream?" 

No. There were no bad dreams. She slept soundly, in fact. It's just that, this is the first time, in more than a year, that she has interacted with a stranger. It just made her so happy. 

So she said, "Do you need help with your bags?" 

Gail straightened her back and looked at her. "Yes, please," she answered and she gladly obliged. 

After a couple of hours with her roommate, she found out that she lived just an hour away and that she decided to rent an apartment near the school because most of her classes start early. She doesn't have a car and commuting would take a lot of time. She's a Biology student and that she's three years younger than her. When Gail found out about it, she didn't ask questions. And she was thankful for it. 

She had to prepare for school and leave Gail alone. She said her first class is tomorrow. She wore her simple loose shirt and a skirt a few inches above the knee. She also paired it with her white sneakers. Her first class is Math. 

The moment she entered the classroom, there were already people inside. They just gave her a brief glance before they started minding their business again. She sat in the back row. She was a few minutes early and students from her class are starting to fill the classroom. There were friends shrieking when they saw each other. There were also people like her who don't know anyone in the classroom. She wished Gail was with her. 

"You don't have any friends, do you?" 

She jumped in her seat and whirled to see a guy sitting next to her. But what surprised her most was that it was the same guy she met last night. Words left her. 

"I'll take that as a yes," he said and looked around. She still couldn't get her eyes off of him as she couldn't believe what she's seeing right now.

"You...what are you doing here?" she asked and realized it was a stupid question. Of course, he's also a student but what chances to have him as her classmate in this class. 

"My previous section got dissolved so I have to transfer in this section. Unlucky for the both of us," he said. 

Her brows furrowed. And it was as if he read what's going on in her mind. "I am under the impression you don’t like me. You keep distancing yourself from me last night," he said and scanned her. "Even now you're leaning far back as much as you can."

She couldn't help it. It's been over a year yet...

The teacher entered the classroom and she didn't so much glance at him once again.

It was when the class was over that the stranger sat in front of her while she was sitting on one of the tables in the lounge.

He fished something out of his pocket and it was the money she gave him last night.

"I didn't get to dry clean my shirt. Give me another payment."

She couldn't help but raise her brow.

He rested his head on his fist as he said, "Teach me Math."

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