Sue's Will Ch. 01

Sue allowed the people around her to stare, but she did not smile or look at them. Breezing past everybody with as much nonchalance as she could, she finally allowed herself to breathe when she finally reached the classroom. Without looking at any one of her classmates, she chose a seat at the last row and got ready to be invisible. Her fingers were shaking.

'I am such a hypocrite.' She mused.

Sure, she makes the effort to look good whenever she goes out. With hair as red as the darkest rose you can find; and cropped as short as a boy's, she definitely stood out. It was not her beauty that captivated people, for she was not considered as conventionally beautiful. But, she had something, a sort of alluring aura that made people take notice of her presence. The sort of aura which made people stay away from her, as well.

Although she looked like a typical wild child (with the not-so-normal hair), Sue was an exceptionally shy person. She was so shy of people and crowds that literally, she starts to break out in sweat in crowded places.

And in college, you do not advance in the social hierarchy if you are shy.

So, she hid her 'disease' by dressing up, to appear confident. And boy, could she pull those clothes off. Having a fashion sense of her own did not endear her to the popular girls. And while girls were mulling about the latest designer togs to buy, Sue nurtured her fashion sense at local clothing malls. Mixing and matching, she carried clothes off with simple ease.

While waiting for the lecturer to show up, she watched and observed her classmates. She enjoys people watching immensely, but cringes when it happens the other way round. Watching strangers, Sue usually makes up stories about their background, wondering where they would go to after classes, what were they thinking, and so on. Sue's eyes sifted through the sea of 200 students, settling on a mousy- looking girl.

The girl was alone, too, and she looked like the kind of girl who got picked on often. However, her eyes were cold, like black marbles. Confidently stacking her notes in front her, she seemed to challenge anybody who dared to be smarter than her.

'She looks so fragile. Yet, her eyes... I wonder if I look like that too.' Sue thought, and frowned.

Among the chattering of the students, Sue's thoughts wandered. Her shyness frequently let people confuse it for snobbishness. By keeping to herself, she often got mistaken by being aloof, cold, and unfriendly. She knew what they were thinking of her, but try as she might, the mere thought of talking in front of a large group was nauseating. The very thought of being in the limelight makes her foam the mouth.

The sound of the chair next to hers being scraped back startled her. She looked up, up and up, locking eyes with a pair of bright green ones. Oh dear, sitting in such close proximity to a stranger for two whole hours? Not good. She considered getting up and changing places. But changed her mind, as that might make it seem rude.

However, the guy took no notice of her; instead, he chose to pay attention elsewhere. She stole a glance at him. Tall, checked. Broad shoulders, checked. Sharp cheekbones, checked. Nice hair, checked.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

Sue has definitely mastered the art of checking people out in a matter of nanoseconds.

Class soon commenced, and ended two hours later. The whole time, the good looking guy did not say a single word to her. As she was diligently taking down notes, she soon forgot about his presence. The moment the bell rang, she gathered her things up to leave. As she was busy stuffing her bag, she looked up to find him staring at her. He looked surprised when their eyes met each other's. Sue immediately began to feel nauseous. He could see right through her, she inwardly screamed. Run, run, run! And run from the classroom, she did.

.....

Now what was that all about? Will got up to leave too. But he did not run like the wind. Unlike that girl. Did he look that scary? He has got to start looking less intimidating, like his friends told him so. Or more girls would start running away from him as well. However, he seemed to find the part where girls running away from him quite laughable. There was never a girl who fled from him before; usually, he was the one who was trying to escape.

Until now.

That girl has definitely caught his attention now.

When he first stepped into the classroom, he chose the first seat he would find. And then he saw her.

She was frowning, deep in thought. Her eyebrows were knitted, as if she was fighting an inner battle. He was suddenly struck with the need to ask her what she was thinking. But he caught himself immediately, afraid of intruding a person's private thinking session.

Then, their eyes met. Those eyes! Almond- shaped, and brown in colour, stared right into his. He spotted a momentary flash of fear in them, then no more. She looked away, frowning harder than ever. Cute.

Hoping he was not the seed of her internal battle, he decided to mind his own business.

Will just could not get over the part where she fled from him. Deciding that it was her problem, not his, Will made his way to the next class. One more class and he was free for the day. He made up his mind to head on down to the studio after class. Deep in thought on his next photography subject, before he knew it he was already in front of the classroom. Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the door.

And there she was, writing in her book. That red hair is too outstanding for her own good. It was blood red, and so short.

A breath of fresh air from the typical, blonde, long- haired girls. They probably use extensions, he thought.

This is going to be fun. Deciding to amuse himself, Will chose to sit next to her, again. And he got the same expression. The widening of the eyes, brief flash of fear, and frown. Her hands were fiddling with her book. He noticed that her fingers were quivering.

Now this cannot be real. Was she that genuinely terrified of his presence? This is the first day of the semester, and people were new to each other, making friends and all that. But this is completely different. She seemed ready to flee all over again. Girls were usually NOT this shy. Or genuinely this shy. He laughed inwardly, and introduced himself.

"Hey, my name is Will. Are you new around here?"

.....

Oh good god. What am I going to do?? Sue was absolutely out of her mind. The stranger was in her Accounting class as well. And he has just placed himself next to her, again. Sue forced herself to calm down. I'm being stupid. Stop it! Why can't I be cool and friendly like the other girls?! So, she took a mighty deep breath, and another one, and another one after that.

Then he spoke to her.

People do not usually talk to her. They ignore her. Heck, what the deuce was a good looking guy doing introducing himself to her in the first place?

"Hey, my name is Will. Are you new around here?"

Will... The name fits his profile perfectly. A body belonging to the lean but muscular category. He looks intelligent and thoughtful. Probably comes from a well- to- do family. And, he must be quite popular with the girls.

Sue braved a smile and replied- "Yup. Quite new, this is my second semester. Name is Sue."

"Sue... Nice name. I have never seen you before. Probably due to the classes I missed last semester." He chuckled. He brought his hand out to shake hers, and she shook it, wishing to God to not let him notice how sweaty her palm is.

He laid out her hand on his palm, "Wow, you have got really chubby fingers. Very cute."

Did he just say that her fingers were chubby, and cute? Now, he is way worse than her in the conversation department.

Will himself could not believe that he has just said that. What. The. Hell? Chubby fingers?

Sue laughed, "Ah. All in the family. My sister has got the fingers the size of a salami."

Will recovered and replied, "Awesome. Just do not get too hungry at night. Or else I am afraid your sister's physical assets will not be safe. So, what are you majoring in?"

She was rudely distracted and interrupted by the smell of an intoxicating air of perfume. Sue's eyes followed the smell and came face-to-face with a leggy blonde. The Blonde stood in front of Will, and pouted:

"Hey Will, don't forget our date this Friday night." Her voice was so seductive.

And she was practically undressing him with her eyes.

The Blonde then turned to smile at Sue. More like a snarl. Sue returned the smile good naturedly, packed up her things and said- "Why don't you sit here? I don't mind." Without waiting for a reply, she turned to smile at Will, "Nice meeting you. Bye." And she left to sit at the last row.

It was not as if Sue is a doormat. She is not. Getting tangled up in Junior High Drama is not her style. Preferring to take the high road, she would never, ever choose to stoop at levels as low as that Blonde. She was secretly proud at herself; she did not let the Blonde get to her. The Blonde was waiting for her to lose control, but Sue instead remained calm and collected. Of course, getting a good looking guy to notice me was petrifying, but pleasant at the same time. But Sue knew it was too good to be true. Plus, if a guy is really interested, he will come.

Sue sighed to herself. Will is a nice guy, with a sense of humour too. She actually marvelled at the way the two of them could carry on a normal conversation like other students. Maybe, she was not that weird after all. Or he has a way of easing the tension within her. With those looks, he definitely has a way with the ladies, she smirked.

She noticed that her fingers were no longer shaking from the small confrontation.

Maybe, the shyness was gone.

Sue prayed.

.....