Forever Altered Read Free Page B

when he realizes what I did.  “Thanks,” is all he says and
he turns away from me again.
    As
we come to the spot on the path that either leads to the residential side of
campus or to the main academic building, a bunch of guys are walking toward
us.  They apparently know Rocco.  “Hey, man.  We were just
heading to lunch.  You coming?” one of them calls as two others whisper to
each other staring at me.  I feel extremely uncomfortable knowing they are
talking about me.  Rocco must notice too because his shoulders and jaw
seem to tense and he moves to stand in front of me blocking my view of them, or
their view of me.  I wasn’t sure which. 
    “Yeah,
I’ll go.”  He turns back to me and quietly says, “I’ll see you
later.  Let me know if anything changes.”
    “Okay
and thanks for your help today.”  I hear the two guys chuckling and the
first guy looks over at them to see what is so funny.  Rocco simply nods
before turning to walk away.
    As I
turn toward the steps Rocco says, “She’s just my lab partner.  Knock it
off, asshole.”  I don’t look back.  Hurt is probably all over my
face.  What the hell is wrong with me?  I just met this guy about an
hour ago.  Why would I feel insulted that he called me just his lab
partner?  That’s what I am, right?  I concentrate on the long flight
of steps in front of me careful not to fall on my face.  No need to give
those guys more to laugh about. 

Chapter
Two
    Alyssa
     
     
    I
walk around the front of the new, brick building trying to block out the last
five minutes of my morning.  It had warmed up quite a bit since being
outside a few hours earlier.  Maybe after going to the Dining Hall with
Leah, I could find a place to sit outside and get some homework done or start
the book she has been talking about.  Before heading up to my apartment, I
decide to check my mailbox on the main floor.  I hadn’t done that for a
while, not that anyone sends me anything.  No one really uses regular mail
anymore, so what’s the point?
    The
building consists of two large wings, each of which are connected to a central
structure which houses the mailroom, other common areas, and the main
entrance.  I enter the office to the left of the main entryway, on the
side of the huge lounge with a big screen TV.  It takes me a few seconds
to dig my mailbox key out of my bag and get the metal mailbox open.  When
it opens, a bunch of colored envelopes fall all over the ground in front of me.
There are at least ten of them.  There must be a mistake, so I check the
name on all of them.  Nope, no mistake and all of them have the same
return address that makes me want to throw them in the trash.  Right
before tossing them in the can by the door, I reconsider.  With my luck,
someone would dig them out, so I decide to take them back to my room.  As
I’m heading out of the mail office, the girl who works there is coming in.
    “You
must be mailbox one twenty-two,” she says as she looks at the pile of envelopes
in my hand.
    “Yep. 
That’s me.  Sorry about all of this,” I mumble trying to walk passed her.
    “I
was getting ready to look you up and deliver them to you.  You really
should check your mail more often.”
    “I’ll
do that,” I say nicely even though she’s starting to annoy me.
    “You
have a pretty awesome boyfriend if he’s always sending you cards.  How
romantic!”  She smiles at me and now I have a sudden urge to stab her in
the eye with my key.
    “Ex-boyfriend,
actually,” I correct her.
    “Oops. 
I’m sorry.  He must really want you back.  No one gets that much mail
in a month here.”  She’s embarrassed and now I feel bad.   Why
did my stupid conscience always pick the worst moment to show itself? 
This girl really needs to mind her own business, though.
    “No
biggie.  Have a nice day,” I offer with a small smile, ignoring everything
she said after apologizing.
    I am
heading toward the stairs to get to the second