Seeing Red by Sidney Halston Page B

if she were
reading Jillian’s mind.
    “How’d you know?”
    “Just a hunch. You want some?” She said, gesturing
at the eggs.
    “No, thank you.” Jill reached into the pantry and
took out a Pop Tart and stuck it into the toaster, causing Heather
to cringe.
    “What time is your first class?” asked Jillian.
    “10 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 9 a.m. on
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. And you?”
    “9 a.m. every day, but I’m finished by 3 p.m. every
day.” Jill replied.
    “Oh, that’s good. My days vary. Today, I’m not done
until 5.”
    “Thanks for the coffee. I can help you unpack when I
get back this afternoon.”
    “Thank you, Jillian.”
    “Please, call me Jill.”
    “Jill it is.” She went back to humming and cooking.
Jill hoped some of Heather’s sunny disposition would rub off on
her.
    The second day of school went better than the first.
Alexander was friendly but gave her some space. She made an effort
to make some friends from her group and was even invited to lunch
with some of the girls who spent the first hour filling her in on
some of the ins and outs of the professors and of some of the
students. She learned that Professor Black was dreaded among the
students. He was known as one of the toughest, albeit drop-dead
sexy, professors on campus. He was thirty-three years old, and this
was his second year as a professor. She wondered how they knew so
much in the span of twenty-four hours. From her years at St.
Mary’s, she knew that women thrived on gossip, and even though it
didn’t interest her, she tried to play along as much as possible in
order to fit in. Yes, she was now a cliché: peer pressure and all
that went with it. The only things missing were drugs and sex. She
was an after-school special at twenty-two years old. Regardless, it
felt nice to fit in and have friends—well maybe not
friends—acquaintances.
    When she finally returned to her apartment, she
decided to sit and call Oliver. It was overdue. She grabbed a soda
and a muffin, sat on the couch in her apartment, and dialed.
    “Finally,” he said.
    “Hello to you too.”
    “I was worried. I called Alexander to make sure you
were okay. Why did you hang up on me?”
    “I had class?”
    “Okay, so you’re lying to me now? You didn’t have
class all night. Jillian, what’s going on in that brain of
yours?”
    “I’m sorry, Oly. It was a rough day. I hadn’t
expected to see your brother, and I certainly hadn’t expected to
hear you were leaving and would be incommunicado. I’m going to miss
you—that’s all.”
    “I’ll miss you too, baby. I’ll write and call you
when I can. I wish I had time to fly down and see you guys before I
leave, but I just can’t. I hope you understand.”
    “Of course, I do. I was just being a stupid girl
yesterday.” That baby he stuck into conversations every now
and again made her knees weak and her head fuzzy.
    “I know. That’s not like you. You normally act more
like a stupid boy than a stupid girl.” She laughed for the first
time in two days.
    “You see. You always make me laugh. Tell me about
your trip. I’m worried. Please tell me you’re going to be safe. Did
you get all your vaccines? I was reading about all the strange
diseases in the Amazon—and the animals. Oh my God, the animals!
Don’t get too close. In fact, take a gun and a—”
    “Whoa! Stop Jillian. You sound like a crazy person.
Yes, I got all the vaccines. I’m going with an experienced group of
photographers. It’s only a few months. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry
about me.”
    “Easier said than done.”
    “You’ll be too busy worrying about passing your
first semester of law school. I want to hear all about your
successes and how you kicked my brother’s ass in school, so please
don’t worry about me.”
    They talked for the next half hour about her new
roommate, about Brazil, and about Alexander.
    “Watch him for me, Jillian. He listens to you.”
    “Yeah, right, he doesn’t