Worth the Chance (Watertown University #2)

5. Eliza

Chapter 5

Eliza

A fter Garrett cooked me dinner yesterday, I headed upstairs to take a shower and get into my pajamas, exhausted from a day of panicking and cleaning. When I returned downstairs Garrett was nowhere to be found, I guess his closed door meant he turned in for the evening. I didn’t know why I was a little upset that he wasn't downstairs.

Sure, he’s been beyond nice to me but that doesn’t mean he wants to be bff’s. Deciding to still make the most of my night I turned on some reality tv with some fresh popped popcorn. Nothing like reality tv to make you forget about your own anxieties for a bit.

Almost instinctively, I wake up five minutes before my alarm goes off. I have two classes today, my first one starts at nine and then one directly after that at ten fifteen. When I started school at the local community college near my family home I didn’t know what I wanted to major in. I took a variety of classes from English to biology to history.

They were all fine but nothing really jumped out at me until I started baking. As I started to get more into creating my own recipes and learning to decorate in a more professional way I realized that this is what I wanted to do with my life. Open a bakery that I can actually eat at. One that caters to those who can’t just pick up a regular dessert and eat it. Whether that’s because it has eggs or dairy or gluten. I want to make a variety of dessert options and have a safe space for those in the community to eat. Food intolerances or not.

When I spoke to mom and Dean about this, Dean recommended majoring in business which he was more than happy to talk to me about. That was what he went to school for afterall and he now owns his own car dealership. My second year at school I took some gen-ed classes that most schools require but also started working on my business classes. I’m not going to lie, they are hard. Learning about finances and accounting does not come naturally to me, I really have to sit down and study the material. Hopefully in the long run this will give me some sort of leg up when I actually open my own bakery.

As I stand in front of my closet I shuffle through trying to find the perfect first day of school outfit. I settle on white pleated skirt, paired with a pink sweater vest with a white short sleeve top underneath. I complete the outfit with my white hightop converse, small pearl earrings and my gold ‘E’ necklace. When I check my phone, it’s only seven thirty so I have plenty of time for a little breakfast before my first class. It’s quiet downstairs, I assume Garrett is still asleep, I’m not sure what time his first class is at. I pour myself a bowl of cereal and scroll through my phone while I eat it.

Emilia

Good luck on your first day of classes!

Me

Thanks Em! You too: )

Emilia starts her graduate program today. Her commitment to herself and what she wants out of life is inspiring.

Emilia

Thanks:) How are things going with Garrett?

Me

Surprisingly well. Doesn’t hurt that he’s easy on the eyes. ;)

Emilia

OMG Eliza. I’m deleting this so Liam doesn’t see.

But for real Eli, he’s a great guy but he doesn’t do commitment or love.

Hmm. That has me curious. Is it just a phase? I can understand not wanting to be tied down in college and he’s off to the NHL next year so maybe he wants to get into his hockey career before finding someone. Or is it a for life thing? That sounds like a sad way to live.

Me

I’m just kidding…

I mean I’m not kidding, he is not bad to look at, at all. He’s tall, probably around six three and his eyes are like pools of melted chocolate. His hair is a similar shade, kept shorter on the sides and longer on top. A short, neat beard decorates his jawline. Fine. He’s hot. I’ve thought so since the first day I met him. Ryan and Liam would both kill me, or him, if they could read my mind. Thank god they can’t.

Shaking myself from thoughts of my hot roomie, I move to clean up from breakfast. The ride to campus is only a short ten minutes but I want to get there a little early. I took a tour of the campus over the summer but I don’t know exactly where my classes are.

Parking at this hour seems to be easy as there were a ton of open spots in the parking lot on the east side of campus, where my classes are for the day. Since it’s early September the warm summer sun is still going strong in the sky but the humidity of July and August has dissipated, it’s a nearly perfect day.

My two classes are in the Sydney building, where most of the business classes are. Pulling up my map on my phone, I see it’s just two buildings over from where I’ve parked. I head in that direction enjoying the weather and looking around the campus. Eventually, I find my classroom on the second floor of the building. I check the time and it’s only eight thirty so I take a seat at one of the benches outside the room.

Liam

Good luck on your first day of classes Eli. Love you.

Ryan

Good luck smelly Eli. Did you find your class okay?

Me

Yes, I found it. Thanks guys. Love you.

I type out a response in our group chat, laughing at Ryan’s nickname. One he came up with when he was twelve and found out his dad was dating my mom and he wasn’t exactly thrilled about possibly having a little sister. After replying to my brothers I replied to my mom letting her know I found my class okay. It’s been an adjustment the past few days to not be living with her anymore. I know I need my own space to grow but there’s something comforting about being around your mom, for me anyways.

“Hi.” A girl with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes sits next to me, drawing my attention away from my mindless scrolling. “I’m Mia.”

“Hi Mia. I’m Eliza, but people usually call me Eli.” I shake her hand.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

“Are you in the marketing analytics class at nine?”

“I am. You too?”

‘Yep.” She pops the p. “Are you a marketing major?”

“Business administration but this class is required.”

“Oh, yeah. A lot of the classes overlap. So why are you here so early?” I let out a small laugh. This girl definitely isn’t shy.

“It’s my first day, I transferred,” I explain, “I wanted to make sure I found everything okay.” Before Mia can answer a flood of students exit the classroom, causing chaos and commotion in the hallway. A couple of people stop to talk to Mia, asking her about her summer and whatever else. Not wanting to be in the way, I get up and head into the classroom to grab a seat.

“There you are.” Mia sits at the desk right next to me. “Sorry about that, those were some of my residents from last year.” I give her a puzzled look, residents? Is she a landlord? Noting the confusion on my face she chuckles before explaining,

“I’m a Resident Assistant. Last year I was in freshman housing since I was only a sophomore but this year I’m in upperclassmen housing as an RA.”

We continue our conversation as the classroom fills in. I learn that Mia is a marketing major and wants to work in digital media, she’s an only child, and that she’s super involved on campus. After class, which ends early, Mia continues right where she left off, filling me in on all the different events that are happening on campus .

“Sorry if this is weird…” Mia trails off, fidgeting with the rings on her fingers. “Would you want to get coffee sometime?”

“Yeah, of course.” I offer her a warm smile. Just from today's interaction I feel like we could get along well. She’s definitely more extroverted than I am but I think I need that. Someone to help me get out of the house.

“Great.” Her smile takes over her face. “Here, let me get your number and we can set something up soon.”

After we exchange numbers, I head downstairs to my next class. While my marketing class kind of held my interest I can already tell this accounting class is going to be rough. I know finances are important when it comes to running a business but it’s also the side I will hopefully be able to hire out someone to take care of, one day at least.

An hour and fifteen minutes later I’m headed out of the building through a cute little area littered with benches, a fountain and students gathered about. I smile to myself seeing the community here. It wasn’t really like this at my last school since most people didn’t live on campus. People went to class and left. Here however, people seem to take time to talk to their friends and classmates, I like it.

I look around, taking it in. This place will be good for me. As I scan the courtyard area my eyes land on a bench just past the fountain. No, not the bench but the person on the bench. Sam. My ex-boyfriend. I knew he went here but I didn’t think I’d run into him, especially on the first day. Ugh. I haven’t seen him since the day he broke my heart. He leans in, alerting me that he’s with someone else there. No. It can’t be. But it is. My ex-best friend, Ivy. My jaw drops as he cups her face with his hand and kisses her, passionately.

My emotions betray me. Tears sting the corner of my eyes but I can’t let them fall here. They haven’t seen me yet and I need to get out before they do. I put my head down and walk as fast as my legs will carry me, back to the safety of my car .

I drive home, silently, thankful that the ride is only ten minutes. Not sure what to do with the weight of my emotions, I get to work in the kitchen as soon as I get home. I pull out my cupcake tin, lining the tray with my favorite multicolored liners. Whisking together the flour and the baking powder, I set that aside and then combine the wet ingredients with the sugar. I sift the dry ingredients into the wet and then combine those before putting them in the oven to bake. While they bake I make the buttercream frosting and strawberry filling.

Once the cupcakes are cooled off, I frost the tops lightly before adding on the strawberry filling and then finishing with a nice coat of frosting along the rim of them. What the heck am I going to do with all these cupcakes? I made twenty four. I can’t eat twenty four. The tears are back, stinging the corner of my eyes as I think about some of the last conversations Sam and I had.

Needing to do something, I head outside to the small back patio. There’s a few chairs left out here from Liam and Ryan, though they aren’t the cutest. Maybe I can replace these and get a cute set. I bring my backpack with me, pulling out my trusty journal. I knew I would need this at some point seeing as it’s a big day for me but I had no idea just how big the day was going to get. I let myself get lost in the ink flowing easily across the pages as I pour out my heart. The tears come as I think about Sam. As I think about him and Ivy. The two people I had trusted beyond measure.