The rush of footsteps fills the now crowded halls as college students poured in from all directions. Phoenix sat in observance by the foot of the stairs by the entrance, glancing at her watch that ticked away endlessly. She found things rather interesting, how these students and crowds moved and breezed away like the whole world was but their own. The youth of their age has kept them thinking that life was theirs alone, that somehow, what they held now was everything. All the little things they loved to do, oh how foolish young minds could think. But even the old and the learned chase things that existed only in an abstract universe and confuse themselves a lot by the multitude of lessons that their age has brought. How interesting indeed.
Phoenix smiled and thought, “What would these people do if the world was to end tomorrow?”
“Interesting yeah?”, a familiar voice came behind her ear and she abruptly turned to that direction to find herself staring straight into Raven’s eyes that lit up with tenderness as they stared at each other for no certain reason at all. She chuckled at the simplicity of the moment and looked away.
“Interesting.”, she whispered and accepted her professor’s hand that helped her stand up. She smiled at him and turned her head to look over Raven’s shoulder. She raised an inquiring brow, “Aren‘t you with them?”
Them. “Them” was the usual group of faculty and tourism students that went with him to go somewhere. Tourism students who happened to be three girls, one of who was his girlfriend - the short haired, somehow tall girl who now looked at Phoenix and Raven with an impatient look on her face. And then she turned away and stood there with “them”, waiting for Raven to catch up. “Uh, yeah.” Raven answered a little uncomfortably.
Phoenix tried to hide the smile that lazily crept up her lips, she tried but failed. “I thought the mice only played when the cat was away?”
Raven chuckled. Put his hands inside both his pockets and gazed briefly at Tamara who clucked her shoes on the pavement irritatingly as she glanced at her boyfriend and Phoenix chat casually by the stairs with silly smiles on their faces. “The mice isn’t playing.”, Raven said with a hint of uncertainty as he watched Phoenix’s lips curve a little more into a smile that sent shivers and waves of anonymous emotions that made him nervous.
“What?” Phoenix asked blankly, her enigmatic smile in place.
“That smile you‘re wearing right now. It’s a little too..,” Raven started and felt the urge to alert his defenses as he finished his sentence with the very word that betrayed his secrecy into escape, “dangerous.”
Phoenix chuckled and looked at her professor’s dear girlfriend who was now desperately trying to look alright and that she didn’t mind at all by talking and laughing with the “company” her boyfriend left her with.
“Dangerous eh?” she quipped and looked straight into Raven’s eyes and playfully said: “Goodbye Raven.”
He looked back at her, disbelief passed his eyes briefly. With a grin, he spoke, “Take care Phoenix.”
She nodded, adjusted her sheer dress, and walked pass him. With easy steps she crossed the distance, and gave a little smile as Tamara and the others looked at her as she walked pass them. Raven watched in amusement at the confidence he never thought could be successfully pulled off by a seventeen year old with a face that fooled you into believing that he is an angel, or that she is an impending evil that crushed the weak. Maybe she was, or she wasn’t. Maybe she was both. Raven didn’t know yet of course, but something tells him it was going to be one heck of a ride to revelations.
Phoenix was no ordinary girl,
Smart, sweet, captivatingly sarcastic…
He chuckled lightly and walked towards Marcus, Dana, Kylie and Tamara who walked ahead of him without a word. Marcus looked at him teasingly and grinned as he whispered, “Way to go Raven. You are such a lady killer.”
“I didn‘t do anything.” He innocently whispered back, looking at Tamara with her girls who now entered the café with him and Marcus in tow.
“Really?”
“No.”
“Honest aren‘t we?”
Raven just grinned as he hurried to Tamara and put an arm around her shoulders, “Hey.”
Tamara looked away and sighed, “I hate you sometimes.”
“I know.”, he softly said and kissed the top of her head.
“But I love you too much to hate you.” she whispered.
“I know that too.” he raised her face and planted a kiss that lasted 10 seconds. Tamara buried her face into his chest and wrapped her arms along his waist. Raven looked up and saw Marcus shake his head in disbelief and mouthed the words: ‘evil git’.
Later, after he drove Tamara to her apartment, he went back to the university and fetched Marcus who waited by the entrance.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Raven blurted out, catching the contorted, twisted expression on his friend’s face as he looked at him.
“Because you‘re evil.” he jokingly replied.
“I just wanted to console her and make her feel alright.”
“You kissed her.”, this time he sounded disgusted.
“So? She‘s my girl.”, Raven said with a grin.
Marcus chuckled, “Oh I know and that’s totally fine. “
“So what‘s with the look?”, Raven asked and arched an eyebrow.
“That‘s simple Raven, - you kissed her while you were thinking of another girl.” Marcus said a matter-of-factly and let out a triumphant laughter as the car screeched into a sudden halt.
“Marcus!” Raven called his name warningly.
He just laughed.
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