The Heaven I Found In Hell (10 page)

I woke up wearing an extremely oversized shirt, but with no underwear. I immediately got out of bed, and headed over to the bathroom to fix myself. After doing so, I looked for my lingerie and my dress, and left his room quietly, taking baby steps out of his dorm.

I sighed. 
Thank God his roommate wasn't awake yet.

I left the dorm room, and quickly made my way back to room W407. I cursed. I had no key. I exhaled, and was left with no other choice but to knock. Thank God I woke up early, considering that I passed out. The hangover hurt, and I wanted to stay in bed, but not in Blake's bed. No way.

The door opened, and I was greeted by a sleepy Nathan. He rubbed his eyes open, and motioned me to come inside. I nodded at him, smiling a small one, before I went over to my room. I stopped when he opened his mouth and called out my name.

"Yeah?" I answered, just wanting to go back to sleep, and rid myself of the hangover.

"Whose shirt are you wearing?" He asked in an apathetic voice. He seemed like he didn't remember anything from last night since he didn't start a sermon, and he looked like he wasn't going to start with one anytime soon.

Maybe he was drunk when he was reprimanding me, but I doubted that thought immediately. He couldn't have been insightful if he drank a lot.

"Uh…this is Blake's." I answered, hoping for him to just let it/me go. Thank God, he did.

"Okay, just tell me if you need anything."

I nodded at him, and headed to my bedroom. I plopped down on the bed, but before I closed my eyes I checked the clock. 6:00am. I sighed, thankful no one saw me except for Nathan.

Two weeks after…

A lot of things had happened the past couple of weeks:

#1…Riley told me that Cindy was even more jealous because of what happened with Blake and me, which was nothing but lust.

#2…Because of #1, Cindy still didn't want to tutor me, but she wasn't mad. Or maybe she was, but was just being plastic towards me.

#3…I told Kendra and Riley what had happened, and they acted like therapists. At first I was slightly annoyed, but after a few days of thinking about it, I thought of the 'counseling' incident as rather amusing.

#4…Blake thought we were dating because of the 'passionate' moment (as he described it) we shared. I told him it was just a one-night stand, and he started cussing at me since I was the first girl to ever leave him in the dust, until I told him to shut up and that he couldn't do anything about it. After a few days of me giving him the silent treatment, he apologized and things were back to normal. He finally accepted that, that one night was merely nothing.

#5…I noticed that Anthony had been looking at me for the past two weeks, and it felt weird. I knew he liked someone, but it couldn't be me…could it? It'd be just so wrong, but I'd been catching him trying to look.

#6…Nathan, after that night, didn't really make a big deal about what had happened. He was placid and cool, and acted like nothing had taken place. We continued with our usual routine of laughing and teasing each other, and I didn't bother to ask if he remembered anything or was just acting. I didn't want another lecture from him.

#7…I continued getting low grades, but thank God I wasn't failing anymore, I was getting barely-passing grades. It wasn't really great if you compared it to Cindy's or the other's grades, but it was a step up for me.

#8…I was getting lonely, literally. The guys had soccer, football, and track. Riley and Kendra had soccer and track practices too, while Cindy who was still jealous didn't really enjoy hanging out with me, so she stayed with some other group that I didn't like to mingle with since they were all so full of themselves. Okay…all of them were rich, and some of them were pretty, smart, and all, but a few really had nothing to brag about except for their wealth, which annoyed me. Sorry for being so blunt.

#9 The magazine article…I had just scanned through it though…

…
Alexandra Levi went to Mixx a few weeks ago…

…
She and a few of her newfound friends from Ridgeway entered the club looking glamorous and ready to party…

…
A source that was inside the club spotted the supermodel making-out madly with an unidentified person…

…
The Victoria's Secret Angel was having a fun time kissing and grinding when she got pulled away by one of her close friends…

…
She left the club along with six other people. The guy Alex made-out with wasn't seen leaving the club with the model…

A month passed, and I felt the Halloween Spirit come in full swing. A masquerade ball was to take place on the thirty-first of October, which was only a few weeks away, so here I was in The Harbor, which was a mall a few minutes away from Ridgeway, looking for the perfect costume to go along with my handmade mask.

While walking around, and eyeing window displays mindlessly, I accidentally knocked someone's shopping bags off from her arm, sending the plastic and cardboard containers to the ground. I picked them up as quickly as I could, and returned them to the owner. I looked up to see Cindy with a surprised look of her own.

"What are you doing here?" She said, eyeing me from head-to-toe. She got her bags from me, and sent me a look of skepticism.

"Shopping." I said innocently.

We were in front of the Roberto Cavalli store, and by the anxiety she wore on her face, I could tell that she wanted to leave me, and enter the shop. I crossed my arms over my chest, and let them stay there.

"I don't see you carrying anything…" She said, stating the imperceptible. Note the sarcasm, please.

She looked around, before her eyes rested on me again. I knew she wanted to leave, but I was desperate…for a tutor. I looked at the big Cavalli poster that was displayed at the back of the mannequins, and saw myself posing with some hot model. I remembered the photo shoot. It took place only a couple months ago…and then…a light bulb floating above my head went on.

"How about we make a deal?"

She exhaled slightly exasperatedly. "Is this about me tutoring you again?"

I nodded. "How about…"

"No, no, and no! You flirted with Blake…" 
That was a month ago!
 "You were alone with Nathan and Anthony inside the bathroom…" 
That too!

Were we fighting over guys?
 I restrained myself from saying those words. 
I wanted to pass school…I 
needed
 to pass it if ever I wanted to model again…stupid parents…no, it was only my mother's choice…

"How about let's go inside that store right now?" I suggested, pointing to the store we stood in front of. She looked at me thoughtfully, before she raised an eyebrow.

"What's the deal first?" She said, giving me a suspicious look once again.

"How about you tutor me and let's go on a shopping spree." I suggested, hoping even for just a simple nod.

She arched her eyebrow one more time at me. "I can go on a shopping spree without you." She answered, a little bit tactlessly.

"But can you get up to 40-50 discounts shopping alone?" I asked, with a little smirk starting to form.

The moment I said 'discount' her eyes widened and her lips started to curve up into a smile, but after a few seconds she pursed them, and I was left to contemplate on what else I could do.

"I don't need discounts, Alex. I have a credit card, care of my daddy F-Y-I."

I huffed and I 'hmph-ed'. 
What could I do to make this girl tutor me…?

I was about to mentally kill myself, when she spoke up again. "Although, I could buy more things with your discounts…"

She scratched her chin, and thought about my offer charily. While waiting for thirty seconds, but what seemed to like a full whole hour, I looked at the billboard and ended up came eye-to-eye with no one else but myself. I couldn't wait to go back to posing and doing the catwalk…

"Sure. I'll tutor you, but I can't do it every day…"

That was good enough.

"I have Debate practice on Wednesdays…planning for fundraisers every Monday…I'm also part of an organization, but those are on Fridays…"

"Okay…" I said, feeling so much like an idiot.

Here was a girl, who wasn't a dumb blonde, but instead was the total opposite, and addition to that, she still looked extremely beautiful despite her numerous extracurricular activities. Also, even though I knew she disliked me, here I was willing to take her on a shopping spree, and not just any shopping spree mind you…we're talking about designer boutiques where a thousand dollars wasn't even near 'enough.'

"That means I'm free on Tuesdays and Thursdays…is that okay?" She said with a smile, and for once I saw a different side of her, a caring side…but I remembered…
high school girls are so good at 'faking it.'

I went inside the Roberto Cavalli store, and brought her along with me. She smiled, and immediately I knew my answer. We browsed the racks, and an hour later, we had a couple of garments to try on. We went inside a large dressing room, and I stripped myself of my Sevens jeans, my silk halter-top, and my Jimmy Choo's. I got the optic stripe dress that hung on the door in front of me, and put it on. The fit was perfect, and when I looked at the full-length mirror, I could see the dress complimenting my curves superbly.

"That looks nice on you." Cindy commented, as she busily tried on a floral scarf mini dress.

"Same goes for you." I answered, returning the gratitude.

For half of an hour, I busily tried on a mini skirt, pinstriped shorts, a black-and-white kimono mini dress, and a pair of intentionally crumpled skinny jeans. Being incredibly happy for finally having a tutor, I decided to splurge and buy everything I had tried on, the same with Cindy. Probably taking advantage of my discount privilege, she decided to buy a couple of dresses, and a few more skirts. After we were done paying, we shopped for more, entering Guess, Armani, and Chanel. It was in Chanel where I found the partner for my mask.

The mask I made was very simple, and being a big fan of the black-and-white trend going on, I decided to stick to the colors, black, white, and silver. The mask I decorated was bordered with silver sequins, as its eye holes were cut faerie-like, small, and pointy at the ends. Vintage graphic designs done in silver glitter glue and lined using a black calligraphy pen completed the piece I could actually call art.

Cutting my train of thought short, I agreed with Cindy when she held up the garment. She was actually the one who found the dress, and I gasped the moment I saw it. The dress was a full-length gown, and it was very goddess-like. It had a very, very low neckline bordered using thin black ribbons and to add more black to the dress, and to finish it off, black silk was sewn around the part of the waist, acting as a belt.