I don't wanna make it sound like it was because of me or anything, but over the next couple weeks, Lori really started to come out of her shell.
At first we'd just exchange polite greetings if we were passing each other by in the hallway at school.
Then eventually it became an almost regular thing for Lori, Shara and I to all walk to class together.
Even when walking together she was fairly quiet at first. But more and more she started to open up and engage in conversation.
Nothing deep of course, but it was cool just to chat.
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(set: $domainpath to "http://www.scissored.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/CollegePrologue2-")That timid girl we saw stumble into class -- she was almost unrecognizable.
Okay, well I'm probably exagerating, a little... A lot, I guess.
I was just proud.
I felt like it was the beginning of a good friendship, but beyond that I felt like I was helping her too.
I know people like Casey and Sahana think it's more fun to tear everyone else down, but I'd like to think they're the exception and not the norm. Most people actually enjoy helping others more than anything else.
Maybe I'm naive, but regardless, it was working out for us and that was what mattered.
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[[Continue->Continue1-01]]And before you call me crazy, I'll tell you that even the professors started to notice how well Lori was doing.
"Keep up the good work", Professor Taylor told her after class. Oh, I just love Professor Taylor's British accent by the way.
Anyways, that was only just the beginning of what happened with Lori.
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[[Continue->Prologue Title]] It really wasn't until we started hanging out together at the dorm that we opened up to each other more.
The dorm was an area that made you feel like you could let your hair down and relax. Campus was just different.
Sometimes we'd just sit in the lounge area of the dorm and just talk for hours.
In the beginning, Shara and I did most of the talking. We'd tell stories and reminisce about past adventures.
Lori seemed to be amused by the more silly stories, so Shara and I would take turns seeing who could tell Lori the most embarrassing story about each other.
I'm pretty sure I won that contest most of the time, haha.
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[[Continue->Continue2-01]]Inevitably, as we became more comfortable around each other, the conversations got more serious.
I started opening up about my past. She... Well, she listened.
She seemed very trustworthy. Kind, innocent, attentive; everything you'd want in a friend. She was different than Shara, but I didn't see that as a bad thing. It'd probably be boring if we were all the same.
Anyways, the big hurdle for me was telling her about my ex-boyfriend, Theo. You already know a little about that story, so you can imagine it's not something I go around telling just anyone.
I trusted her.
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[[Continue->Continue2-02]]This will seem anecdotal, but there was a funny little thing Lori started to do more often as she became more comfortable with me.
She'd stare at guys.
Not so much in class; she stayed pretty focused in class... but definitely in the dorm, she was checking guys out.
She's a pretty girl and she's gaining her confidence, so it makes sense. Given my situation, it was easier for me to see her doing this, because I certainly wasn't trying to stare at guys right now. And if any guys were looking at me, I didn't notice or care. My attention was on my school work and my friends.
I was single and loving it.
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[[Continue->Continue2-03]]Not Lori... She was single and dreading it.
See, that's when she really started to open up.
It started with comments like, "Kira, you're so beautiful, you don't realize how easy you have it".
It's easy for me to brush off comments like that because I knew that Lori had self-esteem issues. She's as beautiful as anyone -- she just needs to see it for herself.
I'd tell her, "Lori, you look great.. every guy can see that. You're just not giving them a chance".
"Stop hiding", I'd keep saying.
That would always get a laugh out of her. She'd give a shy giggle and say "I'm not!".
The little Lori-turtle was coming out of her shell.. slowly.
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[[Continue->Continue2-04]]It started to become painfully obvious to both Shara and I that Lori didn't have her sights set on just //any// guy, or just //any// relationship.
There was a particular guy that always seemed to catch her eye...
''Timothy.''
He was quite the eye-catcher indeed. Tall, dark and handsome.
The dangerous thing with those types is sometimes the good looking guys aren't the sharpest tools in the drawer. //Brains not included//, as they say.
I figured that wasn't an issue with Timothy though. He often hung out with Samar, who was some kind of chess wizard, I guess -- apparently one of the smartest guys in school. Timothy must be guilty by association, right?
The smart ones usually find each other, and the dumb ones usually find each other too, ya' know. Too bad it's not that simple when it comes to romance, right?
So, Timothy had it all.
Who ''wouldn't'' want him? Uhm, I mean, except me.. Not that he isn't.. well, you know... Sorry, that didn't come out right.. Ughh! See, this is exactly why I told you my little story at the beginning -- no guys for me. Simple. Not even Timothy.
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[[Continue->Continue3-01]]But for Lori, yes. Absolutely. She deserved him.
Whether or not //he// deserved her, I wasn't sure yet. It was certainly worth a shot though.
Anytime he passed by, he became the elephant in the room. She'd stare as much as she could without getting caught.
One day in the dining hall at the dorm, Shara called it out.
"Lori! Just go talk to him!", Shara piped.
Shara was good at calling out the elephant in the room.
"Ssssshhhhhh!!!", Lori would try to hush Shara to quiet her down. Having known Shara for so long, I knew that was a good way to get her to do the exact opposite.
"Listen, if you don't go talk to him, then I'm going to do it, because that's one damn good looking man over there by himself", Shara said.
"She'll do it", I teased to Lori, hoping that would motivate her.
"I.. I can't..", Lori hesitated.
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[[Continue->Continue3-02]]It wasn't often that Timothy sat alone in a social area. As I mentioned, he sometimes hung around with William and the guys, or Samar, among others. He was quite popular.
So I ''really'' wanted Lori to seize this opportunity to talk to him alone.
"Lori, come on! You //can// do this. You have 2 legs and a mouth", I told her. "So, go use them to walk over there and talk to him".
"You're in the same class, just use that as a conversation starter and let it flow", I added.
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[[Continue->Continue3-03]]I don't know what part of what I said pushed her over the edge, but she went and did it!
I didn't think she'd make a move, but all of the sudden she popped up out of her chair and walked right up to him.
"Um, hi, I'm in a class with you--", she mumbled.
Not the best start to a conversation, but you had to be proud of her for trying.
"Oh, right, I remember you!", Timothy said with a happy tone. Suddenly the conversation was going very well.
He continued with a chuckle, "you're the girl that fell with all the books, right?"
And suddenly it wasn't going well at all.
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[[Continue->Continue3-04]]I'll never forget the look on Lori's face. She was mortified.
Just as she'd finally come right out of her shell, this moron was sending her right back in.
I was ready to get up and throttle him right then and there.
Lori retreated immediately, muttering "I-I should go".
Surprisingly, Timothy got up to stop her.
"No, no, it's cool, I didn't mean it like that", he said. "I've done the same thing.. not in front of so many people, hah.. but still".
"Besides, I wanna know why you had so many books", he continued his attempt to correct his mistake.
He laughed, "seriously, I'm struggling in that class.. maybe you had something I missed!".
She started to crack a smile, but she was still speechless.
"Sit. Please", he asked her.
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[[Continue->Continue3-05]]And sit she did.
I don't know what they talked about... and I bet he did most of the talking.
But it was a start. The start she needed.
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(css: "font-size: 150%;")[''Part 2'']
''Lori's Love''
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