Chapter 40: the first Sunday II

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: the first Sunday II

The campus café was noticeably busier than the Student Reading Lounge.

Groups of students occupied nearly every table, some chatting animatedly while others continued debating lecture notes over late lunches.

The four girls eventually found a table near one of the windows overlooking the central gardens.

Claire set her tray down with an exaggerated sigh.

"I’ve never been so happy to see food."

Amelia nodded seriously.

"I was beginning to think Eleanor was trying to study us to death."

Eleanor looked up innocently.

"I merely suggested we continue."

Claire laughed.

"You didn’t have to say anything."

"The way you kept turning pages was enough."

Vivienne smiled.

"I think we all would have stayed if no one had stopped us."

"Exactly," Amelia said.

"So thank you, Claire."

Claire proudly lifted her glass.

"You’re welcome."

Lunch arrived shortly afterward.

For a few minutes...

The only conversation was about the food.

It wasn’t until everyone had nearly finished eating that Claire leaned back in her chair.

"So..."

"There are thirty of us in our section."

"I still don’t know everyone’s names."

Amelia nodded.

"Same."

"I recognize faces more than names."

Eleanor smiled.

"I’m starting to remember them."

Claire rested her chin on one hand.

"What about the boys?"

Amelia laughed immediately.

"I knew we’d end up talking about this."

Claire grinned.

"We’re nineteen."

"It’s inevitable."

Vivienne laughed into her drink.

"I suppose that’s true."

Amelia leaned forward.

"So..."

"Who’s everyone’s favorite?"

Claire thought for a moment.

"I think Daniel from Section A is rather handsome."

"Oh!" Amelia agreed.

"I noticed him too."

"What about Adrian?" Eleanor asked.

"The one in our section?"

Claire nodded.

"The basketball player?"

"I think he’s quite handsome."

Amelia smiled.

"He is."

Vivienne quietly listened.

She was still learning everyone’s names.

Most of the boys blended together in her memory after only a week.

Then Claire smiled mischievously.

"But..."

"If we’re talking about the entire university..."

Amelia didn’t even let her finish.

"Lord Damian Blackwood."

Everyone laughed.

"I knew you were going to say that," Claire replied.

Amelia shrugged dramatically.

"I mean..."

"Look at him."

"He’s handsome."

"And surprisingly friendly."

Eleanor nodded.

"I honestly expected someone much more intimidating."

"So did I," Claire admitted.

"But after Community Outreach..."

"He doesn’t feel distant at all."

Vivienne smiled.

"He really doesn’t."

Claire looked toward her.

"You’ve spoken with him the most."

"Is he always like that?"

Vivienne thought back over the past week.

The registration hall.

The walk to the canteen.

Yesterday’s orientation.

This morning, saying goodbye.

A small smile appeared almost unconsciously.

"...Pretty much."

"He likes teasing people."

"But never enough to make them uncomfortable."

"He just..."

"...makes everyone feel at ease."

Amelia rested her chin on both hands.

"Why does that make him even more attractive?"

Claire laughed.

"Because kindness is unfair."

Eleanor smiled.

"I think that’s part of why everyone likes him."

Claire nodded.

"And he’s Lord Damian Blackwood."

"Let’s be realistic."

Amelia sighed dramatically.

"Exactly."

"I can admire him."

"I can even have a little crush on him."

"But someone like him..."

She shook her head with a laugh.

"He’s completely out of my league."

Claire nodded.

"I think most girls would say the same."

Vivienne looked at the three of them.

"Don’t say that."

The others blinked.

Vivienne smiled gently.

"Just because someone’s admired by everyone doesn’t mean they’re impossible to talk to."

Claire laughed.

"We know."

"We’ve already talked to him."

"And he’s exactly as nice as everyone says."

Amelia nodded.

"That somehow made things worse."

Everyone laughed.

Claire smiled.

"I’ll happily admire him from a respectable distance."

"I think that’s safest."

The conversation drifted naturally.

From seniors...

To professors.

Then eventually...

Back to their own class.

Claire stirred the ice in her drink.

"Oh."

"What do you all think of Evelyn Sinclair?"

Vivienne quietly lowered her glass.

She didn’t answer.

She listened.

Amelia thought for a moment.

"I’ve only spoken to her once."

"She seems nice enough."

Eleanor nodded.

"She’s polite."

"And rather quiet."

Claire rested her chin on one hand.

"...She is."

Then she frowned slightly.

"I don’t know."

The others looked at her.

"I can’t explain it."

"I just..."

"...don’t think we’d get along."

Amelia blinked.

"You barely know her."

"I know."

Claire laughed.

"Maybe it’s just a first impression."

"She feels..."

She searched for the right word.

"...too proper."

"As though she’s trying very hard to be perfect."

Eleanor tilted her head.

"I didn’t get that impression."

Claire shrugged.

"It might just be me."

Amelia smiled.

"I don’t dislike her."

"I just don’t think we’d naturally become friends."

Eleanor nodded slowly.

"I suppose first impressions aren’t always right."

"They aren’t," Claire agreed.

"But they’re all we have for now."

Vivienne quietly wrapped both hands around her cup.

Evelyn Sinclair...

She had finally met the heroine.

Pretty.

Gentle.

Easy to like.

Just as the novel had described.

Vivienne could understand why people naturally warmed to her.

...

But somehow...

She wasn’t intimidated.

Not in the slightest.

Her reflection briefly caught in the café window.

To be perfectly honest...

I think I’m prettier.

The thought slipped into her mind so naturally that she almost laughed.

It sounded unbearably vain.

Yet...

She wasn’t lying to herself.

Lady Vivienne Beaumont had always been celebrated for her beauty.

Even in the original novel, that had never been questioned.

The problem had never been her appearance.

It had been...

Everything else.

Her pride.

Her temper.

Her jealousy.

The way she drove people away.

Vivienne lowered her gaze.

But I’m not the original Vivienne.

She wasn’t chasing Anthony around campus.

She wasn’t throwing tantrums.

She wasn’t making scenes.

If anything...

She had spent the past week trying to become someone Anthony could genuinely respect.

The more she thought about it...

The more one conclusion quietly settled in her heart.

I’m the better choice.

Not because Evelyn wasn’t wonderful.

She was.

But Anthony was already her fiancé.

She had the chance to build something real with him before the story ever reached its turning point.

And because...

She intended to make him fall in love with her.

She smiled faintly into her coffee.

I’m certainly not giving him away without trying.

"...Vivienne?"

She blinked.

Claire was looking at her curiously.

"You’ve been awfully quiet."

Vivienne smiled apologetically.

"I was just thinking."

"Dangerous habit," Amelia teased.

"It is," Vivienne agreed with a laugh.

The conversation quickly drifted toward lighter topics once again.

By the time they left the café, the afternoon sun had already begun sinking lower in the sky.

As they walked back toward the dormitories together, books tucked beneath one arm and laughter carrying easily between them, Vivienne found herself smiling.

The first week had been busier than she could ever have imagined.

More exhausting.

More challenging.

More exciting.

And somehow...

She was already looking forward to tomorrow.