Unraveling
VIOLET
The weeks had blurred together, and before I knew it, I was in my third week here. Today was another one of Professor Hangroove’s classes, my favorite by far. Her lectures focused heavily on writing—raw, emotional, and deeply personal. I’d submitted more pieces in these few weeks than I had in years.“Excuse me?”
I looked up, startled by the voice, and found myself face-to-face with someone I didn’t recognize.
The guy standing before me was tall, maybe six feet, with sharp cheekbones and dark eyes that seemed to assess everything at once. His black hair was slightly tousled, as if he’d run his fingers through it on his way to class. He wore a leather jacket over a plain white T-shirt, paired with jeans that looked just a little too well-fitted to be casual.
“Is this seat taken?” he asked, gesturing to the empty chair beside me. His voice was low but carried easily, tinged with something I couldn’t quite place—confidence, maybe?
“No, go ahead,” I replied, offering a small smile.
He dropped his bag onto the desk with a quiet thud, settling into the seat with a practiced ease.
“You’re Violet, right?”
I blinked, caught off guard. “Uh, yeah. How did you—?”
“I saw your name on the email list Professor Reed sent out last week. Plus, you answered one of her questions in the last class” He shrugged, leaning back in his chair. “I have a decent memory for stuff like that.”
“Right,” I said, my voice wary but polite. “And you are...?”
“Lucas,” he said with a grin that revealed a dimple on his left cheek. “Caleb Myers”
I nodded, filing the name away. “Nice to meet you, Caleb”
“So,” he said, resting his chin on his hand as he turned to face me more directly. “What was your piece about? For the assignment, I mean.”
I hesitated, unsure how much to share. “Transformation,” I said vaguely. “Something personal.”
“Ah,” he said, nodding as if that explained everything. “Let me guess—life-changing move? Big breakup? An epiphany about who you are?”
I laughed lightly despite myself. “You think you’ve got me all figured out, huh?”
He grinned again, his confidence unwavering. “Not yet. But I’m working on it.”
The professor’s voice cut through the room, signaling the start of the lecture. Lucas turned forward, but not before shooting me one last look—curious, amused, and just a little too knowing.
I ignored the flutter of irritation in my chest, focusing instead on my notebook.
The lecture carried on, the professor's words flowing over me in waves, but when class finally ended, I turned toward Lucas’s seat, half-expecting another sly comment. It was empty.
Good riddance.
With a sigh, I slung my bag over my shoulder and made my way out of the lecture room. The hallway was bustling, students chatting and shuffling to their next classes, but one familiar figure stood out. Amelia was leaning against the wall near the exit, her arms crossed, a teasing smile tugging at her lips.
“Right on time,” she called, straightening as I approached.
I shook my head, unable to suppress a small grin. “Do you ever get tired of waiting for me?”
“Not yet,” she said with a shrug, falling into step beside me. “Besides, someone has to keep you from holing up in the library all day. Consider me your savior.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t you have your own classes to save you?”
“True,” she admitted, “but your lectures are closer to the best coffee on campus. So really, I’m doing myself a favor.”
I let out a light chuckle. Amelia wasn’t just a distraction from Berkeley’s pressure cooker environment—she was the reason it didn’t completely swallow me whole.
As we walked, she looped her arm through mine, steering me toward the usual coffee cart. “So, how was class? Anything interesting?”
I thought about Caleb for a moment but decided it wasn’t worth mentioning. “Nothing special,” I said with a shrug.
She gave me a curious glance but didn’t press further, steering the conversation toward her day instead
The coffee line wasn’t too long today, which was a rare treat. Amelia stood beside me, scrolling through her phone while I fiddled with my bag strap.
“Anything interesting?” I asked.
She gave a small laugh, slipping her phone into her jacket pocket. “Not really. Just some updates from home.”
“Must be nice,” I murmured, more to myself than her.
Amelia shot me a look but didn’t press. That was the thing about her—she could read between the lines, but she never pried too much.
By the time we got our coffees, we’d fallen into our usual rhythm of casual chatter.
“You know,” she said as we sat at one of the small tables near the cart, “I’ve been thinking about getting something nice for Josh.”
“Josh?” I raised a brow.
“My boyfriend,” she clarified with a sheepish grin. “Did I never mention him?”
“Not really,” I admitted, sipping my drink.
“Well, I’m stuck. I want to get him something thoughtful, but it’s like my brain goes blank when I try to figure it out. Any ideas?”
I shrugged. “What’s he into? Sports, music, books?”
“Sports, mostly. And he’s into gadgets, but I feel like I’ve already done all that before.” She leaned back, her eyes narrowing slightly. “Hey, what about Ryan? What kind of stuff does he like? You should know?”
I stiffened slightly at the mention of Ryan’s name. “Why would you think I’d know that?”
Amelia gave me a playful nudge. “Oh, come on. You both are dating. You must have some idea.”
I felt a flicker of unease. Her words, though light, seemed to dig a little deeper than I was comfortable with. It wasn’t that I was hiding anything, but somehow, the idea of sharing too much about Ryan felt... off. As if talking about him in front of anyone aside from Ashley, felt almost too intimate.
I shook my head and exhaled, attempting to brush it off. “I honestly think guys are all different,” I said finally, my voice quieter than I meant.
“I honestly think guys are different” I said finally.
“Different how?” she pressed.
I sighed. Well, like… my male friend. He is more into books, tech, and cooler stuff,” I said, pausing before adding with a small shrug. That was Luke.
“But Ryan prefers something aything painting related. He loves painting a lot. He’d spend hours on it. And he’s always been into cars. Anything fast, really.”
“Painting?” Amelia tilted her head, surprised. “Didn’t see that coming.”
I gave a faint smile, though my chest tightened at the thought of Ryan. “Yeah”
Amelia hummed thoughtfully, tapping her fingers against her coffee cup. “Well, thanks for the insight. Maybe I’ll take a page out of his book and get Josh something artsy. Or a day at a racetrack.”
I chuckled. “If he’s into adrenaline, that might actually work.”
“Noted,” she said, raising her cup in mock toast. “You’re a lifesaver, Violet.”
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