In the very back corner of the lecture hall, away from the noise and the posturing, sat a boy named Luca.
Luca wasn't like the others. He sat with his hood pulled up, a sketchbook open on his desk, but he wasn't drawing. His eyes were fixed on the scene unfolding in the middle row. He saw the way the girl's shoulders were hunched toward her ears. He saw the way the group behind her was feeding off each other's cruelty, growing bolder because no one was stopping them.
He watched the boy flick her hair again. He saw the girl's hand tremble as she tried to write a heading in her notebook.
Luca felt a familiar spark of irritation. He hated bullies, not because he was a hero, but because he knew what it felt like to be the person in the middle of the circle. He lived in this city his whole life, and he knew the type of people who frequented Evergreen State—rich kids with too much time and too little empathy.He want ignore the group but he still watching them.
He closed his sketchbook with a sharp thud.
He didn't say anything yet. He just watched. He watched the girl—Lili—take a deep breath and try to pull herself together. There was a quiet strength in the way she didn't give them the satisfaction of a reaction, but he could see she was reaching her breaking point.
The professor finally walked in, dropping a thick stack of papers on the podium. The noise in the room died down, and the group behind Lili settled into a series of muffled giggles and whispered insults.
"Keep it up," the leader whispered one last time, kicking Lili's chair again. "We're going to have so much fun with you this semester, New Girl."
Lili stared at her notebook. The ink had bled through the paper where she had been holding her pen in one spot for too long. She felt completely and utterly alone.
She didn't know that from the back of the room, someone had seen everything. She didn't know that this terrible, lonely first day was actually the beginning of the most important friendship of her life.
After the Storm
When the lecture finally ended, Lili was the first one out of her seat. She didn't wait for the professor to finish his closing remarks. She shoved her notebook into her bag and bolted for the door, her heart hammering against her ribs.
She made it to the hallway, the cool air hitting her face. She just needed to find a bathroom, or a corner, or anywhere she could be still for a moment.
"Hey."
The voice was low and calm.
Lili didn't stop. She assumed it was one of them coming back for round two. She quickened her pace, her vision blurring.
"Hey, wait up. I'm not with them."
Lili stopped. She turned around, her defensive walls high. Standing a few feet away was the boy from the back of the room. He had messy dark hair and eyes that looked tired but kind. He wasn't laughing.
"I'm Luca," he said, stepping closer but keeping a respectful distance. "I saw what happened in there. Those guys are idiots. Total losers who think having a loud voice makes them important."
Lili blinked, her breath hitching. "I... I'm Lili."
"Nice to meet you, Lili," Luca said, a small, genuine smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Don't let them get to you. This city is big, and this college is even bigger. There are plenty of people here who aren't jerks. You just happened to sit in the 'Jerk Zone' today."
For the first time since she had arrived in the city, Lili felt a tiny bit of the weight lift off her chest. She looked at Luca, really looked at him, and realized she wasn't an island anymore.
"Thanks," she whispered.
"Come on," Luca said, gesturing toward the exit. "I know a place nearby that has the best coffee in the city. It's quiet, no bullies allowed. Want to go? It beats standing in this hallway."
Lili looked at the crowded hall, then back at Luca. She didn't know him, but she felt a strange sense of safety in his presence. She nodded.
As they walked out of the heavy college doors together, the sun was finally out, bright and warm. Lili was still new, and she still had a lot to learn about this city, but as she walked alongside Luca, she realized she didn't have to do it alone.