Page 28 of Bully Roommate

Frankie grinned, letting me lead the way to my pickup and toward the quad. It looked transformed with rows of canvases, a huge white canvas sat in the middle of the quad, hung with rope against a brick wall.

Rows of art students stood in front of the canvases, and the pink-haired girl Josie ate lunch with stood toward the edge, giving Josie a thumbs up. She looked completely different from Josie, more outgoing for sure.Free.Part of me knew that I’d caused her reserve to an extent and it hurt to know she carried it with her.

Maybe I can fix this.I just don’t know how unless it’s to dump all my feelings on her like a bucket of unwanted emotions. Kissing and dominating her like a caveman.

An art teacher announced they were having a contest in five minutes and had two more spaces left. Frankie bounced on his heels, trying to find Josie, but I knew she wasn’t in line with everyone else.

“Why isn’t she participating?” he asked.

I shrugged. “Probably too shy.”

He huffed and left me in the middle of the crowd. I hollered after him but he didn’t answer. I watched his head bob up and down throughout the crowd until he disappeared.

Great.

Two minutes passed when I noticed him pulling her onto the grass, Josie shook her head no, but he wouldn’t stop. He placed her in front of one of the empty canvases and said something to her.

I could imagine it was encouragement, but whatever it was, it worked.

“Alright Tigers! Let’s get this started. This is freestyle, anything goes, but whatever you have finished when the buzzer goes off is your final product. We have paint, pencils, and Montana graffiti spray. Grab your poison and begin now!”

A loud buzzer sounded and I watched as Josie bent down and grabbed the spray paint right away. Frankie walked back over with a huge grin on his face. “She’s going to win, I know it.”

“Some of these kids have been here for years doing this, Frankie, don’t get your hopes up.” I checked my phone for missed calls and my email.

I reached out to a small lawyer downtown to ask about guardianship but hadn’t heard back. Frankie didn’t need to be out of school for long, and I knew I needed a steady income to provide for him, or they wouldn’t grant anything.

I rubbed my palm over my head and sighed. I needed to go see about an on campus or a part-time job.

The buzzer sounded drawing excitement over the crowd. “Step away from your canvases, and back away. The judges will take ten minutes to decide.”

Josie stood back, biting her bottom lip while her pink-haired friend wrapped an arm around her waist. Frankie jerked my forearm. “Come on.”

“I don’t want to.”

“You’re such an ass today. What is wrong with you? I’m going.” He made his way through the crowd, and I followed behind him reluctantly. Josie and her friend stood with a group of people I’d never seen, but one I knew from class, Waverly.

She bounced on her heels when I neared and waved at me.Ugh, great.I stopped a foot away, Josie’s dark eyes meeting mine before a blush crawled up her cheeks. “Hey Maverick! I wouldn’t think you’d be here.”

Frankie lifted a brow at me but turned his attention to Josie.

“My brother drug me here.”

“Yeah, I’m here for my roommate, India,” she said, pointing to Josie’s friend, who eyed me as if she suspected me to be a douchebag.

She isn’t too far off.

“Cool,” I said unbothered.

Waverly tucked her blonde hair behind her ear. “So, do you want to go out sometime? I asked you at the party, but you were distracted … kind of like you are now,” she deadpanned.

Might as well end this.“I’m not the dating type, Waverly. You shouldn’t waste your time on me.”

She chuckled. “Who said I wanted a date, Maverick? I wouldn’t mind something casual, you know, whenever we're both free or … needy.”

God, desperate much?“No.”

She looked offended and turned her back to me. She whispered something to India and left in a mad stomp out of the quad.

---