"Her name was Charlie." Reese began, "It all started when I followed her back to the dorm."
"So, she was your dorm captain?" Florence asked.
"Yeah, she was also the top dog at the time, and she wanted to be my mentor. She beat three people in paintball matches just to get me as her lackey." Reese paused as her watch beeped, "We can skip a class for this. Charlie didn't want to help me improve as I had previously thought, she had something else planned. Although she did teach me quite a bit of what I know now, every lesson came at a price…" Reese shivered, shaken by the memory alone.
"If it makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to tell me." Florence said, looking up at her softly.
"No, it's past time I got this off my chest. She used to take me to her dorm after she taught me something, and ya know, kiss me, feel me up, etc."
"Woah, that's umm… not good."
"Yeah, I know that now. Back then, I thought that it was her way of showing her love for me. I was a bit naïve. Whenever I asked her about it, she would just brush it off playfully. She made me think that whatever she did to me was normal, and I grew to like her 'affections.' I will admit, 90% of the time she was a kind, funny, beautiful person, and I loved that side of her. Wait, I actually think I loved all of her. I thought she loved me too, until I saw them." Reese's eyes became cold, "one day, after third period, I went to the bathroom and there she was, kissing Olivia Trapp. What they were doing that day was different than what Charlie and I did. I mostly tolerated whatever Charlie did to me, but when I saw them together, I knew that Olivia liked it. I started to see my mentor in a different light after that, I was still in love with her, but the way Olivia looked at me in the hallways made me back off for a bit." Reese paused and smiled, thinking of her past fondly, "That's when I met Amiya. She was the best thing that has ever happened to me."
"Oh, so you are lovers." Florence chuckled.
"Ha, I wish, Amiya's straight."
"Bummer, I shipped it." Reese bopped her on the head gently before continuing.
"Well, anyways, Amiya was kinda like my rock. She helped me figure everything out, and get me away from Charlie, at least that's what I thought at the time. Amiya just helped me distance myself from Charlie, I never dared to confront her. The only time I tried to talk to her seriously about breaking it off was one sunny afternoon of the last semester." Reese remembered it vividly, the warm spring air and a gentle breeze ruffling her hair. She had walked over to Charlie on her own accord and asked her to meet up under a small oak by the west wing.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Charlie asked sweetly. Reese had missed that voice, it made every sentence almost melodic.
"I just wanted to talk to you about us. I think we should stop being mentor and lackey." It had physically hurt her to say this, no more of Charlie's soft hair on her chest, no more of her sweet violet scent, no more goofy jokes after dinner, or gentle kisses, no more of the things that had made her happiest. She could go on and on, but for every reason for her to stay, there were so many more that told her to go.
"What?" Charlie's face twisted into a sour expression, Reese hated whenever she did that, "Don't you love me anymore?"
"Well, yes, of course but-"
"But nothing, why would you want to leave me?" Her temper was spilling over into her words. This was the part of Charlie that Reese feared.
"It's just, you do the same stuff we do with other girls, and I don't want to involve myself with someone like you." Reese wished that she could've pulled those last few words back.
"Like me?" Fury edged Charlie's once soothing voice, "You know what, I don't want to be seen with someone like you! You're an absolute failure of a student, and a fool if you think you can survive on your own here. Your incompetent a$$ can't do anything other than follow me around and get in the way! I don't need you, nor did I ever need you, heck I didn't even care about you! You are nothing in my eyes, and you'll never be anything other than that." Charlie stared at her cruelly.
"But, we can still be friends, Charlie!" Reese said, desperately trying to recover what little value she had to Charlie left.
"It's Dorm Captain Thorne to you." She said coldly before walking away and leaving Reese in tears.