After class, Travis stayed behind with Ms. Ross. Eve waited for him outside.
"Now that you're back, I would love for you to begin catching up with your studies. The issue is that my budget is cut. I can't even get an actual model for you guys, not to mention the supplies you need. But I'm sure we can work it out."
"How much money would you need to get everything together? $1,000?"
"That's a perfect amount; I can get everything we need. But Mrs. Smith—she's such a hassle. She's always complaining about my art, so she started lowering my budget, and I might even run out of a job soon," she expressed in a saddened tone.
Travis smiled and said, "I heard that the mayor is hosting an art contest. The winner receives $1,000. So why don't I enter that competition?"
"What? You would do that for me? Thank you so much, Travis; you really are a blessing," she said as she hugged him. "I know you can win. We just have to sharpen your skills. Come to me tomorrow, and we'll speak about that."
He nodded and walked out of the class. He and Eve walked together to the next class.
"So we're going to gym class now. What do you all do there, by the way?" Travis asked.
Gym class wasn't indoors; they would meet out on the grounds and do workouts.
"We work out. All kinds of exercises that you might think of, we do. That's all I can say. Also, we have to change into our gym wear; just go to your locker and you'll find yours."
"Alright, so why don't I meet you there? I'll go to my locker and take my stuff," he suggested. Eve agreed and hurriedly ran toward the lockers.
He went to his locker and checked to see what was inside. It had two items, which isn't surprising—I mean, he hasn't been to this college before. He did see a sheet of paper that had his grades.
"E- everywhere, man, that sucks. I should just take my gym clothes," he thought sadly. Travis took his stuff and closed the locker.
He quickly ran toward the changing rooms and saw a bunch of girls complaining to Coach Bridget.
"How the hell do you expect us to share a bathroom with the boys?!" a girl shouted.
"I don't expect you to, but you have no other choice. So if you have any complaints, keep them to yourself. Now get changed before I force you to!" she said in an intimidating tone, making the girls shiver. She then walked off from the crowd. Coach Bridget saw Travis standing there, and her frown turned into a smirk.
"Wow, look what the cat dragged out of the bag: Travis, the boy who didn't come to school for the past month. Your grades are on the ground; now let's see if your body will be after my intense workout. Get changed, boy, because I don't like to wait!" She got closer and closer as she said this, stopping right in his comfort space.
"Um, sure. What do I get if I'm not on the ground?" he asked with a smile.
"You get a chance to live. Now go, maggot!"
He nodded and walked toward the changing room. He saw the girls standing by the door and staring at the boys with intensity.
"We'll go in first; after that, you can go in," their leader, Roxxy, said at that moment. He gave her a bit of a stare since he liked how she looked in real life; her large breasts were as accurate as in the game, and she also had an extremely curvy body, which was different from the game. Her friends were also hot.
He personally liked Missy with her quirky personality, but if it came to body-wise, Becca was the one who took the biscuit. She was extremely hot; she might even be better than Roxxy. He'd just have to check. Also, her mom. Damn.
"Why do we have to listen to you? That's our changing room, so why don't you just step to the side and let us in?" The leader here was someone Travis didn't know.
"Who even are you? You literally have no significance in this school," Roxxy said, making her friends laugh.
The guy blushed from the shame and walked back into the group of guys. The girls turned around and walked inside the changing room, locking the door.
"Those darn girls, who do they think they are?" the guys said. Travis stood on the side and didn't bother listening to anyone. He checked the crowd of dudes and saw a familiar face—Judith—standing there with her face down.
'Guess this is how the story starts for me and her, even though in the game it didn't go any further.'
He approached her with a smile, and when he got near her, she brought her eyes up to his face. She instantly blushed and dropped her gaze again.
'Travis, why is he here? Does he want to speak with me? No, I doubt that; I'm sure he doesn't even know my name,' she thought in a sad tone.
"You must be Judith, right?" Travis said as he stood there beside her. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye.
"Y-yes, I am Judith," she replied, stuttering.
"Cool, I'm Travis. You might not remember this, but back in high school, we were in the same class," he said.
'What? He actually knows about my existence?!'
"I do remember. In fact, we sat next to each other in math class."
"For real? Oh, yeah. You were pretty smart back then; the teacher would always ask you for the answer."
This made her blush and shake her head in response. "No, I wasn't that smart. By the way, I heard about your dad, and I'm really sorry," she said.
"Oh, that? You don't have to worry about it. What are you doing here anyway? Don't you need to change?"
Her smile slowly dropped as she looked back down. "Yeah, I don't want to change while everyone is there."
"Why not?"
"I forgot, this is your first day. Well, I'm being bullied, you see, for my abnormally huge breasts. Also, I didn't wear a bra," she said, flashing Travis a dishonest smile that made him show concern on his face.
"That's not cool of them to say that. Also, you must have a reason. Have you tried telling them off or something?" he asked.
"No, I'm not good at talking or arguing, so I just let them say all that. Don't worry, though; I'm alright with it. And yes, I do have a reason," she said.
"No, you're not. I can pretty much tell that this bothers you. Hey, why don't we go somewhere and change instead of waiting here?" he said. Judith turned toward Travis with widened eyes filled with surprise, and a smile grew on her face as she shook her head.
"Sure, but where will we go?"
"The girls' bathroom, of course. Last I checked, it's only busted due to some water damage, right? So let's go in there; I'm sure it's not all wet," he said. She nodded, and they proceeded to walk there; it was basically on the opposite side of the boys' room.
TO BE CONTINUED