Laura Wilson....
20 years old college student. A typical campus belle. Polite. Friendly. Innocent. Stubborn and feisty.
Laura Wilson is an orphan. She was adopted by the Miller family when she was 5 years old.
******
November 12.....
Laura's birthday...
1:45 am.....
Laura lay in bed sweating profusely as she tossed about. She was having that nightmare again.
The nightmare where 5 year old Laura ran through the woods helplessly. And as usual just when she hit her head on a tree, she woke up with a jerk.
Her breathing was erratic as she tried to recall the dream but as usual she only remembered hitting her head on the tree.
She glanced at the time on the alarm clock. 1:46 am...
She sighed and got out of bed.
It was obvious that she wasn't going to get any sleep.
****
Laura made her way down the stairs of the Miller mansion. She bee lined towards the kitchen. She opened the fridge and got a box of fruit juice out.
She took a glass and poured herself a full cup of juice.
She was about to take a sip when she heard a distinct cackle. She rolled her eyes and brought her glass to her lips before gently tipping her head backward and finishing her juice.
She turned towards the person who cackled.
"Y'know Jane, for someone of your caliber you really act like a jobless little lackey." Laura said in a calm voice. Her eyes rather had a provocative glint as she looked at Jane Miller...
Her step sister
She was older by only a year
They went to the same college
Jane was as good as she seemed
A brutal bully, who took pleasure in people's pain. A typical sadist.
She was really Jealous of Laura. According to Jane, she would have been the campus belle if not for Laura.
Jane's jealousy was deep rooted.
Laura rolled her eyes and moved towards the kitchen doors.
"Happy birthday Laura. I hope you'll like your gift." Jane said with a smirk.
Laura paused in her tracks. What was that supposed to mean??
Laura was about to turn around to look at Jane when Jane walked to her side.
"Come home early Laura. You don't wanna miss your gift." Jane said with a chuckle before she walked out of the kitchen.
Laura watched Jane walk away with a foreboding feeling in her stomach.
What did Jane mean?
Laura put the juice box away and rested her back on the kitchen counter.
Sigh...
"I might as well find out when I get home later today." Laura whispered before walking out of the kitchen towards her bedroom.
*****
WILSON COLLEGE.
MEDICINE DEPARTMENT
8:00 am.....
"No no no no. I'm late." Laura said as she ran through the medicine department to get to her lecture hall.
She put her hand into her bag and tried searching for something. Immediately she couldn't find it her hasty steps slowed by a bit.
"Where is it? I swear I put it here this morning. No ..... Laura you dumb clutz!" Laura scolded her self in an exaggerated tone.
She was still searching through her bag while walking when she bumped into someone and her bag fell, pouring all it's contents.
"Sh*t..." They both said at the same time.
Laura and the girl both bent at the same time to gather the contents of both their bags.
"I'm so sorry. I'm late for class and I don't really know where the lecture hall is and I....." The girl was saying when she looked at Laura's face. She froze...
Laura looked up at the girl and her face became a deep shade of red.
This was embarrassing. This happened 9 out of ten times people saw her. The freezing. The look of shock on their faces.
"Wow.... You're.... You're.... Wow." The girl said in a barely audible voice.
Laura's face turned an even deeper shade of red. "I'm sorry I bumped into you too. If you don't mind, I'll be leaving now." Laura said as she gathered the last of her belongings.
She spotted what she had been looking for earlier, at a corner. She immediately went forward and picked it up.
She stood up and noticed the girl was still staring.....
Or rather she was staring at the stress ball in her hand.
"Is... Is that a stress ball?" The girl asked in a rather certain tone.
"I.... I... It's not mine." Laura said the first lie that could come to mind.
Her breathing was rather erratic. It seemed panic was settling in on her.
The girl got out of her shock noticing Laura's behavior. "No, it's fine. I used to have one too. That's how I know what it is. You're..... Gorgeous." The girl said.
Laura let out a nervous chuckle appreciating the fact that the girl changed the subject.
"I.... Get that a lot." Laura said in a rather mild tone.
The girl smiled. " I'm Lila." She said while holding her hand out for a hand shake.
Laura stared at Lila for half a heartbeat before she slowly took her palm in hers.
"Laura. Laura Wilson." Laura said.
Lila blinked her eyes in a moment of confusion. "Wilson as in... Wilson college? Does your family own the school?" She asked.
Laura let out a little laugh. "New student??... No. Wilson as in Laura Wilson. I'm not related to owners of this place." She explained.
"Oh...." Lila still has a look of doubt on her face. "Yeah. I'm a new student." She said with a bubbly smile.
"I figured." Laura said pointedly.
Lila only let out a small chuckle.
"What department?" Laura asked.
"Medicine. Psychiatry to be precise." Lila said with a nervous shift in her legs.
"Wow. We're in the same class. Since your new, our first class today is..... Oh my.... We're late." Laura said and looked at her watch in shock.
Next thing Lila knew she was being held on the wrist and forced to run as fast as her legs could take her.
"We just missed our first lecture. No no no." Laura said still pulling Lila along.
Lila took a look at her watch. 8:30am.
She immediately freaked out. The lesson started by 7:30am. She was already late by 8 but now 8:30..... They'd missed the entire lecture.
By the time they got to class the lecturer was already gone. There were just some students who were still in the class.
"Sh*t...." They both said at the same time.
They looked at each other and began laughing.
"I guess we gotta talk to the lecturer about missing his class. I heard it's the special lecturer. No one misses his class." Laura said in a mysterious voice.
Lila laughed. "You ever seen him?" She asked.
"Not really. He only teaches second year students when they get to the end of the semester. He apparently teaches them full time in 3rd year." Laura explained as she relaxed her back on the wall.
"Oh.... Wow." Lila said in a far away voice.
"So. Laura, huh?" She said with a playful smirk.
"Yeah...." Laura answered with a raised brow.
"Let's exchange numbers. I'd love to also have you on social media platforms." Lila said in a rather excited voice.
Laura laughed in a low voice.
"Alright. My number is..." She was interrupted by the ringing of her phone.
Laura took a look at the caller ID before a frown rested on her delicate eyebrows.
She hesitated for half a second before picking up the phone.
"Hey mom.." Laura said in a weary voice.
"Come home. Now!" The voice of a middle aged woman said in a resolute voice on the other end of the phone.
Laura immediately felt a knot in her stomach. "Huh?... Oh ... I mean... Alright." She said in a slight whisper.
Lila looked at Laura before making a careful approach. "Family problem?" She asked with genuine concern on her face.
Laura looked at her before letting out a low self deprecating laugh. "Family.... How funny.. they're not my family. They don't even know what today is." She whispered tears brewing in her eyes.
Lila touched her arm gently. "Laura..."
Laura immediately jerked back into reality.
"Oh.... I have to go... I'll give you the number tomorrow. Wear a red dress. I tend to remember colors more. Bye." Laura said hastily before running off.
"Laura!" Lila yelled after her but she was gone.
"I don't like the color red." Lila said in a voice audible to her alone.
******
MILLER MANSION
Laura just entered the building. She looked exhausted.
She walked to the living room.
Just as she walked in, she heard her supposed mother saying.
"Laura is an understanding child. I'm sure she'll agree to marry their son." Elaine Miller said to her father in law.
Laura froze.
"Marry who??...