— You will work with your partner throughout the course, you cannot change partners. I assigned a number to each pair, and after class, I will enter it into my computer to keep better track. With your partner, you will look up fifty unknown terms in your course book. You must submit that tomorrow, in addition to reading chapter one for next week. I want you to submit it handwritten, with both of your handwriting on the assignment. You must do it together because I want you to list each term: even numbers will be done by one person, and odd numbers by the other. This way I ensure that the work is equitable and teamwork-based.
— Any questions?
No one dares to ask anything, so the professor ends the class.
— Can I have your number so we can arrange to meet somewhere later and do the assignment?
— Why, so you can pass it on to your desperate friends? I don't think so. See you at the library at two, after lunch.
— Fine. — He responds through clenched teeth, after staring at me very seriously for a moment.
— See you in the computer science section, don't be late.
Without waiting for his response, I go to my next class.
Upon entering, the class is somewhat full. I sit in one of the few free seats, just as I settle in, the professor enters the class. As he puts his things on the desk, the door opens again. Denver enters, trying not to make noise. From the hallway, he tries to find a place; I try to hide so he doesn't see me, as there's an empty seat next to me.
— Is this seat taken? — He sits down before I can answer.
— Now it is. — I sigh with regret.
— It seems you don't like me. Don't you like me at all?
— I just met you, but the truth is, I don't like you at all.
— I think we should get to know each other better at lunch. You know, after all, we'll be partners all semester.
— No, I already arranged to have lunch with someone.
— So soon? It hasn't even been a day of classes and you already have suitors?
— I'm having lunch with my friend.
— What's your friend like?
Denver watches me with too much interest, the naive guy thinks I'm going to describe her.
— Don't even think I'm going to introduce you to her. — I frown.
— Okay, relax, I just wanted to tease you.
— We better stop talking, okay? Pay attention.
My cell phone vibrates. A message has just arrived from Jen.
° See you at noon at the pizzeria across the street, Marie will come with us. 10:16 am
° Ok. I'll call you after my class. 10:16 am ✓✓
— That's a good pizzeria. — Denver whispers.
— Stop reading my conversations. — I whisper, annoyed.
— That's what you did before. It's annoying, isn't it?
— We're even, don't do it again.
— I know it seems weird, but my brothers and I are going to that pizzeria after class. Don't think I'm following you.
— Yeah, right. It's not weird at all.
— How about we go together? After all, we're going to the same place. When we get there, I promise not to bother you, you won't even notice my presence.
— If I say yes, will you let me pay attention?
— Of course.
— Fine. — I roll my eyes.
After that class, I put my notebook in my backpack. It's a bit warm, so I take off my jacket and fold it to put it away too.
— Ready? — Denver asks.
— Yes. — I close my backpack.
At first, we don't talk about anything, we just walk in silence next to each other. The silence is broken when we see a guy passing by with an IT t-shirt, one of the best suspense movies.
— Have you seen that movie? — Denver asks, pointing to the t-shirt.
— Yes, it's very good. I saw it on opening day with Jen.
— Me too, with my brothers. At the midnight showing.
— Imagine walking alone at night, down the street, after watching that movie.
— Surely, if a clown appeared to me, I'd have a heart attack.
— What kind of movies do you like?
— I like suspense movies, obviously, also zombie and action movies.
— Resident Evil?
— Yes, but only the first three, the others are boring.
— The last one is the worst.
— Video games are another world. I love those, all of them.
— Yeah, Resident Evil 2 is the best by far.
— I like the original more, but 2 comes very close to being as good as that one.
— Have you ever been addicted to a game?
— Yes, on vacation I spent almost a whole month locked in my room playing Uncharted 4.
— Really? Only a month? — I tease.
— Fine, you got me, it was two months.
After all, he's not that much of an idiot, I think as we laugh. He opens the door of the pizzeria and lets me enter first. I see Jen and Marie sitting in the back, I give Denver a smile before leaving, and he sits at a table near the entrance to wait for his brothers.
— Oh my God! Is it just me or did Denver Casanova just smile at you? — Marie says, excitedly.
— Yes, why? — I ask, intrigued.
— Haven't you heard anything about him or his brothers?
— No. — Jen answers for me. — We don't know anything.
— Those guys are the most coveted on the entire campus. They have the reputation of taking all the girls to bed and then leaving them. They've never had anything serious with anyone, according to what they say.
— That can't be true. Yes, Denver is a jerk, he even rated me in a WhatsApp group, but he's very nice when you get to know him better.
— That's how those guys are, Kate. They know how to attract you: at first, they're kind, sweet, seductive. Then, when they get what they want, they lose interest in you.
— Do you know anyone they've done that to?
— A friend says she has many friends who have been involved with them. Some people say they've slept with more than 35% of the girls on campus and have kissed almost 60%.
— That can't be true. — Jen says. — I don't think they're that good-looking to achieve that.
Right at that moment, three guys enter the pizzeria. A brown-haired guy with blue eyes, whose face lights up when he smiles, and the two guys next to him are twins: one has gray eyes and the other blue. They are blonde and, like the other one, have athletic bodies. Denver looks like them, except that his eyes are hazel, his hair is ash blonde, and he is a bit taller than the twins.
— Shut your mouths, girls. — Marie says. — In case you're wondering, yes, they are the Casanova brothers. The oldest is Kane, the twins are Shawn, the one in the blue shirt, and Caleb, the one in the red shirt. And how to forget your friend Denver.
— Now that I think about it better, I think the rumors are true. — Jen says, biting her lower lip. — How could you not want to sleep with one of them? They are hot.
She's like that, she always says those kinds of things, she doesn't keep anything to herself.
— They're going to hear you. — I say, lowering my voice to stop her before anyone notices.
— They're too far away.
— They're too good-looking, I know, but I recommend staying away from them. It's rumored that their father is involved in shady dealings. They have a lot of money, but no one knows how their father makes a living.
— What are you talking about? Don't they know where he works?
— Some say he manufactures drugs, others that he's the head of a mafia. What I think is that he traffics organs. — She whispers.
— I don't think so, it must be a remote business or something.
— Maybe. — She shrugs. — The point is that you don't try to play with fire, you could get burned. Those guys are involved in bad things.
— Bad things? Do they get into trouble? — I ask, curious.
— Yes, in trouble with the police and at the university. If it weren't for their father, they would all be in prison or would have already been expelled.
Suddenly, they all turn to look in the direction of our table. I hear Denver whisper:
— She's already noticed, don't be so obvious.
No one cares what he says, they keep staring at us.
— I think someone told his brothers about you. Try to take my advice: stay away while you still can.
— He's my partner for the entire semester. How do you want me to stay away from him?
— Try to keep things professional, not very friendly, but pleasant. — She suggests.
— Well... Today he asked for my number and I didn't give it to him.
— Are you serious? — Jen asks, surprised. — If he had asked me, I would have given it to him without hesitation.
— I'm not you, Jen. Besides, I didn't give it to him because of what he wrote in that WhatsApp group. He was almost offering me up.
— You read his WhatsApp?
— Out of the corner of my eye. He said I was a seven out of ten, and that if any of them wanted me, it was fine.
— He was probably talking to his brothers. — Marie says. — Did he realize you read the chat?
Yes — I reply, covering my face. — Then he saw my chat with Jen. I think that's why they came to this pizzeria. According to him, we were both heading to the same place, and he offered to walk with me.
— I think he likes you. — Jen says, clapping silently, very excited.
— He's not my type.
— That's how those guys manage to make you fall in love and then leave you.
— Marie is right. Anyway, I'm not interested in him. He's fine as a classmate, but as a man, he's an idiot.