Chapter 6
Ava finished her class and came out of the classroom. Hardin had been waiting outside for quite a while.
The first time he met her, he thought she was one of those girls who always wanted to hang out with him.
He did not give her any attention. Later unintentionally, he would notice her walking around the college campus.
She was usually quiet, and she never tried to grab anyone's attention. But because of her beauty and innocence, people were drawn to her.
She is always polite and has a gracious personality. Hardin could not stop thinking about her.
He wanted to talk to her the past few days, but he couldn't muster up the courage. Today he decided that he will follow Ava and make it look like a coincidence.
"Ava!" he called out, seeing that she did not notice him.
"Hardin your book is in my room, why don't you wait here while I go and get it," she replied.
She finished reading the book the other night. It was very massive, so she didn't think of carrying it around.
"Oh no, I was just passing by. I saw you, so I thought I should say hi," he lied.
"You can return it to me later," he wanted another excuse to meet her until they become close enough to the point where they can hang out without needing any reason.
Kelly was clarifying something with the professor and just came out of the classroom.
She saw her friend Ava and college heartthrob Hardin having a conversation in the corridor.
Kelly was also Ava's roommate. Kelly belonged to a middle-class family. She was intelligent and was able to get into the prestigious university by scholarship.
She was one of the top students in her class. She studies really hard because of the fear of losing her scholarship.
The rich kids did not interact well with her in the beginning. They looked down on her because of her financial status.
She took the initiative to talk to Ava when they became roommates.
Ava was kind and was really good to her, so they both became friends very quickly. Ava, unlike the others, never judged or lorded their status over her.
"There you are," Kelly stood next to Ava.
"I will get going, it's lunchtime. It was nice to see you," Ava said to Hardin.
"Maybe I could join you?" Hardin replied in a hurry. And before Ava could reply, Kelly said yes.
Harding was walking in front of them, and Kelly took the opportunity to ask Ava how she knew Hardin.
After listening to her explanation, Kelly squealed excitedly. She was thinking she was going to get a lot of chances to talk to Hardin from now on.
He was the most popular guy in the college, and he was also the student council president.
Kelly was excited to share lunch with her male god. She thought that her day couldn't get any better.
They stood in line at the cafeteria to get the food. Ava and Hardin were standing parallel to each other while Kelly was standing behind Hardin.
From behind them, they heard a girl say, "Hardin, did you come to have lunch with me?" It was Lily. She was there in the cafeteria with her friends. As soon as she spotted Hardin in the queue, she came to talk to him.
"I've already finished my lunch. If I knew you wanted to have lunch with me, I would have waited. Never mind. I can stay and keep you company," Lily said, holding onto his arm.
If Hardin was campus god, Lily was the campus goddess. She was smoking hot and she always tries to use it to her advantage.
Hardin was popular and good looking like her, so she wanted to be with him.
"He is having lunch with us," Kelly replied proudly. It was the first time she could brag in front of Lily.
"Is it true?" Lily questioned Hardin, not believing it. She looked at Kelly with a disgusted look.
Hardin, in turn, was looking at Ava. He absentmindedly replied, yes. He removed her hand so that Ava would not misunderstand.
Lily got mad, looking at Kelly's smug smile. She gritted her teeth and thought that she had talked and sat with Hardin a few times, so he came here today to have lunch with her.
She thought Hardin would have never agreed to be with Kelly. She probably snaked herself into his crowd.
There was plenty of time to be with Hardin later. Lily thought she would take her time.
At the table, a few of the regular lunchmates joined them. Hardin was sitting in front of Ava. A few people were surprised, and some of them giddy to see Hardin at their table.
Hardin noticed that Ava did not get the dessert, so he placed his dessert on her plate. In the cafeteria, sometimes people who came in late missed some of the items on the menu.
Ava raised her head and gave him a questioning look
"You didn't have the dessert so …," he said with a straight face.
"I don't like coconut tart," she replied.
"Well, I'll take it back," he said, but Kelly told him she wanted it and took the tart from Ava's plate. She wasn't picky, as long it was delicious. Today made it special. How can she say no to her idol?
Ava felt Hardin's eyes on her for a long time and looked up. Hardin was embarrassed about getting caught, so he looked down at his plate and coughed.
"I was thinking, maybe you can come to our tennis club this evening," Kelly said, inviting Hardin.
He said he would check his schedule and get back to her. They were all talking about tennis and about how Ava played really well. They said it was because she practiced every day.
"I'll come," he exclaimed. When he noticed that they all looked at him suspiciously, he said, "Oh, I can't come today. I will visit you tomorrow instead. You know that as student council president, I go around and visit clubs all the time." He knew it was a lame excuse, but he wanted to see Ava.
When the people from other clubs heard him, they all piped up their invitations to their respective clubs.
The computer guy thought if they saw Hardin in his club, girls might think he was cool. Girls in college always thought that guys who play sports are cool, compared to computer guys.
Hardin got caught. He never would bother to talk to these people, let alone visit their clubs. Ugh! Well, if this is the only way to get Ava's attention, then he was going to do it.
"Why don't you invite him to our dorm as well," Ava pulled Kelly's sleeve, and whispered irritatingly.
"I don't have a problem with that. It's okay if he wants to come," Kelly giggled and then sighed dreamily.