Awakenings

Chapter One

The Real Reason to Join PETA

Leather pants are the worst invention ever. This was the only thought running through my mind as I sat in misery during my first class. As it was my first college course ever, I had the brilliant idea that I should wear something special to commemorate the occasion; and what better outfit than my leather one that I was never allowed wearing in high school? As a result, though, I am now prepared to join PETA.

I tried without success to learn how to breathe with the skintight pants on. The only type of breathing that I was capable of was a pant of sorts…and that is not exactly the thing to do while sitting in the middle of three hundred people. Loud panting…yeah, that is attractive. Well, perhaps it is attractive to some people, but those are not the kind of people that I want to be attracted to me.

I am not entirely stupid; this was not the first time that I had worn the pants; so it was not as if I was not aware that they were tight. I was very aware of that. I was also aware that their tight fit was worth the sacrifice as they looked “damn hot” in the words of my ex-boyfriend. However, the only other time I wore them was to a New Years Eve party, where the weather was significantly cooler. Leather and end of August weather simply do not mix. Do not try it.

No one ever gave me that helpful advice though, so I was stuck in a huge crowd of students in stuffy ninety-degree weather. I sighed and looked to the professor, how long could this man ramble for? Was he going for some sort of record?

I stretched my arms out; thankfully, I had worn a wife beater underneath the sweater I had originally put on. At least I had the ability to use my arms, even if my legs had been sacrificed to the gods of fashion.

My eyes widened, the professor had dismissed the class. There was a God after all…if I took off my heels, and ran back to my dorm; I could change into a pair of sweats before my next class. I found myself able to breathe for the first time in hours as I thought of my baggy sweatpants with their blessed elastic waistline.

I attempted to stand, but found with horror that the leather had permanently attached to the chair. I moved my leg a little but was disgusted to find that both legs were nearly drenched in sweat. Sweat and leather, not a great mix.

The girl beside me had finished gathering her things and was now looking at me in repulsion.

I gave her a small, friendly smile, “leather pants on a hot day,” I said more lightheartedly than I felt, “is there anything worse?”

“Do you know,” she spat in distaste, “that an innocent animal had to die for you to wear those pants?” Before I could tell her of my plans to join PETA by the end of the day, she was already stalking away, muttering under her breath, “Good lord, they don’t even look good.”

My hands found their way to my hips with indignation; I was justifiably insulted by that! I had it on good authority that these pants looked very good on me. As I was preparing to go on a full on self-righteous rant, I noticed for the first time that the class had cleared out. Everyone had beaten me out of the class, including the professor who was no younger than one hundred and twelve years old! It was here that I remembered my dilemma that I was unable to stand.

I glanced around once more, if no one was here, then there was no need for me to worry about grace. With a newfound determination, I grabbed both sides of the seat and forced myself to a standing position. All this, of course, was not done without a moan of sheer pain. It was all right though, as no one could hear me. Or so I thought.

“Are you okay?”

My eyes darted around. Shit, there was someone else here. Someone I could not see apparently…maybe it was just my imagination, there was no one here after all. I waited a moment, no one appeared, and nothing else was said. Yes, I decided, it was only my imagination.

Now, I had to get to my dorm to change. Moreover, to do that I would need to get my stilettos off…except there was one major problem there; I could not bend my knees, which makes it somewhat difficult when attempting to pry off shoes.

I looked down at my watch, ten minutes until my next class began. If I hurried I could make it to my dorm in four minutes, take two minutes to change, and another four to run to my class that was across campus. If only I could get my shoes off…

I would just suck it up and bend down, I decided finally. After all, it was not impossible for me to bend; it was all a matter of drive and will. I took a forced breath, on the count of three I would just bend down quickly. I would do it like a band-aid, the quicker the better.

One…two…three. I attempted to snap my knees down, but ended up just falling instead. Falling in cramped aisle that was filled with desks. My chin connected with save-the-animals girl’s desk, and I could taste blood in my mouth.

I felt tears stinging my eyes as I brought my hand up to my throbbing chin. This was one of the worst days of my life. It was the first day of college; it was supposed to be special! I wore a nice outfit just to emphasize the sacredness of this day! Tears slipped past the brims of my eyes, and I could practically feel my mascara running. I let out a choked out sob, I was never really one to cry…but this was a horrible moment, and no one was here to witness it.

“Oh, shit,” I heard from behind me, “what did you do?!”

There was someone else here. This was not my imagination. Scratch this being one of the worst days of my life; this was now officially the worst. After all, the only thing worse than making an ass out of yourself, is having someone else witness you making an ass out of yourself.

My unrecognized audience was now rushing to a spot where I would be forced to look at them. They, turned out to be a he…an attractive he. How wonderful, what a nice way for my day to continue.

“Uh,” I articulately began, “I was just…er, looking for…my contact! Yes, my contact fell out and that is why I am on the floor.” At this point, I had both hands cradling my chin; it’s really not a good idea to talk when you have just busted yourself in the jaw.

“Ah. Well, that explains why you’re bleeding.”

My pain was shortly forgotten, he was laughing at me! It took a lot of effort to make up an excuse that would make me look semi-good, he had no right at all to laugh at it. “Whatever,” I mumbled as I attempted to stand unsuccessfully.

“I’m sorry,” he said soberly as he steadied me by placing his hands on my shoulders. “I didn’t mean to laugh…it’s just so damn funny.”

“I don’t find it funny at all.”

“Yeah, well you wouldn’t, as you are the one who took the fall. Trust me though, from where I’m standing, it was hilarious. And you plunged on account of what, shoes?”

I flushed as he looked disapprovingly at my shoes, which I still saw nothing wrong with. Okay, so they were a tad high…and pointy…and just a bit too small. But they were this unbelievable deal, last mark down clearance. They were Jimmy Choos. I think. Maybe they were Steve Madden. All right, small confession: I do not really know the difference between Jimmy and Steve. In fact, I am not really sure why either one has a shoe company, they don’t exactly have fashion designer type names. I mean, fashion should be exotic names, like Versace. I would really like to be a big “shoe person” but…for lack of a better phrase, the shoe doesn’t fit.

It was in the middle of my mental shoe confession that I realized he was expecting an answer. “For your information, it wasn’t the shoes at all. If you’ll excuse me, I have to get to class.”

He flashed me a huge smile, “well, wait here just one second first.”

He disappeared into an office that I had not noticed before, which, in turn, caused me to realize why I did not notice he was here before. He was sneaky, that one. I was still residing on the floor when he returned with a red duffel bag.

“I have something for you,” he said, as he got closer. The part of me that has seen too many horror and suspense thrillers was expecting him to pull out a knife or gun and attempt to rape me. However, he did not pull out a gun, he pulled out…shoes? Oh, my…the man had a pair of sport sandals. The kind that slip on, are flat, and do not suffocate your feet.

He bent down in front of me and took of my heels with expertise. I then became a disoriented Cinderella as he slid the sandals on my blistered feet. I closed my eyes and absorbed the comfort, it was heaven. Half the battle was done, now only to find a way to change out of these pants--

My mouth hung open; he had just pulled a pair of net shorts out of his magical bag. He handed them to me with a knowing smile, “girls and the things they do for fashion. My girlfriend is the same way. You can change in that office down there, just get this stuff back to me whenever.”

He then helped me up and I limped my way down to the office. Okay, so the shoes and the shorts were like a billion sizes too big…but I was so far past the point of caring. I still did not even know his name, but I knew one thing, this man was a god.

A/N- lol, this chapter is dedicated to any girl who attempted to look good on a hot summer day. Outfits always seem to be such a good idea when you are in air-conditioning…however, when you are stuck out in the blistering heat for a few hours, said outfit becomes less appealing. Let me know what you think, reviews have a way of dictating the quickness of the update ;)