Alice hadn't noticed in the small print of the scholarship papers signed in the superintendent's office, but all her books and supplies were part and parcel to her stay there at the Academy. In other words: she didn't need to pay. So, she put her money back in her purse and set up a budget for her newfound wealth. If I'm really going to help the Veldt, I'm going to need supplies. And those don't grow on trees . . . well, not usually.
She smiled slightly and started wandering through the store looking for the supplies she classified as 'superfluous'; such as extra notebooks, extra notepaper, and extra pens and pencils. Won't Gau be surprised when I show up with about a ton of seeds and fertilizer? Carol wouldn't want to help. Too afraid to break a nail. It'd just be me, Gau, and Eric more than likely. Although she wondered if King Edgar would be willing to lend her a newfangled piece of machinery to help out. The Veldt was a big place for three people to replant.
Alice set a box of pens into her basket, ignoring a tall gentleman in a nice suit watching her shop. Geez, mister. You ever hear of manners? She moved on to the row for notepaper. A few moments later, he was there, too. When Alice glanced at him, he smiled. His blue eyes were kind, hair a pretty color of red, and his face was all right to look at, but he just didn't tweak her interest. She looked away.
He moved, right toward her. “Hey there.”
She didn't look up. Where's that darn narrow-ruled paper? “Hi.” I hate the wide-ruled kind.
“New arrival?”
“Yeah.” Oh. Here it is. Yeah. This looks about right. She picked up a package of 200 pages and put it in her basket before giving him a very slight smile and moving a little ways down the aisle to the notebooks. He followed. Great. Second day at school and I've got a stalker. Thrill.
“So, what classes you taking?”
“This and that. Nothing exciting.” One inch. I need one inch notebooks--Here they are. She picked up a different colored notebook for each class.
“I'm a writing major. What about you?”
Alice cleared her throat. “Veldt.”
“Huh?”
She looked over at him. “I'm an environmental major. I'm studying the Veldt.”
“Why? There's nothing there.”
Alice frowned. “Yeah, like there's nothing up there,” she countered, pointing at his head. “Later.” She turned and stalked toward the front. The first time I'm hit on and it's by an idiot. She placed the rest of her things on the counter and waited for the clerk to tally the cost.
“I didn't mean to tick you off.”
Alice clenched her jaw. “Fine.”
He touched her shoulder to get her to face him. She stepped away from him instead. “Come on. I'm sorry.”
Alice shrugged and accepted the bags from the clerk. “It's fine.” She headed out the door, the guy fast on her heels. “If you'll excuse me, I've got to meet a friend at the office.”
“I'll walk you there.”
“That's all right. I'll pass.” She glanced over at him. His expression was fiercely determined. “Seriously. I'll be fine.”
“I'm sure you would, but I'd like to do it just the same.” He met her eyes and gave her a slight smile. “The name's Riley.”
She looked away. “Alice.”
“Nice to meet you, Alice.”
“Charmed.” She halted suddenly and turned to face him. “Look. I'm not interested in getting into any kind of kissy-touchy-feely relationship right now. Right? I've got two years of heavy classes, and then I'm off to the Veldt to put it into action.”
Riley stared down at her with a slack jaw. Then he collected his brain off the sidewalk enough to rub the back of his neck and close his mouth. His ears went a bit pink. “Uh . . . yeah, sure. Right.”