I was about to lay out on the couch but thought better of it and instead sat in the armchair. Sprinkles came out of hiding and jumped on my lap. I pet her and she purred. With my free hand, I took my phone back out and scrolled through my contacts, stopping at Richard’s name. I text him:
‘Thanks for the fries and soda :)’
Moments later, he text back:
‘You're welcome cutie ;)’
I bit my lip and thought about what to text back. I heard the shower and music stop and the bathroom door open. Gemma came out wrapped in a towel, wearing slippers, her wet hair dripping.
"I thought I heard you come in," she said.
"Where's Sharon?" I asked.
"She left," Gemma answered. There was a pause. Gemma was giving me this strange look.
"What?" I asked her.
"Did you put ecstasy in the tea?"
"What?!" I asked her incredulously.
She looked up at the ceiling and spoke slowly.
"Did you put ecstasy in the tea?"
"No!" I exclaimed. Gemma stared me down.
"Dahlia, I'm going to ask you one more time. Did you put ecstasy in the tea?!"
"Yes!" I blurted out, instantly regretting it after seeing Gemma's face turn red with anger.
"Why would you do that? What the fuck is wrong with you?!" She demanded. I bit my lip, trying to figure out what to say.
"I knew that you two would hit it off and I just wanted to give you a little push.." I said lamely.
"She's married!" Gemma screamed at me. "You made her cheat on her husband!" Woah, let's not give me too much credit.
"I didn't make her do anything. She wanted to do that. The ecstasy just made her less inhibited," I said. Gemma shook her head.
"I can't believe you," she said and turned around, stomping away.
"Do you wat to get lunch with me in the dining hall?" I yelled at her back. Gemma answered by slamming her bedroom door and turning her music on with the volume all the way up.
"I guess not," I said to myself. I looked down at my phone at my last text from Richard and texted back:
‘Since I ate your food, do you want to meet me for lunch in the dining hall?’
He texted back:
‘Sure! :)’
I smiled and wrote back:
‘Ok, I'll see you soon!’
I got up and left the apartment without another word to Gemma. She'd get over it. She just needed some time to cool off. But when I got back to the apartment after having lunch with Richard, she still wasn't talking to me. It was a long weekend with Gemma giving me the silent treatment. I wondered how long she planned on holding this up. Since Gemma wouldn't talk to me, and I wasn't talking to Professor Moore, Richard and I
had been texting all weekend. I really liked him. Not as much as I liked Professor Moore, but enough. When Monday came along, Gemma left for class before I woke up and I ended up walking to class alone. When I got there, on time this time, Richard had saved me a seat beside him. This definitely cheered me up. We flirted off and on throughout class which got us glares from Professor Moore. When we critiqued our sketches, Professor Moore ripped mine a new ass and told me that he needed to speak to me after class and to come to his office.