Breathless Read Online Free PDF

myself, knowing I was being
ridiculous, but as I started to drop off to sleep, it was impossible not to
think about the look in his eyes when he’d introduced himself, the way he’d
laughed to his friends before that, the way he smiled at me, and how good it
probably would feel to have him right there with me.

 
    The weekend ended faster than I would have guessed;
everyone was moved into their dorms, and even the upperclassmen were all on
campus. Georgia and I had another day of getting settled in. We were definitely
more than ready to start our classes, to see what it would be like. So when
Monday morning came around and I had to wake up for my first class, I was awake
even before my alarm went off. I took a quick shower and got dressed, agonizing
more than I would have wanted to admit to anyone over the choice of what to
wear to my first day of classes. Jeez,
it’s not like the first day of school, I told myself. “Get your act
together, Becky.” I shook my head and decided to go with a regular old t-shirt
and jeans, a cute pair of shoes, and my purse.
    Georgia and I had bought our books the day before, and
I was more grateful than I had ever been in my life that my parents were
well-off. Before we’d set out for the campus, Dad had pulled me aside and put a
gold AmEx into my hands. “Now, the bills from this card are coming straight to
me, so don’t think I’m not going to know what you’re spending it on,” he had
told me. “But books are expensive, and you do deserve a little bit of fun—so as
long as you don’t go over-budget, I’m not going to look at things too closely.
But if you go over your budget, I’m going to make you find a way to pay for
it.”
    My first class of the day was my English course, and
as I came out of the dorms, I saw dozens of other students making their way
across campus, hurrying to get to their classes—a few of them had obviously
already had a class today, and I shook my head, thinking to myself that it was
at least good that I hadn’t had to wake up even earlier. I stopped off in the
dining hall, knowing I had a little bit of time—not enough to sit down and have
breakfast, but enough time to grab something to eat and maybe some coffee. I’d
been so nervous and excited the night before that I had barely slept—I knew I
was going to need the caffeine in me for the math class that came afterward.
    I grabbed a banana and some pre-toasted bread and
tucked it into my backpack carefully and poured myself a carry-away cup of
coffee. I was still feeling confident as I got out of the dining hall,
following the flow of students leaving and heading out to the other side of
campus where the different class buildings were. My English class was in
MC1012, which I had at least figured out was the Marchman building, named after some author who had gone to the school ages before and
then, when he had gotten wealthy selling books, had endowed the English
department. But I had no idea where the Marchman building was, and suddenly, the tiny campus seemed huge.
    I wandered around, trying not to check the time too
often on my phone as I looked for any of the signs that could have told me
where I was on campus or where the different buildings were. I had plenty of
time, I told myself over and over again. I had left my room early. I sipped at
my coffee, trying to fight down the sense of rising panic that filled my head
as I wandered around without any clue at all which building I needed to be at.
I thought about going to the Admissions building, but that was all the way on
the other side of the campus—I would be late for sure if I did that.
    I saw some other kids, obviously upperclassmen,
walking past me. “Hey,” I called out, keeping my voice as calm as possible.
“I’m—kind of new here, first day and all; could someone tell me where the Marchman building is?” They acted like they hadn’t heard
me, but I caught one of the girls—a sorority girl with one of the pins showing
her