“Lucky you. I guess what happened to me wasn’t truly horrific.” Much worse had happened to her. “But still… having some jerk take every mean shot at me he could still gets my blood boiling. He couldn’t even be bothered to use my real name once he learned what it was.” Really, Jia Li shouldn’t have been unloading herself on this person, but they were sort of chatting and getting to know one another. Maybe her dad could rest a little easier if his darling daughter found a new friend.
“Sirens?” Jia Li had met some sirens when she’d gone to school, but she hadn’t been friends with any of them, especially not after the incident. She had been too afraid of anyone taking advantage of her, and she didn’t know the extent of a siren’s abilities over dryads. Sure, humans could become instantly enamored, but what about dryads? Would a siren even bother to try to tame her with its voice? “I wouldn’t have pin-pointed it earlier, but I can see it. You have a really pleasant voice.” One that could even be soothing under the right conditions.
The dryad felt a little panic rise inside her when Kaydence asked if she wanted to hear a secret. Would she expect Jia Li to reveal a secret, too? She didn’t answer, continuing her jog, but the siren decided to tell her anyway. “Creative writing? That sucks that your parents won’t pay for something like that. Maybe you could get a job on the side to pay for a minor in that subject?”
Jia Li couldn’t imagine her father ever stifling her dreams. He always supported her no matter what she wanted to do. When she was three, she told him she wanted to be the first dryad to dance on the moon, and he had just laughed and told her that if it was really what she wanted, she should do it. He didn’t tell her that going to the moon would require her to be away from her tree for longer than would be healthy, that such an endeavor could kill her.
“If you really want to do creative writing, nothing should stop you. Maybe you could apply for scholarships for it or something. There are a lot of things that can be done. I got a scholarship in dance even if I can’t major in it. I’m really majoring in environmental studies.
Jia Li blushed when Kaydence mentioned sex burning as many calories as swimming. That was one form of exercise she had absolutely never even come close to trying. Of course, she’d had opportunities, but she hadn’t felt ready for it. The last person she’d spurned had taken his fury out on her tree with fire, so she really avoided the whole dating scene altogether. One couldn’t spurn someone if she was openly against dating in the first place.
“Mostly nice people? That means you’ve met a jerk or two, right? Trust me, I get it. I’ve been here for a year, and not everyone is nice, but some are a lot crueler than others. My roommate is really nice, though. I got lucky when they paired me with her. Do you live on campus?”