Jia Li knew she’d be waiting for a while. After all, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen him when he’d been awake before noon. Even when she’d gone to his dorm with Kay, he’d look like he’d just woken up when he’d opened the door for that split second before slamming it in their faces.
She wondered if all signs of his wounds had disappeared completely. Those little pink slash-like marks all over his torso had seemed like they were shrinking before her eyes, but she hadn’t had much time to look at them. It could have been a trick of her eyes or of the light. Then again, he had been able to walk after getting stabbed like that and losing all of that blood. Maybe those marks really had been shrinking.
The dryad hadn’t been so lucky. The bruise on her face was almost completely gone, having turned to a greenish yellow colour. The gash in the center of it had healed, but a small, white line still showed clearly against the remains of the bruise. It was likely that it would disappear in time, but she wasn’t taking any chances. She wasn’t going to let it scar. The bruise on the back of her shoulder was almost completely gone, too, but it was still a little angrier than the one on her face. Her ribs and leg weren’t so lucky. The centers of those massive bruises were still purple, but the size had shrunk, and the outside edges were the ugly greenish-yellow of the bruise on her face. Hopefully, in another week, they would be gone or almost gone. The one on her face definitely wouldn’t be there after a couple more days. Jia Li may not have been able to heal as quickly as Jack, but she could still heal faster than a human.
As she waited for Jack to awaken and to find her note, she began to have her doubts. What if he just blew her off? It was a distinct possibility, but the fact that he hadn’t told her his real first name and she’d used it was something that would maybe get his attention, right? The more she thought about it, the less likely it all seemed. Thinking about this would just make her crazy, so she had to do something else.
In order to get her mind off those thoughts, she decided to read her science textbook. Summer classes were over, and she’d gotten very good marks, but not everything had been covered that was in the book, and science interested her. It was sort of strange. She was a dancer, but she also enjoyed science where it applied to the environment: two opposing fields, but two fascinating ones as far as she was concerned.
She pulled out a notebook and a pencil and took notes and solved equations as she moved through the pages. Math wasn’t exactly her best subject by any means, but she was a hard worker, and once she set her mind to something, she would complete it. She was halfway through one such equation when the door slammed open, causing her body to jerk in surprise from her position on the couch in the dorm’s living room.
Jack stood there, looking quite unhappy. Obviously, the note got his attention, but she would have to be more careful about locking her door. Then he… tried to bribe her? Her brows knit in confusion.
“Money? Are you kidding? I didn’t ask you to talk so that I could get money from you.” The dryad stood, placing her notebook, pencil, and textbook on the coffee table beside her laptop. She moved toward him. Why would he think she wanted money from him? Sure, she could use money in order to pay her way through college, but there were other ways to get it. She’d read that his mom was a high paid scientist of sorts, but even knowing that, the thought had never once crossed her mind that she should try to get him to give her money. Even now, the idea repulsed her.
“Can we talk in my room? I don’t really want to explain to my roommate why I invited a guy here if she comes back while you’re still here.” That and she didn’t want Alissa to do all of the teasing she knew would happen if the elf saw them together. Jia Li’s roommate had never once seen Jia Li with a guy unless there was a purpose like a group study get-together or something. Being alone with one in their dorm defied all logic. If they spoke in her room, they would at least have some privacy.