22:05

“You look good” Chanyeol told me as I entered his white convertible.

Nerves was not a strong enough word to describe my feeling as I sat next to him in his car. I was petrified of saying the wrong thing, or doing something inappropriate and embarrassing myself.

“Thanks, the same goes for you” I replied shyly. He as always looked perfect, his hair perfectly styled with his fringe pulled back from his forehead. Dressed plainly in a black t-shirt and jeans he still looked stunning.

Nothing else was said, an awkward silence fell upon us as he drove towards his friends home and I tried my best to find something to say.

“New car?” I finally said. He wasn’t driving the same car he used to drive back in high school.

“Not really I’ve had it for about a year” he replied. This simple statement showed how completely different our lives are. I couldn’t afford driving lessons let alone a new car. The only person who knew how to drive in my family was my dad, and he drove a second hand 20 year old BMW 3 which was by my family standards a descent car. Chanyeol on the other hand thought his one year old Benz was old and had been driving ever since he was eligible to get a licence.  

“But it’s the latest model right?”  I asked trying to carry on the conversation.

“I think so, but I’m not sure.” Chanyeol shrugged. “Cars aren’t really my forte.”

“They’re not really mine either” I replied honestly. There was no point in me paying too much attention to expensive cars it’s not like I could afford one anytime soon.

“Good I find car talk to be very boring. My friend Kris is obsessed, he can go on for hours not that I ever listen to him” he smiled.

“Kris?” I asked knowing fully well who he was but trying to prevent the awkward silence from returning.

“He’s my best friend and roommate. He used to attend St Edwards as well, maybe you remember him?”

“Oh yeah I remember him now” I said pretending to remember. Of course I knew who Kris was everyone knew him, in the high school hierarchy he was considered king. 

“Which course is he in? I’ve never seen him around campus” I asked not that I cared.

“Business administration, he’s the sole heir to Wu group.”

“Wow” I exclaimed. Wu group was a multibillion dollar corporation and Kris was the only son of an only son.

“Some people have all the luck,” he sighed.

“You’re lucky as well,” I pointed out.

“My dad’s a partner at an investment bank, it’s not exactly the same” he said his voice filled with resent.

I had to stop myself from pointing out how grateful he should be. His family might not be as rich as Kris’ but his dad earned millions in the stock market unlike mine who worked for eight hours a day as a packer at a ketchup factory and my mum who had to work part time at a supermarket just to make ends meet. Chanyeol was upset at not having a billion dollar corporation to inherit while my parents couldn’t even afford to send me to college.

We remained silent for the next few minutes till we arrived at his friend’s house. It was a large modern two story house with a huge pool to the side.

We entered the house to find what seemed like hundreds of college students drinking, dancing and grinding. Loud music was coming from speakers all over the house and it took us almost 5 minutes to cross the living room and get to the kitchen.

As we were getting ourselves a drink, an attractive guy with platinum blonde hair, came over and hugged Chanyeol. He was shorter than Chanyeol roughly my height maybe a bit shorter.

“I thought you weren’t coming” he shouted over the loud music.

“I wouldn’t miss one of your parties Suho” Chanyeol said.  

“Who is your cute friend?” he said talking about me but not to me.

“This is Baekhyun” Chanyeol said introducing me to his friend.

 “Nice to meet you” Suho smiled brightly and then to my surprise he actually pulled me in for a hug. I was never much of a hugger and to hug a complete stranger on the first meeting felt very uncomfortable.

 “Freshman?” he asked.

“Sophmore” Chanyeol replied in my stead.

“Really? How come I’ve never seen you around?” Suho asked.

I shrugged in response, not really knowing how to reply. He smiled at me again, his scrutinizing eyes roaming over me making me feel even more uncomfortable. Although he seemed very friendly and nice I could tell he was judging me. Just by looking at the house he lived in you could tell he was rich, that along with his expensive haircut and designer clothes was proof of his privileged life.

Now I know that not all rich people are posh snobs but after spending four years at St Edwards I learned that although this was true for some of them, it was not