An Unexpected Girl

chapter thirty-seven

Niki wanted them to go back to her bedroom, but Iris declined. She was still pretty embarrassed about the little fiasco at the movie theatres, and a bit annoyed at Niki for her nonchalant attitude toward it.

A small part of Iris knew she wasn't just annoyed at Niki's nonchalant attitude towards what happened at the movie theatre, but her nonchalant attitude toward virtually everything.

"Are you sure you don't want to come back to mine?" Niki asked.

Iris stared into Niki's dark eyes, her gaze flickering to the girl's lips. They were inviting, and tempting, and there were parts of Iris that craved her so desperately and wanted to do whatever it was Niki asked of her. Instead, Iris firmly shook her head.

"I've gotta go to bed. I have class tomorrow."

A look of annoyance passed over Niki's features, but she nodded.

The drive back to Iris' apartment felt even faster than the drive to the movie theatre. She said goodbye to Niki in a curt, awkward wave before getting out of her car.

Niki didn't wait for Iris to make her way into her apartment before she drove off.

Iris unlocked her apartment door and walked in, at the same time that Korra walked out of her bedroom, wrapped in a towel.

For a few moments, both girls just stood staring at each other.

"Why are you all dressed up? Were you on a date?"

Iris felt herself grow hot but tried to play it off, shaking her head. "Definitely not, especially not after the events of last weekend."

It was a lie, but there was no way in hell that Iris was going to tell Korra she had been on a date with Niki. They had literally just started talking again.

"Right..." Korra said, suspicion apparent in her voice, "why are you all dressed up though?"

"Oh this," Iris said, closing the apartment door behind it, "was feeling down, so I decided to dress up cute and go on a walk."

Korra looked at her. Iris was unable to decipher the emotion on Korra's face.

"That must have been a long walk."

"Yeah," Iris agreed, "it was a long walk. A really long walk."

For a few moments, both girls just looked at each other. Korra twirled her pink braids slightly before releasing a sigh.

"Iris, you know if you need to talk about anything. I'm here."

A feeling of guilt passed through Iris. She definitely didn't want to lie to Korra, but she just needed to figure things out herself. There was so much going on in her right then, and the last thing that she needed was to be judged.

"I know, Korra," Iris replied, "I'm really tired. I think I'm just gonna go straight to bed."

Korra nodded, and both girls headed to their respective bedrooms.

Iris really was tired and instantly got ready for bed, welcoming sleep after the day she had.

Yet, despite her efforts to fall asleep, Iris stayed up for a few moments longer, staring at the ceiling while her thoughts ran wild. She thought of Korra's words and knew Korra meant them. Korra was just trying to look out for her.

But it was so hard for Iris to do. That meant actually facing her problems.

At some point in the night, sleep finally came. Iris drifted into a heavy slumber, dreaming of crimson curls between her fingers.

The rest of the week went pretty smoothly. And by 'smoothly', Iris meant devoid of any large interruptions and significant chaos. Sure, she was exhausted and confused as hell. Yet, she would rather have this than chaos, so Iris welcomed this.

Iris hadn't gone out with Niki since their date at the movie theatre. She had texted Niki several times, always being the one to initiate the conversation. Even though Niki never responded immediately, it was always within 24 hours, which Iris figured was still better than no response.

A part of Iris was telling her that the bar was in hell, and she was settling for the bare minimum, but Iris ignored this. She put this part of her down, burying it deep beyond all her other feelings.

The truth was, Niki was one of the few things keeping Iris afloat. Things were bad in her life, but the fact Iris at least had Niki felt like an achievement. She was falling in all aspects of her life, but as long as she got the girl, she would be fine.

Iris had even begun falling behind in her classes. This was something that she usually never ever did. Despite how bad things were, Iris was usually on top of shit academically wise.

Hence, it didn't surprise Iris when she was called into a meeting with her academic advisor.

Iris' academic advisor was Idith, a black woman who wore her hair in cornrows. Iris was thankful for her advisor, and for the fact she was a black woman. In a lot of ways, Idith reminded Iris of her mom, and this was a thing Iris usually loved.

However, seated in her office that afternoon, Iris didn't like the resemblance, seeing as her mom wasn't necessarily in her good books at the moment.

"Iris, I'm so glad you could make this meeting at such short notice," Idith said, scrolling through her computer. Iris had no doubt that she was probably looking through her grades.

"How are you doing, honey?"

"I'm fine," Iris mumbled. The lie was obvious, even in her own ears. Idith gave her a look that made it clear she wasn't buying it either. But Idith didn't push the subject. She just nodded and readjusted her dark-rimmed glasses.

"I called you in today because your grades are slipping."

Iris just nodded. This wasn't a surprise to her. She already knew this.

"Now, it's not anything to be alarmed about right now," Idith continued. "You're still in excellent academic standing, which is essential for your pre-med track, but if your grades keep slipping, it could become a problem."

The pressure that Iris was feeling lately was unlike anything she had experienced before. Everything was coming at her in all directions, and Iris could not catch a break.

Fucking junior year of college.

"I called you in for this meeting so we can nip that in the bud before then, Iris," Idith said, looking at Iris directly. Idith had her hands placed on her lap and she was looking at Iris with concern in her eyes.

"Is there anything wrong? Is there anything you need help with?"

Iris felt herself choke up then. There was so much wrong, but Iris didn't know what to say at that moment. She didn't know where to start, and there was the fear that if she did start, she wouldn't be able to stop.

So, just like everything else, Iris shook her head and said she was fine.

Idith nodded. It was clear she didn't believe her, but she turned back to her computer and began scrolling.

"As I said, Iris. You are still in excellent standing, so do not spend too much time worrying about this. As long as med school is really what you want to do, then you have no problems."

But that was the thing. Med school was not what Iris wanted. It was what her mother wanted for her. But did Iris really want to spend so many more years in school doing something that her heart wasn't in a hundred percent?

Iris thought back to her conversation with Adi that seemed forever ago. This triggered an emotion in Iris she didn't want to face right then, so she simply pushed it away.

Iris was conflicted in more ways than one.