Under Pressure

The two were not the type of girls who used to polish apples for the athletes, but it was impossible not to recognize and admire - and even drool over a little - their beauty. With light brown hair tossed to the side and blue eyes that looked like two cut diamonds when he smiled, Ryan had a breathtaking appearance. He was tall, six feet nine of pure defined muscle.

Mandy found it impossible not to sigh when she saw him, even though she knew he would never give her a second look. That thought made her smile and remember that he was on the list of Mandy Summers Unattainable Things, that is, totally unreachable.

But that's okay. She didn't care to admire from afar, as if he were a knickknack in a crystal shop - look, but don't touch. She was a very down to earth girl. She was aware that she was not beautiful like the cheerleaders of alpha, beta and gamma, or whatever the sisterhood was called. She was never popular either, although she always wanted to know how that kind of girl felt when she was admired by everyone. She was just an ordinary girl, a good student who, despite doing ballet, was never part of the group of students who excelled in something in particular. So obviously, a beautiful guy like Ryan McKenna was someone unattainable to her. Dreaming about having anything close to a relationship with him was like imagining that she could be Zac Efron's girlfriend. That is, impossible. Ryan was the type of guy who dated girls like the ones in the café: beautiful, popular, charming, with generous curves on their bodies, who wore trendy clothes and lots of makeup. Not a skinny little girl like her, who wore faded jeans and a band T-shirt.

"Ah, but he abuses his right to be a handsome guy... - May sighed, taking her friend out of her daydreams.

"Um ... who?" - She asked, shaking her head, trying to focus on what her friend was saying.

"Cat-Ry " - May replied and smiled at her. - "That was the best welcoming committee and on the first day of school!"

"True." - Mandy smiled and, looking away from her friend, saw Sean waving in his direction. She returned the greeting and followed him, accompanied by May.

Sean and Mandy were very close. They met in kindergarten and grew up together. I used to trust Sean as if he were his older brother, until things started to get a little awkward during the last semester of high school. She shuddered just to remember the day when he cornered her in a corner, at the house of one of her schoolmates, where a party was taking place - one of the first that she went to, since she didn't usually socialize much. Holding her wrists more firmly than would be appropriate, Sean tried to kiss her, said that he liked her and that they should date. His impetuous - almost aggressive - behavior scared her. She had never thought of him that way and, in fact, she had not yet awakened to relationships with boys. She was a shy, inexperienced girl and didn't feel ready to be involved with anyone, not even the one she considered her best friend.

Sean's firm hands on her wrist, his hot, beer-smelling breath against hers, turned his stomach. Despite the boy's insistence on stealing a kiss, she managed to escape his grip and was very strict when she said she didn't want to date him. Afraid of losing his friendship - even though his behavior scared her a lot - Mandy explained that she didn't want to be involved with anyone. For a few days, he distanced himself from her, but shortly after, he seemed to accept her position. Mandy, on the one hand, was relieved to have managed to do damage control, but since then, she had lost some of the security she felt beside him - especially when she felt his eyes watching her with a mischevious expression.

"Hi girls! What's up, May, how's Betti doing?" - Sean asked for the cart, using the nickname May had given the old Subaru, in honor of Betty Boop, claiming that his car was vintage and cute.

"It's great! You and Yoshi were wonderful!" - she replied and hugged him. Sean smiled and turned to Mandy, looking a little shy.

"And you? How are you? All right?" - He asked and pulled her into a hug, which made her a little tense. Sean's touch felt friendly, causing a familiar sense of guilt to envelop her. Taking the worry out of her head, she smiled and struggled to feel happy to see her friend.

"Everything is great. What's your next class?" - Asked, trying to break the ice and maintain the atmosphere of friendship that they always had, until that day.

"Biology And you?"

"Literature. May?"

"History" - the friend replied, making a face of disgust. The history teacher, Miss. Mary Ellen, was reputed to be extremely demanding. They heard about it when they still were in their hometown. In the first two years, college students were taking basic subjects, such as literature, social sciences, history, art, among others. According to a freshman welcome manual, this was a way for students to gain general knowledge on a range of subjects, before focusing on a specific field of study. In general, from the third year onwards, they should choose the qualification they intended to complete their bachelor's degree. If the student opted for courses such as medicine, veterinary, dentistry or law, the duration would be a little longer than the other courses, because when completing the bachelor's degree, they would still need to take three more years of specific subjects of the profession they chose.

"Damn" - Sean and May spoke at the same time and laughed.

Mandy looked away, distracted from the conversation while watching the movement of people towards the big building, until May took her out of her thoughts, warning that the class was just around the corner. The three went to the entrance, looking for their respective classrooms, and said goodbye right there at the entrance, each heading towards their class.

Mandy took the bullet journal from the backpack and searched the class grid that was printed and pasted on one of the pages of the hardcover notebook for the number of the literature room. Disconnected from what was happening around her, she walked towards the room, her attention focused on her backpack while she kept the bullet journal. Before she had a chance to look up, the girl went against a wall and almost fell sitting, being prevented by two warm, firm hands that held her, but her backpack was not so lucky and fell to the floor. Looking up, Mandy felt her face heat up and turn red.

Oh, dammit. With the number of students at Brown, did I have to trip over Ryan McKenna right away?

"Ehr ... um ... So-Sorry” - she said, realizing she was stuttering like a fool. She was embarrassed. In addition to being completely clumsy, she was even stuttering as if she had no ability to articulate words.

"Are you alright? Forgive me, I was distracted" - Ryan spoke in a soft voice, looking into her eyes. Mandy had never been so close to him as in that moment - in fact, she had never been so close to any boy - and she could see every detail of his lovely blue eyes. His face was clean-shaven, making her feel a strange desire to raise her hand and feel if the skin of his face was as smooth as it looked. She stared at him for a few seconds, almost mesmerized. He was even more beautiful than she remembered.

Stop it, you silly! Where in the world one would behave like you, standing in the middle of the corridor, drooling over the hottest guy in college? She scolded herself in thoughts.

“Mm…” Ehr ... Yes, I am. Thank you and I'm sorry again.

Mandy managed to free herself from his arms, which still held her. The girl bent down quickly to pick up the backpack that was on the floor and, of course, was open, having spread her stuff down the hall. Annoyed by her clumsiness, she tried to put everything back in place as quickly as possible, including the bullet journal, which had fallen a little further, before he had a chance to bend down too. She closed the backpack and threw it over her shoulder, smiled awkwardly and moved on quickly, looking for her classroom.

As she walked quickly, she noticed that some people were looking at her and laughing at her accident. She felt her face heat up even more and scolded herself again for being so clumsy. It would be terrible to be remembered as the girl who fell in front of everyone.

When she finally found the classroom, Mandy went in and looked for a place in the back, so as not to risk being in evidence again. That was the kind of thing she tried to avoid as much as possible. The only moment when she was not allowed to feel shame or embarrassment for being highlighted, was when she was dancing. On stage, it was like it wasn't Mandy, the shy girl, but the character that she was giving life.

Panting, the girl sat in a strategic place: beside her, the chairs were empty, which was great because it would avoid that kind of embarrassment of having to discuss things with the closest colleague, when she had no idea what to say.

With a long sigh, she opened her backpack and took out a notebook when she noticed a shadow growing over it. Raising her eyes, once again, she came across Ryan McKenna.

"Hi, Cinderella. You forgot your satin shoe in the hall" - he said smiling, holding one foot of her ballet shoes in his hands.

Dammit.

Chapter Three

From the moment Ryan held Mandy in his arms as he bumped her in the hallway, so she wouldn't fall to the floor, he felt stunned. He had already noticed that beautiful girl in the halls of Gloucester High School when he was still in high school. He found the girl delicate, who wore her long dark hair always tied, very interesting to watch. Her beauty was exotic, with beautiful features and very green eyes. And the delicacy and softness of her features contrasted with the sporty style of the dark jeans, T-shirt and sneakers he wore.

In his opinion, she was a fox. He had always felt attracted to her, but have never tried anything. They were not part of the same group of friends and she never gave him a second look. Although they studied at the same school, Ryan was a year older and they always studied in different classes. Besides, she was very serious and he didn't think she was the type of girl who would accept going out with him. They had never spoken and only exchanged polite smiles occasionally. Seeing her at Brown, a year after he last saw her, was undoubtedly a great surprise.

The bump in the hall left him swaying. Maybe it was the fact that she fit perfectly in his arms or maybe it was because of the sweet, soft and floral scent of her perfume, which made him want to lean in a little closer, to better smell her. Or, who knows, maybe it was because of her intriguing and sensual appearance, very different from the shy girl who hid her attributes in high school. Amanda looked more grown up now. She was wearing her hair down - something he had never seen before - which framed her green eyes and made him want to touch the dark strands to find out if they were as soft as they looked.

But as fast as she fell against his body, she left, leaving him with the feeling of having been run over by the entire opposing team from the last game, such was the intensity of the feelings that aroused him.

He ran his hands through his hair, still feeling a little lost, until something red on the floor captured his attention: a ballet shoe. It should have fallen out of her backpack when he dropped her.

Determined, Ryan went down the hall, looking into the nearest rooms, trying to find her, but he was out of luck. It was as if the girl had evaporated. Frustrated, he was feeling the Prince Charming himself, left at the ball (in his case, in the college hallways), with the sneaker in hand and her owner having disappeared.

Unsuccessful with the search, he decided to go to literature class, before Miss. Leslie, the class teacher, went outside to get him. When she passed him at the entrance to the building, the teacher had wagged her finger and spoke in a loud and clear tone that she would wait for him in her class without delay. You can't stop yourself from making an awkward face when you remember the teacher's words. He hated it when they drew conclusions from his actions without really knowing him. That was the downside of being a popular guy. People generally judged his attitudes, without really knowing him. He knew that he fit the stereotype of the athlete, captain of the basketball team and relatively popular, but he was not a fool. He was a good student, who struggled in his studies to get good grades and was worried about the future.

Still thinking about the girl, Ryan came into the room and looked around assessing where he was going to sit. His eyes went to the back of the class and he smiled widely, hardly believing his luck. There she was: sitting on one of the chairs, looking for something in the backpack. Her dark hair fallen over her shoulders and, once again, he wanted to touch it and feel its thickness.

Stop it, he scolded himself.

Yes. She was beautiful. Yes. He was very attracted. But he could very well control his impulses and not act like an idiot.

Without looking away, Ryan followed her to return the ballerina flat - which was still in his hand - and, who knows, to know a little more about this girl who intrigued him so much. As he passed between the tables, he greeted one and another classmate. Until he approached and smelled the sweet, soft scent of her perfume enveloping him again. Looking surprised, she looked up at him and parted her lips.

"Hi, Cinderella. You forgot your satin shoe in the hall." - Ryan held out the hand that held the shoe with a flourish in her direction and smiled playfully. He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes, watching the girl's reaction closely.

Feeling her face burning, Mandy murmured:

"Um ..." - She cleared her throat. - "Thanks. I didn't realize I had dropped it." - If the blush on her cheeks were not a hint of her shyness, her low voice and the fact that she was barely able to look at him would clearly say how embarrassed she looked.

Willing to break the ice, Ryan opened his winning smile - that one girls usually couldn't resist, and sat down in the chair next to her.

"Do you remember me?" - He asked. - "I'm Ryan McKenna from Gloucester. We studied at the same school" - he added, striking up a conversation.

She let out a hum-hum, without paying much attention to him.

"I didn't know you danced ballet," he continued.

“Kinda.”

Her answer - or the lack of it - puzzled him. He was not used to being ignored. Usually, people paid all attention to a popular guy like him.

He parted his lips to say something when Miss. Leslie came into the room and looked around. When she saw him sat, she gave him a satisfied smile and nodded. Ryan smiled back and waved softly in silent greeting. The teacher have barely put the material on the table and was already talking excitedly about the lesson plan for the semester. Looking away from the front of the room, he looked to the side and saw Mandy ignoring him and writing down everything the teacher was saying. Still, he didn't give up on striking up a conversation with her.

"Have you been dancing for a long time?"

"Yup." - Damn, she's still monosyllabic. That’s no good.

"For how long?"

"Since the age of 5." - She turned to him, who saw a different sparkle in her eyes, quickly covered by a cloak of indifference. - "I'm sorry, but I'm trying to follow the class." - Her tone sounded annoyed.

Ryan looked away and took a notebook from his backpack.

"Sorry, Cinderella. I just wanted to get to know you better." His voice was low and a little harder than he expected, but he couldn't help feeling frustrated. What was wrong with her? Or worse, with him?

With big green eyes wide, Mandy opened her mouth to answer, but the teacher, who was talking about the semester's project, turned to them and said:

"Ryan, Amanda can be your partner on the project."

The teacher looked away from the two, continuing to randomly split the class into pairs and Ryan looked back at Mandy, who looked dissatisfied.

"What is it, Cindy? Didn't you like having to do the job with me?"

Her tone was scathing.

“No. I wanted to do it with someone who liked to study, not one who would leave the job behind me. And my name is Amanda, not Cindy."

Whoo! The fox has claws! And sharp ones, he thought to himself.

Unable to hide his smile, he leaned in and whispered very close to her ear. Adrenaline shot through his body and he felt challenged to prove to that girl that he was a hard worker.

"But who said I don't like to study?" - From where Ryan was, he could see the light hairs on her arm, which was resting on the table, stand up. - "You can be sure that this will be the best work of the class on ..." - Ryan looked quickly at the whiteboard to read the project theme. Jane Austen? Ah, damn it! - "Hmm... Jane Austen" - completed, feeling a little less secure. - "And I know your name, Amanda Summers. The girl's eyes widened slightly when she heard her last name. - "Cindy is my nickname for Cinderella, since I think you won't be happy if someone hears me call you that."

"I don't like silly nicknames," she replied so quietly, that if he hadn't been so close, he wouldn't have heard. Then she lowered her head again, concentrating on the notebook in front of her. - "All I want is to get a good grade, without having to kill myself to do the project alone."

"Be cool. I will not let you do anything alone. We will do it together, like two good partners." - He smiled. - "And the nickname is not silly. I am not to blame if you are my Cinderella."

"And what are you? Prince Charming?" - Mandy couldn't keep the ironic tone. "You think you are, don't you, Ryan McKenna?" - she couldn't stop her voice from being full of poison.

He looked at her, surprised by the hostility.

"What do you mean by that?"

"That you must be full of yourself just because you are the captain of the basketball team and the girls fly around you like bakery flies. But you don't have to pretend to be interested in me, as I don't fall for your conquering heartthrob chat."

Ryan raised his eyebrow and opened and closed his mouth a few times. She managed to leave him speechless. He knew that most people treated him with privileges because he was the playmaker and captain of the team, and the girls really flirted with him, but he had never seen himself in such a distorted perspective. As if he was a bad guy for being popular.

He was about to reply that she was wrong when Miss. Leslie called out their names again.

"Ryan? Amanda? Your book is Pride and Prejudice " - the teacher spoke and continued to indicate the book for each pair. - "You should make a project, showing the cultural differences of the time when the book takes place in comparison with the present, the difference in love relationships, always comparing past and present, without forgetting the theoretical basis through the authors who are part of the readings referenced for our discipline. I will make the prerogatives of work available on our class forum on the internet."

Pride and Prejudice It couldn't be a better book. Ryan would make the Cinderella pleaded swallow the prejudice against him by the end of the semester. Now, taming that aloof girl was a matter of honor.

At the end of class, Ryan stood up and rested his backpack on his shoulder, smiling at Miss. Grumpy.

"Bye, Cindy. See you. But, I already want to set up our meeting at the campus library, to start our work. I'll see you on Saturday at nine in the morning."

He bowed to her as a period nobleman would have done to a lady - perhaps even Mr. Darcy to Elizabeth - blinked and headed for the exit. I was sure that if I looked back, she would be open-mouthed, surprised.

Chapter Four

Upon seeing Ryan leave the room, Amanda exhaled audibly. The impact of the strange conversation hit her and she felt her body shudder. The memory of her rude words made her face flush and warm. Oh, my God. How could I be so impolite?, she scolded herself. She leaned forward, running her hands over her face. If she were sincere, she would admit what had happened. The shitty insecurity, associated with shyness, spoke louder and she reacted in the worst way possible.

Dammit.

The girl sighed and started to put the material in her backpack. The room was starting to fill up for the next class. As she finished packing her things, Mandy thought about how much he surprised her by appearing beside her and striking up a conversation.

She closed the backpack carefully so as not to be embarrassed again. She rested the strap on her shoulder and headed for the exit. In a few seconds, she quickly crossed the hall to chemistry class. She barely crossed the living room door when she saw May waving at her.

"Mandy! Here! I saved your place!"

She went to her friend, still shaken. She couldn't stop thinking about the strange morning. Had Ryan McKenna really stroke up a conversation or was she dreaming? And had she really reacted so badly to his presence?

"Mandy? Friend?" May shook her shoulder and Mandy looked at her with a start. - ""Honey, what happened?

“Huh. Nothing” - she replied quickly, looking away.

She couldn't tell anyone that, not even May. She felt embarrassed by her behavior and, at the same time, a little ridiculed by Ryan's joke, when he called her Cinderella. Because that could only be a joke. A guy like him would never look at her any other way. But, in a sneaky way, the other side of her, that romantic and dreamer murmured: “What if he really liked you? What if he's interested in something else? She took a deep breath, not knowing what to think, as her pessimistic side protested vehemently: "How bold of you to think that Ryan McKenna, the basketball star, the Brown's most handsome guy, the one who could have any girl he wanted to, would be intrested in something else. No, no, and no! He's on Mandy Summers' list of Unattainable Things and that's where he should stay. ”

"Mandy, what happened? Are you upset with someone? Are you sick? Talk to me, friend!" - May's expression was concerned. Mandy tried to open a smile to reassure her, determined not to comment anything. She was a very closed girl with her own feelings and hated to worry about others.

"No, May. I'm fine. I just have a little headache."

"Oh, damm it! I hate it when that happens. I'll leave you alone to see if it gets better. Do you want a painkiller?"

"No, thanks. Soon I will feel better" - she replied, feeling even worse for lying to her best friend.

The teacher came into the room and started the lesson, but Mandy was completely unaware of what was happening, going over the morning's events, as if it were a movie in which Ryan and she were the main characters. She recalled the moment when he held her so she wouldn't fall. His arms wrapped around her so tightly that she didn't want to get out of his heat. Closing her eyes, she remembered his smile and his bright eyes when he stroke up a conversation during class, seeming interested in knowing more about her. Guilt hit her at the thought of her rudeness when he was just nice.

Sympathetic and seductive, that romantic voice murmured and Mandy remembered the moment when he leaned against her, bringing his lips close to her ear, raising the hairs on her body while whispering in her ear. It would be enough to turn her head a little and their lips would meet and she could taste his taste.

Where’d that come from? Gosh! I haven't even kissed anyone, how can I be thinking that kind of thing?

A shake on her shoulder drove her out of her thoughts.

"Mandy, come on. The class is over, let's have lunch."

She looked at May, confused, wondering how an hour of class could have gone by without her noticing. If someone asked her anything the teacher had said during the class, she wouldn't know how to answer it, because she spent the whole time thinking about Ryan, his easy talk and his beautiful blue eyes.