Change of Possession by M.R. Polish

something my mom would’ve liked to see me do, so I try.”
    I let it go, understanding the need to not let someone down. I got in the car and let him close the door.  He got in and started it up. The car rumbled through the neighborhood. “So, where to?”
    “Well, we can just do the campus cafeteria if you want.”
    “IHOP it is,” he said as he took a left turn. I laughed at him.
    We sat down at a booth and ordered pancakes. I was a sucker for their cheesecake ones and my mouth watered just thinking about them.
    The waitress brought our plates and we both thanked her before she left. He picked up his fork but let it hover over his food before setting it down on his plate. “I’m not good at this.”
    I glanced up at him over my forkful of food. “Not good at what?”
    “I wanted to ask you something, but I get so nervous. Rejection is hard, ya know?”
    I grinned. I didn’t think there was much I would refuse him. “Ask me about what?”
    “There’s this luau party thing tonight. I was wondering if you’d like to go with me. I know Steve is usually at these things so it might be a little uncomfortable for you, but I can’t put it aside. I need to learn more.”
    His persistence was impressive. I didn’t want to know or be around Steve any more, but Vahn had enough determination that he forced himself to be around the creep. “A luau? Like tiki hut and umbrellas in drinks kinda party?”
    He chuckled. “Yeah, I guess.”
    “Well, I don’t like the idea of being around any of them right now. I think alerting authorities would be the best thing to do.” I hesitated. Not wanting to make him feel bad for asking, but I just needed to process. “But, I’d love to go with you.” I gave him the best smile I could considering I just agreed to see Steve again.
    He smiled. “Pick you up at eight-thirty?”
    “Sounds great.”
    I took a mouthful of pancakes, not caring if he thought I was unladylike. I wasn’t going to be someone I wasn’t to impress anyone. Besides, I had the feeling he wouldn’t want me to.
    Vahn drove me home after breakfast leaving me with high hopes of seeing him soon. I decided to email my mom before she freaked out from not hearing from me. Sunday was usually pretty quiet around the campus and it wasn’t long before my eyelids grew heavy. A nap would definitely make the day go by faster so I happily slid into bed and thought about Vahn until sleep took over.
    I didn’t think I was tired enough to sleep all day, but when I awoke it was already late afternoon. I sifted through my closet to find something to wear for the night. After a hot shower, I dressed and worked on my makeup. My phone rang. I lifted it up to see Steve calling. Ugh . I let it go to voicemail and tossed it on the counter as I finished adding more mascara to my eyes. It rang again. I let out a loud groan when I saw it was Steve again. I swiped the screen to answer it.
    “Hey, Steve.”
    “Hi, Keeley. I was calling because there is this party tonight and I wanted to take you. What do you say? Wanna go with me?”
    “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m already going to a party with someone else.”
    I heard him take a sharp breath. “You’re going with someone else?”
    “Well, yeah. I kinda met someone I like and we’re going to this luau thing tonight.” Crap. Why did I tell him where we were going?
    “But you’ll be there, right?” He didn’t really ask me anything. It sounded a lot more like a confirmation.
    I chewed on my bottom lip, tasting the cherry lip-gloss I just applied as I walked to my bedroom window and peeked out. Was he there watching my apartment like I was afraid of last night? “Yeah,” I said.
    “Great, I’ll see you there. Bye, Keeley.”
    My hands shook as I hung up. Vahn pulled in when I looked back out the window. I didn’t wait for him to get out before I headed out to meet him.
    “You look great,” he said as he got out of the car and dashed around to open my door.
    I smiled, but