Chameleon Project

Raelynn POV

Placing my umbrella behind me, I slid into the chair, carefully scooting it away from Kieran in hopes that I don’t somehow get him wet… Even though the little voice in my head says he’d deserve it, considering he’s the reason I was soaked in the first place.

I didn’t like that little voice. She was mean, hateful, and cruel sometimes. I didn’t like those emotions, so I shut her out.

The damp strands of my pale blond hair felt heavy against my chest as I kept my face forward, waiting for the professor to begin today’s lesson. The air conditioning must have been on high, because my body broke into a series of goosebumps with every second that passed.

Or maybe it was simply the fact that I’d been forced to sit in the single empty seat Kieran must have kept for himself.

Grabbing my bag, I winced when I tugged out a notebook and pen. The corners of the pages were all clumped together, but I refused to make a scene, ignoring the fact that my pen tore through the damp pages when I wrote too close to the edges.

Today was turning out to be grand.

For a moment, I just closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. Things could be worse. So much worse. Think of the positives, Rae. When you get home later, you can strip out of your wet clothes, take a hot bubble bath, and spend the evening watching a movie with Caelum.

A smile graces my lips at the thought, and when I open my eyes, I feel significantly better.

No point in dwelling on the things we can’t change.

Professor Gallows spent most of the class explaining how our syllabus worked, when assignments were due, and passing out necessary papers to each of the students.

I jotted down relevant information, passing the time by doodling around my notebook. I was vaguely aware that Kieran was taking zero notes, considering the closeness of our seats, but that’s not my problem.

Maybe he has an amazing memory.

“Now that we’ve gotten that all out of the way, I’d like to begin explaining this semester's project,” the professor moved towards her desk, snatching up a stack of papers before heading back to the podium that stood at the bottom of the rows of desks.

“When you were accepted into my class, each of you filled out a form with questions pertaining to yourself. With those documents, I was able to find your polar opposite for this project. I will be pairing each of you with someone who doesn’t socially fit with their partner. You will be required to spend at least an hour or two a week with this person. Each of you will be required to keep a journal recording the activity that you and your partner chose to do and, at the end of your time together, you’ll log your thoughts, feelings, and important notes.”

She paused to shuffle through her paperwork before continuing, “This is called the Chameleon project. It’s an important standard for social psychology and the basis is to see if, over the course of the semester, you see changes in the other person that “mirror” your own behavior. How did your presence in this person’s life affect you? Did you pick up on any of their personality traits and vice versa? As humans, we naturally imitate those we admire, but what happens when you find yourself stuck with someone that you don’t necessarily admire or even like? These are the questions you’ll be answering over the course of this semester. Now, I’ll be announcing your pairings.”

I liked the idea of this project. Social psychology is a huge factor in forensic psychology, and the thought of being paired with someone who is my opposite excites me.

Professor Gallows began rattling off name after name. A lot of people groaned audibly when hearing who they’d be partnering up with, while most were quiet. The list was quickly dwindling down, and I started to feel dread settle in the pit of my stomach like a lead weight.

On cue, my knee began bouncing rapidly. It was a nervous tic of mine that I just couldn’t shake. I had anxiety that was poorly managed. My idea of medicine was forcing myself into uncomfortable situations in hopes that, once my stupid brain decided to catch up with the fact that things weren’t actually as bad as it had convinced me they were, I’d be fine.

“Raelynn Hazelwood and Kieran Decker,” Professor Gallows announced our names, and a chill ran down my spine.

Before I could even turn towards the man, he stood from his seat, nearly knocking the cheap chair backwards, “No.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Decker. Could you repeat that?” the professor arched a brow as if asking him to challenge her.

“You fucking heard me. I said no.” Kieran gritted out.

She smiled, pushing a pair of thick-rimmed glasses up the bridge of her nose before leaning forward on the podium using her elbows to prop herself up. “This consists of fifty percent of your grade. If you choose not to even give this a shot, you may as well head right out that door because you’ll be failing my class.”

The professor thumbed towards the door as if begging Kieran to do it, and I tilted my head just enough to get a glimpse of his face, but he was already staring at me.

Icy blue eyes peered into mine, and his jaw clenched at the unwanted eye contact.

“Now that that’s settled,” Professor Gallows continued, apparently not expecting Kieran to walk out any longer, “Please move seats if need be and exchange contact information. If you have any questions or concerns,” she lifted her arm up, checking a watch, “You have fifteen minutes to deal with them. Otherwise, get started.”

Kieran finally sat back down, outstretching his hand. I stared at it for a moment before placing mine in his and shaking it.

“What the fuck?” he growled. “I don’t want to shake your damn hand. Give me your phone.”

My cheeks flushed with embarrassment, pulling my hand back quickly, “Why?”

Kieran rolled his eyes, “So I can fucking steal it. Tch…. I’m going to put my number in your contacts, and I’ll text you when I can do this stupid assignment.”

Oh.

Fumbling through my bag, I pulled out my phone, which also happened to be damp. The screen showed a warning: “Do not charge. Liquid detected in charging port.”

I frowned, “Are you able to just write it down? My uh,” I waved my phone. “Phone got a little wet on my way to class this morning.”

For the briefest second, Kieran’s eyes flashed with an expression other than frustration, but it had gone so fast I think I may have imagined it. He let out another annoyed noise before grabbing his pen, “Give me yours.”

I rattled off my number, picking up my pen to take his, but he huffed, “You’ll get mine when I text you.”

“Oh, okay,” I forced a smile, “That’s fine. Thank you for not walking out.” I ran my tongue over my front teeth, “I would rather not fail this class on day one.”

Kieran rolled his eyes again, “Yeah.”