"You're Tru, aren't you?" a voice asked from behind.
Tru groaned inwardly. Hearing that voice could only mean that Chantelle had been booted from her last lab group, which meant that -
"I'm Chantelle," she went on. "I've been assigned to your group."
Tru finally turned to see the new arrival, and she glanced over at one of the other lab members.
"Welcome to the group," Dave greeted, though he did not sound very enthusiastic.
"Thanks!" she replied.
Tru managed a fake smile, wondering why Chantelle had not taken her eyes off her since she'd approached.
"So anyway," Chantelle continued, as though the whole group had been friends for years. "That last group I was with, they were so bitchy. Can't work with all girls. I get on better with guys usually. I'm kinda shy too, so if I get a little quiet - "
At this point, Tru scoffed, though she was able to turn it into a cough at the last minute. She had been successfully avoiding Chantelle all semester, which hadn't been easy, considering they were in a lot of the same classes together. From what she had heard and picked up, Chantelle was annoying. And melodramtic.
"I heard you're engaged," Chantelle said to Tru. "Congratulations. That's so exciting. What's he like? What do your parents think? Mine would kill me if I got engaged so young, but that's because I've had bad experiences with guys in the past..."
As she prattled on, Tru groaned to herself again.
It was going to be a long year.