10
On the second morning of orientation week, we had the opening ceremony for our mandatory military-style training camp.
My roommates and I rushed to the main field. It was a sea of people, and we couldn’t find our assigned class section. I was just scratching my head, completely lost, when a clear male voice came from behind
“Excuse me.”
I froze for a second. When I turned around, I saw a familiar face from my memories. He was silhouettec against the morning sun, looking down at me.
“Long time no see,” he said.
That day, as soon as we were dismissed, I dragged my roommates to the dining hall.
That evening, Leo cornered me in the dormitory lobby. He turned to my curious roommates. “Can I borrow her for a minute? Thanks.”
I tried to ignore him and follow them upstairs, but he grabbed my arm. “Even a man on death row gets a fina word. Please?”
I scowled and walked over to a quiet corner with him.
“I’m sorry,” he began softly. “I didn’t mean to leave without saying goodbye. My family… they actually live here in Northgate. I had a huge fight with them and ran off to Crestwood to finish high school.”
“The reason I left so suddenly was because my grandmother got sick. Really sick. In that whole family, she’s the only one who was ever good to me.”
He looked down, his eyes downcast. “This is going to sound like a total cliché, but my phone was stolen right after I got back to Northgate. I was so busy taking care of my grandmother that by the time I got a new SIM card, you had already blocked my number.”
“I went back to Crestwood later, but we were already in our senior year. I was afraid seeing me would just stress you out, so I stayed away.”
Couple C
“I’m not lying, I swear. Everything I’m telling you is the truth.”
19.08
Girls passing through the lobby would see us and crane their necks for a better look, then quickly turn away when they met my eyes.
I stared at our shadows on the floor, a thousand thoughts racing through my mind. Finally, I just nodded. Okay. I understand.”
I didn’t know what to feel. Anger? That seemed so long ago. Happiness? Not really.
I just wanted to escape. “If that’s everything, I should… I should go.”
As I turned to leave, Leo suddenly pulled me into a hug. “I like you, Tessa Shaw,” he murmured, his voice muffled against my hair.
“It’s not some ‘reformed player’ act, and I’m not ‘messy.’ I’ve never had a girlfriend. There was a girl who cha- sed me for a long time, but I never said yes. All those rumors about me changing girlfriends like clothes? She made them up.”
The heat from his hand on my waist spread through me. In a daze, I heard him ask, “Will you be my girlfrie-
nd?”
That night, I didn’t answer. I just ran.
