All Over Again

| Chapter Twenty |

Stuck in what Ruth realized was a daydream, her pen circled absentmindedly in her Anatomy and Physiology class, her vision unseeing and unwavering. Chin pressed in palm, and eyes staring off into the abyss of nothingness, she studied the grooves of her ringed notebook, twirling the pen between each space. A smile threatened to tease the corners of her lips, but she fought it off as best as she could- mostly because she didn't want to look like a creep before class started. 

Though she was pretty sure people thought that about her anyway.

What other college student mindlessly arrives to class thirty minutes early? Scribbling in her notebook or reading books that are in no way related to what they were supposed to be reading in class? Who the hell reads in their free time anyway?

Ruth crinkled her nose at the thought of being such an outsider, but she didn't care too much at the moment. Her thoughts were too busy being consumed by a guitar player with long lashes and crooked smiles. She easily slipped back into thoughts of Raffo singing to her a few days ago on Friday. She never had anyone sing to her before, so she imagined it wasn't a farfetched assumption that every girl who had ever been serenated was almost always stumped by the person who did it afterwards.

"Fuck, I wish it was winter already," a voice groaned, plopping into the seat directly beside her.

Ruth forced herself out of her daydream to look over at the unfamiliar girl, shocked that someone had actually sat beside her in this class. Usually, she usually stayed to herself, only working with partners when she had to, but she almost always had to turn around in her seat for those.

Not that time though.

But class hadn't started yet, so she was in no need of a partner.

Eyebrows furrowing, she did a double take, trying and failing not to be obvious about it as she did so. The girl looked over at her, and a rouge blush scrawls along her porcelain cheeks, making Ruth's stomach ache.

"Hi," the girl chirped, curling a strand of ebony behind her ear. "I hope you don't mind if I sit here. I usually sit in the back but the girls back there don't know when to stop talking."

"H-hi," Ruth stuttered, feeling like a total fool as she gaped at her like a fish out of water. She cleared her throat to cover up the heat that crept up the back of her neck. "Uh- no, I don't mind."

The girls sighed out in relief, moving to offer her hand in greeting. "Great. I'm-"

"I know class doesn't start for another five more minutes," the deep tone of Dr. Ray interrupted the girl's introduction, halting whatever she was about to say. "But we have a lot to cover today so the sooner we get this done, the sooner you guys can leave."

Both girls shared a sympathetic smile and turned to face Mr. Ray. Introductions will just have to wait until after class.

Dr. Ray's lecture felt longer than usual, even with the class only being fifty minutes long. Symbols and math equations were drawn up on the board, followed by explanations of how important it is to relate it back to giving out medication. Ruth frowned in boredom, but wrote everything down anyway, despite the distraction sitting beside her. The girl wasn't doing anything particularly distracting, but that didn't stop Ruth from glancing over at her periodically.

She watched almost hypnotized as she pulled the corner of her mouth between her teeth as she scribbled down Mr. Ray's notes, and had to look away when she got caught up in watching her push her dark tendrils of satin over her shoulder. The only way Ruth could get through the rest of class was to focus on her education, and as hard as that was, she somehow managed to do just that for the remainder of the fifty minutes.

When it was finally time to pack up and go, she breathed out a sigh of relief, wanting to get out of the dreadful course already. Closing up her notebook, she shoved everything into her bag absentmindedly and when she finally stood up, the girl spoke again, drawing her attention to her immediately.

"I didn't have a chance to introduce myself before," she started, pausing under Ruth's curious gaze.

"Mr. Ray is pretty good at timing," Ruth smiled, and the girl grinned.

"Got that right," she laughed. She stuck her hand out towards Ruth. "I'm Emily. Emily Bautista."

Ruth slid her fingers around Emily's and gave it a firm shake despite the embarrassing tremor in her fingertips. She was nervously caught up in the dark gaze of her eyes. "Ruth. Ruth Semple."

Their exchange of grins didn't go unnoticed by the other.

"So, you're going for a medical degree too?" Emily questioned, bringing her hand back to her notebook.

"That's the plan," Ruth admitted. They both started walking out of the classroom then. "What about you?"

"Nursing. Got some big city dreams."

"Oh?" Ruth cocked her head to the side. "Where's nursing school for you?"

"UW's the plan. But NYU and UCLA are definitely high up on the list," Emily shrugged. "Still waiting on decision letters though. What about you?"

Ruth's eyebrows shot up at the mention of NYU. A spark of bubbling excitement coursed through her veins at the thought of possibly not going to New York alone if they both get in. "NYU. New York's always been the end goal for me, I think. Big city dreams."

Emily laughed, the sound oddly musical to Ruth's ears. "Big city dreams," she echoed.

Big City Dreams.

*****