Lexi's Final Year

Chapter 31

Once February turned into March, it was the beginning of crunch time for New York University students. More assignments had to be done in the coming month before April and subsequent final exams took place.

Isaac was laser-focused on killing his assignments and doing his absolute best in his classes. He had decided to spend his Tuesday afternoon in the library to finish up on a couple of papers and do some readings. DeShawn was still in class, but Felipe had texted him earlier to let him know that Nikita was over at their apartment to hang out and do schoolwork. Isaac didn't want any sort of distractions, so he had been at the library after attending his eight AM lecture and grabbing a quick lunch.

He had been working hard for the past couple of hours without taking a break. The result of his hard work included submitting two papers for two different classes. He sat back in his chair after finishing the second paper with a grin.

Thank God I'm done with that, he thought as he grabbed his phone out of the pocket of his blue jeans. Once I do these readings, then I'll head home. Or maybe I'll go to Lexi's.

Isaac: Hey, what's up?

Lexi: Working on a few papers at home. Nikita's gone for the day. Wanna come over later?

Isaac: Love to. I'll come at 5?

Lexi: See you then!

Isaac checked the time— it was just before two PM now. He had been at the library since noon. He grinned just thinking about seeing Lexi later. Bur first, he needed to work on his readings. Putting them off any longer wasn't an option.

He looked up from his phone to see Cassie saunter away from his right. She didn't see him, but he immediately knew who had strolled past him. She was on her way out of the library when a guy he didn't recognize approached her from off in the distance. They chatted for a couple of minutes before the guy left the library alone. Cassie stood at the entrance with her head hung.

Isaac frowned, wondering what could have possibly happened between her and the mystery man. It wasn't his place to stick his nose in her business, and he wanted to respect her privacy. But Cassie seemed more upset than usual, and that left a bad taste in his mouth.

Isaac: Hey, you okay?

Cassie: I'm fine, why?

Isaac: I saw you talking to a guy and you seem upset.

He watched Cassie turn around to find Isaac sitting at a table just a couple of feet from the library's entrance. He had a clear shot of what went down, meaning that Cassie couldn't deny it. She strolled over and sat in the empty chair across from him.

"Was that dude giving you a hard time?" Isaac asked.

Cassie vehemently shook her head. "No, nothing like that happened. His name's Johnathan. He's a guy from my program that I get along with. We've done a bunch of projects together in past classes and I've always enjoyed talking to him."

"So...what happened between you two? Unless you'd rather not talk about it."

Cassie groaned. "He asked me out."

Isaac raised his eyebrows at her stressed-out demeanour. "Is that a bad thing?"

"I turned him down 'cause I was 'too busy' to go out," Cassie revealed while adding air quotes. "It isn't true, though."

"Why did you lie?" Isaac asked, frowning with newfound confusion.

Cassie's sigh was heavy. "I haven't dated anyone in a few years, so just the idea of going out with anyone scares me. I like Johnathan as a person and as a friend, but I don't know if I like him more than that. But I also can't lie and say that I don't enjoy the flirting and how it makes me feel 'cause I do. I just don't know if I should take that chance. Ugh, I sound so fucking pathetic."