It's a couple minutes after noon and the sun is shining brightly in the sky, the rays blinding Nessa as she walks through campus on the way back from her first class of the day. A peculiar feeling takes residence temporarily in her stomach, conjuring up something in between fluttering butterflies and dramatic somersaults. She can't remember the last time she physically carried a textbook let alone opened one, her memories of high school and college now distant and faded, being replaced by new, vivid images. It's all about to change—it already is.
Nessa finally gave into Vy's persuasion tactics after three months of statistics, pro and con lists, and one-sided debates. She's finally gone back to school to finish up her degree. As Nessa continues to walk across campus at the speed of a turtle casually pacing, she thinks about how Vy is going to make one hell of a lawyer some day soon.
Nessa hugs her textbook against her chest and walks the straight but extremely long distance back to Vy's apartment, which is located on the other side of campus. On her way there, she has to pass three entire wings: the remainder of the art pod, the college of chemistry, and lastly, the engineering building called McGregor Hall.
From a distance, Nessa sees a herd of students leaving McGregor Hall engrossed in conversation about some physics lab. Her field of vision shifts as an airplane flies overhead, the plane soaring in midair. The sound of the engines roaring carries to where she is.
Like a five year old boy who has just stepped into the world for the first time, she's too busy focusing on the airplane in the sky to see an impending collision seconds from happening. Before she knows it, she bumps head on into an engineering student on his way out from class. The impact forces the textbook right out of her hands, her grip slipping immediately.
The textbook creates an extremely loud sound as it lands.
Onto his foot.
Nessa's jaw drops as she steps back in horror, her eyes widening at the scene unfolding in front of her. All the words in her vocabulary escape her. The boy standing in front of her with honey hair doesn't know what to make of the situation either, his eyes the color of the sky that distracted her only moments ago.
"Well, hello there," he croaks, and she can see the pain in his eyes as he winces, his efforts to fake a smile not prevailing.
"Hi?" is all Nessa can muster with hesitation.
"Hi," the boy repeats after her, a small laugh finding it's way to the conversation. He bends down and picks up the textbook labeled Art History, handing it to her with both hands. "I didn't realize people hated art history so bad that they just chucked their textbooks at the ground after class."
"Oh my god. I'm so sorry," Nessa mutters as she takes the textbook from his hands, her brown eyes straying from his blue ones. "I'm such a klutz. Is your foot okay?"
"It's fine. Don't even worry about it. I'm a man. I can take it," he assures her, adjusting the frame of his glasses. "But I think we might have some bad blood between us now."
"Us?" Nessa questions, her cheeks turning a deep shade of red. "As in . . ."
"The textbook and I." He gestures to the textbook in her hands.
"Oh, the textbook." Nessa lets out a sigh of relief. She laughs at his joke, a small and timid smile crossing her lips. "Well, I have to get going now. My friend's sort of waiting for me to get back. We're going to Dawson's later tonight."
"Karaoke night, right? I'll be there too," he tells her. "Maybe we'll see each other again."
"Maybe we will." She nods her head. "I'm so sorry about your foot."
"I told you not to worry about it."
As she walks away, Liam realizes that he recognizes that voice. It's floating around in his head, but he isn't fast enough to catch it.
Yet.
YOU ARE READING
Say Hello For Me
Short Story"Hello, we are here to advise you on all your questions, concerns, and problems related to relationships. How may I assist you today?" "I think my girlfriend is cheating on me." Everything started with this simple line.
