Lexi's In A New City

Chapter 7

It had been a month since everyone had begun their university careers. All the freshmen had finally gotten used to the routine of university, and juggling other responsibilities alongside it. Some had already done tests, while others had submitted an assignment or two. Everyone was busier than expected, but students still made time to socialize, relax, and have fun on campus. All that mattered besides school was enjoying campus life at New York University.

Lexi had a little more to worry about than her friends. She'd decided on a whim just two weeks ago to find a part-time job so she could have a small income. Surprisingly, she snagged an interview at Barne's & Noble's as a Bookseller not long after her search had begun. Her previous work history and love of reading played into her favour, and she was offered the job on the spot. She was only guaranteed 15 hours a week and was going to make minimum wage, but it was better than nothing. She started in less than a week, and was already bursting with excitement at the opportunity.

Lexi plopped onto her bed with her phone in hand. She hadn't told her parents the good news yet; she'd suddenly become so busy with studying and getting along better with Nikita and her friends that it'd slipped her mind. Lexi felt guilty, especially since she hadn't been in contact with them since she had moved out. That led to her current situation— calling her parents on a Saturday afternoon. It was her mother who picked up on the third ring.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mom! It's me, Lexi!"

"Oh, hi, sweetie. How are you?"

"I'm good, thanks. How about you? Oh, is Dad there, too?"

"I'm fine. Your father's at work, actually...he got called in to do a surgery this morning. Did you need to talk to him?"

"Well, I have some good news to share with the both of you," Lexi revealed.

"Oh, what is it?" her mother asked.

"I got a job at Barne's & Noble's!"

"Oh my God! That's awesome news, honey! I didn't know you were looking for a job."

"I need an income while I'm living here so I don't have to go to you guys if money suddenly gets tight," Lexi explained. "It's minimum wage, sure, but it's better than nothing."

"I would, too," her mother replied. "You'll definitely be more stressed out and busy than before, though. Do you think you can handle it?"

"Absolutely," Lexi confirmed. "I can always ask for less shifts a week if I become overwhelmed. If I was able to work and attend high school at the same time, I think I can work while going to college, too."

Her mother laughed. "Good point. Well, I'll be sure to let your father know when he comes home. Oh, shoot, I'm afraid I have to go now; I'm going out for lunch with some friends in a minute. I'll talk to you soon, okay?"

"That's fine, Mom. I love you."

"I love you too, dear."

Both mother and daughter exchanged goodbyes not long after that, and then Lexi hung up. She sat back in her bed, where she caught a glance at her notebook. Her smile faded in an instant. She hadn't made much progress on her book in a few weeks. She'd managed to narrow down her book idea, but its details were far and few between. That was in large part due to hitting a writer's block that had seemed to come from out of nowhere. She had tried time and time again within the last little while to break her writer's block, but she hadn't been successful yet.

Just keep at it, she said to herself. It'll go away soon.

With a newfound optimism about her work in progress, Lexi decide to sit down and try to get some more work done. It would be the perfect way for her to kill time until dinner rolled around.

***

Isaac grinned at his laptop screen as he scrolled through NYU Home, the site where he stayed up to date on upcoming assignments, tests, and grades. He just saw that he'd managed to get a solid 75% on his Calculus I test. For his first test in university, he was pleasantly surprised by how well he had done. In fact, Isaac found himself to be doing a lot better in school than he had anticipated. He had always gotten high 80s and low 90s in high school, but had listened to his teachers' and parents' warnings about his marks plummeting a little in college. They had certainly done so, but it was nowhere near as bad as he'd expected. He was quite proud of how well he was doing in school.

Now if only every aspect of his life was going well, too.

He was still tight with Felipe, DeShawn, and Nikita. He also chatted with Lexi regularly either in class or over text. But his relationship with Cassie wasn't as strong as it had been at the start of school. Things seemed alright on the surface, but Isaac could still sense tension and uncertainty between him and Cassie. He didn't want to address it because he knew it would start another fight. He hoped that his girlfriend would get over the matter so that they would be okay again.

A sudden knock at the door interrupted Isaac's train of thought.

What the— why did Felipe knock? He must've forgotten to take his key again, he thought.

He got up and opened the door. He was happy to find that it wasn't Felipe, but the woman he'd just been thinking about.

"Hey, Cassie."

"Hey, baby," she replied as she entered her boyfriend's dorm. She pecked his lips with an innocent-looking grin.

"What are you doing here?"

"Well... I'm here to kidnap you for the night."

Isaac's eyes went wide. "Uh..."

"Don't be scared," Cassie teased with a laugh. "I was hoping you'd be free to go out for dinner tonight."

"Oh! Yeah, of course, babe. I'd love to do that. I see you're already dressed for it."

Cassie looked down at her outfit— a black T-shirt, red jeans, and black pumps. "You don't have to dress up tonight, babe. Besides...it'll all come off later on tonight."

Isaac watched as her hands left her jeans' pockets and went for his chest. He chuckled a little, but tensed up when her hands fell to the waistband of his sweatpants. He almost wanted to stop her, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. For reasons that he couldn't explain, Cassie's touch could put him in a trance-like state. He had to fight to keep himself under control. It wasn't easy, but he somehow managed to do it.

"Babe..."

Cassie stopped what she was doing and crossed her arms. Her grin became a full smile, causing her eyes to light up even more. She didn't care about her boyfriend's fake scowl, mostly because she knew that he wasn't truly upset at her stunt. She just laughed before displaying a sneaky smile.

"I know I'm trouble."

"No shit." Isaac chuckled. "Just gimme a few minutes to get into something decent, okay?"

"Sure, babe. I'll just be outside your room."

After Cassie left, Isaac swapped his comfy sweats for jeans and a plain white T-shirt. He couldn't help but hope that this date— and anything that happened afterwards— would only bring them closer together as a couple. He reunited with Cassie for their date with a confident smile on his face.