Lexi's In A New City

Chapter 31

Several weeks went by as students once again grew accustomed to their new timetables. Despite different classes and new work loads, it wasn't too difficult to get back into the swing of things. Everyone carried on like they had before Christmas break, save for the new classes that they were now worrying over.

Before anyone knew it, Valentine's Day was just weeks away. Most students seemed not to care that the occasion was fast approaching. That said, there were still a portion of young people that had significant others to make plans with for the special day. No one wanted to wait until the very last minute to come up with a half-baked plan that had the potential to fall apart.

Isaac and Cassie were among the group of couples currently making plans for Valentine's Day. They were in Isaac's dorm on a Thursday afternoon after both of their morning classes had ended. Felipe was still in class for another hour, so Isaac hadn't hesitated to invite his girlfriend over to his place to have lunch and brainstorm date ideas. Lunch had gone off without a hitch, but the brainstorming part was off to a rocky start.

"Every restaurant's gonna be busy as hell," Cassie pointed out when her boyfriend had suggested it. "And everyother couple goes out to eat."

"That's true," Isaac remarked. "How about we go to the movies?"

"Nothing good's playing right now."

"Uh...wanna explore Times Square again?"

"Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt."

"The local arcade?"

"Jesus Christ, I'm not a kid."

Isaac shrugged. "Then I think I'm all out of ideas."

"Of course you are," Cassie snapped.

That remark caught Isaac's attention. He studied her crossed arms and pursed lips, unsure as to where this newfound hostility was coming from. He thought about addressing it, but Cassie interrupted him before he could speak.

"God, you can't come up with anything. Maybe you should spend the day with someone else. You know...someone you said you haven't spoken to in a while, maybe?"

At first, Isaac couldn't understand why she had said that. But when he read between the lines of her bitter words, it became clear. He sighed, not looking forward as to how things were about to go down.

"Can you please just tell me what's wrong?" he asked in a calm manner. He made it sound like he couldn't understand why she was suddenly so upset.

"Mariana texted me a couple days ago that she saw you and Lexi hanging out in the caf. Is that true?" Cassie questioned.

Isaac went through the events of the past week in his mind.

"Are you trying to think of a lie to cover it up?"

"What? No!" he exclaimed. "I'm just trying to think about this week. Yeah, I ran into Lexi in the caf the other day. She was having lunch alone, so I decided to chat with her for a while."

"Really?"

"Really. I swear to God, that's all that happened."

Cassie nodded, deep in thought. "So...does this mean you two are friends again?"

"We've been friends again for a month, I think? Yeah, that sounds about right."

"You two have been friends for a month, and you never told me?!?!"

"I didn't think I needed to. I thought everything was fine between us, and I assured Lexi that you weren't gonna upset her again. That's why she backed off in the first place— after your guys' blow up at the coffee shop. But we're past that, babe. Lexi's just a friend of mine— and of Felipe's, DeShawn's, and even Nikita's."