give her love » james potter

53

"I don't like mission trips."

Rachel and I are at our second orientation before classes begin in late August. We're going through pamphlets about extracurriculars and opportunities. Trying to enhance ourselves to make us more 'wantable' if that's even the right word.

She drops the sheet. "Why?"

There are some young people in front of an orphanage with kids. They're all smiling and my stomach churns. "It just reminds me of Colonialism," I mumble, thinking about the scramble for Africa. "Just that idea we're going there to," I make air quotations, "save and teach them. When in reality we're just almost contributing to this cycle of abandonment that'll have these lasting effects on these young children. It's some glorified modern white saviour thing in my opinion."

"I'm technically half Chinese," she says, distancing herself from the papers. "But, Holy Helga, I feel terrible now."

I shake my head. "It's okay you didn't know any better."

Rachel wraps her arm around me and we both watch everybody getting to know professors and making new friends. But, we continue to be in our little bubble because I think that we'd be content for the rest of our lives if we just had each other.

The friend we'd made last time, Delia, has already found a new group of people and she's not the shy person she was with us anymore. It's no surprise that it ended up just being us at the end but we'd both imagined a future with Delia yesterday while going furniture shopping.

We'd both been sitting on some grey couch contemplating whether we'd grow close enough to Delia that she'd move into the third room in our apartment that's currently acting as a huge walk-in closet and library. I'd shook my head and said probably not and she'd mumbled something about us being loners.

But, our splendid isolation ends as Benny comes towards us with a scowl. He stands beside me and says, "God I hate this year's class, already. You're all insufferable."

It makes me smile. "Even me?"

"Especially you."

Ben points towards the two karoke twins, "Little annoying shits." Then he points at some girl who looks like she walked out of a magazine. "She already thinks she better than everyone." He points at a boy with glasses who sits uncomofrtably at a table. "That kids gonna fucking kill someone." Then finally, he looks at us and shakes his head. "You two, man, you're gonna be the death of me."

I look over and Rachel and she's already looking and grinning. We both share a look in a language that we've created between us: Benny's our boy.

Rachel runs a hand through her hair, "You're eight years older than me," she says, haughtily. "I think I'm a bit too young for you."

He looks offended by her words and shakes his head in disgust. "Jesus Christ, Rachel. I would never willingly want to do anything with you."

"I could the same about you."

I bring my drink up to my mouth and watch in amusement. They continue to bicker and how they both act like they can't stand each other but, it's easy to tell they enjoy the fight. 

Five years. I give them five years where they'll date other people and not be able to find anything that works and end up back in each other's presence ready to argue. It's a classic slow burn rom-com plot and I'm watching it unfold in front of me. 

Lily was serious about focusing on the Order thing. She isn't here today and I'm guessing I won't see her for a long time now that schools starting and the political atmosphere is getting worse making the Order even busier.