The Silicon Valley Connection

37 | faith: week 9.5-our normal

8:30 a.m.

"Pencils down!" Professor Hale calls out. As other students scrambled to pack up their things and hand in their midterms, I let my head fall to the table. My last exam of junior year is done. At least with the Wayfinder Tech Competition in place as my physics final, I'm not too worried about my grade in this class.

Since our school is being represented in the Championships, I reached out to my other professors to take my other final exams beforehand and encouraged Marcus, Aidan, and Hunter to do the same. Thankfully, they all agreed, and technically, from here on, all four of us are done with actual classes and can somewhat relax before everything gets hectic again.

"Are you still planning on turning that in?"

I raise my head and find Aidan staring down at me with a crooked smile.

"Duh, now let me rest in peace for a minute. The unlimited energy from the caffeine you gave me this morning is starting to dwindle now, and I'm crashing."

He crouches to meet my eyes. "Well, you'll be able to sleep for as long as you want in the car."

This piqued my interest. "And why's that?"

"Because we're going on a day road trip to LA. Just the two of us."

Suddenly, I'm not sleep-deprived. "I'm sorry, what now?"

"You know you heard me correctly, Sommers. You. Me. Driving. Los Angeles. Day trip."

"Last call for the Spring 2022 midterms! Please turn them in to your TA, or forever hold your peace," the professor announces. I push myself backward out of the chair and trudge my way to my TA, Shreya, handing her the papers before grabbing my bag and practically skipping to meet Aidan outside.

"We leave at 10:30 a.m.," he says with a wink and heads off in the direction of the gym.

4:07 p.m. I can barely keep my excitement contained when Aidan stops in front of The Last Bookstore and hands me his card.

"Have at it, love. You deserve it for finishing your reading goal early."

My mouth hangs open as I slip it in my wallet. "Hardbacks included?"

He gives me his classic side grin. "Of course. This is a special occasion."

Faith: 10, Aidan: 12

When he doesn't budge from his side in the driver's seat, I furrow my brows in confusion. He lets out a hearty chuckle and slides his prescription sunglasses on. "I'll be back. I have to pick up something first."

aidan

Ordering ahead was the way to go. The boba tea shop was the equivalent of an airport during peak hours, with all the sealing machines occupied and the never-ending orders being called out as customers stood or took seats in the metal chairs.

I migrated to the "Online Pick-Up" area of the shop and grabbed both of our orders from the tray: a strawberry green tea for her and a brulee milk tea with boba for me.

"Looks like you'll need my help carrying those after all," I say, pointing to the books that are piled higher than Faith's current sitting position on the bench. She closes her book and tries to get up, but I plop down next to her and hand her the boba tea drink.

She takes the drink, her facial expression a mix between shock and happiness. "You remembered my order from then?"

"I may have looked at the sticker on the cup before it fell."

She laughs, takes a sip, and leans into my shoulder. "It's the thought that counts. Thank you."

I reach over and grab a random book from her pile. Laying my head on top of hers with one of her earbuds in my ears and listening to the playlist we made on the drive to Los Angeles, we read until closing time.

Her love language may be touch. Mine may be affirmations. But the shared love for immersing ourselves in worlds that are not our own is a language only we can understand. And I intend to cherish that.

faith

At first, love was about as annoying as a syntax error, but when one person changes the algorithm...even to the slightest degree, the whole system crashes...and all bets are off.