The Will To

S I X T E E N (compliments)

It was seven o'clock in the evening on Sunday. Ideally, I'd have been wedged between two pillows on my couch with a bowl of popcorn in my lap, while Nola and I binged watched some series we'd compromised on. I liked fast-paced action dramas. She liked international rom coms. Our middle ground led us to interesting places Sunday nights, the one night of the week we made a solemn vow to do nothing.

But, I didn't kid myself by believing I lived in an ideal world.

At seven o'clock, I was on my way to the library for the first meetup on the group project for Criminal Psychology. Just as I was shutting my apartment door after we'd walked back from Greek Row Friday night, Rey had muttered that he'd see me at seven on Sunday through the small crack and took off. It was the element of surprise that kept me from charging after him and insisting that the time be adjusted. Who met to work on a project at seven o'clock on a Sunday?

Rey had also failed to retrieve the jacket he'd let me borrow and I was left with it. I carried it on the walk from my car to the library, and a waft of sweet spice hit me every so often. The dress of Nola's I'd worn that same night, which was still slung over the back of my desk chair inside my bedroom, had absorbed the scent. I thought of it frequently as I held his jacket.

To my huge astonishment, the main hallway leading to the library was dead. People weren't studying their remaining few hours of freedom away, and if they were, they certainly weren't doing so in the library.

I pushed the double doors open.

Beyond the circulation desk, a grouping of tables and chairs were scattered around the open vicinity beside a set of floor-length windows. Bookshelves occupied the remaining space like dominoes in a row. The lights were on, prohibiting visibility outside the windows which reflected a black sheet of darkness. It seemed much later than seven o'clock.

Three people were arranged with papers and supplies at a table and snapped towards me when the door closed. Rey perked upwards and exclaimed, "Hey, Will! You just won me a lot of money."

The girl, who I assumed to be Danica, widened her eyes and became even more pale than normal. Lifting a hand, she scratched her cheek and carefully settled her light eyes on me. Her feet didn't reach the floor, reminding me very much of a child. Xavier sat beside her and boredly tapped his pencil against the table.

I walked closer and sat down in the open seat next to Rey, who was grinning. A smoky, sweet smell met my nose, prompting me to hand over his jacket. "Here. Take it. It's huge and takes up way too much space in my tiny apartment."

"Sheesh, you know, there are more subtle ways to call a person fat."

"I'm not calling you fat. I'm calling you freakishly tall."

Rey accepted the jacket, still grinning. My hands felt cool after releasing the material. Danica observed the exchange with a calculating expression and my guard was activated. I knew what she was thinking.

"I'm returning his jacket, not a pair of his underwear."

Danica froze as Rey, through an uncomfortable laugh, said, "Uh, yeah. Will, this is Danica. Danica, Will."

She refused to make eye contact as we mumbled greetings to each other.

"And this is Xavier," Rey continued.

Xavier was still tapping his pencil. "Can we just get this over with?"

Xavier and I may become friends after all was said and done.

"Yes, good idea," I agreed. "What should we do the case study on?"

My question seemed to stun the other three members of the group. They all wore blank expressions like I'd just ask each of them to recount their most personal memories.