Practice makes perfect, and when you're fighting to be the best in your sport that is especially true. Ryder and Francesca are no exception. They are dedicated to their sport and refuse to let anything distracted. But when a scheduling conflict forc...
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"Hey Drew Drew," I interrupt as Drew finishes a conversation with another student.
"Ryder, you never cease to amaze me with how annoying you can be," he laughs as the other student walks away. "Did you clean up your station?"
"Yes sir, got my burnt lab notebook and everything," I chirp as I follow him throughout the lab like an annoying toddler. I missed my final two weeks but overall I am proud of the research I was a part of. Now all that is left is to clean up my stuff and do my final exit meeting with Drew and a few of the professors here.
"Maybe keep the notebook comment to yourself," Drew warns as we walk into the conference room. I sit next to him with all our combined findings written up and printed in nice little packets for everyone.
The interview is mostly Drew talking and me nodding along, occasionally giving a comment. The whole thing is quick and painless and Drew's advisor seems pleased with us as we do the normal handshakes and leave.
"Easy enough," I muse as we head to his office. "Are you going to be here all summer again?" Last summer Drew was here and since I spent the entire summer here as well I began doing work in the lab for him right after finals week. This year I will be in New York with Francesca and I am not even sure I will be back in the fall.
"I have two weeks off to go home and such but yeah, I will mostly be here."
I nod, getting this uncomfortable feeling. Goodbyes suck ass especially with someone like Drew who was basically my therapist for the last year listening to me whine and complain even on days I wasn't suppose to be in lab.
"I do have one question," he says as he hands me my lab coat. We both weren't sure if I would be cleared to come back before finals started so Drew has some of my stuff packed, planning to drop it off to me.
"Shoot dude."
"Why did you take all the rats, why not just Penelope?"
I freeze and I can feel my cheeks heating up a little bit. The chatter around the lab was always that someone left the cage open. Drew never let on that he thought otherwise. "How did you know?"
"Dude," Drew laughs like it is obvious. I guess it is. So much for the two of us being stealthy.
"I planned on only taking Penelope but then Francesca got upset about leaving Elle and Sofie so we took them too." I shrug as I think about that whole night. I am pretty sure I could still relay every single tiny detail of that night, I think about it so often. That was the first time I looked at Francesca and felt like I couldn't breathe and like my stomach was full of butterflies. Back then it was a weird feeling I didn't understand but now, it makes sense.
"So the little ice princess turned out not to be so bad after all," Drew jokes.
"Nah, not at all. That's why I am dating her now."
