Noah and Ruth

Chapter 1: FMK

I'm trying to write this down, because the idea of forgetting is threatening to break me into a million pieces. That's cliche, and a lot of this is a cliche, but that only makes it more real to me. That the way I feel is the way thousands have felt before me and more are sure to follow.

I was sat in the lobby of a mediocre hotel in South Kensington, with friends I'd reconnected with on this school trip. These friends are like faded people, I remember their faces and some of their interests but the edges, the details are a bit fuzzy, since its been a while since we've hung out. 

There's Autumn, whose bleached blonde hair is tied up in some clip I keep staring at and can't seem to figure out how it works, like seriously how is her hair defying gravity like that?

Then there's Kate, who like me is staring at Autumn but not because she's trying to work out how all those silver strands are wrapped around a singular clip, but because, like a puppy, she's waiting for orders. She's sat next to Autumn watching her mouth for the next order and the next joke, ready with a nod or a laugh or whatever she needs. Where Autumn is dressed the the epitome of edgy girl on the town, Kate looks like she's going to a middle school dance, with her long sleeved shirt and long pants. 

Sat across from Kate is Quin, whose greasy blonde hair is draped over his eyes. He catches me staring and I flick my eyes to Noah. While the others look politely bored while we wait for our companions, Noah looks full on anxious. Where we are dressed for a night out, Noah is dressed for a business meeting, in a full suit and button-up shirt. His shirt even has tiny little squares on it so he looks draped in graph paper and he's wearing a little lemony cologne. I stand up and straighten my blouse, I pull down on the bottom and then realize anyone taller than me, a select few, including Noah, could see down my shirt and so I quickly readjust, in the process looking more anxious than Noah who has stopped his pacing to look at me with his pale blue eyes. I can see the sweat on his forehead as I say, " Why don't we meet them at the bar? It's already 9:30." The others nod, but Noah objects, as usual, to my idea and says " No. We have to wait for them. I promised I would and I don't intend on breaking my word." 

I look at Autumn whose rolling her eyes and Kate whose blushing as she glances at Quin. Before I can raise some very valid counter points, mainly that we could text them the address, and that every person we are meeting up with is an adult who can navigate the city on their own, Quin's phone buzzes. " Hey! That's Tony, they said they are at the 'secret spot' already."

The secret spot is what Cristina, our tour leader has been calling the small pavilion across the street from our hotel. It's really a small path through a green space that my roommate and her friends use to get high after going out at 4am. We all laugh and walk out the front doors. I end up next to Noah, although I can't tell if that's because he wanted to walk by me or because Kate wanted to walk by Quin, I'm guessing the later based on the looks I'm getting from Kate as I watch the white heels of her converse in front of us. Who wears white converse to a bar?

"Why couldn't they just meet us in the lobby like I planned?" Noah complains. 

"Because," I explain "they probably were already out exploring and didn't want to walk all the way back to the hotel" as I put my hand on his fore arm, because he's really taking this too seriously, plus I feel bad about earlier, I think I was too harsh. When Noah first came down to the lobby I made a joke to the others about him looking like he was ready to take me to the 8th grade formal. Noah and I aren't exactly friends, but I felt like that was a little below the belt. Where I've known Autumn for years and Kate for a week, since the beginning of the trip, I've only known Noah since yesterday when he came to an event hosted by my professor along with Tony. 

Autumn would have me say I only went to that event because Tony was there but that's not true, as I got there before him and didn't even know he would be coming. Plus, after the two of us went to get coffee earlier today, my feelings for him have changed. He's stiff and shy when we're alone. For some reason this change of heart becomes more present as I look at Noah.