Right Place, Wrong Time

6. Just the Two of Us

Finals seemed to be fast approaching, and parties wound down (slightly) in favour of study groups, which were excuses to hang out with friends with a half-hearted attempt at processing the information they'd been trying to absorb all year. The sky was heavy with the first tantalisation of snow as Lauren reached the café, stepping into its warmth and feeling her taut muscles relax.

A whole group of their friends were supposed to be meeting there, but so far the only person she could see was Joey, who had his books spread over the table and his bag on the booth seat opposite him, saving as much space as he could in a time when seats were in high demand. He smiled broadly when he saw her and tugged his bag onto the floor so she could slide in opposite him.

"I'm not early, am I?" she asked, trying to work her phone out of her pocket to check the time.

"No, you're right on time," he assured her. "I guess everyone else is late."

"Figures."

"I was waiting until other people got here to get a drink, but do you want anything?"

"Something warm," she smiled, the chill from outside still lingering on her skin. "Just no-"

"Dairy, I got it," he said, beginning to stand up. "Anything else?"

"A gluten free cookie, if they have them, they usually don't."

"Okay, I'll be right back."

She tried to give him money, but he waved her away, so she left it on his side of the table for when he came back. While she waited, she checked her phone for messages from her friends. Nothing. But it had only been ten minutes since the time they said they'd meet, and as that had been an optimistic suggestion for a Saturday morning, it wouldn't be surprising if they had a while to wait yet.

Joey returned with their coffees and a paper bag clutched in each hand, a small frown of concentration on his face as he set one load down in front of her, the other in front of him. "That one's yours," he said, "definitely. And it's your lucky day, because they did have cookies."

She smiled, touched by the care he took with it. "Thank you, Joey." She nodded her head at the money he'd ignored on the table. "Take it."

He pushed it over to her. "I don't want it."

She pushed it back. "You're reinforcing the patriarchy."

He laughed loudly, and she couldn't help delighting in it. "You're my friend," he said firmly. "You can buy the next one."

"Fine," she conceded.

"Have you heard from anyone else?" he asked, after blowing on his coffee for a minute.

"Nope." She picked a rogue chocolate chip from her cookie and put it in her mouth. "Are we sure we didn't both get the time wrong?"

"Positive. Maybe the weather put them off."

She smiled. "You would say that."

"What does that mean?"

"You're from California. This," she waved her hand at the window, indicating the reasonably mild weather, "is nothing."

"That's fair," he smiled. "So you think they're just not coming?"

"I don't know," she frowned, looking out the window again. Not one other person had shown up, and not a word from any of them?

They waited another twenty minutes, making half hearted notes and highlighting sentences they'd barely read in between their conversation, which was much more appealing to Lauren. She'd been studying after class all week, she reasoned, and her brain deserved a rest.