Right Place, Wrong Time

38. Shoulder to Lean On

Though she didn't regret her decision to audition for the musical, Lauren was already starting to feel the heat. After a gruelling week of rehearsal for the other show she was in, she'd slept in, but now she needed to get to the library to cram for her midterm.

As she walked outside, she saw someone doing the same across the road. Their eyes met and they smiled at each other, pulling their doors shut in unison. With only one hand, Joey was struggling to balance a pile of books and binders, so she hurried across the road to his side and let him unload a few into her arms.

"Why don't you put them in your bag?" she asked.

"Because I wasn't as organised as you obviously are and had to grab them all in a rush this morning," he said, giving her a self-deprecating grin. She giggled and went around behind him, unzipping his backpack and piling the armful of books into it.

"You really have all these classes today?"

"Uh, no. I was in a bit of a rush. I wasn't really reading the titles."

She giggled again, but took the remaining books from his arms and managed to fit them in, zipping his bag back up.

He sighed in relief, giving her another smile. "Thank you. And good morning," he said, as they began the walk to the bus.

"Barely," she replied. The sun was high in the sky, and she'd forgotten to pick up sunglasses, so she was squinting up at him.

He held up a hand to shield her eyes from the sun, and she smiled gratefully at him. "The good, or the morning?"

She laughed. "Both?"

"But it's a better morning now you're with me."

"Oh, of course," she replied, grinning up at him.

The delay at the door had put them behind schedule a few minutes, and they could see the bus a street down, so they paused the conversation and picked up the pace to make it in time. When they slid into the last two adjacent seats, he turned to her again.

"I didn't think you had classes today," he said.

"I don't," she replied. "I have a midterm to study for."

"Good luck," he said. "I can drop by later."

"You don't have to do that. You seem very busy today," she said, giggling.

He nudged her. "I can always make time for you."

The bus pulled up at the stop, and students started filing off.

"This is me," Joey said. He gave her a quick hug before standing up. "I'll see you later, then. Remember to take breaks, okay?"

"Okay," she smiled. He exited the bus and she waved at him through the window, following the back of his head as he turned and walked to class until the bus drove off again.

She set herself up in the library, far from the only one. True to his word, Joey came by a few hours later to hang out with her for a while, but he had to leave to get his laundry. Theoretically, she should have been less distracted without him there. But his encouragement had helped a lot, and now she stared blankly at the page of her textbook without taking in a single word. She traced her pen along the desk instead. Years worth of scratches and pen marks accumulated, along with the occasional writing from past students as distracted as she was, and she was overcome by the childish urge to add hers and Joey's names with a heart, just to immortalise them forever here the way she wished she could in real life.

She sighed, sitting back and closing her eyes. She probably needed a break to refresh her brain. But if she stopped, she'd find it harder to get back into it. And she really wanted to ace this exam.