Twice One Shots

38. Three Dollars (Mina)

... or the 5 times you knew you were in love.

1.

Everyone knew that finals week was pure hell. What only the seniors knew was that finals week during senior year was soul crushing. The degree that once seemed so far away was now only at an arm's length away but the terrifying reality that you soon had to become one with the real world was there as well. You thought back to all the American movies about college students and scoffed, knowing the harsh reality that senior year was full of stress and the hardest exams that you'd ever taken in your four years at the university and not fun parties mixed in with easy exams and fun beach trips every weekend.

You silently watched out of the window from your corner in the library as a group of future students took their tour through your university campus. 'Don't do it. You'll regret coming here.' These were your only thoughts as you took a five minute break from looking at the same problem set you'd been working on for the past hour. It was just the beginning of finals season but you could already feel the impending doom around you. Every student in the library had their heads down in a book or computer, trying their best to cram in months worth of work into a few short weeks. You got up and stretched, deciding to take a walk to the vending machine downstairs since you had been sitting for almost three hours. Your back was starting to hurt and a few seconds of standing would be good for your legs.

If anyone had told you that you'd be studying for your last first semester's final exams, you would have looked at them like they had three heads. It felt like not too long ago you were one of those future students, bright eyed and hopeful for the future. Now, you were a senior with an almost complete architecture degree and severe back pain. The past four years had flown by and despite all the fun you did manage to have (sometimes at the cost of sleep or meals), it seemed like there was no escape from these next few weeks of hell. Thankfully, you had a seemingly unlimited supply of coffee and sweet snacks to keep you somewhat satisfied.

As you punched in the number for a random coffee drink and a bag of panda shaped cookies, you felt the presence of someone beside you. You discreetly glanced up and felt your heart speed up a bit. Standing in front of the other vending machine beside of you was one of the most beautiful people you had seen in your life. You could only see one side of her, but what you could see took your breath away. You watched her for a moment out of the corner of her eye, sensing she was frustrated. She had a cute pout on her lips and her eyebrows were furrowed. 'Wait. Cute pout? Get yourself together, Y/N. You don't even know this girl's name.' Deciding to be the most bold you had ever been in your 22 years of living, you cleared your throat to get the girl's attention.

"Is there something wrong with the machine?" You watched in awe as the girl turned towards you, now giving you a complete view of what she looked like. You could feel your cheeks begin to heat up and tried your best to keep your face straight.

The girl blushed a bit and looked down at her feet then back to the machine. "I thought I had cash with me, but I think I leant my last few dollars to one of my friends yesterday. I just wanted a lemonade." That same pout made its way back to her lips and you think you could have passed out then and there from how cute she was.

This would be the only time you'd ever be thankful that your college was too cheap to get new vending machines that would actually take cards. "I could lend you a few bucks" You smiled and pulled your wallet out of your back pocket, extending your hand with three dollars. You could sense her hesitancy of taking your money so you made yet another risky move and took a step forward, taking her hands and putting the money in them. Her hands were warm and soft, compared to your clammy ones. You grimaced slightly, hoping she didn't notice.