Dear Valentine

III

The coffee shop is peaceful and quiet. Not many people Aiden and I recognize are here. It is the perfect spot for us to study. There aren't many distractions at all.

Perhaps the only distraction there is the talkative barista behind the counter. She loves to chat with everyone in the small room. She could talk for hours and never stop. She is friendly, sure, but I wouldn't enjoy talking to her nonstop.

As promised, though unspoken, Aiden pays for my coffee. I get the small iced mocha, while he orders the medium size.

We sit at a table in the back corner of the coffee shop. It has the most privacy of all the tables in the room, with even lesser distractions.

We study for a good twenty minutes in a comfortable silence. People are shuffling in and out of the shop as time passes by. The coffee shop is busy, but it isn't packed.

After twenty minutes, Aiden lets out a groan. He slams his head against his books, but not too hard that it hurts him. I hear him mumble, though I can't seem to make out what he is saying. I raise my pencil over to his head and poke him with it.

I stop and he raises his head. "Why do teachers think that we can cram eighteen weeks of everything we have learned into just two weeks? Don't forget we have eight exams to study for, while they only have to give us one. They don't have to study for anything," Aiden complains. It is like him to be complaining after just a small amount of time of studying. He is more of the roll-with-the-flow kind of guy, but I force it on him to study. I want him to be able to graduate high school with me, after all.

"Well, they have to worry about a hundred kids," I think out loud, "and not everyone is going to pass, which only stresses them out more."

"Humph," is all Aiden murmurs before we fall into silence again.

If I had to pick the busiest time for a coffee shop, I would choose four o'clock in the afternoon. It's highly unusual for many people to be drinking caffeine of that hour, but we are an unusual town. We do as we please.

I suddenly get stuck on a problem. I've never been one to be a whiz in math. It is pre-cal. I'd hate to see what regular calculus looked like. I don't think I'm going to survive either way.

I don't realize I am staring off into space, but I do. Aiden is waving his hand wildly in front of my face. I quickly notice it and shake my head. I look back to the problem. I immediately want to rip the page out and crumble it.

"Stuck on something, Valentine?" Aiden asks, gazing at the crowded scribbles - or so what it looks like to me - on the piece of paper in front of me.

I prop my elbows on the table and curl my hands into fists, to keep ahold of my head.

"I just don't get all of these numbers and letters," I complain. Even since the second grade with Corrine as my math tutor, I still couldn't keep up with it today.

"You've always sucked at math. Here," Aiden says as he slides his chair over mine, so that he doesn't have to read my work upside down. His shoulder is up against mine and it allows him to get a closer look.

He starts to guide me through the steps. I can't say I fully understand it after he tutors me, but I know well enough before the exam. Thank goodness I've been given friends that are intellectual in math, otherwise I wouldn't be much help to them.

In return, I help him study for our history exam. He, for one, can't seem to keep up with the dates and what happens on those date. He's always been lousy when it comes to history.

After we finish our drinks, we end up talking instead of studying. Our brains need to recover from the heavy load of studying we have been doing, after all.

I suddenly receive a text from Corrine: I managed to save a life today. Also, Long Blonde Guy and his groupie were here and they talked to me! Score for me! -Corrine.

"Corrine, I'm guessing?" Aiden scares me. I forgot that he is still sitting next to me. He's placed his head on my shoulder to read my text. I move my shoulder to remove his head. He tries to stay on, but getting hit in the throat isn't necessarily fun, so he straightens up.

"Who else would it be?" I answer, "The cute guys at the pool talked to her today."

"You and Corrine have the worst taste in boys," Aiden playfully scolds. Then, he adds, "What you need is a man, like me."

He starts to flex his muscles, making anyone who was in the coffee shop look at him. I couldn't help but laugh. He is only meaning to make a fool out of himself.

"A man? Surely you haven't looked in the mirror lately. You look like you're still ten," I exaggerate, folding my hands so that they are like binoculars. Then, I add, "Even with these binoculars, I can't seem to find your muscle."

Aiden gives me a funny look, and then we find ourselves laughing so hard, I think he might've snorted out his coffee.

"C'mon, we should head home," Aiden suggests, packing up his books into his backpack.

I look to the clock. It is six o'clock. It's gotten to late so quickly; I may be behind time. I close my books and organize my papers into each folder, then packing it into my backpack. This time, I am prepared to lunge it over my shoulders so that it doesn't fall again. We get up at the same time and head out of the door.

As soon as we are out of the door, we are immediately hit with coolness. It is winter after all, but I'm afraid I am not wearing enough layers to block out the coldness. I react in a shiver.

I guess Aiden notices my reaction. He stops and places his backpack onto the ground. He starts to say, "Here, you're cold." He takes his coat off, leaving just his jacket and a scarf. He hands it towards me.

I refuse, "No, that's okay. I don't want you to be cold just to keep me warmer." I start to push away his coat, half-expecting him to shrug and put it back on, but also expecting him to wait for me to accept.

"Valentina, I swear. We do this every single year and you know I always win," Aiden suddenly says in a stern voice that makes me flinch a bit. I sigh in defeat and retrieve his coat into my hands. I slide my backpack off to put the coat on and a wave of warmness clouds over me. Aiden's scent on the coat is strong and noticeable, making me feel warm inside.

Aiden has always been stubborn and will fight until he wins. He treats everyone fair, being the gentleman he is. If a girl is cold, he'll offer her his jacket, even if he didn't know her. He once was left with just a tank top because he had given away his jacket and his sweater, though I didn't understand why he was just wearing a tank top underneath. Nevertheless, Aiden is the description of a nice guy.