MEMENTO

VIII.

So, things returned to how they once were. But Erica could feel Cecilia's absence each time she called the others together.

James sat across from her as he poked a fork into his macaroni, explaining to a barely listening Zip what happened at the last basketball game. Zip instead fixated on the way James' lips perked up as he laughed at his own joke.

Erica turned to Sol, unable to watch this catastrophe any longer and murmured, "How are your finals? Can you believe the semester is ending so soon...?"

"They're all right," Sol replied, biting into an apple. "Chem is blowing me."

"With Marczak?" Zip piped up suddenly, turning his gaze away from James. James blinked rapidly at the interruption.

"Yeah," Sol returned easily, rubbing at the back of his neck.

"I heard he's the worst," Zip replied, flushing slightly at his remark. He wasn't used to having everyone's eyes on him and instantly ducked his face.

"You have no idea," Sol insisted, shaking his head. "Last lab, that dude totally lost his mind. He's so nitpicky about every sentence in our reports. Like, come on, we're not English majors."

Erica tuned out the conversation, eyes scanning the cafeteria for a new source of entertainment as Sol launched into the same story he loved to tell about Dr. Marczak.

And, as if some force seemed to draw Erica towards her, she spotted the lanky blonde form jutting out of the crowd as she hurried towards the coffeemakers. Erica pushed herself out of her seat, murmuring a haphazard, "Be right back!" before anyone could stop her.

Flitting after Cecilia, Erica watched as the blonde picked a banana from the basket of fruit.

"Is that all you're getting? Coffee and a banana?" God, Erica sounded like someone's mother, she realized as she bit back the urge to comment on how thin Cecilia was becoming.

"Yeah, um, just getting a quick snack before going back to my chemistry project," Cecilia answered, shoulders visibly tensing. Her hands shook slightly, causing coffee to dribble out of the cap.

She's scared, Erica noted with a grimace.

"How are finals, by the way? You sure you don't want to come sit with us?" Erica offered, sneaking a glance at the table as Sol and James weren't even trying to be subtle in their gawking.

"Finals are busy, busy, busy," Cecilia replied, not even glancing at the table. Her gaze jumped from random spots in the cafeteria. "I'd love to come sit, but my project is due tomorrow and I've barely just started."

Erica's hopeful smile faltered as she pressed her lips back together and nodded. "I see, well, I'll see you around then," Erica remarked, shifting uncomfortably.

"See you," Cecilia returned, heading towards the register and relaxing her shoulders at not having to interact with Erica any longer. Erica made her way back to the table to be immediately met with James' remark of, "So, I'm assuming she's not coming to sit with us."

"Um, she's got a project to work on," Erica explained, pressing her face into her hands. "Do you think she's mad?"

"Well," James began, digging his teeth into his bottom lip. "You did force her to relive a shit ton of traumatic experiences," he pointed out, mouth full of what was now at this point lukewarm macaroni.