Time Will Tell

Chapter 3

I woke up the next morning feeling more refreshed than I had in weeks. I guess having a good dream for once does things to a person. However, I quickly decided to get myself some coffee this morning, unlike yesterday. Normally, I am an avid coffee drinker, but my nerves got the best of me yesterday, and I decided to not add to that. This morning is definitely closer to normal and a coffee morning.

As I'm walking to the coffee shop in the Commons area, I glance at my wristband. 26 days. Three weeks and five days. Since today is Tuesday, that means I will be meeting my soulmate on a Sunday. Oh no! I usually stay in and read on Sundays. Something else is going to change from my normal routine. Maybe I'll be with Riley. I can't even begin to think that I'd meet someone else.

I walk into the coffee shop and see a sign that reads "NOW HIRING." Maybe I should think about getting a job. Who am I kidding? That would require me to actually talk to people. Definitely not going to happen. I stutter out my coffee order to the guy working the register and happen to catch a glimpse of his wristband. Roughly 6 years. That's a long time considering most people meet in their late teens to early twenties and this guy is definitely no younger than 25. Next thing I know, I'm wondering how my soulmate drinks their coffee, if they even drink it at all. She, I correct myself. My soulmate has to be a she, since I'm not exactly attracted to guys whatsoever.

My coffee tastes awful and I think it's because that guy screwed up my order. I said, "Double shot latte." At least I think I did, but this tastes too sweet. I can't even begin to wonder why, because I am good at science and chemistry and anything involving cooking, but I can't make a decent cup of coffee to save my life.

I hurry to meet Riley who already has his coffee and has been laughing loudly at my facial expressions as I tasted my awful coffee. "Trade with me," I tell him, and it's not up for discussion. We drink our coffee the same way, and like hell I'm going to be the one to suffer today.

"Okay, I think?" He replies as he hands me his and I take a sip. His coffee is just right and I smile at him. "Wait. Why?"

"Mine sucks."

"So why do I have to have yours and you have the good one?"

"Because you're not going to let some awful coffee spoil my first good morning mood in months." He nodded and then took a sip of my original coffee. The look on his face was priceless. No words spoken, he just walked over to a trashcan and threw it in.

"Much better. Now I have to go get another. You're coming with me though."

"But then we'll both be late."

"Sucks for us." And with that he led me by my elbow over to the line. The guy working the register looked at me weird, considering I had just been here. I instantly looked down at my shoes and decided to remember that I meant to repaint my toes. It's not like you could tell because I was wearing ballet flats, thank God.

Riley's new coffee was done surprisingly fast and we hurried off to the math building. Riley left me again as soon as we got into the lobby but today I knew where I was going. I sat in the same seat as yesterday and smiled at my professor. She gave me a worried smile back and then immediately started class. I took out my notebook and started sketching since I didn't need to pay attention anyways. I always had a knack for math too, and that enabled me to have a relaxing first class everyday.

In my notebook, I started drawing a set of hands. One was strikingly similar to my own and the other was smaller, more slender and fragile. I knew instantly whose hand it was, my soulmate's. I imagined the fingers intertwining and that's how the next sketch started to look. I had an urge to start to color the sketch, so I started with the fingernails on her hand, a soft lilac.