The Physics of Falling: Study Buddies #1

Chapter Six

"I can't do this."

"Yes, you can. Just pace yourself. Don't forget to breathe."

Sidney and Shayna had been jogging lightly for 10 minutes now. They hadn't even scratched the surface of Shayna's warm-up routine, and Sidney was ready to die.

"That hill up ahead. It's going to kill me. I can't do this."

Shayna just laughed and pressed on. "Come on Sidney! Just run and stop complaining. You're wasting energy and air talking about it."

The trouble was that running while out of shape was very similar to having anxiety disorder. The breathlessness, the tightening in the chest. Sidney was going to give herself a panic attack. The idea of it was so funny to her, though, she started laughing right along with Shayna.

"Ow! Ow! Okay, I'll shut up. Laughing is giving me a stitch in my side!"

"Good grief." Shayna shook her head in disbelief.

The sun was coming up over the horizon, and it lit the campus in golden, fiery tones. It was gorgeous. Sidney wondered why more people didn't get up at the crack of dawn. It had been a struggle to drag herself from bed this morning, but the beautiful sky and the peace and quiet of the sleepy campus were worth it.

"You know, I think I may be a morning person."

"I'm not. I'd rather run at night. But my parents made me swear not to. They think I'm going to get raped or something."

"You're too fast to get raped."

Shayna laughed. "You're too much, Sidney. I hope you keep running with me. It's boring running alone. I used to run with my chocolate lab, Leonard. But I have to live in the dorms for my track scholarship, so..."

"You named your dog Leonard?"

"Yes. Don't knock the name. It means 'lion strength.' And, anyway, he looks like a Leonard."

Sidney didn't know what a Leonard should look like, but she couldn't imagine he would take the form of a chocolate lab.

"Well, if I survive this, I'll be happy to keep standing in for Leonard."

The run took them all the way around campus and back to the dorm in plenty of time for Sidney to shower and get ready for class. Shayna did a second circuit before coming in. Sidney knew she had slowed the athletic girl down, but Shayna didn't seem to mind. Maybe if she kept at it, Sidney would soon be a better running partner. It was a happy thought. Sidney had never thought of herself as all that physically tough. But college was a great time to reinvent oneself. So, now Sidney was a runner. She smiled to herself as she gathered her shower things. What else would she become this year? Stronger, certainly.

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Sidney pressed her hands against the cold black counter in front of her and took a moment to catch her breath. Today was her first real lab in college and she was terribly nervous. The topic of the day was "thin layer chromatography" and, though it sounded complicated, it was meant to be an easy confidence-booster to start the semester out. Sidney remembered doing something similar in high school. Nonetheless, she couldn't help but feel like she was destined to screw it up.

The day had already started with an epic blunder. She had made it halfway to class before she realized she was wearing flip flops - a major lab-day faux pas. Dr. Crick would kick her out of the room if he saw her exposed toes. She had to run back to her dorm to change into her sneakers and then hoof it back at high speed. Running with Shayna and then sprinting to get to class in time was going to get her in marathon condition in no time. Sidney was still breathless from climbing three flights of stairs when Connor Summers swaggered in, cool as a cucumber as he tossed his lab notebook onto the counter next to her.

He looked at her quizzically. "What happened to you?"

Sidney tried to stop sucking in air like an asthmatic who had just run through a cloud of pollen and smoke. "Nothing. Did you read the procedure?"

Connor must have gotten far in life using his trademark grin, because he was attempting to use it on her, now. "Procedure? Who needs to read the procedure? Crick will show us what we need to do. No worries, Kid."

Again with kid? He couldn't be more than a couple years older than she was. "It's Sidney."

Connor's grin widened.

Sidney was indeed worried. She had read the procedures frontways and backwards several times. Then she found YouTube videos of the steps, to be sure. She wished Connor had at least skimmed it over. Chromatography took time. If either of them messed up they might not get the data they needed to write their lab report.

Connor glanced at the clock. "You've got time if you want to read it now."

"I already did!"

Connor swiveled around on his lab stool and regarded her with interest. "Then there's no need for concern. We got this." He folded his arms behind his head, leaned back in the air as he put his feet up on an imaginary table and somehow didn't fall off his stool. It was an impressive feat of balance, and Sidney had the sudden urge to kick the seat out from under him.

"So, partner, where are you from?"

"Here."

"Astounding. I wonder why they haven't named the building after you. Or at least this lab room."

Sidney pressed her lips into a thin line. "Prospect."

"Ah. I hail from New Castle. What made you choose Benedict University?"

"A scholarship."

Connor nodded his head sagely and hummed. "Mmhmm, mmhmm, makes sense." He didn't seem to mind the one-word answers, and Sidney was just starting to worry that nothing would dissuade him from small talk when Dr. Crick finally arrived. A familiar hush of respect settled around the room and even Connor turned to face the professor. It would be a short reprieve, Sidney knew. Labs could be up to four hours long and, barring her possible failure and withdrawal from the course, she was stuck with Connor Summers for the rest of the semester.

Sidney almost longed for the days when people ignored her. People parted like a bad hair cut when she walked through the halls of her old high school. Okay. Perhaps she didn't miss being a pariah, but she did miss the quiet.