Remember

Chapter 43: Lonely Tune

I get inside their car, sitting behind Carter who is driving. They start driving out of the drive way and we head towards a coffee shop. Olivia turns to me, she has the biggest smile and I don't think anything will ruin her mood.

"How can you live with him and not be all over him?" She questions in disbelief. If only she knew. I give her a tight smile and playfully roll my eyes.

"Umm, strong will I guess?" I shrug. She shakes her head and mouths you're crazy.

"How are you?" Carter jumps in after about ten minutes of silence. I stare out the window, memorizing each turn and street.

"I'm..." I pause, trying to find a fitting adjective, "I'm alright." I smile. I see him nod his head, "How are you?" I ask. He gives my question a thought,

"I'm good." He says. "Ready to study?" He asks. I nod and forget that he can't see behind him and give him a quick yes.

"I'm a coffee fanatic," Olivia starts saying, she claps her hands excitingly, and turns to me. "You have to try the affogato." We pull into a parking spot.

"What is that?" I ask. It sounds foreign. I zone out when she starts talking about how it's a coffee-based dessert; with ice cream. I hear her still talking even when she's out of the car. I stare at my bag and the world around me fades.

"Coming with?" Carter says. I didn't notice he had opened my side of the door. I turn to him quick, snapping out of my thoughts.

"Sorry, yea." I tell him. I grab my bag and follow them inside the small coffee shop. It's empty and there are plenty of seats. It's different from Lisa's shop, hers feels more homey. This one looks like any other typical coffee spot.

"This class seems like it's going to be challenging. Don't you think?" Olivia asks. I nod my head agreeing, but in reality it's boring and way too easy. "You guys find a seat, I'll order." Olivia smiles. I look to Carter and he nods at me to follow him. Okay, with Olivia ordering, she is for sure going to get something coffee based and I'm just going to have to suck it up and ignore the horrible taste.

We find a round table and I grab the seat next to Carter. He starts taking all his notebooks out and his text book. I place my bag on the floor, hesitating to do the same. I open the zipper slightly but the bag is jammed packed that it ends up opening all the way.

"Woah, planning on running away?" Carter asks, his eyes widen as he looks at everything I have. I quickly try hiding everything and zip it back up. My face tinges red, knowing I've been caught, yes, I am running. I didn't want anyone finding out.

"No, I just forgot to take my clothes out." I lie straight through my teeth.

"Clothes in your school bag?" Carter questions further.

"I was in a hurry?" I say more as a question, than a straight forward answer. He gives me a "sure, you're lying" look, but smiles and shakes his head.

"Orders are here." Olivia chimes in, handing me my drink. She watches me as I take a sip of the affogato. The strong, bitter taste reaches my taste buds and I want to cringe and make a face, but I quickly take a spoon full of the vanilla bean ice cream to cover up the taste. "How is it?" She beams, her smile growing by the minute.

"Uh, different. The ice cream is good." I tell her, taking another bite of the ice cream.

"Good, I'm glad you like it." She claps.

"We're here to study." Carter gives Olivia a pointed look, she pouts and drinks her coffee. "So, we need to be two chapters ahead always, and know everything in and out." Carter advises. Olivia and I, try holding in a laugh with how serious he's being and both agree with Carter.