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NAYELI'S FINGERS TREMBLE against Caden's no matter how tightly she grips his hand.
She feels the stares on them—her especially—as he pulls her body towards him once they've reached the end of the hall. Her eyes close when his lips meet hers and she feels his smile. When his lips part slightly, she touches his arm, causing him to immediately back up.
"People are staring," she whispers in the space between them as her eyes skim the hallway. Her eyes catch Jeremiah's, who looks away instantly and permits himself to get consumed by traffic.
"Fine, fine." Caden grins, beckoning her towards the door next to them. "Go. I don't want you to be late for your meeting."
She watches him take a seat on the bench right outside the door. "Aren't you going to class?" She frowns slightly as he pulls out his phone and throws a sheepish smile her way.
"There's an English project due today," he says, sliding one leg over the other and settling into the bench, "and I didn't do it."
There are dark circles surrounding his eyes, matching the intensity of his irises, and exhaustion lining the contours of his features. She watches him pull up a game on his phone, his fingers immediately circulating the screen as he begins a new level.
"I'll meet you after" is all she says before slipping into the college advisor's office, five minutes late to the meeting.
Ms. Davis is sitting on her desk, fingernails tapping against the keyboard in front of her computer screen, and her gaze flutters to Nayeli briefly when the door clicks behind her. Her lips tip upwards when she settles in, kindness flowing in her eyes, as she gestures to the empty seat across her.
"Nayeli," she says, sounds of typing and clicking merging with her voice as she pulls up her records. "How are your applications going?" she asks after a handful of seconds.
"They're going," she murmurs, tracing her legs against the wooden chair, sneaking in a soft laugh after her sentence.
"Good, good," the college advisor replies absentmindedly, scrolling through a screen Nayeli doesn't have a view of. "And you wanted to talk about financial aid and scholarships today, right?"
"Yes," she responds instantly, hooking her thumbs underneath her legs to terminate their trembling, "I'd like to know how to apply."
"Okay." Her eyes finally land on Nayeli. "There's the FAFSA application for federal aid that I'm encouraging all students to fill out." She drops her gaze to reach into the side drawer. "I'll give you a sheet that highlights that information and then you can go online and fill that out right now with my assistance." She points to the spare computer table in the corner of the office without looking up.
