A New Life

6. An Eventful Afternoon

The bell rang, and Mrs. Kraft, the Physics teacher, addressed everyone.

"Welcome to Physics. This year is going to be very fun as we do many labs and other hands-on activities. We will start off with some review of what you already know. First, we will start a project with the person next to you..."

I didn't hear the rest. My mind was focused on other things like my new lab partner.

"Hi, I'm Lauren. What's your name?" I asked him.

"Hey, I'm Nick. Is this your first year here?"

"Actually, yes. I'm a freshman." I told Nick.

"Well, Lauren, if you ever need help with anything you can always ask me. I'm a sophomore this year."

Wow. He was tall, athletic-looking, and had a cute smile. Can this school get any better?

"Thanks! You know, I may take you up on that offer," I said as we both started to laugh.

After 60 long minutes of lecturing, the bell finally rang, and class was over. I could finally get a break.

He quickly grabbed his bag and followed me out the door.

"Well, Lauren, I don't know what your schedule looks like, but I don't have a class next. Do you want to grab some coffee and talk about our project?" Nick asked me.

I nodded and smiled. "I don't have a class either."

The coffee shop was on down on the second floor. We crammed into the crowded small elevator, and we were squeezed together by a super large mail cart and a bunch of other students. We both laughed as we got off on the second floor.

We went over to the coffee shop, and we both ordered a regular coffee. Nick insisted on paying for it.

As I turned around, someone crossed my path. I recognized Ryan, the jock from the high school, as he felt warm coffee spill all over his shirt.

Nick turned around to see me at the other counter with my clumsiness with Ryan.

"Oh my goodness, Ryan, I am so sorry," I began as I went to grab napkins.

Ryan just chuckled. "Lauren, it's fine don't worry about it."

I helped Ryan clean his soiled shirt as Nick came up behind me.

"Hey, man," Nick greeted Ryan, whom he knnew from football. "Is everything alright?" Nick asked me.

"I-I um," I began laughing at my clumisness.

"Well, I accidently ran into Lauren," Ryan smiled. "It's my fault."

I apologized again for my accident to Ryan as he left for class. Nick insisted on ordering me another coffee. 

As we sat down at a booth, Nick asked me, "So where are you from?"

"I'm from a small town in Wisconsin. What about you?" I asked.

"Wow that's cool! I'm from San Francisco," he answered.

"That's really neat! You know I've always wanted to go there," I told him.

"You should come with me sometime," he said smiling, "I could give you a tour."

I slowly sipped my coffee and then asked, "So do play any sports?"

"Yes, I play football in the fall and baseball in the spring." he said.

"Awesome! Are you playing at tonight's football game?"

"Yes I am," he replied,"you should come...it's at 6."

"I'm planning on going!" I said. 

We talked about a variety of other things, and I really enjoyed being around him.

"Hey, I know it's short notice, but do you want to have lunch together? We can work on our project more," Nick asked me.

I looked at my phone and realized it was 12:05pm. I had two missed calls from Sophie and a text from her asking me where I was. I had forgotten I was supposed to have lunch with her. This was an offer I simply couldn't pass up. I quickly shot Sophie a text that said, "Something came up. I will have to miss lunch." I knew she would understand after I told her what happened.

"That sounds great!" I told him.

A/N: Well, what do you think about Nick? Comment below with your thoughts and vote if you'd like as well. Are you enjoying it so far? :) Elizabeth