Priscilla Sum

Part 1--Borrowed Notes

The bright sunlight sliced through the room at a definite angle, stiff and cold in its precision. Nearly half of the room fixed on what the instructor at the front of the room said, noting down the various algorithms and key points. Among the others, a few pretended to take notes while secretly smashing everything from gems to bugs and cookies under their fingertips. A pair of serious faces tapped away at their netbooks, but only those flanking them knew that the text on the screen had nothing to do with the current lecture, or even with chemical applications whatsoever.

As for me? I like to sit in the third row, two seats from the end. Not committed enough to be on the very edge of the row, but still close enough to the front to catch what the instructor is saying, without being in his or her direct line of sight. Also, being close to the front ensured that I would always be sitting among the more serious students, rather than the ones who apparently didn't give a flying fig for this class.

"Which brings us to the question," the professor at the front of the room ceased fussing with the unresponsive projector remote and moved straight into his wrap-up, "What is the significance of this gap in the geological strata?" He gestured back to the last slide, a cut-away of a cliff in Africa, revealing many kinds of fossils embedded across and within each layer save one wide swath of rock that barely contained any. "Use what we've learned to prepare a paragraph hypothesis as your writing assignment this week. Dismissed!"

The mad shuffle of papers and textbooks sliding into backpacks and bags commenced, and students vied for space as they headed out the door and split off toward different destinations. I took my time. I had ten minutes to get to my next lesson. I didn't need to rush off. Besides, I was wearing my nice grey suede booties today, and I didn't see any sense in getting them scuffed. As the number of students dwindled, a gap opened, and I seized it. I hardly paid attention to the pressure on the crook of my arm until I had cleared the crowd, and it didn't let up. I turned to see who it was at the same time the person asked, "Hey, can I borrow your notes from last week?"

I rolled my eyes. "Really, Tony? And the reason you couldn't review, replay, and re-read all the material to get your own notes is..."

"Come on, Pris!" Tony tried his cool and casual smirk, "don't be that way. I was sick on Thursday, that's why I missed those notes."

I smirked right back. "Are you sure it isn't because you tend to zone out during these lectures?"

Tony huffed through closed lips. "Hey, it's not like half the class isn't doing the same thing." He smiled. "We can't all be history nuts like some people!"

I pouted and pretended to be all offended, when really I was proud of that very thing. Getting lost in another time period was a constant fantasy of mine. "Somebody's gotta preserve the past; the more it disappears, the more we risk repeating the mistakes of our predecessors."

"Speaking of repeating..." Tony capitalized on another opportunity. "Can I borrow your notes? I promise I'll give them back!"

I checked my watch. Ten minutes had warped into five. I hadn't even started across the quad yet. I was going to be late!

But...

I studied my friend's face. Tony and I had a friendship that went all the way back to grade school. He'd had my back then, when I was a scared little newcomer with no clue how this "school" thing was supposed to work. Tony wasn't much older than I was, but he looked out for me, waiting for me to get off the bus, coaching me through the intricacies of my day, and fending off those who would try to take advantage of me.

Compared to that, what was a little note sharing now and then?

"Okay, here," I acquiesced, handing over the requisite pages. "Just get them back to me before the end of the day. I need them before class tomorrow, so I can be ready for the quiz next Friday."