5
AUSTIN
Showing up late is kind of my thing.
Not on purpose. Not really. But if I walk in after everyone’s settled and halfway tuned out? Well, that’s just good timing.
I shoulder the door open, and the low hum of the lecture falters just enough for a few heads to turn.
A couple of girls glance back. One of them is in the middle row—blonde, in a tight tank top, glossy lips parting slightly. She’s practically preening in her seat, her notebook open but untouched.
And, yeah, I know that look. She doesn’t smile with her mouth, just with her eyes and the slightest curve at the corner of her lips. She shifts her bag off the seat next to her and lets it drop to the floor.
An invitation.
My mouth quirks up, just a little.
I take a step. Then another.
But just as I take the next step, my eyes drift to the side.
Back row. Five seats from the left.
Maisie.
I freeze for a second.
She’s in this class, too?
How the hell have I never noticed her before?
I mean, okay, this class is huge. And yeah, I’m not exactly memorizing faces while I’m rolling in ten minutes late. But… she’s at the rink, she’s in my classes. She’s always around.
And somehow, I’ve missed her all this time?
She’s hunched over her laptop, staring at the screen. Her soft, faded pink cardigan slips past her wrists, and her messy bun is barely holding itself together. A few strands keep falling into her face, and she pushes one away without looking up. Then she pauses, reaches into her bag, and pulls out a tube of Chapstick. She smooths it on, caps it again, and goes right back to typing.
My eyes drift to the sticker on her laptop—a cartoon frog in glasses, reading a book.
It’s dumb. And kind of weird.
But I can’t stop looking at it.
She’s completely alone. No one within a three-chair radius.
And for some reason, I stop walking.
Blonde girl is still looking at me. Still waiting. That half-smile flickers when she realizes I’m not moving toward her. She shifts in her seat, and glances away.
I drag my feet up the stairs without really thinking about it, like my body’s decided before my brain can catch up.
Straight past the empty seats. Past the perfume, perfect hair, and easy flirtation.
Right toward the one girl who hasn’t looked up once.
I slide into the empty seat beside her, making sure to keep my movements quiet. The lecture’s already started, and I’m not about to be the guy who interrupts, so I lean in close, my voice low enough that only she can hear.
“Hey.”
