Chapter 1
Keanna
It’s a beautiful Texas day. Well, as beautiful as it can get in the middle of August. The sun is beating down on us as if its only goal in life is to tan everyone to a crisp. But even though it’s hotter than hades outside, it’s still a pretty day. A day that shouldn’t be spent in the stuffy library of the local community college, surrounded by people who would all clearly rather be somewhere else.
I gaze at the long line ahead of me. It’s amazing how many people don’t know how to use a freaking computer. I would be at home today, among the people whodoknow how to use a computer, if some utility worker hadn’t made an epic screw up.
Early in the morning, while messing with the cables that run underground, some guy from the cable company accidently severed the lines that bring internet to our apart of the town. My parents got an email (ironically, which they had to read on their cell phones) apologizing for the inconvenience and saying they hope to have internet restored by next week.
Next week will be too late to register for college classes. Next week doesn’t help me at all.
I tried registering for classes on my phone, but the website is not made for that, and it just didn’t work. So, I had to do what my mom called the old school thing, and head up to the college during one of their registration days. That means standing in long lines to talk to a counselor who will help you fill out a paper with the classes you want to register for. Then you have to take that paper to the admissions office and pay tuition. Last semester, I did it all online in just a few minutes, all from the comfort of my pajamas.
It’s like the freaking stone ages in here. I chuckle to myself as I gaze around at the twenty or so people standing ahead of me. We’re sectioned off by last names, and the H through P section is the longest. Go figure. It doesn’t escape my notice that most of the people in these lines are older, people in their forties and so who are going back to college. I guess they still prefer doing things the manual way.
I send a text to Jett to pass the boredom.
Me:I miss technology.
Jett:You’re using technology right now…
Me:I miss the internet…at my home…
Jett:Are you still at the college?
Me:Yep…waiting in line to register.
Jett:that sucks. I’m almost home…I figured you’d be home too.
Jett had left bright and early this morning to pick up his dirt bike from the only shop around that does the best suspension work. It’s nearly in Houston, so it was a long drive. I glance at the time—11:15, and realize I’ve been here for over an hour.
Me:Help me…this line is never ending
Jett:I’ll drop off my bike and head your way
I smile. Sure, I feel a little guilty for making Jett come up here just to keep me company, but that’s what boyfriends do. His only other plans today were to ride his dirt bike, and you can ride a dirt bike any time of day. There’s only a few hours you get to stand in line with your girlfriend, being bored out of your mind. Ha!
By the time he gets here, there’s only two people ahead of me, and both of them turn to watch Jett walk up. He’s a force of sexuality, that boy. Wearing black shorts, Adidas shoes, and a Team Loco blue T-shirt, he looks just as good as he smells.
“Hi babe,” he says, sliding an arm around my waist as he presses a kiss to my cheek. “This line isn’t long at all.”
I smack him on the chest. “That’s because I’ve already been waiting for hours.”
He grins and takes the brochure from my hand, thumbing through the dog-eared pages. “So, what classes are you signing up for?”
“Just basic stuff. History, Government, English, a stupid PE class called Powerwalking.” I shrug. “The core stuff. Luckily I have another year of basic classes before I need to figure out what I want to study.”
“It’s weird,” Jett says, handing the brochure back to me. His lips slide to the side of his mouth as he thinks. “I’m like…a little jealous? But mostly not. I mean, you’re in college and that’s awesome, and I kind of want to be in college, but I’d rather ride a bike for a living, you know?”
He grins at me in this horribly cute way that still makes my toes tingle after all this time.
“Yeah well college is what normal people do. The people without crazy dirt bike skills.”
“Are you ready to register?” The woman behind the table’s voice startles me. I can’t believe I’m already at the front of the line. Being with Jett always makes the time go by faster. I should bring him with me every time I have to wait for something.
When I’m officially signed up for classes, we take my registration papers to the school bookstore so I can get all the textbooks I’ll need. Jett looks around in wonder as we trek across the school campus, sticking to the sidewalks that link all of the buildings together even though most people just cut through the grass.
“This place is pretty cool,” he says. He steps to the side so a guy walking toward us can get by, then he moves back to standing next to me. “It’s like how colleges are in the movies. All these people with backpacks and laptops, walking around being all hip and millennial.”
