“Anyway, I guess I’ll see you on Wednesday, right? Unless we have another surprise class in common tomorrow.”
I roll my eyes, but I can’t seem to wipe the smile off my face. “I highly doubt it. But if I come to visit Max before then, I’ll be sure to say ‘hi.’”
Oliver beams. “I’d be honored.”
After saying goodbye to Jude, I make a beeline for the Jimmy Carter Science Center for my last class of the day, Introductory Biology. The Carter Science Center is a massive, modern-looking building with a glass facade wrapped around a high-ceilinged interior and sharp architectural lines. It must be a newer building on campus, given how vastly different it is from the much older, mostly-brick General Classroom Building. I take an elevator to the twelfth floor, and the classroom is easy to find. A short-statured woman with warm bronze skin and long black hair sits at the front, facing the class, eyes fixed on her laptop. The wall behind her lights up as she projects the class syllabus. As soon as the clock reads 1:00 PM, she stands and clears her throat.
“Good afternoon, everyone,” the professor announces. “My name is Dr. Bishara, and this is Introductory Biology.”
While Dr. Bishara introduces herself and begins going over the syllabus, I can’t help but let my mind wander back to my lunch with Jude.
I was certain after last night that Jude would want nothing to do with me. Whether it was because Max and Celeste convincedthem I was interested in more than friendship, or because I somehow wound up asking everyone to announce their sexual preferences to the room, I assumed I had blown it. As soon as I saw them sitting alone in the second row of my Psych class, I knew I had to try to befriend them again. And by some miracle, Jude decided to give me another chance.
Last night’s interaction had already convinced me that Jude was pretty cool, but our time together today confirmed it—Jude is actually the most fascinating person I’ve ever met. They’re funny, they’re smart, and they have excellent taste in movies and TV. Their aesthetic, interests, and worldviews—literally everything about them—draw me in. I want to know everything about them. I want to study them under a microscope. I want to chat for hours about everything and nothing at once.
We yapped nonstop at each other over lunch, laughing, goofing off, and ribbing like old friends. It’s hard to believe I learned this person’s name less than twenty-four hours ago. If I’m honest, I’ve never clicked with anyone like this before. Is this what having a best friend is like? Is this how Harrison and Theo feel every time they hang out? I can’t believe I’ve been missing out for so long.
I wonder, ever so briefly, if we might be soulmates.
But eww, no, of course we’re not. That’s crazy. We can’t be soulmates. Jude made it clear they’re only into girls, and I completely respect that. In fact, I’m actually relieved. We’ll never have to navigate the nuances of dating or decipher romantic intentions. We can be friends—maybe even best friends—with no pressure, expectations, or awkwardness. Is that crazy? Maybe. But that’s how I feel.
With all that said, I really hope Jude feels it, too—this unbelievable compatibility and platonic chemistry between us. It would really suck if this fondness only went one way. The last thing I want to do is scare Jude off, and right now, thesebig revelations I’m having would come across as more than a little creepy. Obviously, I can never tell Jude that the word “soulmates” even crossed my mind, but would it be weird to say we’re clearly destined to be friends? Maybe we were friends in a past life? Is there a friend version of soulmates? If that exists, that’s what we are. There’s no doubt in my mind about that.
If platonic soulmates exist, I have found mine. And their name is Jude Cohen.
Tuesday, August 26, 2025
Note to future Oliver: never, ever agree to an 8:00 AM class again.
“It’ll be fun,” Theo had said.
“Kicking the day off early will help ease us into college life,” Theo had claimed.
“Worst case, we can just roll out of bed and walk to class,” Theo had insisted.
I should have known better than to trust a morning person to help me make my class schedule. I spent the past thirteen years of my life forced to wake up early for school—why on earth would I do it now, voluntarily?
“Good morning!” Theo announces from the kitchen as I close my bedroom door behind me.
I grunt in response.
“Aww,” Max’s voice joins in. “Not a morning person, Oliver?”
“He’s not,” Theo answers on my behalf before I can grunt again. “I convinced him to take this early class with me on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”
“Ooh, is it English 1101, by any chance?” Max asks eagerly.
“It is! At Lewis Hall?”
“Ahh, yay! Me too!”
“That’s dope!”
While Theo and Max excitedly chat about our shared morning class, I trudge into the kitchen for coffee. I desperately need caffeine.
“Are you almost ready, Oliver?” Theo asks.
“Almost,” I grumble as I swing open the dishwasher. I thank whatever deities are out there for having the foresight to toss my new EU-branded travel coffee mug in the wash last night.
