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The walk to the coffee shop is refreshingly calm. Anyone who is awake at this hour is usually zombified anyway. I make my way inside and approach the counter.
“What can I get for you?” The barista asks.
I smile warmly. “Just a medium black coffee.”
The total comes to $1.50. I give her two singles and deposit the 50 cents change into the tip jar. I glance around to find the place is almost empty, probably because any normal person is still sleeping right now. The barista calls my name and places my coffee on the counter in front of me. I thank her as I retrieve it and then begin my walk to class.
The silence is enjoyable. You can just barely hear the water flowing through the creek. It runs through the campus and I find sitting next to it to be the perfect place to do some homework or light reading. The sound is relaxing to me.
I arrive at the classroom at 7:20 AM, only ten minutes before class is scheduled to begin. I take my usual seat in the middle of the room and pull my laptop out of my bag. While I wait, I browse through Twitter on my phone while drinking my coffee. It’s nice to see what my friends from back home are up to. Suddenly the silence is interrupted by a loud, and might I say arrogant, voice.
“Look, I’m not saying she’s a slut. I’m just saying her vagina could use a delete history button.” Holden tells his friend obnoxiously.
Everyone in the class laughs. The guys are rather calm about it, while the girls giggle in a way that screams fake. Holden, of course, eats up every second of it. You see, while he may be dating Brianna, he’s still the most wanted guy on campus, and he knows it. There is no one that he can’t have. Well, except for me.
“Alright, alright. Settle down.” Professor Bradley says, placing his briefcase on top of his desk and pulling out his computer. He always seems to be the last person to enter the classroom. It’s as if he got forced into teaching a class that begins at 7:30 in the morning.
As he sets up the projector, I finish my coffee and put my phone away. It isn’t until I look up at the screen that my anxiety beings to build.
Social Observation Project! Worth 30% of Your Grade. Partners Will Be Chosen for You!
My heart rate starts to quicken and my breathing becomes difficult - two signs that I’m approaching an anxiety attack. I try to control it and stay calm, but it’s no use. I excuse myself quickly as I exit the room and run to the bathroom.
I push open the door and shut it behind me. Leaning back against the wall, the cool tiles feel nice against my warm skin. My chest is tight as I slide down and into a seated position on the floor. Usually, I would be disgusted by sitting on the bathroom floor, but right now it’s the last thing on my mind. I pull out my phone and start playing A River Flows in You by Yiruma. It isn’t a song with lyrics, just piano. However, it does manage to calm me down. It gives me something to focus on - something other than my anxiety.
After a few minutes, I finally have my emotions under control. I stand up and walk over to the sink, splashing some cold water on my face. I dry myself with a paper towel, turn the music off. I take one last deep breath and start my return to class.
As I open the door, I’m faced with someone I never expected to see, Holden Rivers.
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
He shrugs. “I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
His response catches me off guard. It’s not like him and I are friends. Why would he care if I was okay or not?
“I’m fine.” I say dismissively. I begin to walk back to class without waiting to see if he is coming with me. When I hear the footsteps behind me, I know he is.
“Just checking, jeez.” He murmurs with an attitude.
I stop and turn around, taking one step back when he almost walks right into me.
“You don’t have to do that, you know, check if I’m alright. It’s not like we’re good friends or anything. You don’t need to pretend you care.” I realize after the fact that I may have sounded like a bitch, but the last thing I need is Holden checking up on me. He only ever does things that benefit him.
He looks a bit taken back at first, but then his expression turns cold. “Whatever, Kayleigh. I just know Bree would kill me if I didn’t see if you were okay. Don’t get too carried away with yourself.”
He starts walking again and uses his shoulder to push past me. I roll my eyes and stay a couple steps behind him as we approach the classroom. The two of us enter and see everyone in groups of two.
“Ah. Holden and Kayleigh. Nice of you to join us again.” Professor Bradley greets us. “We went ahead and picked partners, and being as you two were not here, you’re partnered together.”
My jaw drops in surprise and I feel like I can’t move.
“Fantastic.” Holden scoffs. Clearly, he is just as excited to work with me as I am to work with him.
The two of us return to our seats. When I make no move to get back up after I sit down, Holden gathers his things and moves to the seat next to me. While I would rather visit a gynecologist than work with him on this project, it is worth 30% of our grade, so I need to suck it up.
“Can you go get the project summary or do you want me to?” I ask him. He shakes his head lightly as he puts his things down and walks to the front of the class to get the handout. When he comes back, he hands me one of the two papers and sits down. The two of us read over it in silence.
Objective: Observe people in two abnormal situations.
