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“That’s exactly how I feel about Mark and John!”
“You inspired me to do this,” Jessica admits. “I know I’m more adventurous than you, but I don’t think I ever would’ve given it a shot if I hadn’t seen how happy you are. So thank you.”
I give her an awkward side hug. It’s not easy to show affection in the lecture hall seats, but we make it work.
“I’m glad I could inspire you for once since you’ve been inspiring me our entire lives.”
“Look at us! We’re both in relationships with two men.”
“I know! I can’t believe it, but it’s so cool. Hey, maybe next year, we can do a double date kind of thing. I’d love for you to get to know Mark and John outside of class.”
Jessica grins. “I’d love that! We’ll make plans in January, okay?”
“Absolutely.”
I glance down at my phone. The guys are almost fifteen minutes late to class now.
It’s not like them to be late. At least, not this late. It’s usually only five minutes, and never both of them. One always shows up before the other. My palms start to sweat.
They’re just in a meeting, I tell myself. I quickly shoot them a text, asking where they are. No response.
A few students start to shuffle around.
“Where are they?” one asks aloud.
“Seriously. Can we leave?”
“I’m out,” the original question asker says. “Someone send me the notes if they ever show up.”
The guy grabs his backpack and walks out of the room. Five others follow suit, but the rest of us stay put.
“Mari, have you heard from them?”
I check my phone again. Still nothing.
“No. Where are they?”
Jessica must sense the panic building inside of me because she takes my hand. “I’m sure they’re just in a meeting like you said. Didn’t they have to talk to the department head on Sunday when you were still in Alaska? That’s probably what they’re doing now. It just ran long.”
I take a deep breath. Jessica is right. That’s a logical explanation. They wouldn’t be late if they didn’t have a reason to be.
“Did I tell you about the project I have to do for my women’s studies class?” Jessica asks in an attempt to distract me from worrying.
I shake my head. “What is it?”
“We have to make a movie!” she explains. “We’re in groups of four, and we’re supposed to write and film a skit based on our topic.”
“What’s your topic?”
“Intersectional feminism. Which, let me tell you, is not easy to write a skit about. It’s due next Friday. This is our entire final exam grade. Well, we have to write a paper to go with it, but it’s only five pages.”
“That sounds really hard. Are your group members helpful, at least?”
“Oh, yeah. I got lucky there. I was talking to another girl in my class, and she’s doing all of the work for her group. But we have these group evaluation forms to do, so she’ll get full credit, and they’ll get docked points for not helping.”
“That’s good.”
“Agreed. But anyway, I’m writing the script since I’m the only one with any kind of English or writing background. The others in my group are math and econ majors. They’re handling the filming. Would you mind checking out the script this weekend? We start filming on Monday.”
“Of course!” I say. I’m pretty sure she’s only saying this to distract me from our missing professor and TA, but I appreciate it. Besides, it’s nice to see Jessica putting in effort for one of her classes. Obviously, her tutor can’t handle this for her.
I’ve seen Jessica’s writing in the past, and she’s very talented. Her script will be the best in the class. I can’t wait to read it.
We continue to talk about our other classes until the thirty-minute mark hits. More of our classmates have been leaving the entire time, and after thirty minutes, only Jessica and I remain.
Our school has a fifteen-minute rule, so we all could’ve left when the first guy did. Basically, if a professor is fifteen minutes late, the students can leave without being penalized. I’ve never seen that happen before, though.
“Mari, I think we should leave,” Jessica suggests.
I nod. “I know, you’re right. Where are they?”
“I don’t know. Try texting them again.”
I do. This time, I text them each separately. They have “read receipts” on, so if they open and don’t respond, I’ll know. They don’t open them.
“Don’t freak out. I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for this, okay? Just breathe.”
That’s easier said than done. Mark and John wouldn’t just not show up to class without informing someone. If they were in a meeting, they would’ve sent word somehow that class was canceled. I check my email. There’s nothing from them there either.
“Come on, Mari. Let’s go.”
I don’t want to leave, but at this point, it’s clear that Mark and John aren’t coming to class. I gather up my things and follow Jessica out of the room.
