“I can’t believe I’m doing this…” Harper mutters into her hand. She hovers hesitantly around the door to the Photography Club room, pacing back and forth. “I can’t believe I came here on my day off from classes too…”. Her usual schedule is Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday and Saturday alternating, so to be here on a Monday felt so foreign. Maybe this was a bad idea after all--
“See you guys later!”
Paralyzed in place, Harper swivels her head to see a handful of students heading out of the room. They file off down the hallway, leaving her as she had been just moments earlier; all alone. “Wait was she...did I…”. So caught up in the sudden group, it hadn’t even crossed her mind to see if Trinity was with them. Her lips press into a hard line, her gaze falling to the floor. She lost her chance so quickly. Taking a look into the classroom, however, she’s pleasantly surprised.
Trinity’s seated off near the window. Flickering through her camera, a gentle smile that Harper’s immediately enamoured by grows. Were they photos of nature? Animals? Whatever they were of, Harper wanted to see them. If it made Trinity glow like that they must be something. Oh Lord she was sounding like a love sick puppy thinking about it like this. Aubrey would mercilessly tease her if she could hear her now.
Shaking off her thoughts Harper took a deep breath. Game time.
“Excuse me? Are you by chance…” Harper began as she steps into the classroom. She only makes it to the second row of desks when Trinity’s eyes meet hers. All without warning, a familiar warmth travels through her body and stills her.
“Hmm?” Trinity hums
“T-Trinity…?” Harper continues, bringing one of her hands in close to her chest.
Cocking her head sweetly to the side, Trinity then smiles. “I sure am. Is there something I could help you with….umm?”.
“Harper! I’m Harper, uh...not that you would probably know me from anywhere. I just...well…”
Trinity took to her feet and held out a hand to her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you!” she cooed, “And I’ve heard of you, actually! You’re in the music program here, correct?”
“Yeah! Ahh..!”
As they shook hands, however, a sudden zap - or what appears to be one - makes contact Harper’s hand causing he to reel back a little.
Trinity blinks slowly before frowning. “Are you alright?”. She leans in a little closer.
“Oh man I must have built up some static or something! Sheesh…”. She rubs the palm of her her hand for a moment, but strangely enough, the pain isn’t even there. “Yeah I’m good. Well anyways I….the reason I...came by was I wanted to actually ask if you….wanted to hang out sometime? Grab a coffee? Or tea! Whatever you prefer!”
Pink tinted her cheeks as it hit her that she was the most straightforward but bumbling lady on campus, by far. Maybe in the history of the whole college, or town for that matter. There was absolutely no way that a girl so many leagues above her, so many miles away in respect to how well rounded she looked, was going to take up a jacked up offer of a potential date.
“I’d love to, Harper! What time works best for you?”
Wait, huh?
“I’m free tonight!” Harper blurts out, her eyes falling to the floor
Trinity turns to her bag again and carefully puts the camera in a protective pouch. She glances back to Harper and giggles softly. “Here, let me give you my number!”. She tears a piece of paper from a tiny notebook she’s unearthed from her bag and writes.
“I’ll text you on my way home! We can...p-plan something…” Harper mumbles, holding onto her arm. The piece of paper is soon put into the palm of her hand as Trinity gently takes it and then closes it in around the paper, covering it with her other hand after.
“I’m looking forward to it!”
▂▂▂▂▂▂
“My god, Harp, I’ve never seen you this stressed” Aubrey muses, laying with her head hanging over the end of Harper’s bed.
Harper paces the floor in front of her, arms crossed and brows furrowed hard enough to make them pop off. “What if I step on her toes or trip her or-- oh my god Aubrey what if I start choking and she has to give me CPR?”. Clapping her hands to her cheeks, she tightly shuts her eyes.
With a haughty smile, Aubrey reaches over and prods Harper’s thigh. “Then you’d get to smooch her, of course. But of course that is if you don’t die!”
Slapping the finger away, she huffs, but quickly deflates and plops down at her desk chair. “I know I have nothing to worry about but...Aubrey I’m serious, I don’t know what I feel when I see her but she and I….”. She pulls a knee to her chest and sighs
“I know, dork. Just trust your gut. I dunno whats going on in that heart of yours, and Lord knows nobody else does but you, but I know you’ll figure it out…”. Aubrey rolls over onto her stomach and smiles warmly.
“Thank you, Aub...I wish I thought the same”
▂▂▂▂▂▂
It doesn’t take long for Harper to find Trinity in the energetic coffee shop. It’s situated in between two shops; a rather old flower shop, recently rejuvenated, and a quirky clothes shop. Often times before class Harper ended up here. Who could blame her though? It was voted Best Coffee joint for miles around. Not to mention it helped her college life pain of a budget.
“Hello!” Trinity greets as she comes up to Harper near the door. She points to the menu and chirps cutely “My treat. You can get whatever you want, okay?”
Surely Trinity saw the flash of surprise over Harper’s face as she nods hastily. Chewing her lip, Harper glances around for an empty seat. She spots an open table near the window and turns back to Trinity. “I’ll have a 12 ounce chai tea latte, thanks! I’ll g-grab us a table!”
She heads over and sits down, back to the rest of the crowd of people in the shop. Sighing softly, her fingers knead over her kneecaps anxiously. What are they even going to talk about? Harper had absolutely no idea on her way here, either. Thinking back on the first time she saw Trinity just a few days prior, her heart is overcome with an indescribable ripple of warmth.
As she was on her way - very much late - to her next class, Harper had taken a breather in the courtyard. She slumped down onto the edge of it, chewing her lip. Well if she was late anyways, what could another minute or two do? Bag dropping to the ground at her feet, she rested his hands back on the stone.
“I can’t believe I overslept….I never do that….” she groaned. Mrs. Templin was going to have her head. While she wasn’t one to get mad at Harper particularly, she had a zero tolerance policy for tardiness. Well, there was a first time for everything, Harper supposed. Scanning the courtyard Harper knew that most students milling about weren’t exactly in the same position as her.
It was like a flash in a pan.
White, flowing hair passed by her urgently, right before her eyes. Harper blinked curiously, following the girl’s form as she rushed across the brick pathway. All at once a deep seated burst in her heart left her breathless. Something almost mystic in nature. Something that Harper even now couldn’t explain. Harper needed to feel it again - the magnetism, the spark - as soon as possible.
She needed a name. She needed a touch. She needed an answer.
A steaming cup of chai tea latte snaps her back to the present as its placed in front of her. Trinity takes the seat opposite of her and chuckles to herself. “Looks like somebody was having a daydream, huh?”
Harper flushes shyly and takes the cup in her hand. She sips it, masking the embarrassment etched across her face. “I get distracted easily” she mumbles.
“So tell me more about yourself” Trinity starts.
“Oh umm….well it’s my second year here, well, I mean at the community college”. Duh you dummy, of course she knows that. “I’m majoring in music theory and composition! H-How about you, Trinity?”
Trinity rests her cup in her lap. The same consistent smile remains as she explains she’s in photography and looking to expand her horizons with joining magazines to get her name out there. It’s impressive to say the least and it’s far more than what Harper has planned out for her own future.
All Harper knows is she wants to create. No matter where and no matter what. “I’d love to see your work sometime!” she blurts out but quickly retreats to the safety behind her cup.
“I can send you some later! Remind me tonight!”
Harper’s gaze flickers to the window. While here inside it seems so lively, the outside pales in comparison. It’s odd. Usually nights like this leave the streets filled? Harper furrows her brow.
“Are you alright?” Trinity asks with a tilt of her head.
“Does something feel off to you?” Harper murmurs, eyes fixed on a solitary man on the street corner across the way. He’s bobbing back and forth, unsteady. Looks like someone hit the bottle a little early, Harper muses. Yet she can’t take her eyes off him.
“Now that you mention it, yeah”. Trinity’s voice trails off as she rises to her feel. “Anyways, I need to run to the bathroom. I’ll be right back!” she calls as she’s already hurrying away.
Comments (0)
See all