Say When

T H R E E

I was back in the confines of my room. A small winter storm had rolled in and stolen the sun away behind thick clouds. The wind howled and the windows on our old house shook.

Doritos sprinkled down on to my chest as I scrolled through my phone. Bored with Instagram I switched to Facebook. I was stuck in a loop. I checked the few alerts I had. Mostly updates from Rita. Rita with cat ears. Rita with big googly eyes. The girl was social media. Social media was her.

I laughed and liked the photos and then resume scrolling. I briefly stopped on celebrity news. I skipped around for a bit until something caught my eye. People You May Know.

I never typically knew the people but this time I saw a familiar face. Yuri, in a basketball uniform, filled the small circle of his profile photo. Crumbs from the cheese flavored tortilla chips dropped to my lap as I sat up. I clicked on his photo.

I carefully scrolled through his timeline. I felt a flutter in my stomach when I saw that he'd posted recently. It was a video. I surveyed my room like I was about to embark on a covert mission. I knew I was alone.

I clicked play on the video and watched as he did a few tricks with a soccer ball. The camera was unsteady but you could still see his finesse. The sun glinted off the ball as he balanced it on his foot before launching it into the air and sideswiping it.

This wasn't today. There were no sun rays in sight today. It didn't even look like New York. A voice cheered him on. A kids voice. My phone buzzed as a notification filled the banner of my screen. It was from Rita.

I opened the message and saw a picture of her making a kissy face. She was still at school. I looked out of the window at the swirling storm. I was grateful again for my light schedule. Out of school by noon on most days.

Rita: Look what I found.

Rita's kissy face filled the screen. She thought she discovered kissy faces? I'd hate to burst her bubble. I stared at the picture again trying to make sense of it.

Still mostly Rita's face, but I could make out people behind her. I zoomed in. There it was. Yuri sitting a few rows away from her chatting away with someone.

Me: No fair.

Rita: I told you calculus is fun.

I hated math and after passing my final required course last year I refused to take any advanced courses. Rita wanted to go into the medical field so she took it. I wondered what he wanted to do that would make him endure the class.

Me: But I hate math.

Rita: He doesn't. He's really into this stuff. #nerd

I laughed but tossed the new information around in my head. It was ridiculous the way that every new little piece of information lingered.

What the hell was this? I wouldn't think about him. He didn't know me at all and I didn't know him. We'd only ever been in the same room twice. I had other things to focus on. Like paying for college.

I made a mental note to stop by my guidance counselors office sometime this week and get more information about financial aid and scholarships.

The goal was to get away. Go off to college and start new. I tucked my phone back under the cushion and powered on my laptop. Back to business.

>>

Later that evening, I'd managed to submit a few scholarship applications and was working on homework. The house was quiet and I was actually managing to get work done.