Moose and Goose

Chapter Sixteen

Judith steps into the student lounge, and a sigh of relief escapes her lungs when she sees the blurry image of Mary sitting with Jerome and his friends at their usual table. The room is packed with other students – very few that she recognizes – and five faculty members.

The tables to her left are lined with various dishes of wrapped food – bribery masked as community service by the snooty blonde who didn't want Judith's help.

She approaches their table in the corner just as Mary erupts in laughter from what Khalíd whispered in her ear. When she stands near her, and they make eye contact, Mary's smile fades along with theirs.

"Hey," she greets her with a neutral tone. She has a notebook in front of her and a number two pencil in her left hand.

"Hey, I didn't see you at the bus stop when I got on campus, and no one was in the club room. Is everything okay?" Mary nods her head awkwardly, her lips pursed. She takes a look around the circle of uncomfortable expressions. "I also didn't see any of you four at the bus stop by my house."

"We only go home during the weekends," Jerome tells her when none of them respond. Judith takes a shaky breath, her stomach twisting from embarrassment.

"Oh, that makes sense," she mumbles. Manuel clears his throat and looks across the round table at Eric. "Well, are y'all going to the seven eleven up the street during the break?"

"Judy, we're in the middle of something," Mary informs her with a blunt attitude. "Go talk to David."

Mary rests her right elbow on the table to conceal her face behind her hand while Khalíd and Manuel chuckle at her request. Judith looks towards Jerome, who is looking at her with pursed lips.

She scoffs, then walks away from them toward the exit. Their raucous laughing follows her outdoors, and her heart hurts before the breeze reaches her. Judith places her right hand on her chest, feeling the rhythm against her palm.

"Excuse me," a man who looks to be younger than her says, and she turns her head to look at him. He barely towers above her five-one frame with his five-four height, yet his somewhat strong arms pique her interest.

She looks at the door behind her and takes a step to the left, her interest fading as she assumes he wants to pass her. He doesn't move. His hazel brown eyes lock on hers as if he's trying to piece together where he knows her from.

"Is there something on my face," she asks him, and her hands brush her cheeks. He shakes his head.

"No, but you look familiar. How long have you been a student here," he asks, and in thought, her gaze flicks from his right to his left, then back to him.

"Since I was seventeen." His face practically glows when he smiles. "What?"

"That's how I recognize you! You're the Dominican girl who was waiting with me and my parents when I transferred here. I was twenty-two at the time," he explains.

"Sorry, you have the wrong girl; I'm not Dominican." She turns away from him and walks down the path to the dorms, but he pursues her.

"Really? You were speaking Spanish at the time to someone in the lobby," he insists, and he too stops beside her when she pauses.

"I was speaking Spanish to my mom and Dad, and it was more of me practicing so I could impress the Dean and be accepted here." He folds his arms across the chest of his yellow and white striped shirt. "I'm sorry to disappoint you."

"I'm not disappointed," he assures her with a smirk. She turns to him. "What's your name?"

"Judith, but Judy is fine." She takes a breath and looks him up and down again. "What about you?"