Tangerine

autumn cookies

The bus slowly pulled to a stop, and I could hear the rustle of people, pushing and pulling to get out of the bus in a timely manner. I jerked my head back to see if the black-haired girl was getting up leave and surprisingly she got up. Quickly, I raced to stand up and pushed past people, excusing myself with every push and quickly pulled up to her. "Are you new to Autumn University?" I say, smiling as friendly as possible. "Oh! Yes, how did you know?" She whispers, her voice as gentle as the fall winds that swirl around us. I start walking out onto the pavement from the bus. "I've just never seen your face here yet, besides you did look a little lost," I say smiling gently. "Ah! Oh...yea, I just moved here from Portland, my name's Sia," 

"I see! My name's Alina, welcome to Autumn! I think you'l love it here! It definitely matches your sweet vibes <3" I say, hyping her up. 

"Do you need help getting arou-ACK...JAY!" Suddenly, I could feel myself being slightly choked by a peach-smelling human. Jay. 

"Oh, yes, this is my friend Jay, I'm sure he CHOKED me because he was upset I've haven't introduced him to this very pretty transfer student," I say, slightly teasing and laughing. 

"Ah- I'm not pretty, but thank you....I'm Sia, nice to meet you Jay," She says, the wind blowing her hair and gown softly. Her hair seemed to curl upon itself, and her face illuminated by the sunshine. Not only this, but as they talked it seemed as if the sun only shone upon them. It was almost uncanny how much is felt like a movie, with the two leads talking and meeting for the first time. At this thought, something in my heart burned and ached, perhaps for something I never had but wanted. I couldn't shake this feeling that this new transfer student would change something very big in my life. 

~~~

"So what class do you have first?" I ask Sia, my words light and airy as I speak without thinking much about it.

"Ah, let me check....uh, I have journalism first and then I have organic chemistry," She replies, before putting her phone back into her tote bag. 

"Well, I guess I'll see you later! I have photography first today," I say smiling, before waving goodbye to her. I watch her wave back before turning away and looking around, searching for my usual group of friends that I walk with to photography, but unable to find them. Feeling weird without my usual company around me I start walking towards my class, not too far from the college entrance. In fact, I have photography with Jay! "Where is he?" I think, looking around once more. "I just saw him with Sia just a few minutes ago..." Sighing, I resign myself to the quiet and peaceful sounds of leaves rustling while walking to class. After a couple minutes of walking I walk into the open doors of the lecture hall. Surprisingly no one is here yet, not even the teacher, so I walk over to the front row and settle down. I pull out my phone to check the time 9:00 So I am a bit early I guess. I still had 10 more minutes until class. Deciding this would be an okay time to listen to some music I pulled up my favorite listening platform, and plugged in my white airpods. I scrolled through my different playlists, before finally choosing one that suited my mood. I tapped open my one-sided love playlist and slid my phone on the table with a sigh. I rest my head on the table, slightly left, opposite of the door so I could look outside the windows. From the top floor I could see the hustle and bustle of the campus students and the tall maple trees the school planted so many years ago. The opening of a door was synchronized with a familiar tune beginning to play. Heather by Conon Gray. I immediately jerk up and turn my head to the door while unplugging my air pods. Blinking a few times to regain the blood loss in my head, the blurry figure turns into a familiar shape. "Jay?" I yell, my voice echoing in the empty lecture hall. 

"Jeez...I'm only 5 feet away from you but you need to yell?" His eyebrows drawn in but his mouth smiling. 

"Of course! I already know first-hand how deaf you can be," I say laughing, a genuine smile lighting up on my face. He laughed just the way I remember him laughing 3 years ago, heavy and comforting.