Extra Credit | Complete

45

Lincoln

My legs carried me across campus without my permission. It was as if my brain was on autopilot as I walked across the quad and towards the familiar dorm building. There were a couple of students already moving themselves back into their space, and because of that it didn't take me long to squeeze in after a girl with a hot pink suitcase. I veered off towards the staircase at the end of the hall, taking two steps at a time towards the second floor.

The building itself was the exact same as I remembered it being the last time I was there. The halls smelt like someone had emptied an entire bottle of air freshener into the navy blue carpets. I made my way past the floor's common area and down to the other end. My steps slowed to a stop as I reached the number 210.

I raised a fist to knock on the door, hoping that I was right and that Cali was the kind of overachiever who liked to return to campus a few days before classes started back up.

The door clicked open, Cali's head popped around from the other side. Her brown hair was tucked back in a messy ponytail, a few loose stranded framing her oval face. Cali's doe eyes blinked at me as if I were a mirage.

"Hey," she greeted, opening the door wider. The sweater she was wearing engulfed her. It was the same sweater she wore the night we had spent together. I chewed on the inside of my cheek. I had to get my mind out of the gutter. "What are you doing here?"

That simple question caught me off guard. What was I doing there? I don't know if my impromptu visit really had a purpose. After my conversation with Whitmore my world had been flipped upside down. It may have been selfish of me, but I knew Cali would brighten my mood. Seeing her then, I knew I had made the right decision.

I stuffed my hands deeper into my pockets. "I was on campus and I thought I'd stop by to check-in and see how you were doing."

Cali's smile lit her face up like a Christmas tree. "I'm doing okay. How are you?"

"Better now. Did you have time to hang out for a bit?"

She worried on her bottom like, eyes darting down the hall. Any semblance of happiness that she wore before was replaced with unsettling discomfort. "Uh, sure. Come on in."

That discomfort didn't dissipate when I stepped into the room. Clicking the door shut behind me, I stood off to the side as Cali made her way towards her bed. She had a half-empty suitcase spread open on her bare mattress. If I had to guess, I would have assumed she hadn't been back for more than a couple of hours.

"Who dropped you off?" I asked, taking in Ella's empty side of the room.

"My dad drove me over," she replied, creating a pile of clothes next to her luggage. "Harper offered to drop me off in a couple of days, but I wanted to get back and have my own space back. You know?"

I nodded, but she was still honed in on the task at hand. "And Ella?"

She slipped by me, her arm brushing mine and sending a jolt of electricity through me. "She should be back tomorrow."

She was much more cautious when she passed me again to return to her luggage. A heavy feeling settled in my stomach and I remembered how distant she'd been since the start of exams. I had chalked it up to stress and wanting to be present with her family. Cali had her own life outside of my issues. But standing with her now... the usual warmth that she gave off was gone.

"Hey," I started when the silence dragged on for too long. "Is something going on? Did I do something?"

Cali placed another pile of clothes on her bed before straightening out. "What? No. No, you didn't do anything. It's..."