New Romantics

Chapter 16

Outside the large windows of Paperbound, OU students and residents raced up and down Main Street, dawning in glow sticks and light-up necklaces, holding balloons, and in glow-in-the-dark face paint from the small fair uptown. The lights of the stalls dotting the small stage built in the tiny park at the town center reflected brightly throughout the store. If I weren't feeling like shit, I would be tempted to close early and check out the merriment that was the Fall Festival.

This evening, I needed the serene silence of the bookstore, no music, no scanning, or any other extra something to distract me from the book on the counter in front of me: ORGANIC CHEMISTRY: 4TH EDITION. Authored by none other than Dr. J.R. Maylor, Ph.D.

The delicate sound of silvery bells interrupted the tranquil silence and I looked at my cell phone, surprised that the source of the chimes was a call from Leo.

"Hello?" I answered cautiously.

The call ended. An accidental call, I assumed.

The business reached its slow point in the evening and I was the only one working tonight, so I couldn't leave the counter to get more scanning done. Magda wouldn't mind if I focused on studying for this shift. I was in hour three of a splitting headache that I knew required sleep to wear off, but I was already too far behind on my reading and revision to take another night off. Scratching at the invisible, creepy-crawly sensation on my forearms, I reviewed my equation cheat sheet again.

Another call. Again from Leo.

"Hello?" I said again.

Again, the call ended.

What kind of game was he playing?

"Okay, let's try this again," I murmured, scratching out another sample problem. The little letters on the page jumped together into mismatched sentences, and I stared at stared until my eyes crossed.

I'd officially hit a wall.

You could go enjoy the festival, a voice in the back of my mind reasoned. I couldn't study anymore. I couldn't even read the latest update to BBV to see if Diego forgave Abriella's misguided blunder. Slumping against the counter, I couldn't do much of anything.

"Fine," I grumbled, slamming the massive book shut, followed by my notebook and laptop. It felt good to do so; a weight on my shoulders instantly lifted and the vibrancy of the shop returned.

Just as I did, my phone burst to life for a third time.

"Leo!" I shouted into the phone.

"Aria!" he answered.

"What's up?" I asked impatiently. "You've called and hung up on me twice."

"Shitty reception. What are you doing?"

"Uh, working."

"You don't look like you're working."

"I don't look—" I looked up. Leo stood right outside the window display, holding cotton candy. "Well, I'll be damned." That was not a sight you saw every day. "What? Too scared to come inside? I promise I won't make you scan the science fiction section."

Leo took a large bite out of his cotton candy. "No. If I come inside, the chances of you closing early and coming out with me decrease exponentially. Trust me. I did the math."

My mouth dropped open with disbelief. Go out with him? Close up early? "I'm not as big of a goody-two-shoes as you think I am, Leo!" Circling the counter, I made a move toward the door, but just as I reached for the handle, my body tensed as though controlled by an invisible force, and I stood there. Frozen. Bewildered. Betrayed.