Bi The Time

Chapter 9: If

The University of Waterloo's campus sprawled before Derek, the modern nanotechnologies building clashing with the original fine arts building's aging stone structure. He took Marcy's hand in his own and the pair set out to find the student life center and start their campus tour.

"Look, Derek," Marcy said, gesturing to a group of students lounging on the grass, their laughter floating on the breeze. "It could be us next year. We could meet here between classes."

Derek nodded absently, he was nervous enough as it was, he was the first person in his family to even apply for post-secondary school. He didn't like his chances of getting into the best engineering school in the province. But Marcy seemed so certain; like she already knew the outcome, he wished he had her confidence.

As they entered the bustling student life center Marcy suddenly turned to him, "Sorry if this seems out of nowhere but is everything between you and Rodney ok?" she asked, her tone probing. "You seem to be hanging out a lot less recently, and Rodney seems to be avoiding the house whenever you come over."

"Marcy, it's kind of complicated," Derek sighed, sadness leaking into his voice. He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the tension knotted there. "I was stressed and I felt like Rodney ditched me right when I really needed him, you know?"

"I had no idea," she insisted, her brow furrowing with concern. "Do you think you two can fix things?"

"Honestly I have been meaning to hang out with him and sort it all out," Derek said, he knew he had every right to have been mad at Rodney at the time, but Rodney did try to apologize, and as time passed Derek felt like he may have overreacted slightly. "It is just with all this university stuff, I've kind of been putting it off."

"Well don't put it off much longer," Marcy warned, her concern clearly written across her face. "The longer you wait the more awkward it is going to be." She paused, as the tour guide finally arrived. "I'm in the tour of the arts campus, I'll meet you here for lunch?"

"Of course," Derek said as he watched her go, the unease settling in his stomach. He knew she was right, part of the reason he had been putting off his apology to Rodney was because it felt like it was too late to say it. But he really did miss hanging out with Rodney and all the schemes they came up with to help Rodney succeed in love. He thought about how to mend things as his tour group headed out on campus.

They entered the gleaming engineering building and Derek felt himself drawn to the large-scale models and prototypes on display. His eyes were scanning a particularly intricate bridge design when a sudden jostle brought him back to the present. A girl with a tumble of raven hair and a scatter of freckles across her nose had bumped into him in her eagerness to get a closer look.

"Sorry!" she exclaimed, her wide blue eyes apologetic. "I'm Sunny." She reached out a hand to help him up.

"Derek," he replied, accepting her offer of help. "You know the football field is on the other side of campus."

"Oh, are you telling me the inside of this engineering building isn't where you play football?" Sunny asked, her sarcasm matching his own. "I'm here because I want to be a mechanical engineer, actually. I assume you have a similar goal... or are you just really into models?"

"You would be right... about the engineering thing. I also want to be a mechanical engineer," Derek smiled, he could tell he liked this girl already. "Why do you want to be a mechanical engineer?"

"Ever since I was little, I've wanted to build bridges," Sunny confided, her hands shaping an arc in the air. "Not just physical ones, but connections between people, places, ideas."

"Wow, that's... actually really cool," Derek admitted, impressed by her passion. In a lot of ways, Sunny reminded Derek of Marcy—always making these bigger-picture connections that most people hardly ever acknowledged.