Take Two

14. Christian

12 years ago

"Seriously Noah, you are just going to let them be? They are freeloading on your assignment."

It was our first year at college. I had recently met Noah as my roommate. Apparently, he was one of the top applicants like me.

He had pulled an all-nighter for an assignment because most of his team members bailed out on him. Honestly, I felt more annoyed with that than he did. What I hated most was that he didn't complain about it to the professor.

That was my first impression of Noah the saint. Nobody can make him angry.

Present Day

Unlike the day we left for the countryside while returning, I was seated in the middle while Hailey took the window seat to my left in the minivan and Noah sat on my right. It got really uncomfortable with Hailey trying to avoid Noah. Everyone noticed it because nobody tried to stir up any trouble and mostly stayed silent throughout the trip.

"Psst.," June called out to me from the back seat. I turned around with questioning eyes.

"Did you do something?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at me.

"Why am I the first one to be blamed for everything?" I whispered back.

"Isn't that your job? The troublemaker."

"My job is to solve my client's problems, not create them!"

"Then do something about this!" She cried.

The only thing that can happen to fix this is a miracle. A miracle that could make the tumour disappear. Maybe I'd consider joining back the race then.

***

"Hailey, the team wants to say hi." I softly nudged her with my elbow. We were back in the city, and it was almost closing time for the restaurant. She was teaching June something while I had a regular check-in with my team.

"I thought you took some time off?" She asked me.

"Hailey, unlike you, Christian loves to be the sword that hangs over the head of his team members, even if he is on holiday, don't you?" June asked with an excited gleam in her eyes.

"Just focus on your studies, kid. You know two plus two is four and not twenty-two right?" I retorted back, and she made a face at me.

I slid my laptop across the table to Hailey, who beamed into a beautiful smile as soon as she saw her previous team members on the video.

"So, do you mind explaining this law to me?" June asked as she took a seat beside me.

I looked over her notebook. "What are you like five? Every high school kid should know this already."

"I am twenty-one."

I jerked my head in her direction. "What? Seriously? What have you been doing? I graduated when I was that age!"

She shut her notebook and stood up. "Well, orphans don't particularly have a routine normal high school life. I had to drop a few years because of the changing guardians."

And probably for the first time in my life, I felt like an asshole. She came to me for help, but I had to just babble shit.

She turned to leave, but I caught hold of her hand and yanked her back to her seat. "I am sorry I was insensitive."

***

".. and you don't use the formula when these conditions are not met.." I was teaching her Thermodynamics while Hailey greeted the team.