CHAPTER SIX

THE ARRANGEMENT

EMILIA HAD ONE earbud dangling from her ear and her backpack slipping off her shoulder. A line snaking outside the door of the dining hall by her dorm caused her to veer left, heading to the dining hall near the bottom of campus. She hummed to herself quietly, ignoring the couples passing her on the path. The dining hall at the bottom of campus was much smaller, with big glass windows lining the walls and a run-down, brick exterior. She paused at the automatic door and fumbled around for her ID, handing it to the lunch lady.

Before even getting food, Emilia grabbed a seat by herself at an empty table near the back of the room, adjacent to a window pane. She slouched off her backpack and sat back, eyes closed. This week had been so draining for her, from the library incident to when she overslept her Monday morning class to her essay in her British literature class.

She returned to the seat with a cup of soup and noticed someone else's belongings across from her. Placing her bowl in front of her, she scanned the room for anyone who could possibly sit with her. Maybe they just thought she was someone else.

Emilia continued to eat her soup.

She felt a tap on her shoulder and peeked around, only to see no one there. When she faced forward once more, a familiar face stared back at her.

"Jesus, you scared me," she gasped out, clutching her chest. "Did you really just do the poke-the-opposite-shoulder thing? What, are you five?"

"Whoa there, Library Girl. Nice to see you, too." He slid into the chair across from her and rested his plate of pasta onto the table. His elbows rested on the table, his chin atop his clasped fist. "You all recovered?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. I slept through my first class on Monday, but other than that, I'm good. You?"

"Same for me." The light blue, faded cap on his head with Martha's Vineyard text flattened his wavy tresses of hair underneath. Some pieces peeped out from around his ears and over his forehead. He took a bite of his pasta and she hurriedly looked down at her soup, swallowing another spoonful.

They sat and ate for a few minutes, her sneaking glimpses of him in between spoonfuls.

"Are you still working on that book you were talking about? To get into that class?"

She gulped down some broth and blinked. "I scrapped it."

He was quiet for a second and ate more pasta. "Is it because of what I said?"

"Don't flatter yourself," she mumbled. "I just wasn't feeling it. I have until May to write something, so I have time to come up with a new plot, I guess."

Nick deeply inhaled. "What if I have a proposition for you?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"A proposition. It's like a deal, both of u-"

"I know what a proposition is," she responded. "I meant, what is the proposition?"

He scooted closer to her, the chair's metal legs squeaking against the linoleum floor. "It's kind of a long shot."

She scooted her chair even closer, leaning into the table, her ringlets brushing against her bare arms. "Hit me."

"You need help with love."

"What? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she grimaced, sitting up straight once more. She scooped up more soup. "Help with love, I don't need help with love, I'm very happy, thank you very much."

"No, no, I'm not-" he stammered. "I just meant for your book. I just think I could open your eyes a little. To college, to love, maybe help you write your book a little. Help you live a little, you know?"

"Live a little? I mean, I think I live."

"God, I'm just not winning today. Okay, so just think about this for a second; how did you feel after that night in the library?"

"Tired."

He rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair. "Other than tired, I mean."

"Fine. I guess I felt pretty carefree. Liberated," she muttered out, chewing her bottom lip. "Rebellious."

"See? I think that I could show you that side of life. The less uptight part of life. I could take you on these fake dates and we could maybe go to parties, if you're up for it. It would help you write more realistic teenage, college-student lives, along with helping you with the passion part that you're obviously lacking. That there's more to life than just worrying about death, like you thought the other night."

She bit her tongue. The only way she could have experience with love is to be in love. She wasn't in love. She'd never been in love. Sure, she could get out of her comfort zone, but she goes on adventures with her parents from time to time. "I mean, it's not like I constantly worry about death. I just think I have a planned destination, of sorts, and I shouldn't mess up my life track. I still like to have fun and stuff."

"Okay. So let's have some fun."

Emilia twirled around the spoon in her soup cup, the motion slowly mesmerizing her. She didn't look up from her soup when she asked, "How would I be returning the favor?"

He cracked a grin, the side of his mouth curling. "You said you took Logic last year, right? Logic 125?"

"Do you want me to help you with it? Is that what you're getting at?"

"Maybe."

She pursed her lips, trying not to let any smile escape. "So in exchange for you showing me how to live a little, which you think will help my writing, I'm going to tutor you in Logic?"

"Essentially."

She was quiet for a second and looked up at his eyes. His hair nearly brushed his eyelashes, and his eyebrows were dark and bushy. The brim of his hat once again covered half of his pale face with a dark shadow. Her brain was playing ping pong between this concept of dropping Nick but getting help with writing, having to tutor Nick yet also getting to enjoy herself a little more, while also getting to spend more time w-

"Okay, I'm in."

a/n

sooo- bit of a hiatus. life is crazy, as everyone knows. pandemic, presidency in the USA, school, anxiety. sorry for the break, but here's an update! let me know what you think, what you predict, how you think this is gonna go! bye yall, stay safe!

-sophie