Page 39 of The Very First Night

“I will.”

“And—”

“Tanner, shut up,” I laugh.

He simply salutes me as I slip into my car before disappearing into the house.

SEVENTEEN

KAT

I manage to get through finals and the blur of winter break, receiving a surprising B in Macroeconomics despite my struggles. During my stay at home, my mom barely has any free time due to her demanding job, and Elijah is constantly tied up with his father’s never-ending obligations. I try to see him a few times while home on break, but he is pretty much always busy. As much as it hurts, I get it.

Now, we’ve been sitting at the main library on campus for hours, and despite my insistence that maybe a business minor just isn’t for me, Elijah continues to attempt to explain finance to me.

My stomach growls loudly, reminding me that I haven’t eaten since breakfast two hours ago. I glare at the thick textbook in front of me, the words on the page blurring together in a frustrating mess. I resist the urge to throw it out the window and take a deep breath, trying to push through my hunger and finish my finance assignment before I pass out from either anger or hunger.

“Kat?” Elijah asks, clear annoyance in his voice.

“What?”

“Did you hear a word I just said?”

“You were talking about risk and return.”

Something in his expression tells me that he was not, in fact, talking about risk and return.

“We’re not even on that chapter anymore. What is going on with you?” he asks.

“Nothing,” I sigh.

Elijah continues talking about various topics out of my textbook, but my eyes are practically glazed over as I stare out the window at the “K” below.

The weather has been unreliable since we returned from winter break and as snow begins to fall outside of the glass, I find myself groaning knowing I will have to walk back to my dorm in the snow.

“Kat,” Elijah says, his irritation at my lack of attention resurfacing.

“What?” I ask.

“I asked if you have to take notes on chapter six too, or just chapter five.”

“Just chapter five.”

In what feels like my saving grace, Marcus and Jenna appear through the elevator on the other side of the room.

“Jenna!” I yell as I raise my hand above my head, earning myself a very aggressive “Shhh” and a glare from the employee sitting behind the information desk.

Jenna and Marcus spot me and Elijah sitting at the far end of the area filled with tables, our backs to the stacks. They approach us and Elijah seems to get the point, closing my textbook.

“Hey guys!” Marcus grins as he approaches us, resting his arm atop Elijah’s head. The glare Elijah pins him with quickly prompts him to remove his arm.

Jenna laughs at the interaction before turning to me. “What are you guys working on?” she asks.

“We were working on stuff for my business finance class, but we were just wrapping up.”

“Awesome! Do you guys want to grab lunch?”

I turn to Elijah, who shrugs, a tell of indifference I’ve grown to know well.

---