Page 86 of One Day

Stressing myself out for no reason, for something I no longer control, is not a weight I care to carry around on my shoulders. Not anymore. Not when I can focus that energy on the good things in my life—like my friends, my boyfriend, and my passions.

That alone has me walking out with a grin on my face and directly into the path of Professor Andrews. The papers in her hands flutter to the ground when we collide.

“God, Professor Andrews! I’m so sorry,” I say, leaning down to grab the stacks.

“Sonya! You are exactly the person I was hoping to run into,” she says, reaching for the papers when I hold them out to her. “I was going to email you and ask you to stop by my office, but if you’re free now, perhaps we could have a quick chat?”

My lips part to agree when I spot Walker heading in my direction, his grey eyes finding mine instantly. “I was actually going to meet up with my boyfriend,” I say, directing her attention to him with the extension of my finger. “He’s just over there if you don’t mind me running over and asking him to wait.”

“Of course.” She nods, a smile curling up on her lips. “I am just on my way to my next class. It’s our usual room. Why don’t you meet me there?”

“Sounds great! I’ll only be a few minutes,” I tell her, heading in Walker’s direction when she heads down the corridor to our usual lecture hall. “Hi, Cowboy,” I say, sliding my hand over his waist and leaning on my toes to press my lips to his.

“How’d your exam go?”

“Good! Really good,” I tell him, falling back on my heels. “How did yours go?”

“It was alright. Definitely didn’t fail it.” He lifts his hand and points in the direction Professor Andrews went. “Who was that you were talking to?”

“Professor Andrews. She wants to talk to me about something. Do you mind waiting a few extra minutes for me? I can always tell her we need to schedule a meeting.”

He leans down, pressing his lips to my cheek. “You go ahead.” He squeezes my side gently before drawing down to my hip and around to my ass. He gives it a light tap and nods in the direction of my old lecture hall. “I will be right here when you’re done.”

“Thank you. I won’t be long.”

“Take all the time you need, Sunny. I’m not going anywhere,” he says, settling into one of the tables set up in the long corridor. My heart squeezes with appreciation, and head down the hall, running my hand over the strap of my bag.

Professor Andrews is standing at the podium at the front of the room when I reach the front. Her gaze lifts from the paper stacks I knocked out her hands when she hears my feet on the stairs.

“Sonya, perfect,” she says, setting the papers down and stepping out from behind the podium. “I won’t take too much of your time. I just wanted to chat with you about your app design from class.”

“Okay,” I say, letting my bag slip off my shoulder and into one of the front seats. “I know I took a big swing with the redirection, and I gave up my chance with the internship, but—”

She shakes her head, gesturing for me to sit, and then slides into the seat next to me. “That is one of the many things I appreciate about you, Sonya. You’re not afraid to be bold, and that is an important quality to have. While it was a big risk you took, ignoring my advice, it paid off this time.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, confusion pulling my brows together.

“After your presentation, there was a lot of discussion about which direction we should go. Your pitch gave the panel a lot to think about, and while the university still wants the directory for games and university events to be the focus, which is ultimately the direction they went with,” she says, confirming what I already knew. I pushed the boundary on the brief by completely throwing it out and showing them something else. Expecting them to change everything to go with my design instead was a pipe dream. “There was some pullback on the other side of the panel, specifically from Coach Shay.

“He thinks that your app could be a game changer, not only for the athletes on campus but the coaching and support staff as well. Being able to streamline everything into one place, while it might not seem like much, it could really help them stay organized and alleviate some unnecessary stresses that the athletes here are experiencing.”

“That’s great! I’m glad he liked it,” I say, pride filling my chest. “I hope that means they can do something to make things smoother in the future.”

She nods her head. “I agree, or we could do it now. It took a little push and pull, but we both thought it was a good idea and something worth filtering some money into. I got the university’s go-ahead this morning, and I would really love for you to be a part of it.”

My heart stills in my chest. For a second, I think I heard her wrong because there is no way she’s saying what I think she’s saying, but then she grins. “Seriously? You’re going to develop my app?”

“With your help, hopefully. It won’t be on as big of a scale as the directory, but I will personally be taking part in this, and I could use your expertise.”

“My expertise? Are you kidding me?” I ask with a laugh. “Yes, absolutely, yes. I am in!”

“Are you sure? It’s a big undertaking. You can have some time to think about it.”

I shake my head. “No, I don’t need to think about it. I have spent all semester working on this project, I don’t want to stop now, and my summer is completely free. When can we start?”

She laughs and gets up to her feet. “I’m glad to see you're excited. I’ve got some things to go over with the university and getting a few more hands on this, but we should be able to start at the beginning of next month. I’ll send you an email with more details once I’ve got them.”

“Okay!” I say, gathering my bag when I hear the doors open and a few of her students trinkle in. “Thank you, Professor Andrews. I won’t let you down, I promise.”

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