Page 8 of Captured Heart

His panic immediately returns. “Okay, what do you want from me?”

“Katelyn Akiyama. Tell me everything you know about her.”

His eyebrows crease, his eyes narrowing into a scrutinizing stare. “Why do you wanna know?”

When I was meticulously crafting this not-so-solid plan last night, it never occurred to me to think of a reason why I would be going around asking questions about her. Once again, this is a hindrance created by my past because I’m used to just asking for things and then...getting them. I never needed to finesse information out of anyone. They either told me what I neededto know, or I beat the shit out of them. It was an easy exchange. This, however, is a bit of a snag.

“I’m asking because...” I fumble, trying to think of a plausible reason. “See, the thing is...I just wanted to find out more about her because...because...”

“Oh, I get it.” He gives a knowing nod. “You like her, don’t you?”

Genius. Why didn’t I think of that?“Yeah, that’s it.” I grab onto this lie with both hands and run with it. “I saw her, and I wanted to go up to her and ask her out for...coffee, but I don’t even know if she has a boyfriend...or anything about her, really, so I thought I’d ask you.”

“Well, there’s a whole story there.” He taps my shoulder to urge me into motion. “But I’m starving, so let’s grab some burritos, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

We exit the library and the only information I offer up about myself is the name John. We make small talk as we walk to one of the campus eateries. He’s nice enough to buy me a burrito, but he doesn’t stop to actually sit down somewhere and eat it. Instead, he keeps walking as he chomps his food, and I just blindly follow, waiting for him to give me what I asked him for.

We’re passing a section of the campus called Memorial Glade when he finally starts talking about her. “So, Katelyn is single, but she isn’t interested in dating anyone at the moment. She was in a relationship with this guy, Jason. He’s some hotshot on the football team, but I don’t watch sports, so I don’t know what all the hype is about. They were together for almost our entire freshman year, but during summer break last year, she caught him naked in the hot tub with two cheerleaders.”

Fuck, this isnotthe information I need. I need an in. What does she like? Where does she hang out? Which days does she have classes, so I know exactly when she’s home and when she’s not? But he’s just droning on about irrelevant shit.

I just want him to get to the point, but I’m in this lie now, and I have to pretend like I actually care. “No. How could he do that to her? What a jerk.”

“Yeah. Yeah.” He nods slowly, barely taking note of the disinterest in my tone. “She was devastated. Cried for weeks. Swore off men after that. She said she’s going to focus on her studies and only think about dating again after we graduate. Sorry, John, but you’re shit out of luck there.”

He says it with finality, as if that’s the end of the conversation, but I didn’t waste half an hour talking to him just to getthat. “I’d still like to get to know her, though. Maybe we could be friends. Do you know where she likes to hang out?”

“We study a lot, so she’s always at the library, but other than that, I don’t know. We’re not in the same social circles. Guys like me generally don’t get invited, nor do we attend the wild frat parties.”

I finish my burrito and toss the wrapper in a nearby trashcan. “And she does?”

“She used to when she was dating Jason. Not sure if she still goes now.”

This guy’s about as useful as a handbrake on a canoe. I need to be more direct with my questions or I’m not going to get anything. “Do you maybe have a class schedule or something?” The questioning look on his face doesn’t escape me. “I just want to see which days she’s free. Who knows? Maybe she’ll at least agree to have a coffee with me.”

“Um...I may be able to do one better,” he says, taking his phone out of his pocket. “She shares her calendar with me. We’re doing a research paper together. We’re investigating how certain enzymes regulate cellular communication. It’s pretty cool. Our aim is to understand how protein kinases regulate various cell signaling pathways, particularly in cancer cells, and—”

He abruptly stops speaking when I grab both his shoulders and give him a firm shake. “Focus.”

“Oh, yeah. Let me pull this up.” He taps a few icons on his screen, then gasps. “John!”

“What?” I have no idea why he’s so panicked all of a sudden. “What?”

“You’re standing on a seal.”

More gasps of horror burst from the students around us, many of them stopping dead in their tracks to stare at me. I can’t figure out what the big deal is. “So?”

“So?” My indifference agitates him more. “Do you not understand what will become of you? Legend has it that if you step on any of the seals here at UC Berkeley, you’ll ruin your chances of ever getting a 4.0 GPA.”

I think back on Victor’s words, and for the life of me, I can’t understand how he thought I could ever blend in with these people. “Damn, I guess my academic fate now rides on this very believable urban legend.” I ignore his scoff and step off the seal to get him to focus on the task again. “You were giving me Katelyn’s schedule, remember?”

Though still a little traumatized, his eyes move back to his phone. “Oh, it looks like she’s going to the gym later today.”

“Which gym? What time?”

“Um...let me see...”

My patience has disappeared at this point, so I grab the phone from his hand. My eyes skim over the details, and I make a mental note of where she’s going to be over the next few days. “Thanks a lot, Corey.”

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