Page 5 of Scars of Anatomy
Multiple groans fill the air, everyone hating the idea of having to introduce themselves to a class—let alone another person. But I don’t find myself minding it as much as I usually would.
I twist a bit in my seat to face Olivia, and she turns her body toward mine as well, our knees almost knocking together.
She gives me a small, almost shy smile. “Hi, I’m Olivia McCausland.”
I mentally jot that down.
“Bronx Miller.” I extend my hand to her, and she places her small hand in my much larger one, shaking it.
“Nice to meet you. I don’t think we’ve had a class together before.”
Definitely not. I would have remembered. Regardless, I try to play it cool. “No, I don’t think so. What year are you?”
“I’m a senior, graduating in the spring. You?”
“I’m a senior too,” I admit, feeling disappointed to have only just met her. “What are you majoring in?” I ask, hoping maybe our majors are far off, and that’s why we’ve never ran into each other.
“I’m pre-med with a minor in chemistry.”
I frown slightly. “I’m health management: exercise science. How have we never run into each other?”
She gives me a tiny, one-shoulder shrug. “I’ve seen you around a handful of times, but I guess we’ve never had a reason to run into each other.”
I nod once, disappointed that she’s noticed me but I’ve never spotted her before. “Damn. I should pay more attention.”
A small giggle passes her lips, and I’m pretty sure a blush is blossoming across her cheeks. “Are you originally from Georgia?”
I shake my head. “Nah, I just came here for college. I’m originally from Florida, I guess.”
“You guess?” She grins, raising a curious eyebrow.
“Yeah, I moved around a lot as a kid, but I was born in Florida and spent most of my time there. Are you originally from here?” I ask, quickly moving away from any possible conversation about my past.
“Yeah, my parents have lived here their whole lives.”
“That’s pretty uncommon, kids from around here staying for college. You didn’t want to move away? Experience someplace new?”
She shrugs. “I guess I like it here too much.”
“So pre-med, that’s pretty ambitious,” I comment, twisting my body more toward her, getting comfortable in my chair.
She smiles. “Yeah. The plan is actually to become a cardiac surgeon.”
My brows nearly shoot up to my hairline. “Whoa, a cardiac surgeon? Like, you literally want to have people’s hearts in your hands and work on them?”
“That’s what a cardiac surgeon does,” I hear Rat Boy mutter, and it takes everything in me not to give him the finger and tell him to mind his own business.
Olivia nods, not hearing him. “I’ve always been intrigued by the heart and all it can handle. Then I did some shadowing in the OR and fell in love with it.”
“Wow, that’s more than ambitious, that’s badass,” I admit, making her smile.
“What about you? What are your plans after college?” she asks, and I suddenly feel a little embarrassed; my aspirations are miles away from hers.
“Oh, uh.” I awkwardly cup a hand around the back of my neck, massaging. “I actually plan on playing football. I want to get drafted by the NFL after college.”
Her eyes widen. “Oh wow, that’s really awesome,” she says genuinely—not in the condescending or fake tone I was expecting based on her academics.
“Do you like football?”
