Ordinary

Late November 2012.

By late November, the wind coming off Lake Michigan turned Chicago into a damp, freezing concrete tundra. Most of the student body absolutely despised this time of year, but for some reason, I loved it. I was always the only one looking forward to the freeze. Ever since Boris started binge-watching Game of Thrones, he kept loudly calling me Jon Snow because I was constantly complaining that winter wasn't arriving fast enough.

Honestly, what wasn't to love? The sharp, biting chill against your face, the distinct smell of wet asphalt, the heavy, bruised-grey clouds painting the Chicago skyline, all while warming your hands around a steaming cup of hot chocolate. It brought me a strange sense of peace.

On campus, the plummeting temperatures and the looming threat of December final exams drove everyone indoors. The university library, usually a quiet sanctuary, became the most crowded, suffocating building on campus.

And because everyone was packed into the same building, I inevitably started running into Gaby.

Whenever we crossed paths near the study tables, she would always pause, flash me a warm smile, and offer a gentle greeting. But the boundary was glaringly obvious—she made sure to keep a safe physical distance between us. Thankfully, our class schedules were completely opposite, so my lingering presence didn't intrude on her life too much.

But God, it still hurt.

The heavy, suffocating regret still lurked in the darkest corners of my mind. Honestly, it would have been easier if she had just screamed at me or slapped me. I could have accepted that as punishment. But her unwavering grace was a constant, agonizing reminder of exactly what I had thrown away. I missed her. I deeply regretted not loving her enough when I had the chance, and I would never deny that to myself.

But I had finally matured enough to understand the reality of our situation. If I tried to win her back now, the relationship would be built entirely on my own guilt and regret. And a foundation built on regret would only end up destroying her all over again.

As for her social life, her reputation in the campus party scene had only grown. Yet, surprisingly, none of the frat boys or upperclassmen were brave enough to approach her. The reason was entirely obvious: Andrew.

Andrew had stepped into the vacuum I left behind, constantly hovering around her and keeping the wolves at bay. I wasn't blind. I could easily see the way Andrew looked at her, and I could see that Gaby was slowly letting her walls down around him.

A rational, healed part of me was genuinely glad that my Brother was taking care of her. But I am still just a flawed man. Sometimes, watching the two of them walk together across the quad, a hot, bitter wave of jealousy would flare up in my chest. I knew it wasn't fair. It was probably just the loneliness of being single again, playing tricks on my ego.

So, I stopped going to the library. I needed to stay as far away from those ghosts as possible. Work became my only real escape.

*

After my final lecture let out, the freezing autumn rain was still pouring relentlessly across the campus. I stood under the concrete awning and checked the time on my wristwatch. I still had thirty minutes to kill before I needed to clock in for my shift at the café. Usually, I just spent this dead time loitering in the warm student hub.

As I debated making a run for the hub, a familiar figure pushed through the heavy glass doors of the faculty building. It was a girl, completely dwarfed by the massive, overstuffed backpack strapped to her shoulders.

"Hey! Claudia?" I called out over the white noise of the rain.

She spun around, her face breaking into a bright, surprised smile as she waved. "Oh, hey!"

I jogged over to her side of the awning. She was completely focused on wrestling with a battered umbrella, aggressively trying to force it open.

"Wait, I didn't even know we were in the same faculty," I said, leaning against the brick wall.

She giggled, still struggling with the stubborn umbrella. "Well, considering we were in the exact same lecture hall for an entire year during our freshman semester... yeah, we are."

Ouch. A flash of guilt hit my chest. I had been so deeply buried in my own bubble last year that I hadn't even noticed my own classmates.

I quickly averted my gaze to the umbrella in her hands, desperate to change the subject. It looked ancient. The metal shaft was completely covered in thick brown rust. "Mind if I help you open that?"

She blew a stray strand of hair out of her face and surrendered it to me. "Sure, thank you! It's being stubborn."

I gripped the plastic handle and pushed the runner up. Okay, fuck, it is completely jammed. I squinted at the mechanism. "It seems the rust has the locking pin completely frozen," I muttered.

I adjusted my stance, gripping the metal firmly, and forced it upward with my full, absolute strength.

Thack! The rusted metal violently snapped. The umbrella practically disintegrated into two useless halves in my hands.

"Fuck! Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I will buy you a new one!" I panicked, my eyes wide as I held the broken pieces out like a crime scene.

"Ah, don’t even worry about it! It was already rusted to death anyway. I’ll just buy another one on the way." She smiled warmly, her eyes crinkling with amusement at my sheer panic.

"Where are you heading right now? Let me give you a lift. We can just head to the café together. And seriously, I am so sorry about breaking your umbrella."

She giggled, playfully bumping my arm. "Chill out! It’s literally just an old umbrella. You really don't need to feel guilty!"

"Yeah, thank you. But seriously, at least let me drive you. It’s absolutely pouring out there."

She hesitated, looking out at the heavy sheets of rain turning the campus walkways into small rivers. "Are you sure you don’t mind?"

"I'm positive. It’s my fault you don't have a roof over your head right now anyway. So, where were you heading?"

"To the café, of course!"

"But we still have about thirty minutes before our shift," I said, checking my watch again. "Wait... were you planning to walk all the way there?"

"Of course! It’s only a thirty-minute walk. Good for your cardio, you know?" she beamed, completely unfazed by the miserable weather.

I squinted at her, my eyes dropping to the massive, bulging backpack pulling on her shoulders. "In the freezing rain? With that huge-ass backpack? What are you in, covert military training or something?"

She laughed out loud, the sound ringing bright and clear against the gloomy weather. "Careful there, mister! Maybe I actually am a soldier in disguise."

I chuckled. "Yeah, right."

As we stood there laughing, my ingrained observant instincts kicked in. I noticed she kept subtly shifting her weight from her left foot to her right foot. She was trying to hide it, but she was clearly exhausted from carrying that heavy bag all day.

"Let’s get off our feet," I said, gesturing toward the parking lot. "Do you want to grab a seat in the hub first, or should we just drive right to the café?"

"Let’s just go straight there. Showing up early once isn't going to hurt, right?"

"Yes, ma’am," I smiled, leading the way to my car.

We reached my car in the parking lot, and I reached out to take her massive backpack. I hauled it into the backseat, my arm muscles straining slightly. For fuck's sake, what does she have in here? Bricks? I climbed into the driver's seat, immediately starting the engine and blasting the heat to dry us off.

"Seriously though, were you actually planning to walk from campus to the café carrying that heavy-ass bag?" I asked, putting the car in drive.

"It’s really not that heavy! Besides, it’s a good workout," she smiled brightly, buckling her seatbelt.

I chuckled, shaking my head. "Now I’m absolutely convinced you’re a sleeper agent or a spy or something."

We both laughed, but as the streetlights illuminated the inside of the car, I glanced at her for a split second. I caught it. Beneath the bright, energetic laughter, there was a heavy, lingering exhaustion in her eyes, mixed with a fleeting shadow of sadness.

"Anyway, you're clearly completely different than I imagined, Daeron," she said, pulling her damp hair over her shoulder.

"Oh? Why? What was your profile on me before?" I asked, amused.

"Well, you look like a massive party guy," she said matter-of-factly. Well, she’s absolutely right about that. "But at the exact same time, you project this very intimidating, cold aura." Do I? "Like you don’t give a single fuck about anyone else's feelings and purposefully choose to be alone instead of socializing."

Okay, her guess is terrifyingly spot on. What the fuck.

"Heh. You guessed right, though," I chuckled, keeping my eyes fixed on the rain-slicked road.

"Really? I don't buy it. I think you’re actually far from that," she said softly. "You’re very empathetic, sharp, and highly observant."

I raised an eyebrow, genuinely caught off guard. I glanced at her. "What gives you that idea?"

She giggled, a genuine, warm sound. "Well... thank you for offering me a lift and letting me rest my tired legs for a while."

Damn. A rush of respect hit me. I learned something incredibly important about her in that moment. She wasn't just a bubbly barista; she was extremely observant, highly emotionally intelligent, and completely disarming.

"I still broke your umbrella, though," I reminded her, gripping the steering wheel.

"Hey, at least you didn’t break my legs by making me stand out in the freezing rain listening to pretentious frat-boy talk," she shot back without missing a beat.

"Hey! I’m not pretentious! You said it yourself a minute ago: I’m empathetic, sharp, and observant."

"Did I forget to mention narcissistic, too?" she giggled, hiding her smile behind her hand.

"Oh, fuck off! You're just pulling my leg!" I laughed out loud. The drive to the shop flew by. It was the easiest, most effortless conversation I had had with a girl in over a year. She was incredibly witty.

Because we drove, we arrived at the café twenty minutes before our shift started. We decided to head into the back room to prep some ingredients and help the morning crew close out.

While we were in the breakroom, Claudia unzipped her massive backpack to grab her apron. From my angle, I caught a glimpse of the contents. Stuffed between several thick, heavy university textbooks was a neatly folded uniform from an entirely different workplace. Later, whenever there was a lull in the customer line, she would immediately duck her head down, pulling out her notes to study with frantic intensity.

She was clearly overworking and over-studying. Watching her body language when she thought no one was looking, I recognized the signs immediately. Her shoulders slumped, and her eyes glazed over with sheer physical exhaustion. I knew that look because I used to wear it myself. Yet, the second the front door chimed, she would instantly mask it, forcing bright energy and a customer-service smile onto her face.

She was far from the ordinary, simple college girl I originally pegged her to be.

What the hell is she hiding under that heavy bag?