13 Scholarship

"A scholarship?" Emily asked as they drove home from school one day.

Midterms had come and gone and there was only a month left before the semester ended and they could all go home for winter break.

"Yeah, I saw a flyer for it in the engineering building. It's specifically for students who don't qualify for financial aid because of dumb loopholes. I don't qualify but I thought you might be interested so I grabbed one."

At a stoplight Justin pulled the folded piece of paper out of his pocket. He implied that there were many flyers but really this was the only one he printed. He set up a fake application website for the supposed full tuition scholarship. Other people could technically apply if they came across it but he was the only one with access to the applications so he could make sure it would only go to her.

Over the top? Probably. But that was how Justin's mind worked. He could only be happy if he knew Emily was happy and taken care of.

"Funnily enough, a dumb loophole is exactly why I didn't qualify," she said wryly. "I'll take it. Thanks, Justin. Have I mentioned you're a lifesaver?"

"Yes, but I could stand to hear it a few more times," he said with a smile.

He loved hearing that from her. That he was able to help her and make her life better in some way. Emily was the only person he had ever truly cared about outside of his family and he didn't worry about them nearly as much.

"You know you're probably my only real friend here?"

He was shocked. Aside from during the worst part of her parents' divorce, the Emily he knew was super outgoing.

"What? No way."

"Well, I'm friendly with my coworkers, people I do projects with in class, and my roommate but those are all obligations, you know? You're the only person I don't technically have to talk to but still do. I don't have time to actually hang out with people."

He cracked a smile. "You might say you're obligated to talk to me because the car rides would be really awkward if you didn't."

She rolled her eyes. "Shut up, that's not what I meant."

"I know. I'm glad you think of me as a friend. I don't really have those here either. I've hardly seen my roommate the whole time we've lived together. He's either at school or with his girlfriend."

Sometimes it felt like Justin was living by himself. Not that he was complaining—he preferred it that way.

"So I'm basically your friend because you felt an overblown sense of guilt for knocking me over when you first moved in," she stated with a small laugh.

"Basically," Justin lied.

He had been her friend far longer than that as RoboCat. He wished he could be more than just a rides-and-occasional-pizza guy but that was about all his EQ was capable of.

Even trying to get out of the friendzone was unfathomable. He was perfectly content right where he was just being able to see her most days. She had a way of brightening things simply by being there. His bland code-filled life needed that brightness.

"I'm glad you have a guilt complex then," Emily joked. "Hey, I just realized something! I still don't have your number!"

Justin was startled. True, she didn't have his number, but he had hers. He had seen it in her student information months ago and put it in his phone because it was comforting having it there.

"Do you want it?"

"Duh! Why didn't I think of it before," she mumbled to herself. "We always just met up in the parking lot but what if one of us was running late one day? Or there was an emergency? Since we don't really know other people out here…"

Justin was delighted at the thought of being her emergency contact. Of course if something happened he would want to be the first to know.

"Do you have the contact page open?" She nodded so he rattled off his number.

"Justin, what's your last name? I like putting full names in my contacts because it's easier to keep track of people that way."

"Costa."

"Justin Costa…I wouldn't have guessed that but it works," Emily mused. "Mine's Carter, by the way."

"Cool. I'll add you on Friendbook," Justin said lightly.

Friendbook was the most obvious of the social media sites because if you became 'friends' both people would know, unlike the concept of 'followers' on most sites. And there weren't usernames or handles, just people's real names. He had never dared request to be friends with her on Friendbook because then she would know who he was. Since she knew now it seemed like the right time.

He added her as soon as they got to the parking lot and she accepted. "Now we're Friendbook official," she said with a smile. "See you!"

In a daze, Justin went back to his room and scrolled through her Friendbook profile. Most of her posts were cutesy and cheerful, a far cry from the sarcastic memes she frequently posted on Blogr. Different sites, different person. He scrolled through for a few hours until he got a notification that Emily's application had been received. Success!

Emailing her to say that she got it now would be suspicious so Justin decided to wait a couple weeks to make sure she had enough time to get the scholarship before the next semester's tuition was due. Everything was falling into place.

This should lighten her worries, right? Who didn't like getting scholarships? She wouldn't have spent the time applying if she didn't really want it. Emily's time was both scarce and valuable. He would make sure it was worth her while.