Ready or Not

As the class ended, the students immediately got up to sign their attendance on the attendance sheet. The next were the back to back labs. First Anatomy and then Physiology for the day.

"Where do you think you're going?" called out Natalie suspiciously from behind as Ashley tried sneaking out.

"Uhh I'm gonna skip labs, please mark my attendance okay?" said Ashley casually in response.

"But why are you skipping labs? What's the point of getting up early and coming to university if you're gonna skip labs or classes?" asked Natalie with her eyebrow raised, trying to understand what was going on in her friend's mind.

"Actually I brought books today just so I could try studying in the library for a change. You know how midterms are just around the corner and how the syllabus keeps piling up," said Ashley as she tried to come up with an excuse to reassure Natalie.

"Okay, well I will text you when we are done or if we get off early, okay? Please come then so we all can have lunch together.

"Sure, I will catch up with you then!"

___________________________________________________________

Looking at the library building had never felt this dreadful, her heart began to sink as she climbed up the library stairs.

"I should better go freshen up before heading in to confront him." she thought to herself as she decided to fix her hair and makeup first in the ladies room.

After spending around ten minutes freshening her lipstick and setting her dark brown wavy locks, she was ready to go in to face the guy who had been living in her heart and mind rent-free for the past month.

"Ready or not, here I come!" She swallowed a lump in her throat as she entered the library, accidentally pulling the door handle which was supposed to be pushed and ended up hitting herself on the head. "Ouch!"

"Hey! Are you alright?" said the librarian running who had witnessed the embarrassing scene.

"Yes yes I'm fine, thank you!" replied Ashley politely as she hurried inside.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes yes! I'm good!" she smiled sheepishly at what had just happened.

Her heart had started beating like a drum as she took a good look around in search of Samuel but couldn't find him instead saw Zoey busy studying in another corner of the library. "Maybe he isn't here today. Maybe it just wasn't meant for me to speak to him today. It sucks! I don't even know when he is going to come now!" she thought to herself, upset.

With heartbroken steps, she slowly approached the place where he would usually sit, reminiscing the scene from Samantha's birthday when he had told his friend excitedly who Ashley was, not being able to take his eyes off her. Her heart was now starting to calm down until she noticed opposite to his usual place a guy alone in dark blue jeans and a black fitted t-shirt with a blue cap on top as he kept his head down on the table, his book opened on the side. "Was it Sam?" she couldn't tell exactly.

After a second or two, the guy pulled his head back up. "It was Sam!! It was him! He came!! And thankfully he was alone with none of his friends around him!!"

With her heart thumping against her ribs, beating like a storm in her chest, she stood there watching Sam continue studying unaware of his mystery girl standing just a foot or two away building up the courage to speak to him again.

"Why is it so hard to strike a conversation with him. I have talked to him so many times but then again every time I'm about to go to talk to him I feel the same nervousness all over again."

She could feel her knees trembling as she dragged her feet towards him, her mind a blur, her eyes glancing at him but not able to focus on what she had planned to say. She felt her jaw tense, her lips dry, her mind racing but she knew she had to fight it, she had to talk to him. "I have to do this. I can do this. I need to!" She took a deep breath and in one swift motion pulled the chair right beside him.

He glanced up and met her gaze, looking at his mystery girl dressed in a black outfit matching his t-shirt, surprised as she comfortably took the seat exactly beside him. "This girl never fails to surprise me!" he thought to himself.

"Hey there mister!" she said confidently, smiling sweetly, facing him.

"Hi Ashley!" he replied in a polite manner, smiling back but still confused as to what was going on.

"Watchya studying?" she replied casually, keeping it light.

"Physiology. God knows how much I hate it."

"When is the module?"

"In two weeks. Please pray for me, I really need all the prayers I can get."

"I will don't worry. Besides I heard you're quite a nerd so I'm sure you're gonna do great!"

He looked at her surprised, smiling shyly as he said, "I am glad that's what you think of me but if I'm being honest, I used to be very studious back in high school but now if I tell you my GPA, I'm scared I'm gonna end up ruining my impression on you."

She laughed at his adorable joke thinking there was absolutely nothing he could have said that would make her think any less of him.

"Well if that's the case then maybe I should be honest with you too..." she said softly.

His eyes grew wide, unable to comprehend what his mystery girl had in mind, "What do you mean?" he asked curiously.

"I thought we were friends Sam and if not friends then at least acquaintances but I'm not gonna lie, it hurt me when you said you didn't wanna be my friend," she said looking straight into his beautiful brown eyes like she wasn't afraid to stare him into his soul.

His set of dazzling light brown eyes stared into her dark brown ones eyes in disbelief, he knew he had messed up as he felt the sudden stab of anxiety in his gut as he blurted, "You know about this? Zoey...She told you?"

"You can't be mad at her, she's one of my closest friends and she knows I would have been even more upset if she had hidden it from me," she replied looking away from him with disappointment on her face.

"Hey please look at me?" he said softly as she turned back to him and he continued, "It was a joke Ashley, I swear to you it was only a joke that I was making on myself. I never meant to hurt you, I don't ever want to hurt you. Of course, we are friends! Didn't she tell you I only stroke up a conversation with her to tell how nice I thought you were? God, I hate Zoey! I can't believe she told you this."

"Don't be upset with her, she told me everything." she emphasized on the last word as she continued "Plus I never took you for someone who could hate another person."

He gave her a soft smile realising how good his mystery girl thought he was and frankly he knew deep within his heart, he wanted to keep it that way.

"She told you...everything huh?"