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THERE IS AN AWKWARD SILENCE BETWEEN THE THREE IN THE RELATIVELY NOISY LECTURE HALL. They both stare at one another in panic silence after watching Aubrey jolt away from Joe just to avoid her touch.

Aubrey swallows hard, re-composing herself as she tucks a stray strand of hair behind her ear, "It's okay, you don't need to apologize."

The atmosphere slowly changes into a more bearable one as Harper begins to speak, "What?" Harper yells, alerting some of the other students still hanging around in the class. "She definitely needs to apologize." She gets on her feet, moving her hands to push Joe closer to Aubrey's seat. "Come on, Joe. Show her the apology preparation we prepared."