Chapter Eight
Ava
Human anatomy was notorious for being one of the most difficult classes at the university. I regretted taking it immediately. Now I was scrambling to keep up. I would pass the course, but it wasn’t worth the time I had to put into it. So, it was no surprise that I was sitting in a library booth with my nose stuffed into the book.
There were more than a hundred terms to learn, and three more chapters to read. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get the work done, but that was always the way things worked. There was never enough time in one day.
We were learning about the wrist, which might as well have been a complex organism, with bones scattered around inside it. Every little bone had a name, and they were all in Latin. Students would learn simple words that were used in the naming convention. It helped them remember the names.
I had a string of incoherent Latin passing through my head, and my eyes were starting to droop. I shook my head and went back to my papers. I’d written down the names of the wrist bones. Now I was moving onto the ligaments.
“Excuse me, Miss?” Nicole was standing in front of the booth.
“What?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you were a librarian.”
“I will get you back for that.” My head was spinning when I got up and braced my hand on the chair. “Where’s my coffee?”
Her hands were empty. “You can’t expect me to get you coffee every time I pull you out of here. I have a life, you know.”
“Then we’re going to get coffee.” I led Nicole to a coffee kiosk sitting outside the library where more than a dozen students were waiting.
“I’ve got things to do,” I said, “I can’t be waiting around like this.”
“I thought you wanted coffee,” Nicole said.
“I do. I need it. I was falling asleep at my desk.”
Nicole gasped. “I knew it. You moved into the library. Where do you keep your clothes?”
“I hate you.” We took our coffee to a table in the courtyard.
“Who are you tutoring today?” Nicole asked.
“Tutoring?” I took a sip of my coffee.
“Yes. You’re a tutor, remember?”
“Oh, my God. I am.” I hopped up out of my seat and pulled out my phone. It was nearly 10. “I have to go.”
I crashed through the doors to the library and took the stairs to the tutoring center. When I stopped at the entrance, I could see Channing sitting in the study room. He caught my eye and started to get up.
“Hey,” he came out to greet me.
“I’m so sorry,” I said. “I know I’m late. I can give you a discount for the session if you want.”
“No,” I followed him back into the study room, “I was just here studying.” He had his books open on the table and his phone sitting nearby. He seemed to be taking notes.
“Well, I am sorry, because that was too long to wait. I’m glad you’re willing to stay.”
“I’m glad you’re here,” he went back to his physics book. “I have a lot of questions.” He had a list of terms he needed defined on a notebook paper. We went through them, and I answered every question as best as I could.
I was explaining Newton’s third law of motion to him when he interrupted me. “You know, you are brilliant.”
“Thank you,” I blushed.
“I can’t understand any of this stuff. Physics is strange to me. I have to be able to visualize something.”
“It is strange,” I said, staring down at the book. “I think a lot of other people have that problem.”
“You’re right.” He went back to the book. “Hey, you never told me what your major was.”
“I didn’t, did I?” I pointed down at his list of questions.
We went through the definitions of Newton’s laws, reviewed thermodynamics, and moved on to energy.
“Energy is defined as the capacity for activity or the exertion of power.”
“Okay,” he wrote something down on his list. “Well, what is your major? Now I have to know.”
“What do you care?”
“I’m curious is all.”’
“I’m an English major.”
“Why was that so hard?”
“I don’t do small talk.” I pointed back down at the book, and he looked back down at his list.
“Why don’t you come to any of the games? Everyone knows you, but they never see you.”
“I work.” I kept my eyes on the book. “And I study, a lot.”
“Too much, maybe.”
“Kinetic energy is anything that has motion. It’s moving. Potential kinetic energy is, uh…”
He was staring at me.
“What?”
“You really are all business.”
“Yes, I am. Let’s study.”
“The guys were right about you. You’re a prude.”
“Is that what they say?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Good. They’ve all been gunning for me.”
“Are they really persistent?” he asked.
“What do you think?”
“Just know that we’re not all like that.”
“Let’s get back to this list.”
We went through basic physics terms, then began moving into the math. He didn’t need to ask anything about the mechanics of the equations. He knew what they were and he knew how to use them. He was more worried about memorizing them. The math took up the majority of the session. By the time the session was over, we were both ready to fall asleep.
“Would you be able to make an appointment for Friday?” I asked.
“No, I have to travel for the game, but I’ll be back Monday.” He pulled out his wallet and took out a hundred-dollar bill. “This is for the two weeks anyway.”
“No, you don’t have to do that.”
“It’s worth it. You’re a lot better than I thought you would be.” He held the money out to me.
“Fine,” I snatched it away. “I’ll see you then.”
I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to stay awake in my booth while I struggled to memorize human anatomy.