[Nicole's POV]
I walk into AP Bio just as the bell rings, clutching the volunteer forms I filled out last night. They're a little wrinkled at the edges — I must've been pressing too hard with the pen — but they're done.
Dr. Rivera looks up from her desk when she sees me. "Ah, Nicole," she says, smiling. "You've got your forms?"
"Yeah." I hand them over, careful not to let them shake in my fingers. "I filled everything out last night."
"Good," she says warmly, scanning the top page. "The hospital will appreciate the extra help, and you'll get excellent field experience. I'm proud of you for committing to it."
"Thanks." I try to sound casual, but my voice gives away how excited I am.
Dr. Rivera gives me one of those looks — the kind that reminds me of how a proud mum might look at her kid for doing well in school. Which, honestly, isn't far from the truth.
I am good at school. Always have been.
It's just… my mom doesn't care whether I excel or not.
She doesn't push, doesn't scold, doesn't celebrate.
It's nice, in a way — not being pressured — but sometimes, I wish she cared a little.
Before I left the classroom, the hospital staff, Dr. Rivera brought over just told me I would just have to talk to the patients, so they don't get lonely and help with little errands. It doesn't give much insight into medicine but it's something.
________________________________________
"You have someone you like?!" Laura and I mini-shouted at the same time, practically bouncing in our seats in the canteen. We couldn't believe Samantha had just dropped that bomb on us in the middle of lunch. Her grin only made it worse—like she knew exactly how flustered we'd be.
"Shh, you're too loud," Samantha scolded, though her grin was way too big for us to take her seriously. She was practically buzzing with excitement herself.
"So… who is it?" Laura asked, trying to sound casual, though her wide eyes and twitching smile betrayed her. We clearly needed every single detail.
"Riley and I… I think he likes me too," Samantha admitted, fidgeting with her perfectly manicured nails. We just started talking in Algebra, and we… just sort of clicked." Her smile was still wide and glancing between us waiting for a reaction.
"Wait—hold up!" I practically squealed, leaning across the table. "You mean he likes you back?!"
"I knew it!" Laura chimed in, fists pumping the air like they'd just won a championship.
Samantha's grin stretched even wider, and for a second, the whole cafeteria felt like it had shrunk down to our little gossip bubble.
"Again, hold up!" I asked, calling for a timeout. "So… from just Algebra class, you fell in love?" I knew I was totally killing the mood, but I had to ask—because from what I remembered, we had— well I've only talked to the guy like three times, and now she liked him?
"It wasn't just this Algebra class," she said. "We're neighbors —we used to talk a lot before high school, but then we just… stopped. We only recently started talking again, and it's been going on for a while now, so…" Her voice wavered, and she wore this shy smile that was impossible to argue with. She was in love.
"Damn, girl, you're blushing—like, really hard," Nicole said. "So this is love." She said musing.
Exactly what I was thinking.
"He's coming over here—don't look back!" Samantha squealed. Naturally, I did the opposite… and immediately regretted it.
Walking toward us were Riley, Jay, and Michael. Wait… he was at school today? Somehow, I hadn't noticed.
When our eyes met, he smiled, and my stomach did that little flip—just when I thought I'd outgrown the whole stomach-flipping, blushing thing when he looked at me. Nope. Not a chance. He was just… way too fine to not make me blush.
"Hey," Michael said, and I just stared, completely oblivious to Riley sliding a little closer to Samantha, or the way she looked like she wanted to be on his lap. No. All my attention was on the boy in front of me, and those eyes… they looked unbearably sad. It made me ache because those warm brown eyes didn't deserve to carry so much sorrow.
This was the first time I desperately wished I were Aladdin and had my own genie—my very first wish would be to take away his pain.
"Hi" I finally answered.