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her overnight bag with her dirties, locked up, and left his apartment around one. She didn’t call for the car because she decided to walk back to her home instead. This time she headed straight home though, with no detours to the park or to the coffee shop that she really wanted to stop by.
    “Good afternoon, Miss Wright.” The longtime doorman greeted her with a smile.
    “Good afternoon, Walter,” she said, always polite.
    By seven that evening, Evie reemerged from her room after a busy day of studies, dressed for dinner with her family. She didn’t bother putting on her rather large engagement ring since she wasn’t leaving the house. She wore it when she attended events and parties. She chose not to wear it to school because she wanted to blend in with the other students at the university. She hated drawing attention and the ring with a centered five carat pink diamond and another carat in diamonds on the sides did not blend in with the other students’ attire, which was much more casual. Another reason was that both Tom and she worried she might get mugged wearing a bauble like that around the city.
    The conversation always seemed to revolve around Tom and she didn’t want to talk about him. She wanted to share her passions, and what was going on with her schooling, but instead watched as her sister fidgeted—as usual.
    Everleigh didn’t get caught up in the wedding planning since she had her finals to worry about, and let her mind drifted the remainder of the meal, eventually settling on William. An unintentional smile spread across her face and it was received with much attention.
    “It’s nice to see the love that you have for Tom shine through,” her mother said, noting her daughter’s smile.
    “He’s from a good family,” her father interjected into the conversation, which was rare for him. He made comments like this as if that information held any importance.
    Her sister said nothing. The way Audrey looked at her older sister made Everleigh feel guilty. Her sister had an uncanny ability to see through her façade. Everleigh shifted uncomfortably in her chair before correcting her goofy grin into a more poised smile. “Please pass the haricots verts.” She hoped that satisfied the onlookers.
    * * *
    William finished his shift ten hours later. Exhausted, he didn’t even bother having a snack when he returned home. After a shower and quick recap through his thoughts, he was asleep.
    By eleven the following morning, William entered his first class of the day. He sat down at the desk that seemed to be made for middle school kids and stretched his long legs out in front of him. Setting his notebook down, he grabbed a pen from his bag, preferring to write his notes instead of type.
    Everleigh was seated down the hall in the History of Modern European Writers class, an accompaniment to British Literature for English Majors.
    By noon, both of their minds floated to the other and for a small flicker in time they felt connected on a more surreal level. Both turned to look out the window, hoping to dissolve the excitement now brewing inside of them as they realized they only had thirty minutes left until they reunited again.
    With haste after class, Evie made her way into Professor Lang’s class and chose a seat in the general area where she normally sat, eight rows up and in the middle. She tried to seem oblivious to William when he entered the classroom and scanned the auditorium. Attempting to play it cool, she smiled casually when he spotted her. She failed at casual. Her smile was huge, and her cheeks flushed with heat embarrassed as he worked his way up to the eighth row and the middle where one open seat still remained. She had purposely draped her sweater over the chair to insure it remained available for him.
    “May I?” William asked her, appearing calm.
    “Yes, please do.” She picked up her sweater and laid it across her lap.
    Both were quiet as they sat there until William finally got the