Extra Credit

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 27

Calista
“We should do something,” Ella said for the seventeenth time that evening.

I kicked my legs out on my bed, the heat from my computer seeping into my lap. We were on our third episode of Friends for the evening and I was living for it. For once I had nowhere to be and nowhere to go. I was caught up with assignments, and I didn’t have to worry about practicum for almost another whole week. The only thing that had been irking me was my impromptu kiss with Lincoln. But I was on the fast track to forgetting that ever happened as well.

It had been a few days since then and I forced myself not to dwell on it. How did I do that? By pulling three straight all-nighters in the library. I had never been so ahead of my courses. The issue now was I didn’t have anything else to keep my mind off of things. Until I invested into purchasing all ten seasons of Friends. Everyone knows that the best way to forget about your own situationship is to laugh at Ross and Rachel’s.

“Like what?” I asked.

“I don’t know, but it’s a Friday night,” she said, throwing her hands up as she stood in the middle of our dorm room. “You’re seniors. We should be going out!”

I groaned. “Going out is so much work.”

“Agreed,” Harper chimed in next to me.

“Come on,” Ella whined. “We don’t have to go to a club or anything.”

“Think of somewhere I can go like this and I’ll consider it.” I gestured down the length of my body, forcing Ella to take in my oversized sweater, leggings, and fuzzy socks.

Ella crossed her arms across her chest. “Aren’t you meant to be tutoring tonight?” She accused. I hid my smile by pulling my lips into my mouth. She knew it would be easier to get Harper to agree to going out with her if it wasn’t two against one.

“Lincoln cancelled,” I replied. When Harper’s hazel eyes narrowed in my direction I added, “He has a match tonight.”

Ella clapped her hands in delight. “Oh! We should go.”

“I don’t know,” I said at the same time Harper said, “Sure.”

I sent her a muddled expression. She shrugged in response. “What? You spent all this time ensuring he didn’t get kicked out of boxing. I want to see if it was worth it.”

“No,” I said, removing my computer off my lap and scooting out of bed. “Absolutely not.”

“And why not?” Ella argued.

“Because it’s weird!”

“What’s weird? Showing up to watch Lincoln’s match?” Ella arched an eyebrow. Then she paused for a moment, realization sparking across her face. “Something happened between you two, didn’t it?”

“What?” I scoffed. Now it was my turn to cross my arms. “No?”

Ella pursed her glossed lips. Both her and Harper were analyzing me. Pinning me to the spot in the room with their penetrating stares.

Heat rose up my neck. “You know what. I’ve changed my mind. We can go to Lincoln’s match. Actually we should go. Yes, we absolutely should. Let’s go,” I rushed out, slipping past Ella and heading for the closet.

“Are you sure?” Ella asked. She looked at me as if I’d sprouted a second head.

“Absolutely.” I turned my back to my friends, ducking down to pretend to look for shoes until my face cooled down. “But since this was your idea, you’re buying the popcorn.”

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“I can’t believe how packed it is,” I said in awe as I took in the sea of people. The arena was brimming with people. Rows upon rows of college students flooded the brightly lit room. “I didn’t realize boxing was such a big deal.”