Thursday, October 6th
4.)
I had one class with Blossom and it met Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. It just so happened to be Thursday. I only got a few hours of sleep, but the thought of seeing Blossom kept churning me awake. Excitement or fear? Anxiety: the exact middle ground. I could walk into class and she could have all my stories printed and taped to the walls. Or she could bound up to me and ask me all the other questions she had about Academy Works. I was petrified and restless at the same time. I wanted to both go to class and disappear from the world, but only one of those was possible.
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, seeing Blossom wasn't as climactic as I'd expected. She came in late and sat in the back of the room with one of her friends, a girl in her sorority. When I caught her eye, I waved a little, something subtle. She smiled, but she didn't wave back.
Throughout the 90 minute class, I tried to steal an equal number of glances at Blossom. Maybe we kept missing each other. Eventually I put my head in my hand and tried to make sense of the notes I had written down. They were nonsense. I'd have to borrow someone else's. Was that a good enough excuse to talk to Blossom?
A little about Blossom Brixley: she was a sorority girl. She was on the college board for historical preservation. She did calisthenics and yoga recreationally. She tutored Italian. She was also a total slut, and she also happened to enjoy Mia Moore's diaper stories. And the thing that all these facets of hers had in common? She never let them overlap. Her yoga friends weren't her sorority friends. The freshman she tutored weren't into the historical preservation of the Eastman building. And Mia Moore wasn't a girl she could do calisthenics with, any more than she could invite her to a sorority party.
To Blossom, her world was an assortment of little planets, small enough to walk around and close enough to see the others from, but never ever allowed to touch or meet.
She was going to have to explain this to Mia, and she was worried Mia - in her perpetual flight mode - wouldn't take the news well.
After class, I waited around a little. I thought maybe she would wait too. I thought maybe we would have a second alone, or she might try to get my attention. She didn't. She left with her friend and I stood there like an idiot.
Of course she didn't want to know me. Why would she? We promised to keep each others' secrets - that was all this was. But she said that thing about her telling me her thoughts about Academy Works in person. Was that just a joke? I couldn't remember her exact words...
I didn't write any Academy Works that night. I texted Lin that I didn't sleep well, which was true, and she left me alone after that. I didn't have to lie - I just had to imply that I was about to lie down. Instead, I made brownies.
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