Page 273 of Small Town Firsts

I endmy lecture with ten minutes to spare. “Please divide yourselves into groups of three and use the remaining time to discuss the four components of social perceptions and how they affect human behavior. This will be the main focus of Thursday’s lecture, so please be prepared to share what you discussed today.”

My phone buzzes in my pocket with an incoming text for what feels like the hundredth time.

It’s Rob. I know it is. Without even looking, I know.

He’s ramped up from weekly check-ins to daily. The fact that all I ever tell him is to be patient isn’t helping matters. Patience has never been one of Rob’s strong suits.

With my class preoccupied, I slide my phone from my pocket and pull up our text thread.

Rob

How are things?

Rob

Any updates?

Rob

Fucking answer me, Sterling.

Rob

If you can’t get it done, I’ll find someone who can.

Jesus. Talk about escalation. It’s like he’s gone completely off the deep end, and at this point, I’m not sure if I should toss him a life preserve or let him drown.

Me

Chill out. I’ve got everything under control.

Rob

Where are you?

Me

In class.

Rob

Fine. I want an update, a real one, by Sunday, Sterling.

Me

You’ll have one.

With less than a minute left, I dismiss everyone and settle back into my seat to wait.

After all, timing is everything.

I watch Emmalyn like a hawk as she packs away her belongings and hefts her messenger bag up, slinging the strap over her shoulder. I wait until she is nearly to the door before calling out her name.

She turns to look at me, her eyes wide with trepidation.

“A word, please.” It pains me to tack on that last word, but if she’s to believe I’m turning over a new leaf, manners are a must.

Indecision paints her every feature, before she finally turns and comes to me, just like I knew she would.

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