Author's note: Hey everyone! I'm still alive and still writing! This has been bouncing around in my head for a while, and I finally got around to writing the first chapter. Hope you like it!

For the first few seconds after she asked, he was confused. She stood there, a little uncertain but smiling politely, her hand on her car door.

Jack recovered and said, “Yeah, sure…yeah, I’d love some help. Left the headlights on, don’t even know how, you’d think I would have noticed, it’s so dark already…Sorry, I’m a little distracted right now.” When she came out and saw him trying repeatedly to start the car, he’d been getting ready to call his roommate, even knowing that he was probably out on a date. It was, after all, Friday night.

This particular Friday night, Jack must have been really distracted. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d left his headlights on. It shouldn’t have mattered, really; he’d only been running in quickly for some coffee. If they hadn’t taken so long, he could have been out before the battery died. But he wasn’t, which was why he was now accepting help from this unknown young woman.

She called, “You have jumper cables?” over her shoulder as she went around to the trunk of her little Toyota.

Jack raked a hand through his caramel-blonde hair. “No…I know I really should, just never got around to getting any…Sorry…”

“’Scool, I’ve got some,” she reassured him, coming back around to the front carrying them. Quickly she opened her hood and competently began attaching the cables. She glanced at him. “You want to open your hood?”

“What? Oh, right.” He complied. Yes, he was definitely very distracted. He was glad she seemed to know what she was doing.

Part of Jack’s distraction was caused by the total unrealness of her offering him help. For although she was unknown to him in the sense that they’d never properly met, he recognized her. He knew she was a student at his school, because of the sweatshirt she wore, but he didn’t recognize her from campus. He recognized her because every Friday that he had stopped at Starbucks for coffee before work, she was there sitting at a corner table, studying.

What was weird about interacting with her now was that he’d seen her so many times she’d simply become part of the scenery. To him, she was a permanent fixture at Starbucks. It was as if the outside light post or the advertisement on the window was suddenly offering him help. They lived in parallel dimensions which only made slight contact for three minutes on Friday nights, except now, they were crossing.

While this idea bounced around in his head, colliding at intervals with “How could I have left the headlights on? It was dark when I stopped; I should have seen them” and “I’m going to be late for work”, Corner Table Girl finished attaching the jumper cables and got into her car to start it. Jack came back to himself and quickly did the same, hoping she didn’t think him a clueless idiot.

His car was started within a few minutes, and Jack got out to thank her. “No problem,” she said, smiling again. It was an interesting smile, not exactly shy, more like she just wasn’t used to it. “Have a good night,” she added as she put the cables into her trunk and moved back to her driver’s door.

“Wait,” Jack called. She did so, hand resting again on her car door as it had been when she first offered him help. She looked expectant, and suddenly Jack wasn’t sure what he wanted to say to her. “I—You go to ACU?”

“Yeah, I’m a sophomore there.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen you around…Uh, what’s your name?

“It’s Candace.”

“I’m Jack. Nice to meet you…And thanks again for your help.”

“No problem,” she said again, with another one of those odd, quick smiles. She hopped in her car and drove off. The parallel dimensions snapped back into place; the scenery was suddenly unresponsive scenery again. His car was started, and he almost wondered if he’d just imagined the encounter. But shrugging off the distractions, he set his mind on the long night of work ahead of him and drove away.

Candace drove back to campus, letting her thoughts wander. Mostly, they danced around among the different homework assignments she had to complete this weekend, and touched briefly on the study group she was about to meet. They also wandered near the encounter she’d just had, and occasionally she had to let out a chuckle. Jack amused her.

She knew him, of course. Well, knew of him. He was in the honors program, like her, although he was a junior, which explained why he’d never bothered to meet her before. She’d seen him around at different functions, though, and he always seemed helpless and distracted, like he did tonight. She supposed the girls flocking to him didn’t help with the distraction, and wondered aimlessly if the helpless, distracted look was attractive enough that it created an inescapable cycle for him and the girls both.

She didn’t see the point, honestly. Of course he was cute, but why would you bother when there was so much intense competition?

But he did amuse her. So she permitted herself a few moments of humorous contemplation before returning her thoughts to this weekend’s schedule.

Right now, she was headed to a study group for Astronomy. Usually, she’d stay at Starbucks as late as possible; she didn’t like being in the dorm on Friday nights. It was too quiet. She liked the noise of the crowded coffee shop, and sometimes she liked watching people.

Tonight, thought, she was going to a study group. She was pleased that she’d been personally invited; she liked studying with other people. It would be an enjoyable evening.

Mentally she ran through her notes as she drew near campus. Candace liked being prepared. And this test would require preparation, she knew, so she’d have to make use of all the study time she could get. Memory did not come easily to her as it did to some, but dedication did.

So by the time she got back to her dorm (five minutes early, just to make sure), she’d quite forgotten Jack’s antics.

Jack, too, did not have a lot of time to think about their encounter. He worked the 8 to 1 shift at Denny’s, which meant he got the college students who wanted to hang out but didn’t have anywhere else to go. They didn’t often really want food, and didn’t know exactly what it was they did want. They were some of the most exasperating customers, which was made worse by the fact that some of them knew him and expected him to stop and chat. You also got an interesting range of tips with students: some knew what it was like to survive on minimum wage and tipped well, while others just didn’t have the money to spare to tip a lot. Still, Jack liked the job well enough; it gave him enough spending money to have fun at college.

He danced around the tables, focused on his orders and where he was going, yet paying attention to what was happening all over the restaurant. Even early in his shift, it was shaping up to be a long night, and Jack was glad for the coffee he’d had earlier.

The good thing about working at a restaurant, he reflected as he dodged a kid running around a table, was that once you were good at it, you could do the job on autopilot. Take the order, remember the order, fill the order, bring the check, collect the tip, done, next customer. He found it pretty easy to zone out, even when interacting with a customer, and it kept him from getting too aggravated with the job.

As Jack carried a tray of food through the restaurant, he contemplated the Spanish conjugations over which he’d be tested on Monday. He’d have to study over the weekend, but he was going to crash when he got off work, and he also had a Students’ Association meeting tomorrow. Saturday night he worked again, and of course he went to church on Sundays and led a Bible study Sunday nights.

He passed the plates of food around, gave a winning smile, and asked if there was anything else he could do for the customers. They said no, everything was find, the food looked great, and he dashed back to the kitchen for the next order while considering what he would talk about Sunday night. As usual, thinking and planning for the next few days let the evening pass in a haze, and he only knew it was 12:45 when sleepiness took him suddenly and caused him to stumble a little. The couple he was serving didn’t notice; they were pretty engrossed in each other. At 12:58 he signed out, pulled off his apron and drove home, exhausted.

Candace was the first one to arrive for the study group. She claimed a table near the fireplace of the dorm lobby, but couldn’t get very close; it was too crowded. It was still early February, and a sudden cold snap had driven everyone inside. She sat down and pulled out her textbook.

“Candace!” She glanced over as her roommate Sherie maneuvered her way around the crowded pool table, arms full of books and notes. “I just talked to Bethany and Dory. They’re coming from Ken’s apartment and they’ll be right here.” Sherie dropped her notes on the table with a sigh of relief.

“Sweet. Did you print out the review sheet?” said Candace, scooting her chair over a little.

“I sure did. And it is so confusing! I tried to find what I could ahead of time, but the way he asks everything is so weird!”

“I know what you mean. What was the first one you couldn’t find?”

“Hey gals!” called Bethany as she and Dory approached.

“And I was so ticked because I’ve been telling him I need to study for this test and he still expects me to hang out all hours of the night! And now he’s threatening to break up with me?? Can you believe him?”

“I know,” said Bethany sympathetically. She glanced significantly at Sherie and Candace, warning that Dory was a little fragile right now.

Dory sighed heavily. “He does this to me all the time.” She seemed finally to noticed Sherie and Candace. “Where’s Karina?”

Bethany glanced at Sherie, who shrugged. “I didn’t know for sure if she was coming.”

Bethany set her bag on the table and pulled out her laptop. “Well, let’s get started. Did y’all get your copies of the review sheet?”

Sherie and Candace held theirs up. Dory grimaced. “No, I was going to print mine after I got back from Ken’s, but then I didn’t leave right away and we had that fight…” She sighed again and blinked rapidly.

“Well, I have mine on my computer, so you can look on with me and I’ll email it to you later. So—”

“Guess who brought caffeine!” Karina appeared carrying a cupholder emblazoned with the Starbucks logo.

“Sweet!” said Bethany.

“Karina, I love you,” said Dory emphatically.

“Boring no-whip mocha for Sherie, chai latte with soy milk for Dory, caramel macchiato for Bethany, and a green tea for me,” Karina said happily. “Oh, Candace…I didn’t know if you wanted anything, or what you’d want…”

“Oh, that’s okay, I’m fine,” assured Candace.

“Want some of my mocha?” asked Sherie.

“Nah, I had something earlier. Why don’t we get started?” she suggested.

“Where were we before I came in?” asked Karina.

“We actually hadn’t really started yet,” admitted Bethany. “Did you finish filling out your review sheet?”

“No, I’ve been pretty busy. I brought it though.”

“Candace, did you find number 19?” asked Sherie.

“What have you been busy doing? Anything exciting?” Dory asked Karina.

“Well, you could say that,” said Karina. “Last night I was in Evan’s room watching a movie with a bunch of other people, and at ten he walked me to my car by myself. And then we talked for a long time.”

“Ooh, Karina!” squealed Dory. “Isn’t Evan with Brianna?”

“Well, that’s what I thought at first, but now she’s dating Scott and everyone seems cool with it.”

“Sherie, number 19 is on page 62,” interjected Candace.

“Thanks!” said Sherie, flipping through the pages.

“Candace, I couldn’t find 21 either,” said Bethany.

“But you know Mandy really likes Evan. Like, a lot,” warned Dory.

“Of course I know. Who doesn’t? But I’m not worried about it. If he likes me, what does it matter what she wants?”

“21 was weird. I can’t figure out whether he means the equation on page 64 or 65,” said Candace.

“Kari, Dory, can we focus a little?” asked Bethany.

“Well, sorry! Just because you’re engaged in a perfect relationship, no one else is allowed to worry or wonder about their own love lives, is that it?” shot Dory.

“Calm down, Dory, I just—”

“Just what? Don’t want us to bother you with our irrelevant chatter?”

“Candace, did you find the right equation?” asked Karina quickly.

“Candace, why don’t you date?” asked Dory.

Candace looked up from her notes. “I do. Well, I did. He broke up with me last Wednesday.”

“Two days before Valentine’s Day? What a jerk!” exclaimed Karina.

Dory said, “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“What? I’m cool with it. It was just a guy, and it was only a month long. Bethany, I solved the equation, and I think it’s the one on 65.”

Dory seemed a little in awe. “But don’t you—” She shook her head. “Bethany, did you bring up the study sheet yet?”

“Yeah. Here’s what I have so far.” She angled her computer so that Dory could see it. Dory began copying notes onto a sheet of paper. The next several minutes past mostly in silence, except for the rustling of pages and the clearing of throats. Karina got up and threw away her Starbucks cup.

Sherie was getting increasingly frustrated, scribbling lines of calculations on her paper. She finally threw her pen down. “This makes no sense! I’ve used every equation he gave us, and I’m not getting any answer that makes sense! I don’t even know what I’m looking for anymore.”

“Let me see.” Bethany pulled her paper over, and scanned it. “Oh, here. Your mass is on the wrong side of the equation. See? Then you divide it over here, and you don’t get such a small answer for the gravity anymore.”

“Oh! Thanks!” said Sherie. “Does he seriously expect us to be able to do this on the test? It’s ridiculous! I’m going to fail the whole math section.”

“That’s why he gave us so much practice, Sherie,” said Bethany.

“But I don’t even know how to do this, or which equations to use!”

“Just remember what each value in the equation means, and if you pick the equation that has all of the ones you’re working with, then you can solve it easily.”

Sherie sighed. “I’m tired. I haven't gotten enough sleep this week. I’m going upstairs.”

“Okay. I'll be quiet when I come up. And I’ll look at the equations with you tomorrow,” said Candace.

“I’m heading out too. I’ve got all the answers now, and we’ve got all weekend to look at it,” said Karina. She slung her bag over her shoulder. “I’ll see y’all for sure on Monday.” She and Sherie headed for the door.

Dory had her book open but was staring off at the window. “I need to call Ken. Is it okay if I head out?”

“Go ahead,” said Bethany.

Dory stood up and picked up her books. “Night, girls.”

“Good night,” said Candace.

“You know, I might as well head out with you,” said Bethany. “We’ll see you on Monday, Candace. Thanks for your help.” She closed her laptop, put it away and followed Dory toward the door.

Candace stayed for a while longer going over her notes until she could see the equations for Kepler’s laws when she closed her eyes. Then she went up to the room she shared with Sherie, and quietly got ready for bed. She fell asleep quickly.