Stifling a yawn behind his hand, Chris sleepily stumbled into his 8 AM Psychology class at Hartfield University. He duly noted that he would refrain from attending any late-night football parties when he had early classes the next morning. He wasn’t hungover per se but a light thud expelled pressure inside his head. With head down, he grabbed his phone out of his pocket when he bumped into someone head-on. The two collided and tumbled to the floor in a heap of papers when his notebook went flying alongside hers and all the papers tucked inside of it. Chris glanced down at the woman he ran into and was literally on top of in astonishment. Auburn curls splayed out against the floor, and a pair of hazel eyes blinked back at him. Her pretty face flushed a delicate pink around the cheeks, and her eyes averted to the side.
“I apologize. I wasn’t looking where I was going.” She mumbled and refused to make eye contact. Chris assumed it was because the position they ended up in was a little more compromising than intended.
“No, I wasn’t paying attention,” Chris assured her and helped her off of her back when he got off of her. The two gathered the cluttered papers and shoved them into one of the notebooks. Chris handed the notebook chockful of loose papers to her and took the other one. Chris rubbed at the back of his neck sheepishly, and his boyish smile provoked a small giggle slipping out of her lips. At that moment, Prof. Liu entered the classroom from her adjoining office with a laptop in hand. Without another word, the girl rose to her feet and scrambled over to an open seat. Chris picked himself off the floor and grabbed a seat a few rows behind the girl.
“Today we will be discussing the basics of Neuropsych …” Professor Liu proclaimed, and that commenced the shuffling of pens and notebook paper and laptop keys by the students. Professor Liu was notorious for informative lectures, and many of her lectures ended up as questions on the test that couldn’t be found in the textbook. Chris pulled his pen from the pocket of his hoodie and opened the notebook to a random page. He glanced down at the page, and his eyes bulged out when he noticed the delicate, calligraphic style of the handwriting. That certainly wasn’t his. Chris found his eyes being drawn to the girl from earlier resting in the front row with a familiar red notebook. They must have accidentally switched notebooks since they were identical. Accidentally swapping notebooks with a stranger was no big deal, but accidentally grabbing someone else’s diary was another matter entirely. Chris focused his attention back on the writing in the notebook. He checked the page he was on and realized that he was on the latest entry dated only two days before. His curiosity tugged at him, and before he knew what he was doing, he was reading the diary entry.
September 3,
…The day was mostly uneventful. Part of me wishes that I could stay home and commute because of how invasive my girl roommates are and how creepy my male ones are, but money is tight still. The only bright spot as of late is that I finally recognized where I know that cute guy from in my 8 AM psychology class. I saw him pass by the coffee shop when I was working on some poetry and wearing a football jersey. On the back, it had the number 8 and Powell- his last name I suppose. I know I’ve heard at least one of my air-headed roommates discussing his ‘glorious Adonis abs’ in extended length… but they are neglecting something less superficial about him. His eyes are a soft baby blue like fresh hydrangeas in bloom, and they convey such kindness. Even when he stumbles into class looking exhausted, his eyes have a resting smile in them. Oh, how juvenile of me to crush on a total stranger in my psychology class that sits in front of me each time. I swear he probably wouldn’t even recognize that we have a class together. Oh well, a little crush never hurt anyone and he is quite nice to look at.
His eyes bulged out when she realized that she was talking about him. Not only that, he managed to mistake his notebook for her diary, which made the whole situation complicated. Chris nearly snorted about the flickers of wit laced in between her sentences, but he felt warmth against his cheeks when re-reading how she described him. How had he not noticed her before? She seemed quiet, like a wallflower. He wondered what her name was or what she did in her spare time. What was her major? Did she like sports? Chris flipped to the front of the notebook where the name ‘Calliope Marin Spears’ was inscribed into the cover in glittery blue gel pen. So, her name was Calliope? Chris glanced down at an unsuspecting Calliope and fought back a smile. He wondered if the universe was telling him something.
The remainder of the class passed in a blur with Chris unable to focus on the material being presented and with his head in the clouds. During that time, he planned on how to approach Calliope and return her notebook as suavely as possible. When Prof. Liu finished her lecture and dismissed the class, Chris was all packed up and heading down to Calliope. Lucky for him, she had her face buried in her phone and was reading something when he reached her.
“So, hydrangea eyes? You couldn’t think of something more masculine like a rugged ocean?” Chris jokingly grinned as he approached Calliope with her notebook in hand. She nearly jumped out of her chair at the sound of his voice, and hazel eyes widened cartoonishly. The pink flush returned to her cheeks when Chris set her notebook down on the desk. Calliope graciously took her diary back when she remembered that she needed to return Chris’ notebook.
“I have yours. I’m sorry about that…” Calliope apologized as she pressed Chris’ notebook into his open hands eagerly. Chris’ lips perked into a small smile and hoped that a smile would dispel some of her nerves.
“My name is Chris Powell.” Chris introduced himself with a grin, and he noted the small sparkle in Calliope’s eyes when he didn’t seem upset by the mishap. More importantly, he was surprised that she wasn’t too upset by him going through her journal.
“I’m Calliope Spears,” Calliope replied in her introduction with a shy brush of her auburn curls back into a low ponytail. She blindly dug through her bag and slipped on a pair of thick-rimmed glasses.
“I know. I read it on the cover.” Chris remarked, and Calliope’s cheeks grew even redder at his statement.
“Right.” Calliope cringed internally and wondered how someone could be so awkward when talking to someone. To be fair, he did see that she wrote about him in her diary and admitted to fancying him. But couldn’t she be a little more confident about it all?
“So, would you like to grab coffee sometime? I was kind of distracted by a pretty girl and her diary that I hardly paid any attention to the lecture and could use some notes.” Chris grinned inquisitively and Calliope, first surprised by the turn of events, managed to smile back at Chris. She quickly packed up her belongings into a backpack and rose from her seat.
“I’d be more than happy to share the ones I wrote down, and I would love some coffee.” Calliope fluttered her lashes softly, and she followed Chris out of the class to the nearest Starbeans. Both she and Chris realized that a little mishap like a notebook switch could maybe just work out for the best.
