Beat The Clock.

September 22 - Corner

Lyssa wrapped her arms tightly around herself as she stood on the corner, waiting for the light to change so she claim her morning cup of hot java at the cafe one block over. The cold New England mornings were still foreign to her Florida sensibilities. She had always known that college was created with the sense of new opportunities, but this one she would happily go without.

Shivering, her teeth clacking together in an odd tango beat, Lyssa stared at the quartet of people standning across the way, waiting in the same Purgatory she found herself in now. The had the university look about them, much she was sure, did she. With worn bookbags secure across their chests, their minds racing for the upcoming exam, they all found themselves set in the same path.

She wondered if they knew each other. The stood close enough to be friends, yet no conversation was slung between like good acquaintances might have had to pass the time. It came her how odd it would be if they had no idea about each other. On a campus of thousands it wasn't impossible, even likely they had never met. Yet, in her own mind, it was imperative that they did in fact know each other.

Tucking a long strand of auburn hair behind her ear, Lyssa leaned forward slightly and peered closer at the group as if she could hear what was going on. Never once did she ask herself why it was important to prove her theory. It simply was, and that was all that mattered in that moment on that particular Monday.

Suddenly, as if waiting days for a butterfly to emerge from a cacoon, the tall young man standing idly in the back of the set formation leaned forward to the girl with a bow in her hair and whispered something in her ear. Was it suggestive, Lyssa wondered. Was a rebuke or a small jokes shared between two friends? What is a reminder to take notes in class? Or an apology to a lover for being late the night before?

No matter what was said, the girl with bow turned her head slightly and smiled back at him, nodding slightly in affirmation. The scruffy guy on the bike cuffed the tall one affectionately in the shoulder. All at once, the quartet seemed to come to life - laughing, talking, happy to be together.

Lyssa felt something inside her bloom. Satisfaction, yes, for getting the unasked question right, but there was something else right behind that emotion. Something heavy and shadowed. Something akin to jealousy.

But before she had a chance to explore the strange feeling, the light changes color and the group moved on. Tying her violet scarff more securely around her neck, Lyssa walked on as well, instantly thinking of other things, other objectives, leaving behind an unanswered question with yearnings for a cup of hot coffee.