16… 27… 34. Click. She dumps an armful of books to the bottom of her locker, then crouches down to sift through the mess.

“Boo!” She nearly falls, but effectively catches herself on the metallic door of the next locker.

“Hey Nate,” she sighs with a roll of her eyes.

“Hi. What class do you have next?” She hands him a massive chemistry book before continuing her search for a notebook and pencil.

“Oh, fun. I have it next semester.”

“Good luck.” She takes back the book and tries to close her locker.

“You know, there’s only three days left until your birthday.

“Of course I know that.” Her locker bounces back yet again, so she kicks some of the books further back.

“Do you have an answer for me yet?”

“No. I haven’t decided.” She absently bites her lip.

“Haven’t you had enough time yet?”

“God, Nate, you ask me that every day. Is there a deadline on my answer?” With a final slam she forces her locker shut and leans against it.

“No, but you said you would know by your birthday.”

“Do you really think nagging me about it every day is the best way to get the answer you so obviously want? Look, I don’t make rash decisions, so just consider my answer a ‘no’ unless I say otherwise.”

“Whatever.” Nate walks away without another word. She sighs in relief.

“Maybe I finally got rid of him…” She sees the hallway quickly emptying. She spins her lock to clear it, then hurries off to chemistry with the feeling she was missing something important.