The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden

saw some that are really close to campus on my way in.”
     
    Luke rummages through a large box labeled “Junk.” “I can’t afford an apartment. I need to find a job just so I can buy my books and stuff.”
     
    “The scholarship didn’t pay for that?” I grab a heavy box and drop it onto the mattress of my bed.
     
    He balls up some tape and throws it on the floor. “That only covered tuition.”
     
    I peel the tape off the top of the box.  “I can help out… if you need some extra cash.”
     
    He shakes his head quickly with his attention immersed in a box. “I’m not a charity case. If you want an apartment, then go get one. You don’t have to stay in the dorms just because I am.” He pulls out a headless bronze statue and his face reddens. “What the hell is this?”
     
    I shrug. “I didn’t pack your boxes man.”
     
    “Well, I did and I didn’t put this in there.” He chucks it across the room and it dents the wall. “God fucking dammit, she’s trying to mess with my mind.”
     
    “Don’t let your mom get to you. You know she’s just trying to get you to come home so she doesn’t have to deal with things on her own.” I pick up the broken statue and step out into the hall to toss it in the garbage just outside the room.
     
    On my way back, I spot Callie walking in my direction with the guy she was with earlier and she’s smiling again. I pause in the middle of the hallway and wait for her to reach me, forcing the traffic of people to move around me. She doesn’t notice me, but her friend sees me and he whispers something in her ear.
     
    Her head whips in my direction and she stumbles back like she’s afraid I’m going to attack her. Her friend puts his hand on the small of her back in a comforting gesture.
     
    “Hi,” I start off awkwardly, thrown off by her skittishness toward me. “I don’t know if you remember me—”
     
    “I remember you,” she interrupts, her blue eyes flickering to the scar on my cheekbone.  “How could I not remember you? We’ve known each other since we were kids.”
     
    “Right,” I say, unsure how to respond to her offish attitude. She didn’t act this way that night. “That was just my way of starting the conversation.”
     
    Her lips form an ‘O,’ then she stands silently, fidgeting with the strap on her oversized jacket.
     
    Her friend glances at her and then extends his hand toward me. “I’m Seth.”
     
    I shake his hand with my gaze still on Callie. “Kayden.”
     
    “You’ll have to forgive Callie.” Seth gently pats her shoulder and she winces. “She’s feeling a little off today.”
     
    Callie’s eyelids descend as she narrows her eyes at him. “No, I’m not. I feel fine.”
     
    Seth presses her with a relenting look and grits through his teeth, “Then maybe you should say something. Perhaps something nice.”
     
    “Oh.” She focuses her attention back to me. “I’m sorry… I mean…” she trails off, cursing under her breath, “Oh my God, what is wrong with me?”
     
    Seth sighs, like he’s used to her awkward behavior. “You’re just starting school today?” he asks me.
     
    “Yeah, I’m here on a football scholarship.” I eye him up, questioning if he’s ever touched a football.
     
    He arches his eyebrows, rocking back on his heels, feigning interest. “Aw, I see.”
     
    Callie’s bangs flutter away from her forehead as she lets out a slow exhale. “We have to go. We have dinner plans. It was nice talking to you, Kayden.”
     
    “You could come with us,” Seth offers, ignoring the glare Callie targets at him. “If you want. It’s just this new place we’re going to check out.”
     
    “It’s Sushi.” Callie meets my gaze for the first time. Sadness and diffidence possess her pupils and I almost reach out to hug her pain away. It’s an odd feeling, since I’ve never hugged anyone, other than Daisy and I only hug her when I have to. “I’m not sure it’ll be good.”
     
    “I like Sushi.” I look over my shoulder at the open door to my dorm. “But I’d have to bring Luke, if that’s okay? Luke was the running back for the Broncos.”
     
    “I know who he is.” She swallows hard. “He can come, I guess.”
     
    “Just a second. Let me see if he’s up for it.” I duck back into the room where Luke is sitting on his unmade bed, sifting through a stack of papers. I brace my hands on the doorframe as I stick my head in. “Are you down for some