“Through Barbell Soc. Weightlifting,” Angus adds, when I give him a blank look.
Figures. Angus is even more built than Jimmy is now.
“I met him when I was a fresher, and he was in his second year and therefore all knowing. Now, he’s one of my best friends.” Was there a hint of warning in his voice, or did I imagine it?
“That’s great.” I’m glad Jimmy has good friends.
He and Billy used to be so close. We were all close. Until I fucked everything up by falling for Billy. I don’t blame Jimmy for being jealous of me. It had once been the three of us, and then he became a third wheel.
My phone buzzes again, this time with a coffee shop and a time to meet. I cross-reference the coffee shop with Angus’s list. It’s on there.
“That’s all I’ve got for now.” Angus pushes the list towards me.
“It’ll take me a month to visit all these places.”
“It’ll keep you busy on yourdays off, won’t it?” Angus flashes me a smile. “I need to bury my nose in revision now. Have a great day. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
I fold the list, put it in my pocket, and reply to Jimmy’s message, so he knows I’ve seen it and that I’m going to meet him. To help him revise.
Jimmy is already at the coffee shop when I arrive. It’s a small, independently run shop, tucked away down a quiet street at the edge of the city centre. A rucksack ispropped against the armchair he’s sitting in, and a large deck of record cards are on the table. I assume they’re the flash cards I’ll be using to help him revise. He was the flash card king during our GCSEs and A-Levels, too. He swore by them as a revision method. I did, too. They were cheap and helped me consolidate my notes for each subject. Billy preferred revision books, which his parents were only too happy to buy for him.
He stands. “Drink?”
“I’ll get them.”
“No, let me. You’re only here to help me; it’s only fair that I keep you hydrated while you do.”
It doesn’t seem fair at all, as I have a job and he doesn’t. He’s graduating a year later than Billy and me, because he spent a year travelling. I decide not to argue, though. I’ll get the next round.
“Do you still take your coffee with more milk than coffee?”
I laugh and nod.
“Coming up.” He heads to the counter to order, while I make myself comfortable in the chair opposite.
I pick up the pile of flash cards and flip through them. Sport and Exercise Sciences isn’t my subject, but the cards are well organised, with questions and answers, some of which are multiple choice. Jimmy’s writing is pretty messy—one of many things he and Billy have in common—but I’ve always been able to read it.
“Here you go.” He puts my drink on the table and sits, nursing his own.
I bet he ordered a hot chocolate or a mocha. He’s never been a huge coffee drinker, unlike Billy, who likes his with the tiniest hint of milk. He used to joke that I added the milk he didn’t want to mine.
“How many exams have you got left?”
“Just one, but I’m nervous as hell about it.”
I swap the flash cards for my milky coffee. “Why?”
He shrugs. “Because I haven’t put enough effort in.”
“To revision?”
“Yeah. I kept putting it off. I always had something better to do. You must think I’m an idiot.”
“No.” I nod towards the flash cards. “You put a lot of effort into making those.”
“But not a lot into going through them.”
“Let’s change that, starting now.” I put the coffee down and grab the flash cards again.
