I gathered my courage and took a deep breath. This was it. "I'm here to take the MCAT."
I watched her eyebrows raise, but she smiled at me and gathered a loose packet of materials. She said something about her cousin being an orthodontist in Elmdale, but I wasn't listening. I was trying to block out everything but this test. She kept chatting and I just nodded politely until we reached an empty testing station. All the studying I had done earlier in the day had left me feeling tapped out. I just needed to release it all before my brain exploded.
"Good luck," she whispered to me as she walked away.
I set my bag on the floor, letting it rest against the side of the desk like everyone in the rows in front of me. The packets that the receptionist had handed me were actually workbooks to jot down any notes. There was a cup of water on the other side of the monitor, but there were no ice cubes in it.
I sat down and booted up the monitor, reading "MCAT" in bold, blocky text. On top of the keyboard, there was a flimsy pair of headphones that I pulled over my ears as a robotic voice began speaking. "The first sessions will begin in three…two…” the AI with a slight British inflection continued counting down, ignoring my calls for a few more moments of peace before the test. "One..."
The first few questions flew by, but as the content focused more on anatomy—specifically the material I'd been struggling to get through earlier—my eyes glazed over. There was a brief moment where I thought about giving up, but I stopped myself. I thought of my mother sitting behind her desk and believing in me fully.
I closed my eyes and took a steadying breath. I clicked on the correct answer and moved onto the next question with a smile tugging at the edges of my mouth.
18
Nathan
I ranmy fingers through my hair.
It was soaked in sweat. I usually loved practice. And, right now, I needed it. It gave me an opportunity to work out all the nervous energy in my system. God, I was such a fucking idiot. What the hell was I thinking? We hadn't even been dating that long, and I went ahead and blurted out that I loved her. Geez, of course, she was spooked. If I could go back and change things, I'd do everything differently. Well, maybe I would have waited for her to say it first.
"All right, Nathan," my coach called, pulling me back from my thoughts. "One more run, and then it's back to the lockers."
I shoved my mouth guard back in, crouched low, and readied myself. As the coach blew the whistle, we ran the play. I slipped as I sprinted across the damp grass of the football field, but years of training, allowed me to recover quickly. Duncan tossed the ball and it flew through the air, sailing straight towards me. I sprinted through the clearing and jumped, barely catching it with the tips of my fingers. I pulled it to my chest. But, my feet went out from under me as I landed and I crashed to the ground, my helmet hitting the grass.
My mother's words rang in my ears.Football is such a a dangerous sport. You’re already lucky enough to be handsome and intelligent. Why risk your brain cells for a few minutes of glory on the field?She never understood the rush, but that was okay. I lived for moments like this.
Picking myself off the ground, I held the ball high. Everyone cheered. It was a spectacular catch. I mean, that moment was something straight out of a movie. I felt like I was walking on a cloud as practice ended. I wasn't ready to go back to reality yet. Elizabeth was avoiding me. I jogged across the damp field, suddenly feeling pain and soreness from that fall.
"Christ, Nathan, that was a hell of a save there. Too bad it's not a real game. Can you imagine if the NFL recruiters were to watch that?" Duncan said, clapping my shoulder.
I nodded at my teammate. "Thanks, you weren't so bad yourself."
"Eh, football’s okay," he said with a shrug. He shook his head and sweat droplets flew everywhere. "Don't get me wrong, I love it. It got me to this college in the first place. But I'm not interested in the NFL."
"What are you gonna do after graduation?" I asked, curious now. I realized that Christopher Duncan and I hadn't spent much time talking.
“Well, my major is economics," he said.
“That's cool. What'll you do with that?" I asked.
"My grandfather said he'd let me intern at his company. I want to be a financial risk analyst," he answered.
“Wow, man. I had no idea you were into that world. I didn't really know anything about you outside of football.”
Duncan laughed, but it was short-lived. Kyler passed by, glaring a me. And I definitely didn't miss the way he balled his fists and clenched his jaw.
Clearly, he still hadn't forgiven me for kicking his ass at that party, but what the hell was I supposed to do? He treated girls like crap. Did he really think that he'd be able to do that for the rest of his life without someone's boyfriend getting in the way? Thinking about him putting the moves on Elizabeth that way, like he was totally entitled to touch her and talk about her like she was an object, had my skin crawling. I was itching to grab his stupid face and punch his lights out all over again.
I know a lot of people would ignore Kyler's behavior. It's be written off asboys will be boysor something like that. I knew that men had a terrible reputation for objectifying women and getting away with it. Athletes were some of the worst of the bunch, especially in prestigious colleges like this. They could do anything for four years without consequence, then would go on to coveted internships and high-powered careers. And, at the end of the day, daddy would protect them from everything. Well, not me. And I certainly wasn't going to let anyone else be treated that way, girlfriend or not.
Kyler turned and faced me. His expression was hard. "What are you looking at?'' he asked and squared his shoulders.
Immediately, I rose to the challenge. I was only a couple inches shorter than his six-foot-five frame, but I was no less ready to tackle him to the ground. It would be a little harder now that there wasn't alcohol involved. But I felt pretty damn certain that we were equally matched.
"Whoa, what's happening over here?" Tanner asked as he strode over, helmet in hand, and stood between Kyler and me. "We got a problem?"
"Back off, Tanner," Kyler growled. He placed a large hand on Tanner's shoulder and shoved him off.
