Page 6 of Stolen Moments

“Priya Sharma. And before you say anything⁠—”

“The pre-med student? Maya knows her. Says she’s brilliant but works too hard.”

“That’s her.”

“And you like her.” Carter jokes, and I want to punch him right now.

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to. You get this look.” He claps my shoulder. “Good luck with that. She seems way out of your league.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“Just being honest. She’s got a 4.0 and a future in medicine. You’re a hockey player who barely passes Chemistry.” Now that does piss me off, and before I can stop myself the words are out of my mouth.

“I’m also an artist with a full ride to RISD next year, but thanks for reducing me to my GPA.”

Carter looks surprised. “Wait, really? RISD? The Rhode Island School of Design?”

“Yeah.”

“I didn’t know you were serious about art.” Now he’s the serious captain, wanting to know about his player.

“Nobody does. That’s kind of the point.” I grab my stick. “Can we drop this?”

“Sure. But Jacks? If you like her, maybe actually tell her about the art thing. She might surprise you.”

The tutoring session the next day starts professionally enough that I can keep myself together.

Priya’s set up in the corner of the library reserved for TA sessions, textbooks and notes spread across the table in that organized chaos that somehow makes sense to her because to me it looks like a full mess.

She’s wearing glasses today, black frames that make her look even more serious. Her dark hair is pulled back in a bun, a few strands escaping to frame her face. She’s in scrubs from her clinical rotation, and somehow even hospital clothes look good on her.

“Molecular orbital theory,” she says without preamble. “Do you understand the basic concept?”

“Atoms share electrons to form bonds?”

“That’s molecular bond theory, which is different. Molecular orbital theory describes how atomic orbitals combine to form molecular orbitals that are delocalized over the entire molecule.”

I stare at her.

She sighs. “Okay, let’s start simpler. You know what an atomic orbital is, right?”

“The region around an atom where electrons are likely to be found?”

“Good. Now imagine two atoms coming together. Their atomic orbitals overlap and combine to create new molecular orbitals. Some are bonding orbitals, lower in energy, more stable. Some are antibonding, higher in energy, less stable.”

She’s drawing diagrams as she talks, her hand moving confidently across the page. I should be paying attention to chemistry. But I’m paying attention to the way her lips move when she explains things. The way she tucks that loose strand of hair behind her ear. The way her eyes light up when she’s talking about something she’s passionate about.

“Are you listening?” she asks.

“Yes.”

“Then what did I just say?”

“Something about orbitals being bonding or antibonding depending on energy levels.”

She looks surprised. “Actually, yes. That’s correct.”