Chapter 18
The teasing voice came from right beside him, but to Lucas, it felt distant, muffled, as though the world around him had faded.
His focus was entirely on the girl in the crowd.
It wasn’t until his roommate clapped him hard on the back, snapping him out of his trance, that Lucas finally blinked back to
reality.
“Alright, that’s enough,” his roommate said, exasperated. “The opening speech’s about to start. If you’re that into her, find a
way to meet her later. Standing here staring is pointless.”
Dragged forward by his roommate, Lucas reluctantly tore his gaze away and resumed walking.
On the other side of the field, Celia Goodwin felt a lingering gaze on her. She glanced around, scanning the crowd in the direction where she thought the attention was coming from, but all she saw was a sea of moving people.
Confused, she frowned slightly, turning back toward her friend.
“What’s up?” asked Sasha Lowe, noticing Celia’s distracted expression.
She glanced toward the podium, where the speaker was preparing to address the crowd, and lowered her voice.
“Nothing,” Celia said, shaking her head. “I must be imagining things. Probably just tired.”
“Well, what did you expect, staying up so late when you knew we had this ceremony?” Sasha teased, ruffling Celia’s hair affectionately. After a moment, she placed Celia’s head on her shoulder.
“Listen, we don’t have classes this morning. After the ceremony, you can head back and take a nap. For now, my shoulder’s all
yours.”
“You’re the best, Sasha,” Celia mumbled, settling into a comfortable position against her shoulder. Within moments, she was
asleep.
Sasha sighed, half amused and half exasperated, as she listened to Celia’s soft, even breathing.
“How tired do you have to be to fall asleep like this?” she thought.
