Hope

Chapter 12

Psalm 112:7 (ESV) -- He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.

I lifted my head up from the table, books and notebooks strewn across the table, when the familiar, pick-me-up aroma of coffee grew strong. Rubbing my tired eyes, I smiled with gratitude at Drew, two insulated paper cups in hand.

"Psychology exams must be draining if you're actually excited to see me," Drew joked as he sat down a cup on top of my textbook.

I held my drink up to my face and breathed in deeply, savoring the smell. "I'll pay you back after the exam, when I can get my wallet out of my room."

With a wave of his hand, Drew denied my offer of repayment. "No need to thank me. Just my way of waking you up before you need to focus."

I wasn't going to argue against Drew - he normally had a way of winning - so I gladly took a drink of the coffee. Anticipating a sweet, creamy vanilla latte, I choked as bitter, steaming hot water spilled down my throat. "Drew, what the-" I cursed and coughed. "Was there any coffee in the damn machine?"

Meanwhile, Drew was kneeled over in his chair, arms clenched around his waist, shoulders shaking. A hearty laugh accompanied his erratic movements.

"If we were not in the library, I'd throw this water at you!!"

I fumed as Drew continued to laugh at my expense. I finally had enough and threw my pencil, which bounced off his forehead. Drew breathed one final chuckle and slid the other paper cup my way. "My job is complete."

I eyed the new drink suspiciously. "Completely horrifying my tastebuds?"

"You can't argue that you are not wide awake."

"Wonder why."

Drew nudged the drink even closer. "That's why I bought two. To give you an actual drink."

I kept a careful eye on Drew as I cautiously took a sip. When my tastebuds rejoiced, I took a longer drink. "You think you're so funny," I drawled. "So clever. So helpful."

"I should put that on a business card. Drew Parker: funny. Clever. Helpful. Can't you see it?"

"Yeah, and I can also see major karma heading your way."

The edges of Drew's mouth turned down slightly until his eyes brightened again. "Nothing will get in my way. But you, Ryan, have a test to fail." After I kicked his ankle, Drew corrected himself. "A test to ace."

"And yet, with all this knowledge, I still can't figure out what's wrong with you."

"Don't be bitter," Drew cooed. "Leave that to the coffee."

My eyes narrowed in contempt. "Make one more coffee joke..." I cut him off with a harsh sound when he opened his mouth to speak. "Hush, you child."

I moved to gather everything together and begin the walk to my classroom. I quietly ran through my list of mental disorders, reviewing the information inside my head. When I couldn't remember the different historical ways to treat mental health, I flipped to the page in my notes to refresh.

Drew's hand lightly touched my elbow, and I looked over my shoulder at him. "Meet me at the admissions office when you've finished. I should be done working by then, and we'll head off to grab dinner."

I nodded and smiled, but Drew's face didn't crinkle into his toothy grin. With a two finger salute, Drew Parker was off. A little knot twisted in my stomach, but I physically shook it off. I have a psychology exam to worry about, not what's bugging Drew.

Taking the test, I was both relieved and frustrated to find out it was a long matching section about the various mental disorders. Nothing else from the last couple weeks. My studying was definitely overkill, but at least I felt confident. I was out of the classroom in twenty minutes, speeding through the test.