Memories in the Moonlight

Chapter 7

Harlow and Kiran spent the last few days of winter break relaxing and spending time with one another. Harlow felt like they had known one another forever, like best friends from a past life. He would pass her things right before she knew that she even needed them, and and she could bug him right when he needed someone to talk to the most.

Even Amelia— sober this time— thought that the pair made great roommates. She had come over to visit for a bit and was shocked that Harlow and Kiran were getting on so well. Honestly, Harlow was shocked too. It was totally not like her to be so open and chill with someone after only knowing them for such a short amount of time.

It was time to go back to uni, winter break was over and Harlow's final semester was about to begin. One last push and she would finally be an accredited social worker. Harlow had always been interested in the career, helping those that need it the most. She was excited to be done with school and finally get to working.

The morning of their first day, Harlow and Kiran walked to campus together. They parted ways in the main hall to go to their respective classes with a promise to see one another at home later. Harlow headed down one of the dingy hallways, overhead lights aggressive and bright. She always wished that at least some of her tuition went into refurbishing the campus. Unfortunately, most of that money went into lining the pockets of the university board.

She made her way into her first class, grabbing a seat towards the back like always. A professor Harlow had for classes before, Professor August, walked into the room and up to the podium. Her long hair was twisted into an updo, face set in a look of boredom. Professor August addressed the class briefly before setting off into the syllabus description.

Harlow had always hated the first day of a new semester. Going over the syllabus seemed pointless when all the information was available online, but she went anyways. As the professor talked and pointed things out on the projector, Harlow's mind began to wander. It sped through thoughts of school, life, family, and decided to land on Kiran.

He was so nice from her, right from the start. Even when she was being rude and moody, he always seemed to be kind. Harlow had become somewhat captivated with him, his charming personality truly winning him over. Those dimples that came along with his smile weren't hurting anything, either. God, Harlow was really getting caught up in this guy.

Managing to get through the rest of her classes, Harlow decided she deserved a treat. She stopped at the cafeteria to pick up a coffee before heading out into the cold. Taking a deep breath of sharp air, she quickly made her way off campus and towards her apartment. By the time she made it back her nose was red and numb, fingers hard to bend.

Harlow locked the door behind her, shaking off her jacket and boots. She tossed her belongings on the counter and sipped her warm coffee greedily to warm up a bit. A buzzing noise came from her backpack and she fished out her phone from in between a couple of books. A goofy picture of Kiran making an odd face filled her screen.

Oh god, when did he change that?

Harlow pressed the bright green answer button, moving her phone up to her ear. "Hey, what's up?" She spoke, leaning back against the kitchen island.

"Hey. I'm going to be working until 8, just wanted to give you a heads up." Kiran's voice reverberated in her ear, his accent sounding more perplexing over the phone.

She brushed a stray curl off of her forehead. "No worries, see you later." She replied quickly, forcing herself not to acknowledge that bead of disappointment in her chest. It would have been really nice to hangout together. But then again why did she really care at all?

"Cool. See you later, Low." He had started using her nickname a couple of days ago, and it felt nice. Almost personal.

She pulled the phone away from her ear and hung up, tossing it back on top of her backpack. Taking another swig of her coffee, she looked around the apartment for something to do. Her eyes landed on the door to Kiran's room, curiosity sliding through her veins.