Chasing Memories

[9] Class

    Having a front-row seat to a physical assault should have etched rough, raw scars into Elise's mind, yet any wounds faded in an instant. By the time she left Cadence's car, her recollection of the man's face had been scrubbed of all fine details until it was little more than a dwindling ghost. What stood tallest in Elise's memory was the film reel of Cadence's relieved smile, the coy promise that fluttered from her coral-hued lips, and the gentle feel of her soft fingers locked between Elise's. Such closeness with Cadence was instantly familiar, a return to a place Elise did not realise she had made her home.

    The thoughts reigned in Elise's head throughout her day, whether she was trekking to her classes or wiping down the kitchen counter after one of Robin's less successful culinary experiments. For the first time in a long while, excitement flooded Elise's body in anticipation of her next work session. Whether she made strides with the client or not, she would have another chance to find Cadence and shuffle ever higher in her former best friend's estimations once again.

    "But let's not get side-tracked. I want to hear what you guys think about the reading. Daniel? Sally? How about you, Ellie?"

    Counting the pairs of eyes fixed on her only delayed Elise's plummeting fall back into her university seminar. "Who, me?" she stuttered, snatched echoes of the missed conversation amassing in the corners of her mind.

    Sat backwards on one of the classroom's rolling chairs, James Drake better resembled one of Elise's fellow students than her seminar leader, an aspiring writer rather than a critically acclaimed thriller author. He adjusted the collar of his light-blue shirt, every second of silence plunging Elise further into her embarrassment. "It seems I was rambling a bit too much after all," he said, his affable smile doing little to stifle the flames that roared in Elise's cheeks. "The curse of academia, right? I'll try to zip it and stay on topic, and you can try to keep up with the discussion. Does that sound fair?"

    "Yeah, sure." Elise mustered up her failing willpower to meet James' encouraging expression. Beneath his square-rimmed glasses and light stubble, he was clearly one of the youngest members of the faculty with an affable, approachable air to match. His classes were often the ones Elise enjoyed partaking in most, which made her descent into daydreams even more surprising. "Sorry. I just...have a lot on my mind right now."

    "That's nothing to apologise for." Adjusting his glasses, James threw his gaze around the room, meeting every student's eye with a glowing smile. "In fact, I envy how many ideas you kids can hold onto at once. Overworked faculty staff like me have a hard time remembering to take their keys out of the door when they leave the house."

    A chorus of chuckles circled around the desks, and a sigh of relief cooled Elise's glowing face when James picked on another student across the classroom. Though she fought off the desire to immerse herself in her memories whenever it crept back, she found herself without the words to enter the conversation at every interval. Before long, the rest of the cohort slid their seats back and packed their belongings into their bags.

    "Hold on, Ellie," James said as Elise followed the lead of the other students. His dark brown brogues shuffled over the classroom's plush blue carpet, and he perched his hand on the filing cabinet behind Elise's chair. "Don't worry, I'm just checking in with you. You seem a little off lately. Everything alright?"

    "I'm fine. I've just been busy is all," Elise answered, tearing herself from her seat and slipping her packed bag over her shoulder. "Work has been...a lot to handle lately."

    A pleasant sheen dazzled across James' chestnut hair, his eyes darkening against the glare into two pools of black coffee. "The writing and editing gig, right? I caught your name on a review online just a few days ago," he said with a smile. Rubbing his neck in thought, the knotted string of a rope necklace shifted over his collarbone. "You're one of the hardest workers I've taught, Ellie, but nobody else is going to hit the off-switch for you. You need to give yourself a break now and then, else you'll run out of steam in no time."