Asterism

8. just talking

Enjoy chapter 8, be sure to vote and comment if you do ❤️

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"I think I'm losing service for some reason. The line is breaking up and I heard wrong. Yup. Must be. There's no way you just said to me what you just said to me..."

"You know what Gabby I'm busy next weekend and can't come see you at Yale. I have plans with my supportive, kind friends."

Gabby balked into the line, "That wasn't me being unsupportive or unkind Mar, that was me being surprised. I've known you almost my whole life. Heck, I can probably guess what you're eating for breakfast right now."

"Shoot," Marley challenged, staring down at her blueberry muffin with a smug smirk. It wasn't a typical breakfast of hers, but there wasn't much food-wise this cafe 'truck' offered. It's redeemable qualities are that it makes delicious coffee and is in close proximity to most of her morning classes, so she makes do with the muffin.

"A blueberry muffin."

It was Marley's turn to balk. She shot her head up from her picnic table - aka a meeting point with Ayla as they share a few classes - to scan along the students walking the central footpath, occupying the tables surrounding her, and leaving the buildings in her radius. They both knew full and well that Marley's best friend was two hours away having just finished a gruelling 7am lab at Yale, but she still searched for familiar blonde hair.

Because it was freaky how well Gabby Collins knew her.

"Ok." Marley sighed in defeat, focusing on her own table again. Teleportation and telepathy are impossible. "How did you know."

"You sent a blueberry muffin in your streaks on Monday and you, Marley Hoover, are a creature of habit. You love your routines so you have eaten that blueberry muffin every day since. Hence my surprise earlier about the fact that you...you signed up for Brown's free...yoga classes? You volunteered to exercise. You. Marley Hoover."

"One person being surprised that I want to exercise is hurtful, but three is just offensive Gab. You of all people should've been the one to be nice about it. Jenna choked on her tea when I told her about it last night! I'm not that lazy."

"Is that a rhetorical question?"

"I hate you."

Gabby giggled, "You hate the truth, Mar. Look, I love you and you are my best best friend, but the last time you went for a walk with me we made it around the block when you secretly texted Aiden and he drove up to the curb to pick us up."

"That was a coincidence. He was driving by, saw us, and he can attest to that," Marley defended quickly, glad Gabby couldn't see the sheepish look on her face.

"He brought your favourite donut and a lemonade from Starbucks."

Marley chomped on a bite of her muffin, "Fine, so I'm a bit athletically impaired-"

"A bit?"

"But, I'm trying to change and I have to start somewhere so please don't be the like, seventh person to make fun of me for it!"

"Sorry," Gabby puffed out a breath. "You're right. I'm being mean. That's what happens when you have to suffer through a lab on the 'Fundamentals of Genetics, Evolution, and Development' at seven am for two hours taught by a grad student with a breath problem. I'm a front row student Mar. I was born for the front row but there I was in the second last. So my entire existence is off balance right now. I feel like I'm becoming someone else."