I Watched Them Fall in Love

This is a flash piece on campus life.

I watched them fall in love.

The words of my textbook seemed to blur together.  I couldn't quite remember what the last sentence had been about, and I frowned as I re-read it. 

Last year, the national academies of science in the eleven most influential nations came together to jointly call on every nation to “acknowledge that the threat of climate change is clear and increasing” and…

He pulled up a chair beside her, an oddly determined look on his face.  It was a mix of happiness, wariness, and laughter.  His paint covered jeans and Michigan sweatshirt looked slightly out of place next to her shiny black boots and dyed red hair.

Oh, right.  My reading.    I wondered if I should go outside, but then fiercely told myself to just focus. 

…and declare that the “scientific understanding of climate change is now sufficiently clear to justify nations taking prompt action.”…

His face flushed when he commented on her short skirt.  She stood up, to show him, I guess, and there was a momentary flash of cream underwear.  She put on a sleek leather jacket before sitting down again. 

They fell to small talk " scam emails from West Africa and twitter passwords.  I don’t think that either of them really cared for it, but they were both pretending that it was interesting.

His hand found the bare flesh of her leg.  Too quickly, she grasped it.  Her aura shifted; she wasn’t paying attention to his words anymore. 

Gosh " why was this so hard to understand? 

Global warming, along with the cutting and burning of forests and other critical habitats, is causing the loss of living species at a level comparable to the extinction even that wiped out dinosaurs…

Suddenly she stood, and leaned in to his neck.  I wondered if she was telling him a secret, but a moment later he kissed her. 

Her text book and notes were forgotten on the table; I couldn’t remember what I had been reading about.

 

Reviews

[M. L. F.]

Very well told. I appreciate the way you bring your readers right into the experience. I had the feeling I was right there with you, observing.... Good writing.

[Hyacinth]

Wow. Short, sweet, and to the point.