7. Distraction

Song: Barenaked Ladies - Brian Wilson


ELLA’S POV


I’d been back in Pittsburgh for three days and had tried to fling myself unsuccessfully back into work. The only things I had to look forward to were the end of writing this Arabic essay on early Islamic medical techniques and my cousin’s Zach visit next week. I’d printed out my holiday snaps and stuck them around my room. Sophie had barely been back to our apartment since she had missed her boyfriend whilst we’d been away for a week and had spent her time shacked up with him. I’d moped around the apartment as I always seemed to do after holidays. Acapulco seemed like a distant memory which was beginning to fade as fast as my tan. Gina, little Miss Proactive, was fed up of me watching Days of Our Lives reruns in my pyjamas and told me I needed to get my butt into college and do some actual work.

I got dressed and walked the short distance onto campus for my afternoon Economics seminar. Normally I’m really focused on school and work really hard, spending a lot of time in the library. Work hard, play hard = get a good job when I graduate. I’m one of the top in my class and expecting to graduate with honours. I just haven’t been motivated since Spring Break.

“Is this the right room for economic policy with Dr. Schneider?” I heard a guy’s voice to my left say.
I looked up. I was greeted with black hair, tanned skin and brown eyes of a guy I’d noticed a few times in lectures. I smiled.
“I think so, not too prepared for this one,” I replied. I’d done as little preparation as possible for this since getting back from Mexico.
“I’m Noah,” he said.
“Ella,” I replied holding my hand out.
“Do you wanna grab a coffee after this?” he asked. I wanted to, it’s just I wasn’t sure. Oh it’s only coffee. Why the fuck not.
“Sure,” I said smiling up at him as we entered the seminar.

Somehow we survived the seminar and made it to Starbucks in one piece. I learnt that Noah and I had been in the same seminar groups all year, except I hadn’t noticed him until today. Normally I dash in and out of these things. I don’t know how I hadn’t noticed him before, he was gorgeous. He was also from Montreal too so that was great to talk about. My family lives in Westmount where as his live in Vieux Montreal.
“Do you want some cake?” I asked heading back to the counter to grab some carrot cake.
He shook his head.
“Ella! Phone?” Noah said holding mine up. I didn’t want to lose my place in the queue so gestured for him to answer it. Carrot cake was calling my name. I am ridiculously addicted to carrot cake and one phone call was not going to stop me from getting my fix, especially since I haven’t had carrot cake since before Spring Break. I could always call whoever back. It was most likely Felix, my twin, wondering how my holiday had been.

“He hung up when I answered,” Noah said handing me back my blackberry.
“Oh,” I said frowning. I looked at the display. A local number for sure, it was probably Jake since I had deleted his number since we had split up. Why the hell would he be calling me? We didn’t have anything to discuss since I ended it. I’d got bored and wanted to date someone else and Jake had become too clingy. I didn’t need a human leech on top of tennis and school work.
Gina was right, I did need to get out of the house and stop lying in my bed. I had a tennis social tonight and practices two nights this week, anything to get back into the swing of things.

“Can I take you out for dinner this week?” Noah asked me as we were about to go our separate ways outside Starbucks.
“I can only do Sunday,” I said.
“Football practice,” Noah said grimacing. Isn’t it the end of the football season?
“I’ll call you and maybe we can do this again sometime,” I said as I gave him a hug, avoiding his kiss on the cheek.

I headed the few blocks back to the apartment and let myself in. Unsurprisingly Gina was there cooking dinner and Sophie was still at her boyfriend’s.
“Hey my love, you were gone ages,” Gina said as I handed her a box with some Starbucks chocolate cake inside.
“I met this guy called Noah in my seminar and we grabbed coffee afterwards. And then he asked me out for dinner this week, but it’s Wednesday and I don’t have any time between now and next Wednesday when we’re both free. And Jake called,” I rambled.

Gina is used to my emotional dumping and should be a therapist like my mother. Unlike my mother Gina isn’t judgmental and she’s doesn’t pry for more information. She’s learnt how to pick out the important bits of my rambling.

“Jake? Really? What did he want?” Gina said as she added the mushrooms to the risotto.
How did I know. It’s been four months since I spoke to him to tell him to stop calling me.
“No idea. He hung up when Noah answered.”
“So did you speak to him?” Gina asked, still not looking at me.
“No, I was in the queue getting my carrot cake fix, so Noah picked the phone up.”
Gina smiled.
“Is this a sign you’re moving on from Jordan?” Moving on? Nothing had happened with Jordan. Not in the same way that it had with Ethan. I sat on the counter top and made myself a cup of tea. Admittedly it had been an incredible evening and he’d treated me like a princess. And there had definitely been a spark. He was fun to be around. But I didn’t need to move on, it was just a memory and something that had happened on holiday. What was there to move on from?

“No, we’re just friends, and I don’t need anything right now. Too much work before graduation,” I said.

“Make sure Noah knows that,” Gina said as I went to my room to call Felix.

Felix is my unidentical twin who is still in Montreal; he’s at McGill studying medicine to become a doctor. It had been really hard not being together when I’d first moved to Pittsburgh because I was used to seeing him everyday. He was and still is my best friend. Except now I have Gina and Sophie too. We talk every other day or as best we can now he’s working on the wards.

“Hey, how do you feel about New York for Easter?” Felix asked.
“Do you have time off?” I asked.
“Yep, amazingly I have five days. How about it?” Felix always knew how to cheer me up.
“Ben sûr,” I replied. We always alternated between English and French when it was just the two of us. “Oh, I’m going to my very first hockey match next week. Zach texted me yesterday and asked if I wanted to see him play. New Jersey against Pittsburgh,” I said.
“Haven’t I taught you to like the Canadiens,” Felix joked having tolerated years of my disinterest in hockey.
“Well, you’ve tried. I don’t know who to cheer for, Pittsburgh because I live here or New Jersey?”
“Whoever’s winning, but you should get a jersey or at least a t-shirt,” Felix said laughing. “Who are you going to take? Gina?”

I hadn’t thought about that. Gina would come just to support me. Like me, she had never shown an interest in hockey. Sophie probably wouldn’t as she’d been spending every single moment with her boyfriend since she’d got back.

“Not sure. Hey, I’ve got to go, supper’s ready so I’ll catch you this weekend if you’ve got a spare moment,” I said before signing off Skype.

“Gina, how do you feel about going to a hockey match on Monday night?” I asked.
“I can’t, I’ve got my tutoring,” she said. Every week Gina helps two freshmen with their Spanish in return for forty bucks or something like that.

I’ll call Noah and ask him.