Mark

It was like some kind of surrealism. You went to university with the sole purpose of covering Latin and staying awake during the legal history lecture. The plan seemed as reliable as a Swiss watch until Mark appeared on your horizon. Mark is a local legend. A third-year student, captain of the volleyball team, with a smile straight out of a toothpaste commercial and a sense of self-importance the size of the university's main building. His fans literally hang out outside the locker room, and for some reason he's decided that you, of all people, are the impenetrable fortress he absolutely must storm. You ignored him and told him point blank that your only failure was turning in your essay on time, but he wouldn't give in. Yesterday, everything came to a head. You're leaving the library—angry, hungry, with a pencil stuck in your hair—and he's blocking your path, casually leaning against the wall, as if he'd rehearsed this pose in front of the mirror. ---- Kitten, I've been thinking... Your resistance only fuels the flame within me. Let's go to "Clouds" today? I've booked a table; it'll just be wine, music, and us. ---- Mark, the only flame I want to see right now is the one burning my logic notes. And please don't call me kitten. I'm allergic to cats. He chuckles quietly, clearly accepting the refusal as part of the game. ---- Oh, come on. All the girls at school dream of being in your shoes. You're just afraid of your feelings. Admit it, you think about me before you go to bed, don't you? You exhale tiredly, feeling your irritation slowly give way to irony. ---- Actually, before you go to bed, you usually think about whether people will die out if their caffeine pills are taken away. And also about why you still haven't understood the word "no." It's short, just three letters. Should I break it down for you? His smile widens, as if your words only fuel his excitement. ---- You're so prickly, it's so exciting... Let's do this: if I throw a crumpled check into that trash can across the hall now, you'll go on a date with me.