Free Popcorn Love by KL Hughes Page A

concerns , let’s move on to the next order of business.”
    Her phone vibrated as Nia stood at the other end of
the table and began addressing an issue with construction in one of
their upcoming shoot locations. Elena glanced at the screen to see
a text from Vivian. She slid her finger over the screen to unlock
it and quickly read the message.
     
    Date tonight! Call your babysitter!
     
    Elena sighed but made a mental note to call Allison
before turning her attention back to Nia.
     
    * * *
     
    Allison sprinted out of her dorm building, her hair
disheveled and her clothes wrinkled. She spit a wad of toothpaste
onto the grass as she took off across campus. She was already
fifteen minutes late for her Narratology exam.
    She cursed when her phone rang. Tugging the shrill
device from her pocket as she ran, she glanced down and saw Elena Vega flashing across the screen and smiled
unconsciously as she tapped to answer it. But as soon as she put
the phone to her ear, Allison looked back up to see that she was
headed straight for a pole.
    “Shit!” She dodged the pole at the last second but
still managed to trip over her own feet.
    A faint reply of “Pardon me?” echoed from
Allison’s phone, but she was too busy yelping as she tumbled
forward with a string of curses: “Fuck shit damn ow!”
    Her textbook shot from her hands as she landed
roughly on her side, and Allison groaned as she rubbed at her
elbows and rolled onto her stomach so that she could push herself
up to her feet again. Just as she started to move though, she heard
the muffled sound of a voice saying, “Hello? Allison?”
    “Shit!” Allison grumbled again. She scrambled to get
her phone and quickly put it up to her ear. “Uh, Elena?”
    “Allison?” There was utter confusion in the other
woman’s voice.
    “Yup, sorry ‘bout that.” With a grunt, she used her
hands to push herself up onto her knees and then into a squat so
that she could stand up again and collected her things.
    “Are you all right, dear? It sounded like you were
having quite the struggle.”
    Allison blushed. “Oh, yeah, well I may have,
possibly, sort of, fallen down or whatever.”
    “You may have fallen down, Allison, or you did
fall down?”
    A smile stretched Allison’s lips even as her cheeks
maintained their reddish tint. “Shut up,” she grumbled and was
rewarded with a burst of laughter over the phone line. “Yeah, I
fell. I was running and wasn’t paying attention. So, yeah, laugh it
up, I guess.”
    It took a while for Elena’s laughter to die down. “I
apologize.” she said. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
    “I’m good, yeah. Thanks. Just late for an exam.”
    “Oh. I will let you go then. Perhaps you could give
me a call once your classes are finished for the day?”
    “It’s cool.” Allison sighed and glanced at the time
on her phone as she plopped down on a campus bench. She was already
far too late to make it for the exam. She shook her head,
disappointed in herself. “I’m never gonna make it now anyway.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “Yeah, I’m sure.” Allison leaned her head back and
soaked in the morning sun. Her eyes stung with tears that she
blinked quickly away.
    “I’m sorry,” Elena said.
    “Don’t be.” Allison swallowed down the lump in her
throat. “I stayed up really late with my roommate last night, and I
slept through my alarm. It’s my fault. I just hate screwing up like
this. It makes me feel like an idiot, you know?”
    Elena was silent a long time before saying, “Could
you talk to your professor about it? Perhaps you could make it
up?”
    Allison bounced her knee rapidly as she pressed a
hand to her eyes. “Yeah, maybe,” she said. She was fairly friendly
with her professor, so maybe Elena’s suggestion could work. She
could email him and say that she was sick or something. Her stomach
rolled at the thought, as if it was trying to make the lie true. He
might let her make up the exam since she otherwise had