Chapter 2
Wendy didn't come back until right before lights out.
She had a big bag of plushies slung over her shoulder, and she pulled out a little bear, tucking it gently into my arms.
"Lily, this one's for you," she said.
Then she dug out the limited-edition plushie and waved it excitedly, her whole face glowing with joy.
"You seriously don't know how ridiculously patient Lucas was today," Wendy said.
"He tried more than twenty times for this plushie. It took three whole hours."
"I kept telling him to let it go, but he just refused to quit until he finally got it for me."
He stood by Wendy's side for three whole hours at the claw machine, never once losing patience.
All the while, I sat alone in the hospital, waiting for him for two hours straight.
Turns out Lucas wasn't impatient at all.
He just never showed that patience to me.
Just then, my phone lit up.
[Lily, my phone died this afternoon. I just got back and saw your messages.]
[Are you feeling any better now?]
He never asked how I managed to get back on my own.
He never mentioned whether he went back to the hospital to check on me.
I just replied flatly: [My fever's gone.]
The next day at noon, Lucas asked me to meet him at the cafeteria.
When I arrived, Wendy was slumped over the table, swiping through job search apps on her phone.
Ever since she flunked her grad school exams, she'd sent out dozens of applications, but no one replied.
"If I still can't land a job, I might just have to head back home," Wendy said.
Lucas looked up.
"Our research group is actually hiring a research assistant," he said.
"I can recommend you," he added.
Wendy immediately sat up straight.
Seeing she was interested, Lucas texted her the details about the position.
"It's not hard. I can teach you everything you need to know," he said.
"Do it for a year, and if you want to try grad school again, you'll have some research experience under your belt," he added.
Wendy's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"So I get to stay at school? In the same lab as you?" she asked.
Lucas nodded.
"Yeah," he said.
"Send me your resume tonight, and I'll help you polish it up," he added.
My hand holding the fork paused for a moment.
Last year, when I was studying for exams, I asked him about a question I was stuck on.
He just glanced at it.
"Lily, basic problems like this have step-by-step solutions online," he said.
"I'm really busy with experiments. I don't have time to walk you through everything," he added.
After that, I never asked him for help again.
Wendy closed the job search app and finally relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief as she started fanning herself with her hand.
"Man, it's so hot today. I wish I had something cold to drink," she said.
Lucas got up and headed to the café, returning with three drinks in his hands.
Wendy ran her fingers along the cup.
"Why is it hot?" she asked.
Lucas pushed a cup toward her.
"You're still having cramps," he said.
"You shouldn't have anything cold," he added.
Wendy paused, then broke into a smile. "You really remember everything, huh?"
Then he handed me another cup.
"You're still not over the flu, so you should have something warm too," he said.
I took it, the heat slowly seeping into my palm.
Lucas always believed anything outside his experiments was just a waste of energy.
But now, he knew Wendy was dealing with cramps.
He even made sure she didn't drink anything cold.
Wendy took a couple of sips, then brought up the research assistant position again.
"If I really join your research group, does that mean I get to stick with you from now on?" she asked.
Lucas nodded.
"I'll pretty much always be in the lab. If you have any questions, feel free to ask," he said.
At that point, he finally looked up at me.
"Anyway, Lily's staying at our university for grad school," he said.
"You two will still have each other around, and can look out for one another," he added.
Wendy smiled and nodded.
"It's nice that the three of us can still stick together after graduation," she said.
I just stayed quiet.
After lunch, I went back to my dorm and turned on my laptop.
The study abroad application page was still sitting there, waiting for me to take that final step.
Lucas's words echoed in my mind.
"Lily will be staying here anyway."
With my mind made up, I finally clicked submit.
[Your application has been submitted.]