Episode 3: Friday Nights & Broken Lines
1556 Words
The week passed faster than any of them expected.
By Wednesday, university had already settled into a routine.
Wake up.
Rush to class.
Fight for seats in crowded lecture theatres.
Grab lunch between lectures.
Spend hours in the library.
Complain about assignments.
Sleep.
Repeat.
For Bailey, Nursing was everything she had imagined.
Demanding.
Interesting.
Exhausting.
Professor Naidoo's lectures kept her engaged, while the practical sessions left her more determined than ever that she had chosen the right degree.
"You look happy," Bianca observed one afternoon as Bailey highlighted another page of notes.
"I am."
"You've been smiling at your anatomy textbook."
"I have not."
"You literally apologised after dropping it."
"I felt bad."
"You felt bad... for a textbook?"
Bailey looked up innocently.
"It wasn't the book."
Bianca laughed.
"It absolutely was."
Across the room, Stella looked up from her Law notes.
"I've officially forgotten what sleep feels like."
"You slept until nine on Saturday," Chloe reminded her.
"I meant quality sleep."
"You snored."
"I was resting."
"You snored."
"I was... resting loudly."
The room erupted into laughter.
---
Bianca's phone buzzed.
Again.
Bailey slowly looked over the top of her notebook.
"...That's the fifth time."
"It is not."
"It is."
Bianca unlocked her phone anyway.
A smile immediately spread across her face.
Skylar:
Survived your lecture?
She typed back.
Barely.
Almost instantly...
Good. I'd have to complain if university scared you away already.
A quiet laugh escaped her.
Bailey caught it.
"There it is."
"What?"
"The smile."
"I always smile."
"Not like that."
Stella leaned over dramatically.
"Our Bianca is glowing."
"I am not glowing."
"You absolutely are," Chloe said without even looking up from her notes.
Bianca covered her face with her hands.
"I hate all of you."
"No, you don't."
"...No."
"I really don't."
---
By Friday afternoon, every one of them looked exhausted.
Assignments had already begun piling up.
The library had become their second home.
Bailey closed her laptop with a groan.
"If I look at one more diagram of the human body..."
"You'll learn another muscle?" Chloe suggested.
"I'll become one."
Stella stretched her arms.
"I refuse to spend Friday night studying."
Bailey looked at the others.
"...So don't."
Silence.
Then Bianca smiled.
"I know exactly what you're thinking."
"Do you?"
"You want us to go out."
"I want us to breathe."
Chloe closed her psychology textbook.
"...Honestly?"
"I could use a break."
Stella was already grabbing her phone.
"I'm booking us somewhere."
---
By nine that evening, music spilled from one of the most popular student hangouts just off campus.
The place buzzed with laughter, flashing lights and conversations layered over one another.
It wasn't as overwhelming as the Welcome Party.
It felt...
Comfortable.
Like somewhere students came after surviving another week.
Bailey looked around with wide eyes.
"I like this place."
"Because it has food?" Stella asked.
"...Maybe."
They claimed a booth near the back.
Mocktails quickly turned into cocktails for those who chose to drink, along with baskets of chips and burgers scattered across the table.
An hour later...
Everyone was noticeably more relaxed.
Bailey laughed so hard she nearly knocked over her drink.
"You did not say that."
"I absolutely did," Stella replied proudly.
"You told your lecturer he contradicted his own textbook."
"He did."
"And?"
"I was right."
---
Across the room...
Three young men entered together.
One of them immediately caught Bailey's attention.
Not because he was particularly loud.
Because she recognised him.
Cedric.
He was laughing at something one of his friends had said.
Beside him walked two others.
One, tall with an easy grin and effortless confidence.
The other quieter, broad-shouldered, taking everything in before speaking.
Cedric noticed Bailey almost immediately.
He smiled.
"Well..."
He nudged one of his friends.
"Looks like the stationery shop made it."
His friend frowned.
"The what?"
"I'll explain later."
Bailey laughed despite herself.
"You still making fun of my pens?"
"I'll stop..."
Cedric pretended to think.
"...eventually."
He walked over to their table.
"I'm Cedric."
He gestured behind him.
"This is Blake."
Blake smiled politely.
"And that's Maverick."
Maverick gave a small nod.
"Nice to meet you."
Introductions were brief before Blake and Maverick excused themselves to order drinks, leaving Cedric chatting with Bailey while the rest of the girls laughed amongst themselves.
"So," Cedric said.
"Still carrying eight highlighters?"
Bailey folded her arms.
"Nine."
He blinked.
"You bought another one?"
"It was on sale."
"I don't know whether to admire you or worry."
"You can do both."
"I already am."
She laughed.
"You always this sarcastic?"
"Only around organised people."
"Convenient."
"You make it too easy."
Their conversation flowed effortlessly, bouncing from classes to lecturers and the strange adjustment to university life.
Across the table, Stella watched them for a second before quietly smiling to herself.
---
A few minutes later, another familiar face appeared.
Skylar.
His eyes immediately found Bianca.
"There you are."
Bianca stood, smiling without even realising it.
"You actually came."
"I told you I would."
He pulled her into a quick hug before they wandered towards the drinks station together.
Bailey watched them disappear into the crowd.
"I give it another week."
Stella smirked.
"You're generous."
---
The music grew louder.
The dance floor filled.
Bailey eventually grabbed Cedric's hand.
"Come on."
"I don't dance."
"Liar."
"I strongly prefer standing."
"You've got two choices."
"What are they?"
"Dance..."
She smiled mischievously.
"...or I'll tell everyone you're scared."
Cedric laughed.
"That was unfair."
"I know."
"Fine."
He followed her onto the dance floor.
To Bailey's surprise...
He was actually good.
"I thought you couldn't dance."
"I said I preferred standing."
"You definitely lied."
"I simply protected my reputation."
---
The night flew by.
Stella danced with a group of law students she'd met during the week.
Bailey and Cedric continued teasing each other between songs.
Bianca and Skylar spent most of the evening talking, occasionally joining everyone on the dance floor before disappearing into another conversation.
For the first time in days...
Nobody thought about assignments.
Nobody thought about deadlines.
They were simply eighteen-year-olds enjoying university.
---
After a while, Chloe quietly slipped away from the noise.
She stepped onto the balcony overlooking the campus.
The cool night air was a welcome escape from the crowded room.
She rested her hands against the railing.
"You disappeared."
She turned.
Skylar stepped onto the balcony.
"I was looking for Bianca."
"I think she's dancing."
He smiled.
"I'll find her in a minute."
For a moment they simply stood beside each other, listening to the distant music.
"It's strange," Chloe said softly.
"What is?"
"A week ago we were still in high school."
"And now we're here."
"It happened so quickly."
"It really did."
A gentle breeze lifted a few strands of Chloe's hair across her face.
Without thinking...
Skylar reached over and tucked them behind her ear.
The movement caught both of them by surprise.
Their eyes met.
Neither of them looked away.
The silence stretched for just a second too long.
Then...
Almost instinctively...
They kissed.
It lasted only a moment.
The second they pulled apart, both of them froze.
Skylar took a step backwards.
"...Chloe."
She stared at him in disbelief.
"No."
Her voice barely rose above a whisper.
"We shouldn't have done that."
"I know."
Neither of them knew how it had happened.
Neither of them wanted to admit that neither had stopped it.
Chloe looked towards the doors leading back inside.
"...Bianca."
The guilt settled heavily between them.
Skylar rubbed the back of his neck.
"I'm sorry."
"So am I."
Silence.
Finally, Chloe spoke.
"This can't happen again."
"It won't."
"And Bianca..."
Skylar closed his eyes briefly.
"She can never know."
Chloe hated herself for agreeing.
She gave one small nod before quietly opening the balcony door.
---
Back inside, Bailey spotted her immediately.
"There you are!"
"We thought you'd disappeared."
"I just needed some air."
Bianca smiled warmly.
"You okay?"
For a split second...
Chloe almost told her everything.
Instead...
She forced a smile.
"I'm okay."
"Come dance with us."
Chloe nodded.
"Okay."
She joined the girls on the dance floor as though nothing had happened.
As though she hadn't just betrayed one of the people she loved most.
---
Near midnight, everyone began making their way back to campus.
Cedric walked beside Bailey, hands tucked into his pockets.
"I'll admit it."
She looked at him.
"What?"
"You were right."
"I usually am."
"Dancing wasn't that bad."
She grinned.
"So you'll come next time?"
He pretended to think.
"...Maybe."
"I'll take maybe."
When they reached the girls' residence, Cedric smiled.
"See you in class, Bailey."
"You definitely will."
He walked away with Blake and Maverick, the three of them laughing about something Bailey couldn't hear.
She watched them disappear before turning back towards her friends.
Bianca was smiling at another message from Skylar.
Stella was teasing Bailey about Cedric.
Everything looked normal.
Perfect, even.
Only Chloe knew the truth.
Later that night, long after the others had fallen asleep, Chloe lay awake staring at the ceiling.
Bianca's soft breathing filled the room.
Every time Chloe closed her eyes...
She saw the balcony.
She saw Skylar.
She saw Bianca smiling at her phone.
A single tear slipped silently down her cheek.
"I have to tell her..."
But not tonight.
Tonight...
She buried the secret.
And hoped it would somehow disappear.
- Writer
