The café buzzed with activity or inactivity. [A diversity of people working on laptops at tables and couches or conversing with another customer.] The barista ringing up orders and pouring coffee as patrons ordered. None paid attention; she blended in well at the café. [Just another girl.] [Her head down, punching numbers into the calculator, trying to understand some new type of algebraic division.] All the other noises were blocked out by the overly load music coming through her ear buds, a way of concentration.
The function of p is equal to x power of four plus three x minus four…, she trailed in her head as the song changed, and the page faded away.

Sitting together, they were inseparable. She lifted her head off his chest to study his face. “Never leave me,” she told him.
“I won’t; I promise,” he said as he intertwined their fingers.
She laid her head back against him, and they relaxed in the chilly peace of the morning.

And could this be the last conversation…could this be the last time we speak for a while… Tears gathered in her eyes as she remembered and heard the words enter her head.
“He gave me these songs,” she whispered. She shook her head as the next lovey-dovey song from his indie playlist chose to play next. I should really remove these, she thought smiling.

“Lyric,” he said staring at her and playing with her hands.
“Hmm,” she whispered as she lazily gazed up at him.
“I love you,” he whispered back, kissing her neck.
Lyric rested her arms on his which were wrapped around her middle holding her close. She closed her eyes soaking up the perfect moment.

She opened her eyes to find herself swaying, and mouthing, “…could I get you off my mind, this time?” Realizing what she was doing and the irony of the line of the song, Lyric wrote down another polynomial synthetic division problem.
This is my world, she began. Numbers and figures. It’s so much easier to solve for “x”, and use this to find the line it makes on a graph. The function of “p”…it’s easy to understand. Internally, she shook her head and continued her algebra.
Pencil poised and resting between pointer and middle fingers, Lyric studied the people around her wondering about their stories, if they were recalling past memories sitting there in the café. It’s kind of pathetic, sitting here by myself, thinking about my ex. The “x” I should be focusing on is the function of “x”.
Tapping her foot and pen in time with the music, Lyric attempted to keep her mind on the present. She stared out the widespread window, counting the number of cars traveling down the street. The brightly clouded day, a paradox of its own, reflected the mood she was in. Lyric rested her cheek in her hand as she turned her attention back to the numbers. The equations swam before her eyes as the song changed.

Slowly, their feet shuffled on the creaky wood floorboard; the perfect song emanated from the laptop in the background. He cradled Lyric in his arms. Despite dancing in the middle of his bedroom floor, the moments they danced held certain perfection.
“See,” she whispered. “I promised, one day, we would dance to this song.”
He eased her away, twirled her, and dipped her before bringing her back to him. He nuzzled her temple with his scruffy chin and kissed her forehead. Everything faded away, and it was just the two of them. It was as if everything else had been erased from earth.

Blurriness was everywhere in front of her, even as she returned to the present. The tears clouded her vision. Pulling her hood over her head, she tried to conceal herself from the world outside “her bubble” she created. Lyric rested her head in hands, crying silently to herself.
She begins to laugh internally. I moved on, and that boy can still make me cry. Seriously? She wiped away her tears. But, I guess it’s okay. I only think of him when these songs come on. We had some…some good memories.
A sequence of memories paraded themselves behind her eyes. [Him pushing her on the swing in the park.] [Sitting together in the freezing cold by the lake.] [Receiving those colorful daisies two days past Valentine’s Day.] [The heat of all those unexpected kisses.] [Keeping only their palms warm on cold snowless days.]
The smile tugged at her lips. Putting her pencil back to paper, she had two thoughts simultaneously. I have to get my algebra done, but boy! Whoever, if anyone, has been watching me would think I’m having an emotional breakdown! She chuckled.
Lyric forced herself to finish her math homework. Placing her yellow chapter eight folder in her black bag, she pulled out her multi-colored date book. She noticed the day’s date at the top of the page. Running her finger down the lines, she whispered, “One year.”
“It’s just for a little while,” he tried to convince her as well as himself. “It’s easier this way.”
“Yeah,” she replied noncommittally, her face streaked with tears.
He kissed her forehead, then full on the mouth as he began to back away, not wanting to lose sight of her until he absolutely had to. He waved as he joined the sea of greens to board the plane.
The silver rusty fence just barely kept her from running after him. She leaned over the really began to cry, her entire frame shaking from her heaving sobs. She truly felt alone. Why…how—how could he leave? Lyric stayed there for what seemed like hours.

He always knew what to say to stop me from crying, she thought, tears prickling her eyes. I wonder what he’d do, if it was over him, like now. Lyric relaxed her chin in her palm and peered around to see what people were thinking of her, but at this point not really caring. She blinked to clear her cloudy eyes. Looking out the window, Lyric noticed the sun coming out in the horizon. She glanced at her watch, realized she was late, and booked it out of the café.
The direction she had to ravel was graced by the heavy shine of newfound sun, so she didn’t see who was standing at the end of the sidewalk immediately. She kept her head bent because of the sun. Lyric fished in her had for her sunglasses to make her walk easier for herself. As she raised her head, she gasped.
There he was. [In his uniform.] [Seemingly waiting for her.] she stood rock still, not moving. Neither moved, even slightly, except to breath. Hours seemed to pass. After a long moment, he raised his arm in attention, saluting the girl he had tried to get off his mind. Unsteadily she took a step closer to him, and he did as well, until both were at a sprint. Lyric flew to his arms, and he picked her up and spun her around.
“Don’t ever do that to me again,” she stated with a laugh in her voice.
He petted her head. “I thought it best, but no, I never will,” he said, putting her down. “I promise; I love you.”
He held her close. Distantly, she could hear the beginnings of a piano solo and a creaky wooden floorboard.