Julie Taylor traces her fingers across the outside of her phone as she waits for him to answer. Instead, the phone rings right through to voicemail. She purses her lips, angry that he is not available. She wants to talk to him so terribly.
After almost a year since he first moved, she still misses him. As much as she wants to tell him all the details about her newfound college life, she desperately wants to hear an update from him as well. And maybe, just a little bit, she wants to check that the girl next to him in his new tagged Facebook photos isn't a perspective new girlfriend. Not to think that she isn't over him or anything, because she certainly has gotten over Matthew Saracen. She just likes to check. What kind of friend would she be if she didn't make sure he found someone nice? For all she knows, the new girl could be a crazy person willing to take advantage of her Matt.
She hears the familiar voicemail message. "Hey, it's me, Matt. I'm not here right now, but leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible," he drawls in the voice that she still finds incredibly comforting. It would be a little more comforting if it were live, but today, she supposes she'll take what she can get.
Tentatively, she begins to leave the message. "Hi there, Matt. It's Julie. I'm sitting on the quad at school right now. I love college so much already. I'd really like to tell you all about it and hear about how your new semester's going too. And I also called to tell you that I'm witnessing my first live college Quidditch scrimmage in front of me right now. They all look absolutely ridiculous running around while hanging onto brooms out there. Secretly though, I think I might just be a little jealous. Anyways, I thought you'd appreciate people playing Quidditch in their free time. I feel like it's something we'd call "so college" back in the day, right? Okay, well I guess I'll talk to you soon. Bye."
She presses the end button on the phone. She wonders when every little moment will stop reminding her of Matt. It has to happen eventually. Until then, she will think of him when she sees anything remotely related to Harry Potter. After all, they often had little marathons of the movies together, not to mention the debates they had about book seven. She will think of him every single time she hears someone mention football, art, Bob Dylan, boyfriends, sweet grandmothers, Texas, or Chicago... Then, there are all the movies she saw with him, the books she reads that remind her of him (which really, will she ever be able to read another remotely romantic novel again without crying?), and the music that makes her think most of him (every song, really).
Certainly, she cannot call Matt every single time she thinks of him. She never would stop. Before long, everyone would realize that she wasn't nearly as self reliant as she liked to pretend to be. Soon, they would all know how much her life continued to revolve around one Matthew Saracen, the same boy who up and left her behind without even a phone call for weeks. How incredibly pathetic. So instead, she settles for calling him once and awhile with a mention of one of the many things that remind her entirely of him. She settles for him rarely answering, but almost always calling her back within the next day or two. She settles for whatever updates she can get.
But of course, Julie Taylor certainly has gotten over Matthew Saracen. The lingering reminders will disappear any day now.
Or so she tells herself.