Perspective
Maya:
He wasn't there yet. Time, normally so liquid and hard to capture, had frozen into a single droplet. It was the first, and perhaps only, instance that Maya Ruiz had ever waited for anybody and the guy hadn't shown up. It was eight in the morning and all around her, the world was frozen in a frantic state of hurry. The rush-hour commuters in suits scurrying along the pavements glancing at their watches, dazed college students clutching caffeinate drinks and school children texting or listening to music stood momentarily still. She exhaled and the world started to move again.
Andrew:
"Damn it!" Andrew groaned as he realized that the alarm hadn't gone off. Jumping to his feet and swaying slightly as he stretched, he slowly remembered his night before. He smiled groggily as he remembered his date with Maya. He had met her in an anthropology elective last semester at college. He had needed the class to fulfill the history requirement for graduation and it had been a better alternative to the other classes on offer. Andrew resented professors harping on about past events as if they could be changed, he disliked the endless memorization and most of all he hated how boring history classes tended to be. Maya had somehow crept in behind his scorn and slowly ebbed away at his dislike for history through her passion for the past. He shook his head as he groggily pondered how strange it was that he was falling for folklore major.
Maya:
At eight thirty, she threw away her half nibbled croissant and climbed back in to her car. Slowly backing out on the street, Maya silently reprimanded herself for foolishly thinking that Andrew would have been any different. They hardly have anything in common she thought angrily. He was practical and logical, from a small New England town, determined to become a doctor and make a difference in the world. He loved big cities, loud concerts, parties and constantly being on the go. Maya was the daughter of two career orientated lawyers from LA, slightly whimsical, slightly different. She loved people watching, listening to indie music, and reading historical fiction or fantasy in offbeat coffee shops. She was a dreamer while he was firmly grounded in reality. She'd fallen asleep last night dreaming about how perfect they were for each other as she replayed his laugh over and over again in her memory.
Andrew:
Grabbing his keys and pulling on a light sweater, Andrew ran down the stairs. He cursed when he saw that his car was gone. He'd made a deal with his roommate, allowing him to borrow his car in return for gas money, but now Andrew felt like kicking himself as he stared at his empty parking lot space. He pulled out his phone and quickly scrolled through the new texts to send Maya a message: "Running late… See you in 20." With a sigh, he jogged back to the entrance of his apartment and crossed the street to the bus stop. He rolled his eyes and looked upwards when he saw that the bus that would have taken him to the busy center street where Maya was waiting for him had just left. It was just his luck.
Maya:
Putting away her phone, Maya analyzed the text. He didn't apologize, she thought. She'd been waiting for thirty minutes and he hadn't even given her an explanation as to why he stood her up. Annoyed, Maya ignored the text as she drove through the quant little college town she lived in. Last night they had truly connected she thought wistfully. What had been so different about him? Maya had spent years having her heart broken – by her parents divorce when she was eight, her inconsiderate, self-centered friends and her high-school boyfriend who dumped barely a month after she lost his virginity to him. Sensitive and naïve, Maya didn't know how to protect her heart so instead she became a accomplished at putting up walls. She fell in love with the stories and characters, but always remained cool and untouchable to those around her. She had a charming sweetness about her that naturally attracted people but she was fiercely independent and the cool reserve she emanated pushed people away when they drew too close. Andrew had somehow found a way to breach her defenses. At least—he had—she mentally corrected. Maya remembered the warm glow in his eyes as she animatedly told him about her dream of traveling the world on rooftop study break a few nights ago and smiled sadly.
Andrew
Mentally calculating the distance to Maya's neighborhood, Andrew almost winced as he visualized jogging the five miles in his still half sleepy state. The cold autumn air made him wish he was still wrapped up in his warm gray comforter but the as a breeze blew past him, he could almost smell a soft lavender and peach scent. Andrew bit back a laugh and quirked his lips up as he realized how ridiculous it was that he could smell her in the wind. He was a perfectionist, a realist and most of all a pragmatist. Andrew believed in love—the kind that two people work at—not the fairytale, star-crossed kind that Disney made billions on. Still, he couldn't deny that Maya had sparked something in him from the moment her amber eyes had met his. The feeling had only intensified as he had gotten to know her—as if they were kindred spirits waiting to find each other. He huffed as he began sprinting, checking his phone more frequently as the minutes passed. He was late—very late. But it wasn't like Maya to hold a grudge he thought, the frown in his forehead deepening. He'd make it up to her. He smiled as he turned on to her street.