Part Twenty-Four

Max

Tuesday May 2nd 2006

"I need a break," I mutter, as I lean back in my desk chair and stretch my arms before rubbing my aching neck. Studying is exhausting!

I push the chair away from the desk and stand up so I can stretch my legs too. With a quick glance at the open textbooks and half-finished study notes on the desk, I shake my head in dismissal and head for the kitchen where I find John sat at the kitchen table, scribbling frantic notes onto some kind of diagram. There are books strewn all over the place and a small pile of junk food wrappers lies to his right. We share a look and eye-roll as I greet him with a 'hey'. For the past week, our apartment has become a study-haven. A strange kind of quiet has settled over all of us and you can't go anywhere without seeing open textbooks and stressed out roommates. In fact, Mark has gone as far to tape revision cards all over the place, including the bathroom mirror and above the TV!

I grab a cherry coke from the fridge and sink into the chair opposite John, before glancing at the clock. It's eleven-thirty am, which means it's one-thirty in Boston. Liz will be halfway through the microbiology final right now. I hope it goes well for her; she's had so much trouble trying to concentrate on her finals in the last few days. The past couple of months have been hard on both of us and I really hope she can put it behind her, at least for this week, and do the best she can in the exams.

"Taking a break?" asks John knowingly, interrupting my thoughts.

"Yeah," I give him a sheepish grin. "There's only so much Shakespeare I can take in one go."

"Yeah, I can understand that," he replies with a roll of his eyes. "I'm having the same problem with this stuff."

"I'm giving it ten minutes," I say. "Then it's right on to twentieth-century lit."

"Man, I can't wait until this is all over," he says with a sigh. "After finals we are going out for a major celebration."

"I'm definitely looking forward to that," I grin, taking a swig of cherry coke.

"Hey, Max," says John thoughtfully, as he puts down his pencil. "What changed?"

"Huh?" I wonder, frowning in confusion. What is he talking about?

"Well, ever since Liz was here and you went down to Roswell, you seem… different, I guess. I know you guys have been through a lot lately, but you've barely done anything but study and talk to Liz on the phone for the last month. You haven't kicked a ball around with us lately and I don't think I've even seen you hanging out with Alex in a while. What's up?"

I let out a sigh. "I realised that graduating with good grades and trying to get a job are my priorities now, and Liz… I guess being with her again, especially after what happened has made me realise how much I love her and need her in my life. I haven't been the most attentive fiancé this year and now I'm doing all I can to make that up to her and to help her get through everything," I tell him honestly. "With everything going on, I just haven't had any time for much else." I haven't told him about what happened with Alex or that, as a result of my stupid move back in March; we're not really as close as we were before. "Besides, Alex is seeing this guy from her study group and so we're both pretty busy right now anyway."

"Oh, okay," he says, with a slightly puzzled expression. "I didn't think Alex dated much."

I shrug, "She went out with the guy a couple of times back in the fall, but I guess nothing more happened until recently."

"Oh," he nods, before turning back to his books.

I feel a sense of relief knowing Alex that the fact is dating someone doesn't bother me in the slightest. In fact, my ambivalence towards this news only reinforces the fact that my so-called feelings for her were not serious or real at all, and that finding out Liz was in the hospital was the wake-up call I needed to get my life back on track. The mere thought that I could have lost Liz that day made me realise how much she is a part of me, and that after Graduation, I don't ever want to be separated from her again.

We sit together in silence for a couple of minutes, John reading a textbook chapter as I drink my cherry coke. However, the opening and closing of the front door and the sudden appearance of Pete in the kitchen doorway breaks the silence.

"What's up?" he greets.

"Hey, man," both John and I reply simultaneously.

"There's a letter here for you, Max," he states, holding it out for me. "It was in the mailbox downstairs."

"Thanks," I say, taking it from him.

I turn it over and a wave of nervousness comes over me when I see the postmark. It's from a Santa Fe-based publishing company that I sent a job application to a couple of weeks ago. I close my eyes briefly, before tearing it open. After I totally messed up the interview in Phoenix and didn't get the job, I'm really hoping it's not a rejection.

"Well, what is it?" asks John as I unfold the paper and begin to read.

The words 'We would like you to come in for an interview' jump out at me and I break into a grin.

"I have a job interview," I tell him. "The week after graduation."

"Congrats, man," says Pete, giving me a slap on the back.

"Yeah, congratulations," smiles John.

"Thanks, guys," I tell them, as I refold the sheet of paper and slip it back into the envelope. I let out a breath; it is great news, but now I have finals, graduation and a job interview all in the space of a couple of weeks.

I check the clock again; it's now eleven-fifty. Liz's exam finishes at three her time, one o'clock here, so I still have an hour and ten minutes to wait before I can call her to see how it went and to give her the good news about my interview.

Thursday May 11th 2006

I can't believe it's almost over. My last ever college exam starts in a little under two hours and all I can think about is the sense of relief I'm going to feel in about five hours time. And just think, in two days, I'll be a college graduate!

I glance at my new cell phone, which I bought when I was in Boston with Liz at Spring Break, since my old one was irreparable. I've been trying to resist calling Liz this week, for fear of distraction from my study schedule, but I just can't put it off any longer. I grab the phone and press number one on the speed dial.

"Hey, are they over yet?" is her greeting the second she picks up the phone.

"Hello, to you too, Lizzie," I chuckle softly.

"Sorry," she apologises. "I'm just nervous for you."

"Well, the last one is this afternoon," I tell her. "And after that, it'll be over."

"That's good," she replies.

"So, have you got your results yet?" I query, although I know she probably hasn't because she would have called me already if she had.

"No, not yet," she tells me. "Should be tomorrow, though."

It seems Harvard takes longer than UNM to grade papers, although I guess that's because their graduation isn't until June, whereas mine is in two days time and so the professors have to grade our papers within twenty-four hours.

"And then you can come home?" I ask hopefully.

"Yeah, then I can come home," she chuckles. "But you knew that anyway, since my plane gets in tomorrow night."

"Yeah, I did," I grin. "But I was just checking."

Liz is moving out of her apartment for good tomorrow. She's already shipped most of her stuff home, so it'll just be her and a couple of suitcases arriving at the airport. She's gonna stay here with me tomorrow night and then we'll meet up with my parents and Isabel, who will be staying in one of the local hotels, just before the commencement ceremony on Saturday morning.

"So, are you all prepared for the exam?" she asks then.

"Yeah, I think so," I say. "You know what they say: 'if you don't know it by now, you're never gonna know it.'"

"Yeah, I guess," she replies with a small chuckle, which makes me smile too.

I'm happy for her right now; she seems much happier since the end of finals, than she was a couple of weeks ago. After all the hard work she managed to put into studying in the end, I'm positive it paid off, although she isn't so sure about that.

"Yeah, I'm just trying not to think about it now. I wanna go in calm and confident," I say, trying not to sound as nervous about it as I feel.

"I'm sure you'll do great," she assures me.

"So, what are you up to right now?" I ask, changing the subject to something not quite as scary as the thought of my looming exam.

"Well, the girls and I are getting ready for one last day of fun before we all leave tomorrow."

"That sounds nice," I respond with a smile. "What are you doing?"

"Well, first off, we're going into the city for lunch and an afternoon of shopping, then we're going to the theatre to see this cool play that Grace managed to get us tickets to and after that I think we're gonna to go a cocktail bar or something," she tells me excitedly.

"Well, that sounds much more exciting than my day!" I joke.

"Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it. I could do with some fun to take my mind off the impending exam results."

"I hope you have a great time," I tell her, before sneaking a quick glance at the clock.

"Thanks."

"Look, I'd better get going now," I say regretfully. "I need to fix some lunch and I wanna get to the exam room nice and early."

"Okay," says Liz. "Good luck for this afternoon, okay? And I'll see you tomorrow."

"Can't wait," I reply softly.

"Me either," she murmurs.

"I love you," I respond.

"Me too," she says.

"Bye, Lizzie."

"Bye, Max."

I hang up the phone and slide it into the backpack on the floor beside me. I sit up straight and take a deep breath, before picking up my bag with my last-minute revision notes inside and heading to the kitchen to make a snack for lunch.

Just four more hours until it's all over, I think to myself as I make a sandwich before leaving for my exam.

TBC…