Better Parts of You

Aria leaped out of bed the second her phone's alarm started singing, its harmony of bells weaving together creating a happy melody. She'd hoped this choice for her alarm sound would entice her to get up earlier and plant the seed of a good mood.

But today, nothing could help her. She rushed through her room to her door, even though it wasn't a far walk as her room was just big enough for her full sized bed and a desk.

Her brows were furrowed and her teeth clenched as she drifted through her morning routine: brush teeth, shower, dry hair, apply makeup, get dressed.

"If it scares you, then I promise it will reveal better parts of you," she mumbled to herself over and over like a child trying to get someone's attention. Something her grandma used to tell her when she was nervous.

Aria's once spotless tan-carpeted dorm room was now completely masked with the clothes that once hung in her closet. There wasn't an inch of floor that peaked through the camouflage, except for where she stood.

She donned a pair of tight, black leggings and a pale blue chambray top that buttoned up to her bust. She pulled the shirt down, trying to cover more of herself, but it just kept popping back up into a giant fold right over her belly.

She hated her thighs that always touched and her plump center that she'd been teased about since she was young. But her waist curved in at just the right point so her straight-on profile was how she wished everyone could see her.

Coming back to reality, she checked the time. One hour until class. The weight in her chest got heavier. How was she supposed to make it in college when she'd hardly survived high school? She slipped on a pair of cheetah print loafers, grabbed her backpack and headed out.

Her schedule said her first class was in room B-13. Luckily, she'd already explored the day before and knew that the "B" meant it was in the basement.

The class seemed to be overbooked, like the professor knew just how many were going to drop the course to keep a full room. Professor Gilbert introduced herself to the class and detailed her experience like the tale of a battle. Aria was terrified. Her mind was racing through tactics on how she was going to survive her first semester of college.

"We will be learning how to edit video in a way that tells a captivating story," Professor Gilbert explained.

This was an hour-and-a-half-long class of which about 30 minutes had passed when the classroom door swung open. A highlighter yellow sweatshirt and matching backpack blinded the room. And to make matters worse, the six-foot-eight figure that was wearing them had to duck to get through the doorway.

When eyes were finally able to focus enough to make out a face, they saw a man completely unbothered by the fact that he'd just interrupted a class on the very first day.

He stood still for a moment, towering over everyone, as he looked for a place to sit. People were already paired up at computers and his long legs probably wouldn't have fit in between the chairs that were so close together they looked more like church pews.

"Hi. Sorry I'm late. I was lost," he said as he weaved through the front row to get to the only open chair in the front of the room. People cowered and jolted their limbs out of the way as he toppled over them.

"That's OK," the professor growled. "What's your name?"

"Andre Harden," he said back in his booming, loud voice.

Aria sat directly behind him unable to convince her eyes to look at anything but the back of his head. She watched as he made himself comfortable, grabbing a syllabus off of the table as if he'd put them there himself.

She was entranced by the way he was completely in his own world. He stared in his notebook, scribbling things that obviously had nothing to do with the class. Before she knew it, people around Aria began to pack up to leave. She couldn't believe how far her mind had wandered. As she left and headed to her next class, she couldn't get Andre's deep brown eyes out of her head.

She kept replaying the face he made as he worked in her mind. His thick eyebrows would move slightly closer as his chin lowered and face tensioned, revealing his sharp jawline.

Weeks passed and she wanted him to notice her and make the first move, but his head seemed to constantly be somewhere else so she doubted he'd even noticed her at all.

"It's time for your final projects," Professor Gilbert said to the class. "You can pick your own groups of three and you need to either write, shoot, and edit a short film or a music video."

Aria immediately pictured her and Andre working together. But his seat sat empty in front of her.

She didn't want to be forced onto a random group, so she browsed the faces around her and landed on Allison, a blonde girl with a gap in the front of her teeth who always wore all black clothes.

"Want to work together on this?" Aria asked her.

"Sure," Allison shrugged. “It looks like everyone else has a group. Maybe we can just work together."

Suddenly Aria's heart plunged from her stomach up to her throat.

"Professor Gilbert?" Aria chirped.

"Yes, Aria?"

"If someone isn't in class today, should we wait until the next class or would you just want to add them to our group now since we only have two people?"

"We can add them now," Professor Gilbert said. "Who will be in your group that isn't here today?"

"It's Andre," Aria said, realizing that this was the first time his name had poured out from between her lips.

Aria woke up hours early before the next class. It was the first time she was going to talk to Andre. Class started and she felt like she'd drank an entire pot of coffee.

She peaked at the door with every tick of the clock. It was 8:00 a.m. Time for class to start. And Andre was nowhere to be found.

"Maybe he's just late," she said to comfort herself. "He will be here any second."

But he never came. Aria and Allison were left to begin the planning of their final project. Allison's friend was in a rock band and she wanted to do a music video for them and Aria was too disappointed to put up a fight.

Aria dragged her feet through the halls of the student center after class. She was taking her shortcut through the buildings to avoid the pouring rain. She'd just indulged in the thickest piece of chocolate cake she could find in the cafeteria.

Belly bloated and ready to fall into bed, she was hardly paying attention to where her feet were taking her when she was met with a force that stopped her in her tracks.

"Ouch," she said, stumbling backwards. "I'm sorry I wasn't looking where I was going. I'm in a coma from the monster-sized cake I just...devoured.."

Words didn't make sense anymore. The only thing she could see was a highlighter sweater glowing in front of her. Her eyes moved upwards cautiously as if they knew her brain couldn't handle what they were about to see.

"No, I am sorry," a resounding voice pleaded. "Are you OK?"

Aria's eyes finally gave in and looked up at Andre's face. They stood there for what felt like minutes but was only merely seconds.

"I'm Andre," he said, sticking his hand out like they were business acquaintances. "You're in my video editing class, right?"

Aria froze. He noticed her. He knew she existed. She looked down at his hand in front of her and before she knew it her hand was reaching out like it was operating on its own. His grip engulfed hers as if her hand were a child's and he shook it gently.

"Yeah, I am," she almost whispered, not wanting to reveal too much of her mouth in case remnants of her burying herself in her chocolate cake would reveal themselves between her teeth. "You weren't in class today."

"Yeah, I overslept," he admitted. "I already know how to use Avid anyway. I just have to take this class for my major."

"You missed the group assignments for the final project," Aria blurted out.

"Oh, crap," Andre sighed. "I'll have to catch up on Wednesday I guess."

"Yeah," Aria spat out, unsure how she was going to tell him that she'd rigged the system so they could be together. "Well, my group only has two people if you want to work with us."

"Bet! That sounds great," he gleamed. "Where are you heading now? I can walk with you so you can get me up to speed."

"Uh, just heading to my dorm," Aria said, almost unable to hear herself over the thumps of her heart.

"OK, well let's go and figure out how we are going to ace this project," Andre said confidently.

They walked through the buildings, Aria leading the way so they could avoid the rain. She updated him on what she and Allison had decided. He cracked joke after joke, making her wish she'd picked the lemon cake so she could be more confident in her smile.

They reached the point where they had to venture outside. Aria pulled up her hood, told Andre the destination, and started the countdown to run down the library stairs and across the street to the main entrance of her dorm.

"Three...two...one!!!"

They both pushed the doors open like starting gates and dashed through the rain. Andres' long strides gave him an obvious advantage, but he was a gentleman and matched Aria's pace. They hit the stairs and started descending toward the home stretch when Aria slipped. Her foot glided out from under her and she toppled straight onto her tailbone.

Andre ran over, repeatedly asking if she was OK. But all he could get out of Aria was laughter. She sat on the sopping wet stairs snorting out of embarrassment with her eyes squeezed shut, pretending Andre wasn't there.

"Aria! Are you OK?" he said with his voice full of concern. "Aria, are you OK?"

The black cover of her eyelids continues as Aria lays back. The stairs feel softer.

I can feel the coolness on my skin from the rain, but I don't feel the wetness on my clothes anymore. I can still hear Andre but he sounds far away.

"Aria, are you ok?" he whispers. "Can you open your eyes?"

The pain has left my back and is now shooting toward my head. I am trying to open my eyes but they feel like they've been tied shut. Andre touches my hand and even though I haven’t opened my eyes yet, I know it's him because his hand envelops mine.

Finally, I get my eyes open just enough to see him. He looks older.

"What happened?" I ask him.

"Aria, you just had your surgery," he whispers.

With one glance into his eyes I can remember each kiss, touch, laugh, adventure, and tear we've shared over the past six years.

"Did they get it all?" I asked, remembering what sent me into such a vivid dream.

"I don't know, sweetie," Andre stammered. "The doctor hasn't been here yet. You've only been out for a little while."

"I'm scared," I breathed. "What happens if they didn’t get it?"

"If it scares you," Andre vowed. "Then I promise it will reveal better parts of you."