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God, how she hated this place.
Sadie crouched behind a rectangular, wooden planter, peering through the bushy leaves of the cinerarias to catch a glimpse of the people heading down the steps leading down from Stonebridge City university's main entrance. Students milled around the central plaza outside the modern building, chatting in loud groups, studying for exams, or heading out the main gate into the city.
She suppressed a shudder. Being back on campus brought back bad memories of her first year at uni — at least, the five months she'd stuck it out for. Part of her had hoped she'd never have to step foot on campus again, and yet, at Baz's insistence, here they were.
"So, remind me how we know this guy?" she asked. They were getting a few weird stares from the students who passed behind the flower pots. But Sadie and Baz had been the weird kids back at secondary school, and neither minded.
Beside her, Baz let out a long, impatient sigh. "Tyler Drake's party, the December after we left North Valley. Etta brought a couple of her uni friends along so she would have someone to talk to."
"Why'd wouldn't she just talk to us?" Sadie grumbled.
"Yeah, you were salty about it then, too," Baz said, smirking. "Anyway, we got pretty wasted. We were gonna try hire bikes and cycle back to Cotes Park once it wrapped up, but this guy seemed convinced we were gonna get hit by a car or fall into the river or something, so he drove us all back instead. See?"
He held up his phone. It was a picture on one of their mutual friends' social media accounts, taken from Tyler's living room three years ago. Baz pointed at one of the figures hovering awkwardly at the back, a lanky guy with round, owlish glasses, looking decidedly out of place amidst the partygoers.
Sadie narrowed her eyes at the photo, frowning. He did seem vaguely familiar.
"Didn't you puke in his car?"
Baz huffed. "Uh, no."
"And you thought he'd still give us a ride?" Sadie rolled her eyes. "Moron."
"Even if I did," Baz shot back, peeking over the top of the planter, "that was like four years ago. It's not like he's gonna remember—" He stiffened. "Shut up, shut up, there he is."
"Sure, 'cause he can obviously here us from all the way over here." Sadie pushed aside a clump of pink and purple flowers to get a better look. A tall, blonde-haired guy emerged from the Life Sciences building, picking his way carefully down the steps. He wore a dark turtleneck and a long, comfortable jacket, and a briefcase-style bag hung over his shoulder.
Sensible. If Sadie had to describe him a word, that would be it. His entire appearance was crisp, well-presented, the epitome of a man who had his life together. By contrast, she was wearing a long denim shirt that stretched halfway down her legs, and joggers with a widening hole in the knee. Baz had an oversized pink camo raincoat and a cap with FUCK emblazoned on it rainbow-coloured, gothic font.
