AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What kind of phone do you have?” I ask, desperate to keep talking to her.
Her crystal-blue eyes draw me in, twinkling.
“A normal one?” She pulls a smartphone from her jean shorts pocket.
“Those break too easily, and they cost a fortune.”
Most people don’t realize what a frivolous investment smartphones are. I didn’t realize they’d become the normal type to have.
“Well, how do you get on TikTok and Twitter with that thing?”
She pulls her backpack on and turns to walk out the aisle. We’re some of the only students left in the room.
“I don’t know what that is. I use the internet on the laptop I share with my brother. We got it when we came here for papers and research.”
It was difficult to convince my parents. They were worried about lewd websites. After installing protective search barriers, they allowed it.
“You don’t have any social media?” she asks incredulously.
I’m a little embarrassed to be so naive about what most people my age use the internet for. Growing up on the farm, nobody really uses it, except for emails and extended weather reports. My uncle keeps the books for the farm on a website, but we simply don’t need a computer for anything else.
“No, I guess not. Calling and texting sometimes are all I really need.”
We emerge out into the September morning. The sunlight reflects in Harley’s eyes, bringing out the golden rims around her irises. She is breathtaking. I realize belatedly that I’m staring, so I look down at my worn boots. Who knew there was something in creation more beautiful than a sunset during harvest?
“Well, I have another class. Do you want to exchange numbers to study later?” she asks.
My heart beats a little quicker with the prospect of seeing her again today.
“Sure.” I rattle it off from memory.
She laughs, handing me her phone with a touch keypad on the screen. “Just enter it.”
I do, handing it back. A second later, my text tone sounds.
“Now, you have mine. See you later, Farm Boy.”
The excitement I feel overshadows the guilt. It’s only studying.
Adam: What time would you like to meet tonight?
I send my very first text to Harley, my hands a little shaky. The screen stares at me until it pings a few minutes later. My stomach does a flip as her name appears.
Harley: I’m in Bailey Hall. Meet me out front at seven?
I’ve passed the dorm, so I know where it is.
Adam: Okay. See you then.
She doesn’t reply.
Three hours crawl by like ants. I shower and put on some clean work jeans and a fresh T-shirt. My blonde hair is always cut short, and I pull a faded Stetson’s Feed cap over my head. I’ve had it for years, but it’s too comfortable to part with.
The bathroom door opens as I’m brushing my teeth.
“I thought you didn’t work Mondays,” my brother, Dan, says as he walks over to the toilet. His urine hits the bowl a second later.
“Meeting someone to study for my horticulture test.”
