Jordan and I sat at the lunch table. I still hadn't told her about Theo and I'd newest adventure. I was right about him too, by the way. We went back to glances and no audible communication. Jordan and I are our lunch like normal, chatting about whatever we feel. Today felt long. It was a Thursday. Jordan had one less class than me today and neither of us worked tonight. We planned to have a girls night to night.
"What are we doing tonight?" I shrugged my shoulders.
"We'll think of something." We always did. It usually was fun too, but that was the perk of having a best friend. No matter what you did it was fun.

The class was settling down into our seats when Mrs. Swan strolled in. Her hair in lose black curls. She looked much softer than normally. Her hair was usually up in a tight ponytail with bland colors. Today she looked elegant.

Today's class was about books. Reading books, writing books, books made into movies. It was all about books. We took notes about what makes a good book and what makes a good book character.
"I am going to have someone come join me." Her eyes scanned the crowed. Panicked murmured flooded the class. Slowly I sank down. God help me if she calls on me.
"Ms. Porter." Mrs. Swan called out. Apparently she heard my thoughts. My stomach turned into knots but I joined her up front. Theo settled comfortably into his seat with satisfaction being able to stare at me. We were now both aware of his staring. He knew it and I knew it. Staring at me was becoming his new favorite thing. I swallowed hard and did my best to ignore him. "Now Devin," I nodded my head. "Do you read much?"
"Uh, I used to."
"What's your favorite book?" My brain sorted through the hundreds of books I had read. I had almost forgot that I was standing ahead of a few dozen students.
"The Notebook by Nicolas Sparks." A scoff came from the middle of the class. I shot daggers at Theo. He just lifted his brow accepting his fate. My attention turned back to Mrs. Swan.
"Why is it your favorite?"
"It was honest. His love for her was unmerciful. To love some one through their absolute worsts for just a promise for 5 minutes of happy; it's sad but romantic. Now a days, guys find shoving a Hersey bar at their girlfriends romantic." The girls of the class snickered.
"You think very strongly of love." I nodded.
"It's the only place we all belong." An ache filled my stomach. I glanced around the room. Most of their faces filled with awe, some with boredom. My eyes lingered on Theo, he just simply winked.
"So Ms. Porter, what do you want to do for a living?" I pulled a piece of my ponytail around and started to twirl it in my fingers.
"I'm not sure. I guess I haven't found my passion." I felt my cheeks grow warm. "But whatever it is, I want to change the world." The class snickered. Mrs. Swan crossed her arms with amusement.
"You're quite ambitious." She smiled, it made me feel nieve.
"So was Amelia Earhart." Her smile wavered. I saw her reading a book about Amelia a few weeks ago. It wasn't her first one either. "There's more to life than being a passenger." Mrs. Swans smile grew bigger than I'd ever seen. She gave me a nod. Amelia Earhart was one of my many idols. I think the red hair gave us a certain bond.
"You may sit." I nodded and headed back to my seat.

The rest of the class I felt on cloud nine. Class sailed by and Mrs. Swan and I had secretly bonded. I enjoyed that. After class, I slowly packed up my things. Leaving this class could be challenging, since there were so many students we tended to bump shoulders on the narrow stairs. "Mr. Axel, if I may have a word." Mrs. Swan said above the noise. I heard him sigh loudly. Shoving my books in my bag, I ignored him. That was getting hard to do lately. Once I had everything packed up, I made a dash for the exit. There were only a handful of students left, myself and Theo included. "Devin," Mrs. Swan called out to me. I stopped only a few steps up and looked back at her. "The most effective way to do it, is to do it." I smiled. She was just as big of a fan as I was. I nodded and we both understood. Grabbing the straps of my bag tightly, I turned and started up the stairs again. Theo expanded his presence as I approached. We stood shoulder to shoulder.
"Amelia Earhart, really?" I smiled softly.
"Whatever souls are made of, his and mine are the same." Theo smiled widely, it was almost goofy looking. His edginess softened into someone more stomach-able.
"Emily Brontë, you know your stuff." A smile flickered on my face. Not many people read anymore, let alone such books.
"As do you." Mrs. Swan cleared her through. We were suddenly made very aware of our surroundings again.
"It's not a romantic quote you know." I was floored by the fact that he knew what I was talking about.
"Bye Theo." I made my way up the stairs before any thoughts could settle in.
"Goodbye Devin." He called after me. The urge to turn around and smile tugged at me, but I ignore it.

My heart was causing a racket in my chest as I cut out the letters. Jordan should be home shortly with the paint. I knew I had to do this today before I lost my nerve. Jordan was already home when I got there. I almost kicked in the door I was so determined. Jordan's eyes grew to the size of saucers.
"I have an idea." Her face sank farther back. We both knew this wasn't a good idea but that's what's fun.

Before Jordan and I left she double checked everything with me. My heart was still pounding. When I told her to get the paint I didn't tell her what it was for, I just asked for her to buy it. After explaining everything she seemed weary of the idea. I grabbed the stencils and the duffle bag full of supplies, away we rushed.

The drive to campus had never felt so long. Adrenaline coursed through my veins. We drove with the windows down and our hair up. The night air felt cold on my cheeks. We were dressed in head to toe black besides our faces. The school only had cameras inside the building, I knew this. The ones on the outside were fake. I remember asking about it when I toured the school. They told me that little secret. Who knew years later that information would come in handy.

Outside the main campus doors I rolled out the stencil. Jordan helped me put down rocks to hold it down. We stepped back and looked at it. It looked like a strange welcome mat.
"You sure you want to do this?" She asked, still weary of the idea. This wasn't her first time doing graffiti but this was a high risk thrill. This was nothing I'd ever done before but that's what college was about, right? New life experiences.
"Yeah." I handed her the other can of paint. I had a neon purple while she had a jewel toned purple.
"So how are we going to do this?"
"Circles and random patterns, that's the beauty of the tie dye slash camouflage look." She nodded. We popped the tops and got to work.

Peeling back the stencil revealed the perfectly colored block letters. I grabbed Jordan's hand in mine.
"Devin, it's beautiful." She smiled. I squeezed her hand tightly.
"We did it." I whispered. "Alright, let's get this shit and get out of here." She took it in one last time and we dipped.

'Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
-Mary Oliver from 'The Summer Day'

I thought that was the most fitting saying for college. What are you doing with yourself? What are you making tomorrow? How are you going to change the world? For me, it was baby steps. These were risky baby steps, but nonetheless they were taken.