4 Chapter 4: Calibrate

Eli stretched his muscles before starting on a light jog. The campus was empty so early in the morning and most people were still in bed. Eli didn’t used to be a morning person. His mom and older sister had a tough time waking him up for school because he could sleep through a nuclear blast.

Mo was a natural morning person. Her ponytail swung as she jogged in front of him. All her years of soccer left their mark on her. Mo would get moody without her morning routine.

"On your left!" he called out as he caught up to her. "Morning, Mo."

Mo’s brown eyes widened in surprise and she smiled. "Morning, Eli. You’re up early. Since when do you jog in the mornings?"

"I started working out in the summer."

A summer of being forced to wake up early for combat training changed him. His body woke up at sunrise no matter how late he went to be bed the previous night. He could not go back to sleep no matter how tired he was. He would eventually get up and put on his running shoes. He even grew to masochistically like it.

Valiant went running with him every morning around the HL base outside of the city, pushing his limits and encouraging him until Eli could run for miles. He no longer collapsed to the ground and wished for death at the end of each run.

Mo looked him over, taking note of the lean muscle on his arms. He used to be a lanky stick that might blow away in a gust of wind.

"Aren’t you full of surprises?" she remarked. "Anything else you did over the summer?"

He shrugged. "Wouldn’t you like to know?"

"I thought you were busy as a coffee slave."

"I squeezed in some gym time."

"You look good." Mo realized what she said and stammered, "I mean…it suits you better. Not that you looked bad before."

Eli grinned brightly. She looked away, flushing lightly. She noticed the changes in him but didn’t know how to feel about it. Eli hadn’t been unattractive but now he looked stronger and even stood taller. There was a healthy glow to his skin like he spent a lot of time outside in the sun.

"It is nice not to be out of breath when I climb a flight of stairs," he admitted. "Or when I have to chase the bus."

Mo laughed, nodding in agreement. "Is this your year of self-improvement?"

"Among other things."

"What other things?"

He was about to answer when a male voice called out "Mo!"

The blond waved from the dock to where the rowing team was finishing up with practice. Blaze was sweaty and shirtless which was very distracting. He looked like a Calvin Klein ad. It didn’t help he had a face that would be perfect for billboards and magazines.

Mo waved at him as they passed by, trying to keep her gaze away from his glistening, golden muscles. She didn’t want to be caught staring at him like a creep. Did he have to be shirtless? It was no unnecessary.

"He seems sweet on you," Eli remarked.

"Blaze?" Mo shook her head, laughing softly. "He flirts with every girl. He even tried it with Jennie once but she shot him down."

To be fair, Jennie didn’t like anyone. Blaze didn’t take it to heart. He didn’t seem to take a lot of things to heart which Mo found appealing. She was self-aware enough to admit it.

Eli’s dark eyebrows furrowed and he asked, "Would you go out with him if he asked you?"

"Maybe. He’s nice enough."

Eli didn’t say anything. He looked troubled. He kept quiet as they continued their run. He even ignored her trying to bait him by making fun of Star Wars.

She was getting really concerned.

He usually did not take slander about his favorite sci-fi films lightly.

"Eli," Mo said. "Is there any reason why I shouldn’t go out with Blaze?"

Eli stopped. Mo waited. As easy as Eli got distracted, when he wanted to really focus on something, he could give it his all. When he took her hand in his and stared at her with his brown eyes, it felt like nothing else existed for him but her in that moment.

"Do you remember when we first met?" he asked. "I couldn’t focus during orientation because everything felt so overwhelming. You noticed and instead of being annoyed with me, you handed me the jaguar plushie in your bag."

She remembered that day clearly. The boy beside her kept fidgeting and she knew enough from her brother to recognize the signs. She gave him the toy as a distraction. Little did she know that same boy would keep bringing up her plushie like an inside joke.

She was mortified. "You're never going to let me forget I brought a stuffed animal to college, are you?"

She was homesick and only Whispers had been able to comfort her. She brought him with her since she had to go to a college across the country. The longest she’d been away from her family previously was four days. The plushie was her little slice of home. It was tidier than a jar of sand.

"I thought it was cute and Whiskers got us through a lot." He squeezed her hand reassuringly. "I don’t think I could’ve survived college with you."

Her heart beat faster as his words sank in. They were on the edge of something. She didn’t know where they were going to land. She was too afraid to even try to name it.

His smart watch started beeping. He closed his eyes and refused to look at it.

"Not now," he muttered. "Please, not now."

"Maybe you should look at that," Mo suggested.

The beeping grew louder until he could no longer ignore it. He let go of Mo’s hand to look at the screen. He sighed deeply.

He told her regretfully, "I’m sorry, but I have to go."

She tried to hide her disappointment and relief. It was an odd combination of emotions.

She replied, "I’ll see you later."

He turned away and ran. She never saw him run with such purpose before. She wondered how many ways Eli changed over the summer. And why did she feel so bereft to see him go?