32 When Mild Guys Get Angry

Justin was surprised that Emily was suddenly so interested in RoboCat's identity. In all the time they had been chatting she never seemed to care that her conversational partner was a stranger. What had changed her mind?

He was happy to talk to her but he couldn't let her know who he was…she was too smart to think it was a coincidence that she actually knew her chat buddy in real life. She would know that he had purposely found her Blogr, which would be a dead giveaway to the identity of the girl he liked. She would be totally creeped out.

Thankfully, the chances of being in a situation that required giving himself away were low. So he would answer any questions she had and leave it at that.

Emily hadn't responded to his latest message. She probably had class. He would much rather be in class than sitting in a very awkward silence with his groupmates as the debugging program kept running. It was supposedly going to be done soon but it couldn't happen soon enough. He was about to go insane from waiting in this overcrowded computer lab.

When the notification popped up on the screen that the debugging was finished all three members of the group practically cried with relief. They quickly submitted the assignment through the online portal and fled the computer lab. In his hurry to the parking lot, he smacked right into someone.

"I'm sorr—Emily?"

She laughed. "Hey, Justin. This is a thing with you, isn't it?"

He turned bright red. Why did he always have to embarrass himself in front of her? No wonder she liked his online identity better. No bodily injury was involved.

"What are you doing over here?" He had never seen her on this side of campus before.

"Ah, I was heading to the bus stop. Brandon's pretty busy and can't drive me."

She wouldn't meet his eyes, which made him realize what was going on. "How long have you been taking the bus?"

"About a month and a half," she said in a small voice. "He used to give me rides to and from school but with all that he's been doing to get ready for graduation he hasn't had the time."

Justin's heart constricted. "Why didn't you tell me? I would've gone back to giving you rides. You shouldn't have to waste time and money on the bus unnecessarily."

"Brandon is…jealous of you," she admitted. "I'm pretty sure he only offered the ride arrangement to keep me away from you in the first place."

"Seriously?!" The nerve of that guy! His pettiness was one thing but making it harder for Emily to get to and from school by going back on his promise because of his pettiness was another. "No offense, but that's not okay. He shouldn't be restricting your freedom anyway but not following through on what he said in a way that negatively affects you…come on, we're going home."

Justin surprised himself by grabbing her wrist and dragging her towards the parking lot. His anger at how she was mistreated helped him overcome his usual inhibitions. Emily seemed pretty surprised too.

"Justin, it's really not a big deal—"

"No? What about having to wake up earlier to catch the bus? What about missing out on time you could be resting or doing homework? And bus tickets really add up!"

Her eyes widened at his tirade and she bit her lip, hesitating. "Well, you're not wrong, but I really don't want to upset Brandon—"

Screw Brandon! "He can go on continuing thinking you're taking the bus. You don't have to tell him. It's your life! If he doesn't want to be responsible for something he said he'd take care of then it's not his business anymore."

"…you may have a point."

"Yeah, I have a point!"

Justin's chest swelled at the indignation of it all but by the time they reached his car he deflated. Was he any different from Brandon, trying to make her do something?

"I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me. You don't have to ride with me if you don't want to. I was just mad on your behalf."

To his confusion, Emily grinned. "You know what? It's actually really nice having someone be mad for me. And you're right. Taking the bus was stupid. I should have just texted you when he started ditching me. I would love to carpool with you again."

Justin's smile grew too big for his face. "I'm glad you came to your senses. Hop in."

As she clicked her seatbelt Emily turned to him. "What were you doing on campus so late? I walk by that building every day around this time and never see you."

He groaned. "I didn't even have class; I was stuck in the computer lab most of the day because somebody screwed up. I hate being in there."

"Wouldn't you be in the computer lab a lot with your major?"

"No. Most people use it because it has software they don't have on their laptops that are needed for assignments but I already had most of those programs on my computer at home so I bought the rest to avoid being on campus longer than necessary. I'd rather work at my own desk."

"Ah, that makes sense. What were you doing in there, anyway?"

"Group project. I much prefer to work alone. I wouldn't have screwed it up and trapped us in there." Justin was still annoyed and could go on but didn't dare give too many details because he had already talked to her about this as RoboCat.

Emily smiled. "Someone's confident in their abilities."

"Not to brag, but I guarantee I've logged more hours programming than anybody else in that class. I reserve the right to be confident."

Computers were the one thing Justin actually was confident about. Human interaction on the other hand…

"Fair enough. Aside from being trapped in the computer lab, what have you been up to lately? I feel like I've hardly seen you since Samantha went home."

"I did a few big freelance projects over the summer and since then I've been drowning in homework. That's literally it."

She laughed before heaving a big sigh. "I feel you on the drowning in homework thing. I've had to analyze a lot more movies this semester than any of the other semesters combined. It kind of takes the fun out of movies when you have to take in depth notes."

Their majors were a world apart. Justin couldn't imagine writing movie analyses as homework. "I see your point. I watch movies for their entertainment value, not their artistry."

"What's your favorite movie?" Emily asked.

"Probably Star Wars: A New Hope," he admitted. "Super nerdy."

"There's nothing wrong with that! But see, if I had to write a paper on that I'd probably have to go on about how the special effects were pretty revolutionary for the time the movie was made and dissect things like camera angles."

"Yeah, that definitely takes the fun out of movies. What's your favorite?" Justin was curious what kind of movies film students liked.

"Well, artistically, I'd have to go with a random indie film no one's ever heard of called Bean that's a coming of age story about a group of high school misfits but for sheer entertainment value alone…Legally Blonde."

Justin tried to stifle the laughter that was bubbling up. She seemed so serious, like she was divulging a national secret.

"Would you believe I've actually seen Legally Blonde? Sam likes that movie."

"No way! Hardly any guys I know have seen it. But they were all forced by females too. It's really not a bad movie, I don't know why it's written off by so many people," Emily sighed with a shake of her head. "No one appreciates good stories anymore."

"I mean, it's a little pink for my liking, but I appreciate the concept of a girl with misunderstood intelligence face slapping a bunch of people with law skills."

She laughed. "I've never heard a movie wrapped up so succinctly. Bravo."

Justin relaxed in his seat. He had really missed talking to her like this. Since the semester started he only saw her twice at a distance. Having her back, even in this limited way, breathed life into his tired soul.

"Thanks, I try."

Emily's head shot up out of the blue. "Justin, I just realized I don't know what you do for fun."

He chuckled. "It's so urgent?"

"I guess not. But I am curious."

"I play video games sometimes. Mostly indie games online because I don't have any game consoles. I don't have a lot of free time." He very rarely played games these days because of his homework load but it's not like he was an avid gamer before that.

"Indie games? Like indie films?"

"Pretty much the same concept. They're games that are made through independent developers instead of big game companies," Justin explained. "They're severely underrated in my opinion. These developers don't have any quotas to reach on how many games they produce a year so they pour their lives and souls into creating them. Obviously, there are bad indie games and good mainstream games but you get my point."

"Cool, I didn't know that. The only games I really play are on my phone. Have you tried that popular new one, Sink or Swim? I finally finished it the other day and need a new vice."

"I've played a few levels," he answered truthfully. "They were too easy for me though."

"Are you kidding, I got stuck on level six for hours!" she exclaimed. "How far did you go?"

"Level ten."

"It gets way harder after that," Emily insisted. "I wouldn't give up just yet."

Justin was really tempted to laugh. All the levels would be too easy because he knew exactly how to pass them. But he couldn't tell her that because she already knew that RoboCat had played a part in creating the game. How would he explain that?

"I'll keep that in mind."

They arrived at their apartment complex too soon for Justin's taste. He didn't want his time with her to end but what could he do? He didn't have an excuse to prolong things. Gazing at her long after she waved goodbye, he finally decided to get out of the car and go upstairs. At least she had asked him for a ride to school the next day.