Jacket Girl
In my head, I called you Jacket Girl. You sat in front of me in class everyday, two seats forward, one seat left. I knew you by the sound of your voice, the stretch of your hand into the air, and by your jackets.
Monday was always casual, some variation of a quarter zip with a random corner logo, emblematic of one of the many organizations that I was sure you were in.
Tuesday was consistent. It was the brown leather jacket, with the zippers at the cuffs. The metal would click on your keyboard if you were typing too quickly, and I always learned to seek out the noise - knowing it was telling me to pay attention.
Wednesday was all business. Some smart looking blazer to match the confidence in your voice. Wednesday was the day firms would always table in the buildings- and you? well you dressed for success.
Thursday was a wild card. I never knew what type of jacket would end up showing up on Thursdays. One week it was the faded jean jacket, Shakespeare painted along its sleeves. Another week it was an old-school varsity letter jacket, adorned with all manner of accomplishments. I lived for the surprise.
But Fridays were my favorite. Fridays were for the trench coat. You always swept into class with it swishing around your legs, hands in your pockets, and a grin on your face. Fridays were for the trench coat. Fridays were also the day when Professor Shannon would turn over the class to the students for open speech and debate, and somehow you always ended up at the front of the classroom. Your words flew wild and I fell a little bit in love with the way you talked, hands in the air, talking circles around the rest of the class. Fridays were for the trench coat. But, Fridays were also for me. I got into the habit of sending you a thumbs up every time you went to take your stage, and with each week that passed, you eventually started looking back. I'd applaud and you would smile, walking back to your seat with a head nod in my direction. It was our routine. You, me, and your trench coat- and that's all it needed to be.