The end of semester was coming up. A final exam was in next week. Andy and Julia have got to know each other slowly every week. They usually studied in the college library. Whenever they meet in the library, they studied together in a close seat and left the library at the same time. When they found something that they didn’t know about the class of the day, they asked each other. Sometimes, they had a chance to have a dinner together near the library when the nighttime comes in weekdays. The class often required some of the outdoor assignments for the grade, but she made a group of her friends in the class for the research project. He did not have a lot of chances to do it with her. Although he had an expectation that he might be able to spend the time with her, it did not happen a lot. However, it didn’t matter to him. He was just happy to see her in every class and study together.
Andy was an ordinary student. Since he didn’t have a lot of money, he had to get a student loan to take the class. When the school has a vacation, he got a part time job at the convenient store around the college. He did not want to ask for money to his parents because of his stubbornness. Whenever his parents visit him, they gave him some allowance for his living, but it was not always enough. Therefore, he was considering joining the ROTC of U.S. Air Force that the school connects students to Air Force recruiters. He could often see the notice on the school board that recruiters left on it. He did not have such a dream to become a pilot, but he knew the benefits of joining the military that they cover his college tuition. Then he met Julia when he was considering ROTC. But he was having a concern in his mind.
‘Would I still be able to see her after I join the Air Force? What if I cannot see her? I don’t even know if she is going to wait for me. Would she love me?’
After the class is over, Julia came to Andy. When he was about to get up from the class seat, she talked to him.
“Hi Andy.”
“Hi Julia.”
“Hey, we are planning to go camping after the final exam in next week. Do you want to come with us?”
He froze for a second because he was not expecting her invitation. As he was looking at her wondering if he wants to join her, he thought he should answer it right away.
“Uhm yeah. Camping? Where are you guys going?”
“Actually, my friend knows the place better than me. She said, if we go to south from here, there will be a mountain and there is a campsite. There aren’t many people coming to that place like a secret place. The semester is going to end soon so, I think we could swim at the valley and have a BBQ party together. It would be fun. I want you to come with us.”
He felt as if she really wanted him to join the camping.
“Sure. Sounds exciting. I’m in. I will go with you.”
“Okay! I will let them know you will come with us. I will talk to you later Andy.”
“See you Julia.”