"So do it after," he stated, getting up off the couch. "Come on, don't be such a party pooper."
He wasn't in college; he didn't have tests to study for or assignments to complete. She couldn't say that, however, so instead she struck a compromise.
"How about this?" she said. "I'm going to do the humanities assignment right now, then when I get done, we can go to the party."
"You're gonna study? But Jacob's not here; what am I supposed to do until we leave?"
She felt like snapping at him to amuse himself for an hour, but instead she counted to three and said, "I'm sure you'll think of something. Now I need to go concentrate right now."
"Don't be a perfectionist. I don't want to be here all night."
"I'll try not to," she said, opening up Microsoft Word on her pink laptop and opening up another window for the Internet.
She had just pushed search for "ancient Greece vase painting" when she heard Jack say, "Morgan, what are you doing? Want to go to a party tonight?"
Ugh, he was inviting along the stuck up bitch from down the hall.
That would definitely help her concentration.
---
Julie was only halfway through her chapter of earth science on Saturday when her cell phone started ringing, bringing her right out of her concentration zone.
She growled a little, picking up the phone and answering it without even looking at the caller ID.
"Hello?" she answered, her tone somewhat perturbed.
"Julie? This is Matt Turner."
A little surprised, she took the edge off her tone. "Oh, hi Matt, how are you?"
"I'm fine, but I'm in a bit of a pinch, I was hoping you could help me out..."
That did not sound good. "What can I help you with?" she asked cautiously.
"I know you weren't supposed to work today, but I have to run to the office and Emma… can't watch Anna," he said, a bit of irritation evident in his voice. "I can't take her with me, and I was really hoping you could come over and sit with her. I won't be more than an hour, I just… I'm stuck."
Julie stole a look at her watch, barely stifling a sigh. "I suppose I could come over."
He sounded more than a little relieved. "Thank you so much, Julie. I really appreciate it."
It was only an hour, she reasoned as she slid her notes inside her book to mark her page and flipped it shut. Jack wouldn't be home from work until closer to 10:30, so she could still go sit with Anna and be back in time to finish her studying before he got home.
With that plan in mind, she ran down the hall to grab her purse and keys out of her room.
---
True to his word, Matt was back at the apartment by 7:50.
He yanked his tie off as he flopped onto the couch with a heavy sigh. "Thank you for coming over on such short notice," he said.
"Oh, it was no problem," she fibbed.
"I'm sure this isn't how you wanted to spend your Saturday night. I don't want to make you hate your job your first week, I just… Emma tends to have a one-track mind and she does things like this without much regard for anyone else’s schedule."
Julie was curious, even though it was none of her business, what was so important that Emma had to do.
Attempting a casual but not curious tone, she asked, "Did she have a work thing, or…?"