You stared at the 45 on your biochem exam in disbelief. That brought your grade down to a C. You quickly shoved the exam into your bag and left the lecture hall to catch the bus for work. If you failed this class, it would completely mess up your academic plan of getting into medical school.
You tried to push the negative thoughts aside and went to work at the doctorās office. You were quiet all day, and your coworkers eventually asked what was wrong.
āNothing much. I just did horrible on my exam.ā
Another medical assistant chimed in. āWhy donāt you go to office hours? Iāll cover your shift. Just give it a try.ā
The next Tuesday, you showed up for office hours. You walked into an empty room where there was only one TA. He was tallāhis legs stretched past the table. He had a buzz cut, kind of like a military cadet, and the deepest dimples you had ever seen.
You greeted him quickly and explained your upcoming test, practically pleading for him to save you.
It wasnāt that you didnāt understand the topics; you just struggled to apply them. The Krebs cycle absolutely took you out. This TAāDustin? Justin?āwas extremely helpful. He went through everything you got wrong and explained it simply, filling in the little gaps. Unfortunately, there were weeks of material you had to catch up on, and even worse, you had no time in your schedule.
You asked Justin if he had office hours at any other time, but to your disappointment, it was only Tuesdays.
The next week, you asked your coworker to cover your shift again.
āWho is this TA that you have to see every Tuesday anyway?ā she asked.
āDustin?ā you said, unsure. āTall. Dimples.ā You had been too focused on his dimples to hear his name correctly.
āDustin? What does he look like?ā
āBuzz cut, blue eyes, dirty blond-ish.ā
āOh my GodāJustin? As in Justin Herbert?ā
You shrugged. āI guess? Who is that?ā
āUhā¦ whatās a quarterback?ā you replied.
āOh my God, you are clueless. Iāll just switch shifts with you.ā
Not thinking much of the interaction, you showed up to office hours the following week with a long list of topics. As Justin explained biochemical reactions, curiosity got the best of you.
āHey, Dustināquick question. I know this has nothing to do with the Krebs cycle, but whatās a quarterback? And are you one?ā
He chuckled. āItās a player on the football team. And yes.ā
āOh. So youāre smart and athletic? Dang, youāre the whole package,ā you teased.
He blushed and went back to tutoring you.
On the next test, you scored an 80, bringing your grade up to a Bāwhich you would gladly take.
āJustin, look what I got!ā you said, storming into Tuesdayās office hours. āI couldnāt have done this without you.ā You dapped him up, and he chuckled.
Along with the test paper, you handed him a container of your famous triple chocolate chip cookies.
āA little thank you.ā
āItās my job,ā he smiled.
Later that night, Justin went back to his dorm and started enjoying the cookies when his roommate walked in.
āDude, Holly baked cookies? It smells so good in here!ā
āNah, just some girl I tutored,ā Justin said, handing him one of the gooey cookies.
āYo, these are so good. Who is this girl? The one you see every Tuesday?ā
Justinās face flushed as he shyly nodded.
āBroā¦ she must like you. You gotta wife her up. For the cookies.ā
Within five minutes, they had devoured the entire box.
āYou canāt give her back an empty Tupperware,ā his roommate said.
At the next TA session, Justin seemed nervous.
āHeyā¦ are you busy next Saturday?ā
āI have, uh, two tickets for you and your friend,ā he said, hesitating on the word friend, unsure if you had a boyfriend. āTo my football game. The quarterback one. If youāre interested.ā
āSure. I only need one ticket. None of my friends are into sports.ā
You stopped by the bookstore and wandered into the athletic department sectionāa place you had never stepped foot in beforeāin an attempt to get some merch. Within ten minutes, you found racks and racks of jerseys, hoodies, and T-shirts. Herbert was everywhere. It seemed endless. You quickly grabbed a school T-shirt to show some team spirit.
Saturday rolled around. It was your first time stepping into the stadium.
Row 105. You looked at your ticket. You didnāt really know how football worked, but you quickly realized you were near the touchdown zone.
You looked around, hoping to spot Justin, but between the helmets and the lack of names on the jerseys, it was nearly impossible.
You quickly pulled up Google to find his jersey number.
You kept your eye on him the entire gameāeven when he was on the sidelines. You caught yourself smiling every time he looked in your direction.
Despite your grades improving, you kept going to TA office hours. You told yourself it was because of genomic sequencing, but secretly, it was to talk to him.
Toward the end of one session, he pulled out a small paper bag.
āOh, hereās your Tupperware. I meant to return it earlier but forgot.ā
Confused, you looked inside. It was your containerā¦ and a shirt folded neatly inside.
You pulled it out and froze.
It was his game-worn jersey.
āMy mom always told me not to return something empty-handed,ā he said softly. āI noticed you only had a school T-shirt at the game. Maybe youād like this.ā
He paused, then added in a whisper:
āI guess youāre my good luck charm.ā
