You act surprised. “Wait – Inez?”
She turns to you and blinks. “Yes?”
“I thought I recognized you. It's good to see you.”
She joins you against the wall, but her face is wary. “Do we know each other?”
“It was that party, at the start of the semester."
She frowns. "I don't remember you."
"Well...." You look down at your shoes, feigning embarrassment. "I never got up the nerve to speak to you, actually."
Her frown deepens. "How did you know my name, then? she asks.
The one-second pause before you open your mouth to answer tells her all she needs to know. She turns around and walks away.
With a sigh, you watch her go. But you've got all the time in the world, of course – literally – so there's no reason to stop trying. You jump back sixty seconds into the hallway full of people, half of them already texting someone on their phones.
Inez appears. You decide to
Or you can think better of it, deciding instead to