Maybe before, if she had a chance. Then he wouldn’t be running off to his next class. No, after, so she wouldn’t have to sit there and be embarrassed through the entire class if he turned her down. She could run over to the student union and drown her sorrows in ice cream before her marketing class started. He was on his cell phone when he came down the hall, and he glanced at her but didn’t give his usual goofy smile, but she smiled at him anyway, and then he smiled back, so that was good. She thought about saying something but didn’t, and then went into the classroom and took her usual seat — second row back, not quite in the middle. She could barely pay attention to the lecture as the teacher droned on and on and on. She kept trying out different ways of saying her invitation to Joe. When Professor Dryasdust finally let them go, Joe had his books and was out the door before Natalie had even zipped up her backpack. Note to self, she thought at his retreating back.
