You and Avalie have been friends since high-school. Well, 'friends' isn't how you would have described it initially. Going to an interspecies high-school came with a lot of challenges, but being bullied by a Manticore stands out as one of the tougher ones. By the end of your senior year though, you realized that Avalie wasn't so much bullying you as she was crushing on you in the way that Manticores often do—through aggressive mockery.
After wising up, you took the hint and made your move, confessing to her that you had feelings of your own just after graduation. Avalie clearly wasn't expecting it, given how flustered she was and how hastily she disappeared. The rest of that summer passed by like most, you whittling the days away with your friends and preparing for university in between hearing bits and pieces about how Avalie was doing.
The feelings and experiences of the past all came flooding back two weeks before the end of summer, when you were invited to Avalie's nineteenth birthday and saw her again for the first time. It was there you realized that both of you were going to the same university, and Avalie apologized for avoiding you all summer. Though there was still some lingering and awkward romantic tension, you both did your best to dismiss it, and promised each other you would keep in touch as friends at university.
The next month ran by like a blur, with most of your time taken up by getting situated at university and adjusting to your class load. Surprisingly, you and Avalie even ended up sharing the same introductory English course—though you don't socialize very much, since you are both quite busy. Your chance to catch up with her properly finally arrives this afternoon, when your phone rings. It's Avalie.
You take a moment to watch your cellphone ring, before snapping out of your stupor and picking it up.