AN: Here's your latest installment of lilacmermaid prompts. I love that she comes up with all of these fun variations. I'd love it if you left a review. I enjoy knowing what people like or don't like about what they're reading.
Madam Secretary Prompt: Henry and Elizabeth's first meeting was a silent encounter where they rolled their eyes at each other and tried not to laugh at the outrageous behaviour of somebody else in the vicinity.
Professor Markway stacked up his papers as he ended his lecture. "I just wanted to let you know that the students in my 100 level classes are giving their midterm presentations. There will be three sessions and all of my upper level students are expected to attend at least one session. Attendance at more than one will earn you extra credit." There was a widespread groan across the room. "I do recall that older students attended your presentations when you were freshmen, so buck up. Sign ups are on the tables near the doors." Students chose a day, or in a few cases more, to endure the notoriously painful freshmen presentations.
Late the next week, Elizabeth Adams parked herself in a chair in the back row of a stuffy classroom in preparation for these speeches on the value of democracy given by the students in Political Science 103 Introduction to Political Theory. Just as Professor Markway was getting ready to introduce the first speaker, a young man bolted through the lecture hall door and sat on the end of the back row.
Elizabeth glanced over at the man as he ran his hand through soaking wet hair. He was cute, and either he came straight from a shower in which he hadn't bothered to dry off or he'd just come from a lengthy run. Gauging by the soaked ROTC t-shirt he was wearing, she decided he'd been running.
Henry McCord tried to calm his breathing. He'd just been on a 5 mile run with his ROTC group. He was seriously out of breath, and this was really the last thing he wanted to be doing. When he finally caught his breath, he looked around the room as the first student began her presentation. There were a couple people from his Politics and Religion class, but most must be upper level Political Science or International Studies people. He took a quick look down the row to observe the only other person sharing it with him. The young woman was focused on the speaker, which was more than he could say for himself. She had loose blond waves tumbling off her shoulders and long, slender nose. Her black rimmed glasses had fallen below the bridge of her nose and he watched her push them back up with her middle finger. There was something incredibly cute about it.
He turned his attention to the speaker. The presentation wasn't terrible. In fact, it was probably better than the presentation he had to do for Markway's class a couple years ago. About four presentations in, the quality dropped dramatically. It was actually painful and Henry squirmed in his seat. Phrases such as "way awesome" and "too cool" had no place anywhere in a formal presentation. Henry shifted his position and leaned back in his chair, rolling his eyes.
Elizabeth sensed the movement to her left and looked that direction and caught the man roll his eyes. She grinned. She'd been wanting to do the same thing for the past twenty minutes. Elizabeth checked her watch. There was about 30 minutes left, so maybe three or four more of these speeches to go. The next guy up shared the same idea twelve different ways and was at least three minutes short on time. She turned to check out the guy's reaction and she saw him sigh and check his watch. He happened to look up and catch her watching him, so she rolled her eyes, letting him know she was feeling the exact same way. He grinned back at her.
As soon as the last speaker was finished, Henry dashed out of the lecture hall to go back to the dorm and shower. He wished he wasn't so gross, or he would've stayed and introduced himself to the girl down the row. He thought they would at least have "bad speaker spectator" as common ground to start a conversation. He hoped that she would attend the next session. Maybe he'd get the opportunity to say hi.
Two days later, Henry found himself once again running late. He'd completed his ROTC run early, giving him plenty of time to shower before going to the freshmen presentations. Of course, it was just his luck that when he went to leave, his car wouldn't start. He'd hitched a ride and made it into the lecture hall just in time. Henry smiled widely when he saw the girl sitting in the same spot she was in before. He sat down on the end and looked over at her, catching her eye and smiled.
Elizabeth was surprised to see the man from two days prior, figuring that not many took the opportunity for extra credit. He was all cleaned up this time. He wore a blue plaid shirt tucked into a pair of jeans and brown leather boat shoes. He had sandy brown hair and warm hazel eyes, Elizabeth smiled back, and then turned her attention to the speakers. The first couple speeches were alright, not fabulous, but had some decent elements to them. The third and fourth were abysmal and Henry and Elizabeth entertained each other shooting secret eyerolls at each other.
The next was tolerable, but the last one had both Henry and Elizabeth biting the inside of their cheeks to keep from laughing out loud. As the student finished, everyone clapped politely and Professor Markway thanked them for coming and released them. Both Henry and Elizabeth stood, and took a step toward each other. "Reading from the book for ten minutes, are you kidding me?" Elizabeth said.
"Hey, at least he picked an informational chapter to read. It was better than the kid who kept saying 'whoa dude,'" Henry said, using his best surfer impression.
Henry stepped into the aisle and stepped back to let Elizabeth out in front of him. She laughed. "Yes, most definitely. Were we ever that bad? I don't think so."
"I think I stuttered through the first half, but I actually had a prepared speech and I'm certain that I used correct grammar." They walked up the steps of the lecture hall together and out into the hallway.
Henry extended his hand. "I'm Henry McCord, by the way." Henry grinned and Elizabeth's stomach fluttered and she felt herself blush.
She took his hand. "Elizabeth Adams. I'm headed to the cafeteria for dinner, would you like a ride?" The words fell out of her mouth and she shocked herself. She had essentially just asked a guy she met five seconds ago out for dinner. Her face flushed redder.
"I would, but actually I have to go fetch my own car. It's down by the track. It wouldn't start, so I had to catch a ride up here." Henry suddenly looked uncomfortable. He tried to overcome it. He didn't want Elizabeth to think that he wasn't interested, because the tightness in his chest definitely indicated that he was most certainly interested. "If you're driving anyway, would you mind dropping me off at the track? I've already put in a five mile run today. I done running for the day."
She smiled. "Sure. I can do that." Elizabeth started walking toward the exit. "So, Henry, are you a political science major?"
"No, actually religion, but I'm in the Religion and Politics class. Are you?"
She chuckled. "Math, but I have an interest in International Politics, so I've taken a handful of Poli Sci classes. Right now I'm in the History of the UN class." She gestured in the direction of the parking lot where she parked. They talked amiably and within a few minutes she was pulling into the parking lot next to the track. Henry pointed out his car and she parked next to him. He got out and she opened her door and stepped out, leaning against it. "What do you think it is?"
Henry slipped the key into the ignition and turned it with no result. "I'm thinking it's just a dead battery. I'll find someone to jump start it. Thanks for bringing me down here." Elizabeth held up a finger stopping him and walked around to the back of her car. She popped the trunk and produced jumper cables. Henry grinned widely. "I'm supposing you know how to use those too?"
"Obviously," she smirked. She leaned in through the car window and released the hood latch, then walked around to the front of the car and reached under the edge of the hood. Finding the release, she lifted the hood and moved the stand over and latched it in place. She fastened the clips to each terminal of the battery.
Henry watched as Elizabeth adeptly reached into the car and then walked around and lifted the hood. Strangely enough, Henry's mind took him back to the repair shop where his dad's old high school buddy fixed cars. Henry had only been there a handful of times, but on the office wall behind the desk was a pin up calendar of girls "working" on cars. He had been about 8 years old when he asked his dad why anyone would wear a swimsuit to fix a car. That had elicited hysterical laughter from everyone in the room. It wasn't until he was 13 and saw the calendar again that he understood how he'd drastically misunderstood what that was supposed to be. Now, watching this girl that he only met 30 minutes ago lean over a car and actually know what she was doing, Henry decided one was decidedly hotter than the other and that girl on the pin up calendar didn't even come close.
She turned and found Henry still in the same spot watching her with fascination. She shot him an exasperated look. "Please tell me you aren't one of those guys that thinks girls can't do anything mechanical."
Henry shook his head, returning to the task at hand. "No, that's not it at all." He moved to his car and popped the hood and hooked the clips on the battery terminals. He let Elizabeth start her car and then he started his. It took a couple tries but finally started and he let it run for a few minutes. Elizabeth unhooked the cables from her car and then Henry did the same. "So," he said as he wound up the jumper cables and put them back in Elizabeth's trunk, "about dinner. If the offer is still out there, I'd like to partake of cafeteria food with you."
"I think I'd like that. I'm going to park in the dorm lot and walk over though." Henry nodded and they each got into their own cars and left the parking lot. A few minutes passed when they met in front of the dining hall.
"Funny meeting you here," he said.
Elizabeth laughed at Henry's utter dorkiness. "Surprises abound," she said.
They went inside and picked up their trays and after going through the line, selected a table that was out of the way. They chatted about all sorts of things all through dinner, and Henry offhandedly asked, "So where did you get your car knowledge?'
Elizabeth smirked. 'I have sort of a unique family situation. My brother and I have spent the last six years living with my Grandpa Earl and Uncle Randy. I am seriously lacking in knowledge of all things girly, but I am a beast off the tee, I will dominate in basketball and I grill a decent steak. Randy is a mechanic by trade. I was drafted into service quite frequently during my high school years."
"I cook pretty well, I suck at golf, but I know all about smelting iron ore to make steel and I also am lacking in knowledge of all things girly, which you will learn quickly if you spend any time with me at all. I tend to stick my foot in my mouth. Frequently." Elizabeth laughed.
"I think you've done okay so far," she said.
Henry blushed. "I was glad to see that you were there today. I didn't think many people went to more than the required one," he said.
"I'm going to all three, because as painful as they are, if I have the A at the end of the semester, I don't have to take the final. That means I can free up time studying for other things."
"Thank you!" Henry almost shouted. "I've been trying to convince a couple guys of this. I have an A now, but it's only a couple hours extra to pad my grade, so then I don't have to worry about it. They look at me like I have three heads."
Elizabeth laughed, "I guess that means we'll be the only two not taking finals."
"Probably," Henry agreed. "I'm going to get some ice cream. Do you want to join me?"
Elizabeth smiled. "Sure," she said, and thought, "It's like he's inside my head." She followed him to the ice cream counter. "Looks like strawberry and vanilla tonight."
"I have to go with twist." Henry said Elizabeth executed and perfect swirled pyramid of ice cream in the bowl, complete with a decorative loop on top.
"You have many skills," Henry said, eyeing the bowl as she handed it to him.
"You have no idea," she said before she could stop herself, and Henry grinned at her. Moments later she was reaching for the chocolate syrup as Henry was reaching the opposite direction and ended up shoulder to shoulder, faces nearly touching. "Sorry. I should've been watching what I was doing."
"I didn't mind," Henry said, giving Elizabeth a look that set her insides afire. After adding a few toppings, they made their way back to the table.
They ate their ice cream in silence. After wiping his mouth, Henry looked at her. "Elizabeth," he said, "I'd like to see you again."
She looked up from her bowl, her blue eyes locking on his. "We can sit together Friday afternoon at the last of the freshman speeches."
"I was hoping for something a little more intimate than that. Maybe I can take you out after our Friday afternoon eyerolling session?" Henry asked, hopefulness in his voice.
"I think I'd like that." Elizabeth said, pushing her bowl away from her and pulling her napkin from her lap. "Thanks for having dinner with me."
"Thanks for jump starting my car, and having dinner with me." Henry said. "It's getting late. I better let you get back to your evening."
"I do have some studying to do, but I don't know how much I'll actually be getting accomplished." She looked at Henry. "I'll probably be thinking about Friday."
"Yeah. I think I'll be doing a fair amount of that as well." Henry stood and picked up his tray. Elizabeth followed. After depositing them, they turned to walk the length of the cafeteria to the exit. Elizabeth reached over and hooked Henry's pinky finger in hers. He looked down at where their hands were joined and felt pure joy.
They stood in front of the building, fingers still linked. "Well, I guess I'll see you on Friday," Elizabeth said.
"I guess so. Goodnight, Elizabeth," he said, but made no move to leave.
"Goodnight Henry." She remained in place as well. They both laughed nervously. "Someone's going to have to move here," Elizabeth said.
Henry grinned and moved his hand catching all of her fingers and pulled her hand up to kiss the back of it. "Goodnight."
A mischievous smile crossed her features. In one motion, she kept hold of Henry's hand pulling him toward her and went up on her toes, planting a kiss on his cheek. She let him go and turned on her heel. "G'night," she called over her shoulder as she walked down the sidewalk.
Henry's hand flew to his cheek covering the spot of her kiss. "Friday's not going to come near fast enough," he murmured as he turned to walk back to his car.