Delphine looked up at the bright grey sky. Tiny droplets of rain pelted her cheeks. She sighed and tightly clutched her jacket, trying to keep the cold out. She paced along the sidewalk looking for a bus, a cab, anything. "Merde," she muttered to herself. After a few minutes more of the wet, tedious waiting, she finally caught sight of a lone taxi creeping down the glistening wet street. Her hand leapt into the air and the car pulled next to her and she jumped inside. She breathed a sigh of relief and told the driver her directions. As the car began to move forward, Delphine saw someone jump in next to her.
Cosima shut the cab door. She wiped her red coat free of any raindrops and looked to the side to see a confused girl beside her. "Oh, shit..." she began. "I didn't know there was anyone else in the cab..." "No, no. It's fine," the girl said, waving her hand to dismiss the minor fault. "I'll get out of your way," Cosima blushed as she began to open the door.
"No..." Delphine said, a bit too hastily, "It's raining pretty hard. You can ride with me." "Really?" the dreadlocked girl asked, her tongue poking through her bright white grinned. "Yes, of course," she smiled back, "Delphine. I'm... Delphine." "Oh, yeah, sorry. I'm Cosima." The two shook hands and Delphine remembered Leekie's words to her, Her name's Cosima. Cosima Niehaus. She felt a shiver rush through her body. She shook the feeling off and smiled at Cosima. "So, where are you off to?" Cosima asked and laid back in her seat. "Oh, I'm a student at the University of Minnesota. I'm studying for my PhD in Immunology." Delphine answered. Lie, she thought. "No way! I'm there too! Evo Devo." Cosima exclaimed enthusiastically, her hands flying everywhere. Delphine feigned confusion, "Erm... evolutionary development?"
"Oh, yeah, sorry. It's the 'informal' term for it," Cosima answered. "So... you girls going anywhere or what?" The cab driver asked annoyedly. "Oh, I'm so sorry. University of Minnesota, please," Delphine asked, looking over at Cosima for confirmation. She nodded and turned to look out the window, "Wow... I can't believe it's raining. Snow's usually the main precipitation here," Cosima observed. "Yes, I've only seen snow since I've been here," Delphine nodded. "Yeah... So, are you... French?" Cosima asked. "Oh, yes. I moved here last term from Paris," she answered. Lie again, Delphine thought.
The two talked and talked until the cab pulled up in front of the campus entrance. "Oh, I think this is where we get off," Cosima said. "Yes," Delphine said, reaching into her purse for cab fare. "Oh, no. This one's on me," Cosima waved Delphine away, grabbing a wad of bills from her coat pocket. "No, really. I should pay," Delphine tried to hand the driver the money. Cosima gently pushed her hand away, "It's my treat. You could have made me walk through all that rain!" Cosima laughed, giving the man the money. "Well, merci. Thank you," Delphine smiled bashfully. They both got out of their respective sides of the cab and met on the sidewalk. "J'espère vous voir bientôt. Er, I hope to see you again," Delphine fumbled with her words. "Yeah. Ditto. Obvs." Cosima answered with that same grin from before. Delphine sighed and the two shook hands again.
As Cosima walked back to her dorm, she couldn't help but shake Delphine's words, I hope to see you again. She's clearly smart, she's cool, she's cute... very cute, she thought to herself. Their encounter remained in her head for the next few minutes. Her smile grew bigger and bigger with each passing minute. She began walked a little faster. She couldn't wait to get back to her dorm. She couldn't wait to fall asleep. She couldn't wait to wake up tomorrow.
She walked behind a wall and took out her phone. She guiltily scrolled through her contacts on her phone. She brought the mobile to her ear and heard him answer, DYAD Institute. Aldous Leekie speaking. "Aldous, this is Delphine." she said, looking around suspiciously. Oh. Hello, Delphine, she heard Dr. Leekie's tone relax. "I just wanted to tell you... I made contact," she winced at the insensitive term. Oh... good, very good, Aldous answered her, "Just keep her near you, alright?" "Yes, sir. I will," Delphine nodded. No need to be so... professional, Delphine. She heard his smile through the phone. She shut her eyes and shook the memory away, "Well, good bye." She said quickly as she hung up the phone. She slid the phone back in her purse and headed back to the campus gates. "Merde... j'ai des ennuis..." she sighed as she entered through the gates.