I've been here a week and have yet to know where I'm going. Every hallway looks the same. The only thing I can find besides my room and the classroom is the cafeteria. It's hard not to find; the smells and the steady stream of people make it easy. I take a tray and after loading it with cereal (Fruit Loops to be specific), milk, a bagel, and strawberry cream cheese I look for an empty table. The area's mostly filled with an odd spot or two vacant, but I don't sit down in those spots because I know no one (other than Elizabeth and Carson. And that's only in passing). Give me some credit here; I've only been on Atlantis for a week. I'm shy when meeting people I don't know and tend to be the silent one in the group. But once I get to know you, it's hard to shut me up. I see a spot near the windows and make a bee-line for it. "It's like high school all over again." I think to myself. Who wants to look like a complete dork standing in the middle of the room looking for somewhere to sit? Those four years were traumatic enough for me; I don't need to start reliving them now. I mostly people watch as I eat, see who sits where and with whom. By the time I'm halfway done with my Fruit Loops I can pretty much tell which group sits where. The military "guys" (there are some girls mixed in) are mostly in the center, I found them pretty quickly; the loud laughter, shoving, yelling, and food flinging was a dead giveaway, but they also sit here and there. The "geeks" are more off to the left, closer to the door, their noses buried in notebooks, thick textbooks, or computers and they seem oblivious to the flying eggs (or what looks like eggs) and bits of food sailing over their heads. And then there's me. Sitting alone like the new kid in school. God, I'm such a nerd. I need to make some friends so I don't end up eating alone all the time. All those insecurities that took five years of therapy to get rid of start wiggling their way back into my brain. But I give myself a mental slap, and will those thoughts out my head.

"Nice shirt. Where'd you get it?" I hear someone say.

I look up and see a girl with coke-bottle glasses and brown hair standing to the side of me. It takes a moment to realize that she's commenting on my Inigo Montoya shirt. I smile and say, "Christmas gift from my cousin. We both love the movie."

"So do I." she says. "Lydia Winter."

I nod my head, not saying anything. "And you are…." Lydia says, trailing off.

Oh. I guess that it's my turn. "Max Wainwright."

"Ok, Max, mind if I sit down?" Lydia asks.

"Sure go ahead." I say and she sits down. "I see you got the Fruit Loops too." I comment.

"Yea, it beats whatever those yellow things are."

"I think those are supposed to be eggs."

"Supposed to be?" Lydia says, raising an eyebrow.

I shrug. "So…Inigo Montoya." I say, smiling.

Lydia smiles as well. "Yea although he's my second favorite."

"Your second?" I asked, slightly shocked. All my girlfriends think Inigo is hot, and look past the fact that you can hardly understand a word he says the majority of the time.

"Westly is my first."

"Say no more."

"I thought so."

"So what do you do here?" I ask, tearing off a piece of my bagel.

"Regenerating the usage in the ZPM using the Lemmon hypothesis and-"

Everything else just goes in one ear and out the other. I had a hard enough time passing college physics, so don't expect me to understand a word she says. "…I'm sorry, I tend to ramble." I hear Lydia say, snapping me back to the present. Dang it, I was having a rather nice daydream involving Carson (Yes I know I have a boyfriend, but can't a girl dream?).

I shrug and say, "No problem, I tend to do the same. It's hard to shut me up once you get me started about something I'm really into. Like Wormhole X-treme and Firefly." Don't get me started on those shows, I'll go on forever. Especially about Dr. LeVar (and no, that's not because he happens to be based on a certain friend of mine), Wash, and Jayne; they're such hotties.

"I'm the same way with Lone Gunman."

"Not so much but I was still a fan. Got it on DVD when it came out."

"Byers, Frohike, or Langly?"

"Byers. You?"

"Langly. What about Firefly? I liked Mal."

"Tie between Wash and Jayne. I was so mad when they kill him. One moment he was like "Anakin Skywalker eat your heart out; I'm a leaf on the wind watch how I soar and then-"

"I know. I cried. Honestly, there were tears."

"I refuse to watch the rest of the movie, just because of that one scene."

"I just skip that and go to the shirtless Simon part."

I smile and laugh. What are the odds of two people like us being in the same city? This is great.

"Bring them with you?"

"I think. I forget which DVDs I packed."

"Either way we have to have a movie night."

"Sounds cool." Wait, did I just agree to a 'girls' night out' thing with someone I just met? I guess I did. Huh, go figure. "But it might not be for awhile." I add. "I just got here and have to set up my classroom." Lydia looks as me strangely for a few seconds then it must have clicked because she says, "Oh, so you're the teacher they brought over on the Daedalus."

"Yup." I say, nodding my head. "You could say that I literally wanted to expand my horizons."

Lydia laughs at the comment and I relax a bit more. "Do you play poker?" she asks me.

I shake my head and say, "Nope. Why?"

"There's usually a weekly girl's poker night. Nothing to big; just a bunch of us getting together to play and talk." Lydia says. "Although we seem to do more talking then playing."

I laugh. "Sounds like fun. When's the next one?"

"Tonight. Want to come?"

"Can't, have to finish unpacking. Maybe next week."

"Ok, I'll let the girls know."

"I have to warn you that I've never played."

"Don't worry. We'll teach you."

"Ok." We talk about this and that; favorite shows, movies, actors, bands. That sort of thing. I learn that she listens to punk and only punk and hates Avril Lavinge with a passion (as do I but not to her degree). When I mention that I have the new Panic! At The Disco album she all but drools. We argue for 10 minutes on who's better; Red Hot Chili Peppers or The Ramones. When the conversation lags I see that almost a half-hour has gone by. I have a meeting with Elizabeth in fifteen minutes and by the looks of it, I'm gonna be late. I had heard about the settlement on the mainland and wanted to talk to Elizabeth about me going over there. "Geeze look at the time, I gotta get going." I say standing. Lydia stands as well and says, "Me to. McKay's gonna kill me…well, not if I kill him first."

So she hates her boss. Been there, done that, bought the shoes. "He's that kind of person?" I ask.

She nods her head and says, "Imagine the most egotistical person that you know and times it by ten. That's Rodney McKay."

Ah…that makes things so much clearer. We dump our trays and walk out together. "I guess I'll see you around." I say.

Lydia nods and says, "Later."

I rush along the hallways, only get lost twice and have to backtrack once. Hey, I think I'm finally learning my way around this place.

A/N: It's true; I do watch up to the point in 'Serenity' where Wash gets killed and refuse to watch the rest of the movie. -shakes fist at Joss Whedon- You just had to kill him didn't you? -sniff- 'Princess Bride' is one of my favorite movies, although I don't have an Inigo Montoya shirt (but I want one) and I think that Red Hot Chili Peppers are better than The Ramones (although I like both). I don't own the genius that is Lydia Winter, she belongs to BiteMeTechie, who is like my Yoda. She got me to write humor and started the trend that is breaking McKay's nose. -pimps story- Go read 'Retribution!' and you'll see what I mean. The only thing I own is Max. Leave your thoughts in the form of reviews, and flames are welcome just in the form of constructive criticism (all others shall be banished to the darkest depths of the Maytag).