Mom and Dad,

Greetings from Vancouver! I cannot wait for the conferences coming up at the university. Did you know that the Museum of Anthropology is on the University campus? Caro and I might go see it tomorrow after the workshop on algorithms, and I'd like to ask Claudia to come with us. I think she'd really enjoy the native art.

Your Daughter, Janine

So, it wasn't the most exciting postcard, but it was all I had to say on my first night in Vancouver. I could have been studying the guide that the conference organizers sent out, but Claudia and all of her friends were obsessively writing postcards already and someone had thrust a handful of them at me and Caro.

Vancouver is beautiful. The airport is on an island just outside of the city, and as the plane landed, we got a stunning view of the Pacific Ocean. The airport itself is bright and airy, and we all took in the view of the mountains from the large windows. Since there were so many of us Kenzo and his wife Navi, along with her nephew came in three SUVs to pick us up.

I couldn't believe how handsome he was. Raj was about eighteen, tall with broad shoulders, dusky grey eyes, and black hair. Most people see me as a shy and dowdy bookworm, as someone who wouldn't be interested in boys. That may be true most of the time, but I couldn't take my eyes off of him. Of course, I don't believe in predestined meetings or love at first sight, but I had to admit that I was feeling a little giddy when I saw what his t-shirt said: "There are 10 types of people. Those who know binary and those who don't." It was a juvenile computing joke, but I felt an odd blush creep into my cheeks. I didn't want him to notice me looking at him, so I buried my face in a copy of Scientific American. I peeked over the top of the page, only to notice Claudia trying to engage Raj in flirtatious small talk.

"I only notice two types of people," Claudia said, simpering a little and looking absolutely ridiculous with that polar bear on her head. Claudia is a bright girl; she just needs to outgrow her predilection toward acting and looking like a child. "But math isn't really my strong suit. There's more than two types of people if your shirt says ten, right?"

Stacey McGill winked at Raj. She's really quite good at math, so I was hoping for her to explain the joke to Claudia. I guess she really is the "man-stealing bitch" that Claudia said she is, because Stacey leaned over to show Raj her cleavage. "I know something we can do with binary. Maybe we could put your one and my zero together, if you understand my meaning?"

I nearly slapped my hand to my forehead. I could hear Caro groan behind me. That is the sort of pick up line that first year computer science students make when they get drunk at parties. I started to wonder if Stacey had been drinking on the plane. I quickly remembered that she had diabetes, and that drinking could kill her. If the obvious lack of oxygen to the brain that prompts jokes like that doesn't kill her first, I thought a bit snarkily.

We split up into the SUVs. Caro, Kristy, Jessi, and I went with Kenzo. Now we're at his condo in the West End.

Caro kissed the postcard that she recently finished, leaving big red lipstick prints on it. "I'm done!" she announced happily.

Caro is an interesting character. I wouldn't expect myself to be friends with someone as brash and bold as she is, but life has a way of being a surprise. We met in a first year chemistry lab. "Nice skirt" she said to me.

I had shrugged. It was my everyday, boring plaid kilt. Besides, I was afraid of her. She exuded a crass exuberance and beauty, with out-of-control red hair, and a wide smile.

"The whole schoolgirl look is very hot," she said. "I'm Caro. Just like the syrup, sweet and sticky." She noticed a book peeking out of my bag. "War and Peace? I loved it! Want to get a coffee and talk about it?"

I tried to resist. However, my excuses were weak, and I ended up at a coffee house just outside Stoneybrook U. Caro presented fascinating and strong arguments, and I enjoyed listening to her talk. We spoke about out favourite books, and I found myself opening up to her. We ended up taking a Calculus course together this past semester, and would often study together. When the chance to go to the North American Mathematics Symposium in Vancouver came up, we both applied. Stoneybrook University was sending two students, and Caro and I were chosen. I couldn't wait to go to the University and hear famous mathematicians speak about the greatest theories of our time.

"I'm going to bed" Caro sighed. "We have a long day tomorrow." She unrolled her sleeping bag on the floor of the room that we were sharing with Claudia, Mary Anne, and Abby.

"Don't turn out the lights yet" said Claudia, who was spreading clothes out on the floor so that she could plan tomorrow's outfit. "I need to find something to represent the snowy mountains."

"How about white sequined pasties?" Abby asked jokingly. Mary Anne turned beet red.

"Hmmm… I wish that Stacey and I weren't fighting so that I could borrow a pair," Claudia said thoughtfully.

I didn't want to hear any more chatter from my sister's weird friends. "What book are you reading?" I politely asked Caro once she was in her sleeping bag.

Caro gave me one of her odd looks, the one where her eyelashes flutter like she has a particle of something in her eye. "The poetry of Sappho," she said huskily, almost like she was coming down with a cold. "It's extremely…evocative."

"I'm sure it is," I said. For all of the "geeky" labels applied to me, I'm not really much of a literature buff. I wasn't sure what Sappho had written, but I at least knew it was Greek.

"Do you want to climb into my sleeping bag so that I can read some to you?" Caro asked.

"Not particularly. I should figure out which workshop we are attending tomorrow." I took the conference guide from my backpack, and cracked it open, hoping to be familiar with the itinerary before tomorrow morning.

Caro and I arrived at the campus bright and early so that we could sign in. We ended up in line behind a familiar young man. He turned to me, and I nearly asphyxiated. I hadn't expected him to be here.

"Janine, right?" Raj said. "It's good to see a familiar face. Which workshop are you going to?"

The adrenaline rush was indescribable. "I think Caro and I are headed to the demonstration of a new software used to calculate algorithms used in medicine." I was barely able to coherently string those words together.

"That's too bad, I'm going to the one on practical applications of the Mobius inversion formula. How about we meet for lunch in the Student Union Building afterward?"

I felt lighter and happier than I had in a while. It was nice to have a date, even though I don't measure my self-worth by the attentions of others. I noticed that Caro looked a little jealous, so I invited her to come with us. If she liked Raj too, I didn't mind.