Here's the next chapter!
"So…" Rikki said, climbing up to sit on top of her bed. "What should we do? Explore the building, maybe?"
Emma smiled. "That's a great idea. It would be good to get to know people."
"Ah, you mean it would be good to see Byron. Don't think I don't know what you're up to, missy." Rikki laughed when a blush made its way to Emma's cheeks.
Emma sat back further on her bed, leaning back against the wall. "It would also be good to see where things are, like the restrooms and such. We've already seen the lobby downstairs."
"We should also look around to see where our classes will be." Cleo said while unzipping the bag that was on her bed and fishing out her class list. "Most of my classes are in the same two buildings, and…" She trailed off as she looked at the map on the opposite side of the page. "…they're only a few blocks away from here."
Growing curious, Rikki jumped from the top of her bed and went to rummage through her papers. Emma, following their lead, also went to get her schedule.
"It looks like I'll have to take a shuttle. My classes are much farther away." Rikki said while skimming through the page.
"My classes are split between three buildings. Only one is near here, and the rest are farther away." Emma put her schedule down. She'd already basically had it memorized, so there was no need to look through it any further.
"Shuttle buddies?" Rikki asked, and Emma smiled while offering the other blond a high-five.
They spent the next few minutes looking at the map while talking about which classes they would be taking. Cleo, after talking to Lewis that night in her room, officially decided she wanted to be an architect. And while at university, she also wanted to take history courses centering around ancient buildings. Rikki would be going into business, which came as no shock to Cleo or Emma. With running the café all last year with Zane, and seemingly making all of the better decisions in the business, she knew she had a knack for it and wanted to pursue it. And Emma, who'd been torn between sports medicine and international relations, decided on the latter. She already had the connections she would need through her travels with her family, and it would be a welcome challenge in her life. She'd considered sports medicine at one point, but almost immediately decided against it. No matter how great of an athlete she once was, there were too many risks involved in being that close to water.
"It looks like we're going to be very busy girls this year." Rikki commented, folding her schedule and placing it on top of her desk.
"Let's not also forget extracurricular activities. I've been researching, and they say having a healthy balance of school work and activities helps students." Emma told them, and Rikki looked at her incredulously.
"School hasn't even started and already you're researching? Unbelievable!" Rikki replied, but Emma was unphased.
"It's better to start thinking about this now. That way we'll be ahead."
"I don't think I'll be doing many activities. I don't know when I'll have the time between going to classes and working on the weekends." Cleo interjected, and Rikki nodded in agreement.
"Cleo's right. I'd almost forgotten that I'll be doing the same thing. I might have money for school, but that doesn't cover everything else I'll need."
"What else do you need to pay for?" Emma asked her, but Rikki shook her head.
"It's nothing anyone needs to worry about."
"Ok." Emma replied, and immediately changed the topic. "So, should we go look around now?"
Cleo and Rikki nodded, and all three stood up from their seats. Rikki, who had taken off her shoes at the start of the conversation, moved to put them back on while Emma and Cleo walked around the room toward the door.
"I think we should find something to eat after looking around here." Cleo said as she walked to open the door. Before reaching it, however, a knock interrupted her.
Opening the door, Cleo saw Lewis standing in front of her holding a bouquet of flowers in one hand.
"Hey guys. Welcome to university. I see you all have unpacked." He said, stepping inside briefly to look around the room. "It looks great in here."
"Thanks, Lewis." Cleo replied, and moved to give him a hug. He returned it, and immediately handed her the flowers.
"I bought these for you. I'm so sorry again that I couldn't be here to help you get settled in."
Cleo shook her head and smiled. "You don't have to apologize, Lewis. I understand. Thank you so much for these."
Cleo handed the bouquet to Emma for her to place on her bed and turned back to him. "How is your project coming along?"
"It's been going well. It's been going so well, in fact, that my professor doesn't need me in the lab again until tomorrow morning."
Cleo smiled, sincerely happy for him.
"I came here to ask if you'd like to have lunch with me."
"I'd love to." She turned around to face Emma and Rikki. "You guys don't mind, do you?"
"Of course not." Emma told her.
"Yeah, you two lovebirds go have fun. Em and I will be fine."
"Thanks you guys." Cleo said softly and turned back to face Lewis. He smiled at her and took her hand, and the two made their way out of the building.
Once they made it outside, Lewis lead Cleo to a small café a few blocks away. It was a secluded place that Cleo could tell was not usually overrun by a lot of people like the more popular café's closer to the school buildings. This café was surrounded by lush trees and bushes, with a few seating areas outside. The interior had a romantic element to it, with wooden furniture and candles atop every table. Lewis lead her upstairs, where the atmosphere was a little more private and chose a table in the center.
"Wow." She said, looking around them. "This place is really nice."
"Yes, it is. I came across it while walking to the field station a few blocks away. This place has great food."
Just as he'd finished his sentence, a waitress walked over to their table. She was an older woman, and when she saw Cleo and Lewis she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face.
"Can I get you loves anything to start with, or will you need more time?"
"I think we're going to need more time, ma'am." Lewis answered for them, and the lady looked between them once again before telling them she would be back shortly. Being that the place was so informal, there were trays of menus sitting on the unused coffee table in the corner. Lewis got up to get two and sat at the table once again.
Picking up their menus, they flipped through, checking out all of the options.
The waitress came back a few minutes later.
"Have you both decided?"
Lewis looked to Cleo with a nod, urging her to go first.
"Yes, I'll have the lobster bisque and an ice tea." She said while looking up at the woman.
"And I'll have the turkey sandwich and an orange juice." Lewis said, and the woman nodded her head while still jotting down their orders.
"Alright. I'll be back shortly."
They thanked her as she left, then turned their attention back to one another.
"Have I mentioned how nice this place is?" Cleo playfully repeated with a smile, causing Lewis to laugh.
"Yes, I believe you have. As soon as I found this place, it made me think of you. I couldn't wait to take you here."
Reaching across the table, Cleo placed her hand on top of his.
"Well, it's perfect. Thank you." Her voice was low, and he kissed her hand in response.
Their food and drinks arrived soon after, and Cleo began telling him about her move in experience, and how nicely everything went.
"So Rikki and Emma are walking around right now?" Lewis asked before taking a bite out of his sandwich.
"Yeah. We'd already seen where our classes would be and everything from the school map and our schedules."
"What does your schedule look like this semester?"
"All of my classes are mainly early morning- around 8 or 9- and then I have a late class twice a week. What about you? I know you're still taking your classes from the marine biology institute, but you said you would also start taking university courses here, right?
"Yeah, but I won't start those for another semester. For now, I'm taking my normal school courses, and the rest of my time I'm working on Professor Jones' projects and working on a few of my own."
"Isn't that a lot of work, Lewis?" She frowned. She already knew university was going to be different for them. They wouldn't be able to see one another nearly as much as they had in high school, but with all of the work he had on his plate, she was worried that they would barely see each other at all.
Lewis saw the worry on her face and gave her a reassuring look.
"It seems like a lot, but it's really not Cleo. I'm only taking 3 classes this semester, and then I'll have to spend a few hours a day working on my projects. It's just going to take some getting used to. I guarantee that in a few weeks, it'll all be alright."
"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry. It's just all so overwhelming right now."
He nodded in understanding, knowing exactly how she was feeling. When he arrived in America to attend the institute, he didn't think he would ever be able to adapt to being in a new place and adjusting to his new workload. It was hard at first, but within a few weeks he had gotten used to everything. The only thing he regretted was that he and Cleo's communication was reduced to emails and short phone calls, which he knew put a strain on both their nerves.
"I've got an idea." She said suddenly. Startling him out of his thoughts, he looked at her.
"What is it?" He asked attentively, growing excited by the look of joy on her face.
"Why don't we have a date night? Like, one day of the week where we do something together?
"I think that's a great idea, Cleo. No work, no obligations. That way, even if we can't see one another for a while, we know we have that one day to look forward to."
"And it'll just be the two of us, and we can each take turns picking what we'll do."
"Well that sounds like a plan." Holding his hand out to hers, she shook it. Both returned to their food and talked until they decided to leave.
Hope you enjoyed. Leave me a review and tell me what you think. I hope to have the next chapter out soon.
