"Room Z401, room Z401, room Z401," Cosima muttered quietly to herself. Where the hell was room Z401? At the moment, Cosima was standing in the middle of S block, with absolutely no idea where Z block even was in relation to her current position. She nervously patted the map concealed in her back pocket, but she wasn't quite that desperate - to take out the map was to admit defeat and show everyone that she was a dumb first year. Shit.
Think, think, think. Cosima was in S block, and she knew that B block was to her right. Maybe they were arranged in alphabetical order? She drew in a breath to settle her panic, and started off to her left with a sense of purpose that she didn't feel. She glanced at her watch. 11:05, it flashed back at her. It was her first day of classes and she was going to be late. Typical.
When Cosima got outside she looked around quickly to get her bearings before continuing on. There was no sign of Z block yet, but her theory about the alphabetising seemed to be holding. Cosima was so consumed with being worried that she didn't notice the person in front of her until they were both lying on the floor.
"Hello there Cosima, aren't you going to be late for your first lecture?" Delphine asked, cocking her head to the side as she stood gracefully. It seemed that Delphine did everything gracefully.
"Well, um, yeah, but like, I'm always late, I don't know why I expected college to be any different." Cosima pulled herself to her feet.
"I'm just, um, like, lost, I guess," Cosima admitted, looking ashamed. Delphine grinned.
"Don't worry, I was too on my first day. I think it happens to everyone. Here, let me walk you to your class," Delphine said, linking her arm through Cosima's.
Cosima was shocked by the sudden - and unexpected - contact. Delphine did not come across as the linking arms type. They were touching, which kind of meant that Cosima lost control over most of her body. Her heart beat faster and her hands got clammy, and the urge to smile was so strong that Cosima had to concentrate on holding her face muscles in the appropriate places to avoid embarrassment. She was pretty sure she just ended up grimacing like a baby with wind.
"Which room are you in?"
"Z401," muttered Cosima.
The two girls walked off - led largely by Delphine - and arrived outside the appropriate lecture theatre in less than three minutes.
"Hey, thanks for this. Your ability to navigate campus is like, hella cool." Cosima said, smiling cheekily.
"You are most welcome Cosima. Anything for my lovely new roommate. I had best get to my own classes now," Delphine replied, stepping away with a subtle wave. Cosima waved back eagerly and didn't stop smiling until the lecture finished an hour later.
Cosima didn't have another class until six that night, so she decided to head back to her room and do some further study on this morning's lecture. She had memorised the way here this morning with Delphine, so she was pretty confident in her ability to make it back unassisted.
Cosima was passing one of the many on-campus coffee shops when she thought she heard someone say her name. She turned around and saw Delphine waving at her (gracefully, of course) from a table in the coffee shop. All plans of studying - or really of doing anything that didn't involve Delphine - left Cosima's mind as she joined Delphine at her table.
"Do you drink coffee?" Delphine asked Cosima.
"Do you breathe air?" Delphine laughed her light tinkling laugh and motioned for the barista to take their order.
"Of course, it was a silly question; you're a science geek, it is obvious that you would drink coffee!" Delphine looked up at the Barista.
"I will take another cappuccino, and for my lovely guest…"
"Oh, um, just a latte thanks," Cosima finished, ducking her head in an attempt to hide the fact that she was blushing at Delphine's comment.
"Do you hang out here much?" Cosima asked, already planning many 'accidental' passings of the cafe for a chance to see Delphine.
"Not really, actually. I am not sure why I came here today - I suppose I wanted some caffeine. I am glad I did though; now we might actually get a proper chance to talk without being busy unpacking books or navigating to lectures." Delphine smiled at Cosima sweetly, and cocked her head to the side.
Cosima's heart was racing. She was nervous. Nervous because she didn't know what to tell Delphine about herself - her gut instinct was to spill everything. She trusted Delphine, right off the bat, but she also did't want to make an idiot of herself, so she had to bite her tongue. Nervous also because of the flirty vibe she was sure she was imagining. People like Delphine had strong, handsome, foreign boyfriends. They weren't into chicks, and certainly not nerdy chicks like Cosima. But still, Cosima couldn't help but like Delphine. This is it, she thought, Delphine is going to be 'that straight girl in college who broke my heart with her unattainability.' I'm a fucking cliche.
"Cosima. Cosima? Cosima!" Delphine emphasised, waving an arm in front of Cosima's face.
"Oh, shit, sorry, I um, zone out a lot," Cosima fumbled. "What were you saying?"
"I was just wondering how you enjoyed your lecture this morning."
"Yeah, it was cool, I mean, I already knew a lot of it, but it sounds like the labs will be fun, and the lecturer wasn't totally boring so I suppose that's good. How are your classes?" Cosima finished, gesturing to Delphine.
"They are good. It seems that I am in for a bit more of a challenge this year, which leads me to believe that you will enjoy your second year much more than your first." Delphine smiled, looking a little too deeply into Cosima's eyes.
Cosima blushed, quietly pleased that Delphine already understood how intelligent she was - how she loved to be challenged.
Delphine glanced at her wrist and gasped. "Oh dear, I am sorry Cosima but I am late for my next class." Cosima's heart sunk at the thought of spending the next couple of hours without Delphine, but pushed back from the table and stood up.
"Okay, yeah, sure. Thanks for chatting. I'll see you tonight?" Cosima posed the question, desperately hoping that Delphine didn't already have plans.
"Yes, yes," smiled Delphine, "I will see you tonight."