"The answer's z = 5," a calm voice said from behind. "Mind if I sit here?"
Anna took off her earpiece. The calming background tune of Starbucks entered her ears and she could feel herself instantly losing her pumped up motivation to charge through Calculus. She looked up to a tall blonde with long braided hair and sharp blue eyes. "If you're going to keep helping me out with my math, sure." She said.
She laughed and waved as she gently placed her cup on the tiny table. "I'm afraid I can't help but I can give you hints and pointers if you'd like?"
"Good enough! Okay, here." Anna shifted herself to the left a bit and plopped her bag on the floor, giving the other student a bit more space. "I didn't realise it's so crowded." She added, finally looking up from her computer screen she noticed a long line behind her and the seats around were empty save for the two-seated couch she came to realise she was hogging onto.
"It tends to happen during tea time."
Her eyes widened like a deer in headlights. "It's tea time already?! I haven't even had lunch!" She quickly got up and took her place in the line.
After a full fifteen minute of waiting in line, the math student settled for a drink since she wasn't all that hungry anyway, returning to her table to a confused and frowning blonde.
"Hot chocolate? What happened to your lunch?"
"Not hungry. Homework first, food later." She said after taking a sip of the thick chocolatey goodness. She took her seat beside the blonde and found a slip of paper on her laptop with multiple math equations on them. Some of them were simplified, some expanded, and even thoroughly explained how one could be derived to and fro another. At the very bottom was a winky face with a braid and a bubble that said 'good luck!' with a peace sign.
She turned to the blonde who gently placed her cup next to hers on the table and flipped open her laptop as well.
"You did this?"
The blonde turned to her and nodded. The soft coat of pink covered her cheeks quickly faded as it appeared, "Calculus is a prerequisite unit for becoming a student in most courses here, so... I'm guessing you're not a student here, are you?"
"I'm still in highschool, I'm here waiting for a senior, actually."
The blonde frowned a bit and nodded, "And he made you wait so long?"
Anna shrugged, "I'm used to it."
"That's horrible. Well, I hope you don't have to wait much longer. I'm waiting for a friend too." The blonde winked at her before her eyes returned to the screen I hope I'm good company."
"Are you kidding me?" Her eyes scanned the notes a second time, much slower, taking her time in understanding every single equation written. She picked up a cup and gulped down a mouthful of cocoa. "You basically just gave me the solution to all my problems. You're the best company."
The blonde's eyes darted between four places twice in a split-second: her laptop, Anna, their cups, Anna, the math solutions, Anna, their cups, and back to the blaring lights from her computer.
The highschooler raised an eyebrow before returning to her math problems. With- wait a minute, "What's your major?" She turned to ask the blonde.
"Computer science, first year. Math is extremely important in software and hardware programming. Believe it or not, math is essential and applicable in everyday life unlike what most people say and think." Realising she had been rambling, before she became unable to stop herself, she quickly covered her mouth, letting out a sharp gulp. "I'm sorry, nerd alert."
Anna couldn't help but find the blonde, three years older than her, taller and seemingly more sophisticated than her, adorable. She took another gulp of her hot chocolate and resumed her work, "Oh, don't worry, the senior I'm waiting for. They love mathematics as well. Which was why we're meeting today, actually. They're supposed to be helping me. But I guess they no longer need to come see me." She was about to take out her phone to text Hans that his friend was no longer needed when-
"Are you kidding? I was told to meet someone here for math as well!" The blonde's eyes widened this time upon Anna's revelation. "I wasn't informed it would be high school calculus!"
The two of them blinked.
Twice.
"Elsa?"
"Anna?"
And they burst into laughter so loud the rest of the queue behind them glared. They could practically feel the jealousy emitting from the other customers simply because they had seats and their orders while they had to stand around and wait for either. Unable to stop their laughter at their unlikely coincidence, Anna covered her mouth with both hands and when she felt the weight of her laptop slipping, she raised it to her knees while Elsa, with as much grace as the younger student expected, covered her mouth with one while managing her laptop with the other.
Anna snorted, "we really should've introduced ourselves first. What were the odds!"
"Well it's typical of Hans to give us such little information of each other. I wonder how we ended up agreeing."
"What did he tell you? He said 'Just look for this tall pretty girl. you'll know her when you see her.'"
The blonde blushed and sipped the remains of her hot chocolate.
She picked up her mug and before she could take yet another gulp, she realised her cup was empty.
"That's… actually my cup." Elsa meekly raised her hand with an awkward smile. Finally familiar, she felt it was much easier to breach the topic and inform the highschooler that she had been drinking from the wrong cup the entire time - not that she minded.
Anna blinked twice, thrice, quadruple times. Five seconds of silence passed before she dared herself to glance at her own cup, which was still three quarters full - which meant she had been drinking from Elsa's the entire time.
"Oh- Oh, oh god! I'm so sorry! I'll owe you one! Hot chocolate too, right? Just give me- er, um…" her eyes travelled across the long queue to the entrance of the cafe, despite the wonderful invention of air conditioning, she could feel herself sweating bullets and it definitely wasn't the cup of hot chocolate she failed to drink. "How about tomorrow?"
"You're quick to decide on a second date." Elsa quipped with a chuckle. To her surprise, a heated flush covered Anna's face and the literal redhead paused as she stood up to stand in line again. Unable to meet her in the eye, Anna stared at her own feet awkwardly, helplessly ruminating about the fact she had just had multiple indirect kisses with this gorgeous blonde math tutor she had. Just. Met.
Elsa blinked at her silence and stopped laughing. "Wait, you thought I was serious?"
"Oh- well I mean I wouldn't- Uh…" Steam was practically exiting from both sides of Anna's ears when she groaned in frustration of her sudden inability to speak properly.
"I don't mind." Was Elsa's reply to Anna's relief. She picked up Anna's drink and drank from it. "It's a date, then. May I have your number?"
"S-sure!" When the blonde handed her her phone, her mind finally caught up, "wait, what?"