After that blast from the past, Cindy told Jimmy she had to go and quickly left without giving him a chance to reply.
She had enough surprises for the day.
When she reached her apartment, she was greeted by a suspicious looking Zoe who sat in an armchair with her arms crossed. The fireplace was lit and on the coffee table stood two cups of hot chocolate. Cindy gave her a thankful look as she kicked off her Uggs and slid down on their couch grabbing the cup.
"Do I ever tell you that you're like the best roommate ever?", Cindy purred as she cuddled into the couch and snuggled with a pillow.
"Not enough." Zoe said, rolling her eyes, "Now, tell me how do you and Mr. Poetry know each other?"
Cindy sighed as she set her cup down on the table and stretched out her legs. "He was like my childhood friend ever since like elementary school."
Zoe gasped with a smile, "He was your friend! Wait how old is this guy?"
"Same age as us. He was a genius for as long as I could remember, so he went to college at fourteen. That was the last time I had seen him; well err..until today."
Cindy then went on to tell her about a lot of adventures Neutron had taken her and the gang back when they were younger. Zoe sat with wide eyes through the whole thing.
"Wait, you're telling me that you almost died in space like ten times!" Zoe exclaimed when Cindy was done.
"Umm..pretty much?"
"Dude, that's like the coolest thing ever! I wish I had a childhood crush who took me out on life-threatening missions!"
"Yeah it-hey! He wasn't my boyfriend or anything! We competed a lot against each other in school and stuff. Plus, we hung out with the same people."
Zoe wiggled her eyebrows as she put her feet on the coffee table and arms over her head. "If you ask me, Cind, both of you turned red when you saw each other today. I just figured you two hooked up and then saw each other again."
Cindy stuck out her tongue, "Ew! Don't be gross, Zoe."
Chuckling, Zoe rose from her seat and started to put her boots on. Grabbing her coat, Zoe said, "Well, I'm off. I gotta go see my partner for some project that's worth like half our grade. This discussion about your childhood love is not over!"
"Just make sure you are back before 8, honey. You know how stressful the kids can be." Cindy teased as she reached for her hot coco.
Zoe smiled, "Just make sure you keep the dinner warm, dear." with that she left the apartment.
Left by herself, Cindy continued to drink her hot chocolate as she pulled out her iPhone and pressed her speed dial. She put her phone on her ear as she waited for the receiving end to pick up.
"Hey girl, what's up?" her best friend said when she picked up. Libby Folfax was now in Seattle, studying fashion from the best designers from all over the world. She was an intern for a huge international fashion line that practically adored her.
"Libby, today has just been a mess…" Cindy said before filling her in with all the details of Professor Neutron.
When she was done, she heard complete silence on the other end for a few seconds.
"Wait, you're telling me that our big-headed Jimmy is your poetry professor?!"
"I'm just as surprised as you, Libby."
"Girl, I don't know what to say. He stopped talking to us like a long time ago; but from what you are telling me, it does sound like he misses Carl and Sheen."
"I'm not sure what to do, especially since I have to see him like every Friday for this dumb class."
"Wish I knew how to help you, Cindy." Libby sighed into the phone, "Keep me posted on what happens. Alright, I gotta go, my boss is paging me. Sheen sends his love! I'll call you as soon as I can, love you!" With that, Libby quickly ended the phone call.
Cindy smiled faintly. Now that her best friend was across the country, it was hard trying to find time to speak to her. Putting down her phone, Cindy grabbed her laptop sleeve from her purse and went to her room where she studied for a few hours.
When the clock shined 8:30, Cindy was exhausted from her work. Zoe arrived a few seconds later with two take out bags from Chipotle.
"Ok, you seriously are the best roommate ever." Cindy sighed with happiness as she took out her burrito bowl from the bag.
"Oh stop, I'm blushing."
The two ate their dinner while watching old reruns of That 70's Show.
That night, after Cindy had showered and went to bed, she dreamed of crystal blue pools and chocolate sundaes.