The Scholarship Girl

b o k e h

Bokeh- an optical phenomenon that makes bright out-of-focus elements aesthetically pleasing. 
(how Sofia makes things lively for Xavier)

Ebullience, the quality of being cheerful and full of energy.

A quality this girl sitting in front of me definitely possessed.

"Did you know that some male bees are tricked into sex?"

I thought after the horrible pick up lines and puns she told would be last of her preferred categories of conversation, but clearly the answer's in the negative. We have fun facts as well. Yay.

Oddly enough, I was put off by the fact that I couldn't contribute enough to the conversation, because well, compared to her, I am dumb in academic knowledge. So I just opted for a unimpressed nod, indicating her that I wasn't interested in the conversation, which is a false statement. I was very much eager to know why male bees..do what now?

Come to think of it, I was more invested by the way she said it. I noticed how her eyes widened and how her voice went a couple octaves down before explaining her fact, as if she was telling me a mystery. And then the smug and also somehow satisfied look on her face when she promptly delivers the fact.

So unique and cute.

There's something about this girl that makes you want to listen to her. Some kind of an aura that surrounds her.

I sound like my mom's friends who mediate and do yoga and don't believe in shoes.

"Okay I have to admit, I want to listen to this."

Her eyes sparkled, and a smile graced her delicate features, and I realized..I liked it. This. Her smiling and talking.

She rattled on, "This is my like favorite fact to tell people, because it's in top 10 coolest facts I've had. So there's a particular species of orchids called orph.. you know what, that's not like really important." She stopped abruptly, clearly wasn't able to pronounce the correct name, but played it it off cool. She cleared her throat and continued, "So these flowers have petals right? One of the petals look exactly like the female bee's wings. So the male bee thinks it's the female bee and basically humps the flower. And that helps the plant in pollination. Nature is very weird."

"That is very weird."

She stares into distance, disgust lined in her features."It just proves that all males, across all taxonomic categories are horny and can't keep it in their pants. Truly pathetic."

Ignoring what she said, I offer, "Are you hungry? There might be some stuff left in the kitchen."

"No it's fine. So, you're doing business stuff after you graduate?"

If by doing 'business stuff' she means looking over a multi-million dollar franchise that has been up for decades, having to lead on over a million employees in different parts of the world, sign billion dollar worth contracts left and right, amongst other things, then she's right.