Flores :: Carlos Sainz

Tres

Eleanor entered the university building and walked along with the students through the hall. It was rush hour; she had never seen this many people in the entrance and hallways. She bit on the inside of her lip and walked up the stairs. This was not the first time she was at the university, but she still wasn't comfortable being at the university. It had been a few years since she graduated and left the study, she was done studying at that time. Now she was back to learn. It wasn't her old university, but the university in Madrid.

"Hey," she politely said when she entered her class.

Some were mumbling hey and hello's back, others wouldn't say a word. The classroom was filled already, allowing Eleanor to sit next to a woman in the back of the class. Everyone in that class had been classmates for weeks now, only nobody spoke to each other.

"Buenas tardes a todos," the professor said when he walked into the class. He put his back on the table and made sure he connected his laptop to the board as quickly as possible.

The last people walked into the classroom, and the man started his class.

There were only three Spanish classes left. Eleanor started the Spanish courses a couple of weeks ago. It was quite fun to her - especially because this was an excuse to get out of the house. She was actually surprised that she could speak and understand Spanish this well. Duolingo and a few beginner classes in the Netherlands helped, after all.

Eleanor was doodling some flowers in her notebook, she was zoned out. The time went slow, and she wanted to get out of the class as soon as possible. Today was not it. It was just one of those days. She took a deep breath and pressed her lips into a thin line.

"Hey."

Eleanor looked up from her notebook, looking at the woman next to her. The woman had dyed blonde hair and bright blue eyes. They were making eye contact. "Hey."

"Shall we do it together, or do you want to do it yourself?"

Together for what? "Do..."

"We have to read a text and make questions about it?" The woman looked confused at her neighbour; the professor had explained everything minutes ago?

Ah, a reading exam. "Yes, sure." Eleanor shared a smile. The woman obviously wasn't from here, but Eleanor couldn't place the accent.

"Alright, cool."

Eleanor looked at the papers on her table. Oh, someone handed the text out. For how long have I been zoned out? "I'm sorry if I look uninterested, but I can't find the concentration today," she apologised.

"No worries, we will do it together. I'm Beatrice, but you can call me Bibi." Bibi fitted well with Beatrice, she looked more like a Bibi than a Beatrice.

"I'm Eleanor. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise. Anyway, shall we begin?" Bibi was a person with a lot of energy.

Something Eleanor wasn't waiting for today. Today was just not it. However, this would probably mean Bibi would do a little more work than Eleanor. It's bad, I know, but only for today. "I feel like I'm in high school again. A reading exam."

"Same. It's been twelve years since I took my last reading exam ever. That was at my high school."

"Who would have thought..." It had been ten years for Eleanor. She grabbed the papers. "Shall we just read on our own and then answer the questions?"

"Sounds like a good plan."

Reading was a part of the finals of this course. The final would contain four parts: reading, listening, writing and making a conversation. Aka, the exams of a language at high school. This class belonged to the most advanced classes during this course, so it was quite tricky for a non-native speaker.