Valentine's Diner

Chapter 10 - November 5th, 1999

Clara hurries outside the airport to take a taxi. 'Rose Mount College please,' she says to the driver. The man nods and starts to drive. Her mother would be furious, taking a cap alone is unacceptable. After two hours Clara pays the driver and gets out of the car. She looks at her watch. In ten minutes Sookie Hanlin will greet her. 'I knew you would be early.' Sookie appears out of nowhere. 'I thought you would be late,' Clara says with a raised eyebrow. 'Sometimes I can be on time for a certain someone,' Sookie says with a little smile. They hug each other, but not too intensely. Carol and Susan may be accepted, but they are not Sookie and Clara.

'I don't have a roommate, so we can watch a movie at a higher volume than most people accept,' Sookie says taking Clara's bag. She guides her girlfriend through the old buildings and courtyards to her dormitory. In front of an old wooden door they come to an halt. 'This is me,' Sookie says and unlocks the door. 'Wow it's bigger than mine,' Clara says astonished. 'Maybe because there's only stuff in here that belongs to one person,' Sookie says. 'And maybe next year I will have a roommate,' she adds.

'Don't you get lonely here all alone? Maia sometimes irritates me so much, but without her I would be really lonely.' 'I have Paul. And some of my classmates are really nice,' Sookie says and puts the bag down. 'Make yourself at home, bathroom is to the left,' Sookie says and disappears to get some coffee. Clara explores the room a bit. There's one door that leads to an empty room, one that leads to Sookie's and one to the hallway. She wonders where she'll sleep.

'It's not Valentine's coffee but it'll do,' Sookie says handing her girlfriend a cup of coffee. 'Thanks,' Clara says and takes a sip from the brown liquid. 'We can take a walk at the rose gardens or I can show you the library or... What do you want to do?' Sookie asks. 'I want to kiss you,' Clara shyly says, hiding behind her coffee. 'That's an acceptable answer,' Sookie smiles and takes a step towards her girlfriend. It's been two months since they saw each other last, but it feels like an eternity.

Their lips collide softly. 'I missed you,' Sookie says. 'I missed you too,' Clara mutters against her lips. 'We should put the coffee down,' Sookie says and puts the cups of coffee on the little table. Clara smiles and wraps her arms around Sookie's neck. There's a loud knock on the door, breaking them apart. 'Stop kissing love birds and say hello,' Paul says on the other side.

Sookie opens the door. 'Sometimes I really dislike you,' Sookie says. 'You're one of a kind mini Hanlin. I was going to ask if I should order take out. I'm not going to eat it here with you, but then you have food and I don't need to eat alone at the cafeteria.' 'Where will you eat then?' Clara asks. 'In my dorm, staring at my roommate who's the definition of perfection,' Paul says. 'And hi,' he continues. 'Hi,' Clara says with a little wave. 'So what do you two want to eat?' Paul asks. 'Chinese,' the girls say. 'I should've known,' Paul says looking at his feet. 'I will order and bring it here and then leave,' Paul says. 'Thanks,' Sookie says. 'Sure,' Paul says and walks away.

Sookie closes the door and looks at Clara. 'We should unpack your bag,' Sookie says. 'Yeah... Where am I going to sleep?' Clara asks with red cheeks. 'You can chose between the old couch with pizza stains, the empty room with a matras, the floor or with me,' Sookie say walking into her room. 'That's one way to manipulate someone in making a choice,' Clara smiles. 'But did it work?' 'I was going to say with you even if you made the other choices more appealing,' Clara says and sits on Sookie's bed. 'Ha, I love you,' Sookie chuckles and kisses her girlfriend. 'Love you,' Clara says between the kisses.

They put on their clothes after hearing a knock on the door. 'Food delivery!' Paul shouts and walks away. 'He does keep his promises,' Clara says after taking the bag from the floor after she opened the door. 'He seems annoying but he's actually not that annoying,' Sookie says. Clara smiles and puts the bag on the coffee table and takes out the boxes of Chinese food. 'I think he ordered for six people instead of two,' Clara laughs. 'Oh, no, he just ordered for three days,' Sookie says. 'What do you mean?' Clara asks taking the chopsticks.

'We don't have a lot of money so when we order food, we order a bunch and reheat it days after. The cafeteria food really sucks when there's no special occasion.' Sookie ties up her hair and takes a seat next to the speechless Clara. 'I thought your mom made enough money?' 'She does, I just don't want to ask for more,' Sookie says and opens the box of rice. 'I sometimes don't understand you,' Clara shakes her head. 'Me neither.'