The Teacher's A Student

iii

Returning back to my dorm room after my two assigned workshops, it surprised me how exhausted i was - after all, i was only gone for about 3 hours while Avery still hadn't finished her second workshop. While sympathizing with her, I decided on changing into more comfortable clothes. Not really caring how I looked, I just threw on an oversized t-shirt and laid in my bed. I debated on whether or not i should watch an episode of Game Of Thrones before grabbing some food, but then decided to take a nap to kill some time. The emotional turmoil that took place before arriving with my parents had taken a toll on me, and before I knew it I was soon drifting off to sleep.

"Why are you sleeping?" Avery asked while loudly slamming the door to our room. She threw her bag on her bed and pulled her hair band out of her hair while looking at me curiously. I groaned and rubbed my eyes. "I'm just tired" She shrugged it off and continued to walk into the bathroom to brush her hair. I side-eyed her when she wasn't looking but decided not to object to her interrupting my sleep. I feel as though, a decent person would recognize that people can be tired and therefore choose to nap - normally i would have freaked out if anyone had interrupted my sleep, but decided against it considering i didn't even really know her. Now that would have made a bad impression on the first day.

"It's too early to start sleeping, especially on the first day of school - let's grab something to eat. I know a cute café just around the corner" she cheerfully said and looked at me eagerly. I sighed and nodded my head, while removing the comfy duvet from my warm body, only to be met with a cold breeze on my legs. I proceeded to hurry into the bathroom where I quickly threw on a pair of grey joggers and a white t-shirt. Not bothering with makeup, i decided to just apply a tiny bit of concealer and some bronzer - i definitely needed it when taking my pale, washed out face into consideration.

"Uhm Avery, aren't you supposed to be in class right now?" i asked while looking at myself in the mirror. It was decent, nothing more. It wasn't my intention to attempt to look good, because i didn't really care for that kind of stuff. Sure, every girl wants to be considered 'pretty' because frankly no one wants to be deemed as unattractive - which is, if you ask me, a social norm that our society tries to force down our throats from when we were very small. It's complete bullshit if you ask me. I try not to aim towards being so fixated on myself because in the end, who even cares?

not me.

"Yeah, but i just couldn't be bothered with it so i'm just gonna skip the rest of the day" i looked at her a little dumbfounded, but shrugged it off. It really amazed me that someone like Avery was accepted into Stanford with an attitude towards college like that. She surely must be a complete brainiac. When we were ready to leave, we headed towards the main exit of the dorm buildings. The elevator ride was quite awkward - she didn't say anything and neither did i. We both just looked straight ahead and hastily exited the elevator when it stopped at the foyer. I don't think either of us were trying to make it seem awkward but we just lacked anything to talk about - i mean, can you blame us? We've known each other for less than 24 hours. Walking towards the café it didn't get any less awkward until she interrupted the silence.

"I met a cute guy today" she told me shyly. I smiled and looked directly at her. "That's great. What's his name?" It was kind of adorable how her whole face blushed when talking about this mysterious boy. I don't think she was used to interacting with guys, just by the way she was telling me this news.

"I actually don't know" she said while grinning "-we just talked for a bit. He actually asked me if he could get my number but i totally panicked and said that i don't have a phone - like who doesn't own a phone?" I laughed, and thought briefly about my own encounter with that teacher today. He really was something. Even thinking back at it, my toes curled in embarrassment. I really hope i don't meet him again.

"So.. what about you? Have you laid your eyes on anybody yet?" I looked at her confusingly, wondering how it would be humanly possible to already be interested in someone within a day of knowing them.

"Well no. I haven't looked either" I said, instantly regretting the harsh tone. It came out a little bit arrogant, as if she was merely desperate to find someone - which obviously wasn't the case. "Oh" she answered and then the silence returned. I knew i had to make it right so i apologized.

"I'm sorry, it wasn't meant to sound like that. I just-" I tried to quickly debate in my head whether or not i should be telling her these things, now and moving forward. But I knew that, if you want to build a friendship it should be built on mutual trust. "-don't really feel like it's possible to already have a connection with someone from meeting them once"

"Well, maybe you're right. But you won't know whether or not the connection is there unless you try to find out" I nodded my head and smiled at her. She was right - and maybe i should start to live by that.

who am i kidding?

I turned towards her "Then i think you should try and find him, so you can clarify that you do have a phone" she laughed and just nodded her head. We had arrived at the café - it was small and homely. The walls were painted a turquoise blue and decorated with pictures of the city. There were a lot of people, which didn't surprise me considering it was right next to campus. I scanned their selection of sandwiches and decided on a classic tuna sandwich while Avery got a salad bowl. With our food, we headed towards a nearby table.

"You were right; this place is adorable. I get why it is so popular" I said while eating my food. She chewed her food and nodded "It is. I visited the city before the semester started: that's how i knew of this place"

"Uhm excuse me, is it okay if i join you guys while i wait for my friends?" we instantly both looked up at who the voice belonged to. It was a girl with blonde hair - she wasn't very tall either and had a baby blue dress on. I must say, she was really pretty. After observing her, we both looked at each other.

"Yeah of course" Avery said and scooted her salad bowl closer to herself to make room. She smiled and grabbed a chair at a nearby table.

"I'm sorry, i hope i wasn't interrupting anything" she said while fidgeting with her hands. I shrugged and answered "Don't worry about it. We were just talking about this place". She nodded and asked about us. We then proceeded to ask her the same in return. We found out that her name was Amelia and that she was majoring in psychology. Avery went on and on about how she has been looking forward to starting the school year which I agreed on.

"So have you guys considered joining a club or a team?" We looked at each other before both shaking our heads. I hadn't really ever considered joining a club - i mean, i knew that it would be beneficial for forming relations with others. But I had no clue on which it would be. "Well me and some of my friends are trying out for the cheerleading squad. I don't know whether or not that would be up your alley, but I recommend trying it out. It doesn't have to be cheerleading, it could be anything". Before we got to answer, 2 girls approached our table, looking a little confused but covered it up with a smile.

"Hi, sorry we were a bit late" one of them said to Amelia. She immediately finished her coffee and started to gather her belongings. "It's fine, i was just talking to Avery and uhm.." she looked at me, as if she had forgotten my name. "Fidelia" I answered. She agreed and nodded, before turning to the 2 girls. They both smiled as a greeting and looked at Amelia, waiting for her to end the awkward greeting. "Well thank you for keeping me company. It was great meeting you guys" she said before leaving, trying to catch up with her friends. We both just looked at each other and shrugged, before continuing our conversation where it had ended.