A Tiny Leap

A Tiny Leap - Complete

"Is this seat taken?"

"No, go for it."

"Thanks." He slid into it with one minute to spare before class was scheduled to start. "Man, I thought I was going to be late for my last first class of college."

"It certainly was a close call, but you made it." Bernadette shifted uncomfortably in her seat. This guy seemed awfully chatty. It made sense that he'd want to know everyone since only five in their specific program worked through successfully to make it to their senior seminar, but Bernadette wasn't feeling chatty.

"Hey, I know you, right?" He leaned closer, causing Bernadette to lean back as far in her chair as she could, but it wasn't far enough. "Yeah, Bernadette, right? We met that late night in the lab when we were both finishing up our simulations for Neida's class."

Bernadette looked him over and vaguely remembered him. She wracked her brain for a name, but no information volunteered. "Yes, I'm sorry I don't remember your name."

"Anthony, it's nice to meet you again." He stuck out his hand for her to shake.

"Anthony, got it."

"Can you believe only five of us made it through this year. That's amazing. I felt like I cheated a little personally, since Varuna's my adviser and all, but he assured me I met all the qualifications."

"Varuna's your adviser?"

"Yeah, he has been since I got here. He's pretty chill, and he let me work my way through on my own. I almost thought I was going to have to stay another semester, so he stepped in then, but other than that, he's not overbearing or anything."

"That's interesting. He was my adviser when I got here too, but I switched to Dr. Neida. It's probably because she and I just shared a connection when I took her class second semester, but I've really enjoyed having her guidance."

"That's fair, Bernadette—"

"Oh, you can call me Birdie."

"Birdie?"

"Yeah, my sister used to call me that, and I've been missing it. I decided to introduce myself as Birdie now to see if it catches on."

"Well then, Birdie, would you like to grab some coffee after class?"

"Really?" Bernadette couldn't understand why anyone would want to hang out with someone new on the first day of class. Most people went running back to their friends that they missed during Winter Break.

"You're shocked? You seem pretty cool, and Varuna told me he'd be pairing us up a lot—well groups of two and three—so I figured I should get to know everyone in the class."

"Oh, in that case, sure. My next class isn't until two." Bernadette looked down at her agenda in the hopes that Anthony wouldn't see her blushing cheeks. Her blond hair fell like a curtain to block Anthony's view of her face, and she hoped something would happen to distract him for a moment. Dr. Varuna's entrance did the trick.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Or, lady and gentlemen, I guess I should say. I've had all of you in class before, haven't I?" Everyone nodded in agreement. "Well then, I guess we can skip the introductions and dive into the fun stuff. So you've made it. You are now sitting in the senior capstone class, wondering where the last three-and-a-half years went. Maybe you're recalling friends you made in your first semester who you don't really talk to anymore. Maybe you're thinking of things I introduced in your first college course that you never thought you'd understand, and now that information is the basis of your understanding of robotics and programming. Or maybe I should just ask all of you. What's going through your heads right now?"