Theodore Robbins...Ted to those who knew him, was a brilliant man.
Beyond brilliant, actually.
Yes, he was the stereotypical nerdy geek...you know, the type that dressed in slacks with worn tennis shoes, sweaters, or a shirt complete with a bow tie and pocket protector, as well as thick glasses.
He'd never got anything but A's on his report cards, was in the chess and robotics clubs, as well as an honors student and valedictorian who was accepted to prestigious universities such as M.I.T.
But Ted had decided to attend college in Indiana, not wanting to be so far from home.
He had his pick there too, but chose Notre Dame, for its superb engineering and robotics programs.
After settling into his dorm room, he made a trip down to the campus bookstore, and that's when he saw her...the woman of his dreams.
She was short and petite with the most beautiful auburn hair that fell in gentle waves down her back.
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And her face...it was the kind of face that would make angels sing...or at least he thought so.
He didn't want to look away.
She was standing with a group of friends and he could instantly tell that they were popular – the happy, shiny people that everything seemed to come so easily for.
He knew the type well, but not because he was ever one of them.
He frowned, knowing that a girl like that would never talk to him, let alone ever be interested in him...or so he'd thought.
All throughout his time at school, Ted was far too busy studying and working on his many inventions to ever really make friends or fit in.
Sure, there were a few fellow nerds that he occasionally gamed or discussed computer codes with, but that's as far as it ever went.
He sighed in a deflated manner before walking over to the counter to pay for his massive stack of books.
He tried to be invisible – he was good at that, despite carrying the Leaning book Tower of Pisa...
However, the book on the top of his stack slid and fell, hitting the floor with an embarrassing thud.
People in the immediate area turned to look at the source of the startling noise...including his beauty and her friends.
They giggled and Ted's face felt on fire as he nervously sat his books down in order to retrieve the fallen one.
He quickly bent down and picked it up, and as he was rising back up, he locked eyes with her.
They were soft and understanding, something he wasn't used to, and the most mesmerizing color of green he'd ever seen.
His breath hitched as she gave him a kind, genuine smile, despite the fact that her friends were all eyeing him like some pathetic leper...or in their eyes, a social pariah.
