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“Okay, fine,” I continue. “I…I like him.” The words are hard to get out of my mouth, sticking in my throat like a piece of gum as I fiddle with the zip on my jacket.
Gemma squeals. “There we go! That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“I barely know him though! He could be a serial killer.”
Rolling her eyes, Gemma scoffs. “With all due respect, I don’t think that man has it in him to kill someone.”
Misty nudges her sister with her shoulder, before turning her attention back to me. “Well, he certainly sounds like a nice young man. You’ll have to bring him over one day so I can meet him.”
“Not a chance. Now, thank you Misty for fixing my tap. Gemma, put my cookies down and get out of my room.”
The sisters are unbothered by my bad attitude as they wish me goodbye, and I return to my work.
* * *
The next morning I’m waiting in the same coffee shop that I first met Oliver, but for a different reason this time. My heart doesn’t know that though. Instead, it excitedly slams against my chest anytime a tall, dark haired man passes through the door.
Not Oliver, I keep reminding myself.
I don’t care, my traitorous heart responds.
Maddison Harvey, my Honours coordinator, agreed to meet me here to discuss my plans for next year, and the future. Although I know what I’m aiming for, funding and lab arrangements are constantly changing so it’s important to keep these sorts of conversations open.
“Eden, hi!” Madison slides into the chair across from me. I’m lucky I got here early. Barely ten o’clock and the café has started to fill up with students heading to their classes. The smell of coffee and the sound of quiet chatter and orders being called relaxes me, and I feel myself settle. Planning for the future is always so much easier than living in the moment.
“Maddison! How have you been?”
“Oh, the usual. Absolutely crazy.” The smile she flashes me makes me laugh as she sits down. She’s really stepped into her own this year, and I don’t envy the pressure she must have on her as Head of the proteomics lab. “How are you? How’s the start of your final year going?”
“Better than I thought! My science subjects are fantastic and relevant to what I want to pursue, and my one Literature unit is going well.”
A smile tugs at the corner of Maddison’s lips. “Is that the one you failed last time?”
Maddison was my tutor for organic chemistry over the summer after Literature and I parted on not-so-great terms. She was privy to the majority of my rants about how unfair the university is, and how I will never, ever, have anything to do with Literature again.
“It sure is.”
“So, what changed?”
I blush at that, thinking about the way Oliver looked at me in the ramen restaurant like I was the meal instead. I don’t think telling my Honours coordinator that there’s a hot guy helping me out is the best move, so I omit some details. “I got a tutor. Definitely helps when you work with someone who actually likes the content.”
A knowing look crosses her face, but she doesn’t pry. “Well, I’m happy for you, Eden.” Taking a sip of her coffee, she continues. “Have you started your research project yet?”
I shake my head. “Not officially. I have my orientation session after this.”
“Well then, I’ll have to keep an eye out for you! We’ve got a couple of projects running in the proteomics department at the moment.” Maddison pauses. “The research project will be a lot of work, but it’s a good introduction to the way your Honours year will function. Are you up for that challenge?”
She doesn’t need to ask that question. She already knows the answer.
“Oh yeah.”
“Good,” she nods. “We’re all expecting big things from you, Eden.”
* * *
I don’t know why I’m so nervous about today, but I am. My mind turns over hundreds of ways that it could go wrong.
I got the date mixed up. I’m in the wrong building. I never handed in the required paperwork. But none of that has happened. At least not yet.
