‘Any questions?’ Paige asked, bringing herself back to the present. The class had already started packing away their things and getting to their feet, the noise almost drowning out her voice. Paige gave up. It was only their third week of university and as she had just pumped their brains full of facts and dates, she doubted they could phrase a question coherently even if they wanted to. So she joined them in packing up and went back to her office. It hadn’t changed much in the last few weeks - there were still books threatening to fall on someone’s head and papers spread all over the floor - but the whiteboard that hung above the beanbag had been replaced by a series of Post-it notes, arranged haphazardly in a spreadsheet-like table made of brightly coloured tape. It was the skeleton of her novel idea. Or ideas. She still hadn’t decided exactly what, and more importantly, who she was going to write about yet. She grabbed her rucksack and peered inside, only to discover she had forgotten her lunch.
‘Oh, crap,’ she sighed, resigning herself to braving the cafe at lunch time. Her stomach rumbled, a war cry. Paige closed her eyes and gathered herself, then marched determinedly out of her office. There were a few people already waiting for the lift, so she decided to take the stairs.
The cafe was packed by the time Paige got there. Dozens of students milling around, queuing at the tills, and sitting in groups. She watched from afar. The hair-netted cafeteria workers were dishing out the warm food as fast as they could, but the queue still snaked back on itself and into the hallway. Digging out her headphones Paige decided to wait the horde out. There was a group of soft chairs not far away, so she nestled there and observed the throng. It was easy to identify the new students; they took longer than the others to order their food, still not certain of all the options the cafe had to offer. The older students were nowhere to be seen; they had the sense to bring their own lunch or visit the cafe at a quieter time. Paige did not have that luxury as her schedule for the day was packed with teaching, meetings, and tutoring. Part of her duties involved being a personal tutor for the postgraduate students. She had yet to meet all of this year’s charges, though her schedule was filling up rapidly. Paige was staring vaguely in the direction of the cafe when a hand touched her on the shoulder. It felt like she had been electrocuted. She simultaneously whipped her earphones out and jumped to her feet.
‘Oh er - hi - sorry, I didn’t mean to make you jump’ Taylor apologised, taking a half step backwards.
‘No problem, though for future reference I don’t appreciate being crept up on.’
‘Noted,’ Taylor said, smiling. Paige’s face remained expressionless. She’d seen the woman at climbing a couple more times since they’d first met, but they hadn’t spoken. She wasn't entirely sure why she was making the effort to speak her now.
‘I’m meeting Dylan for lunch,’ Taylor offered without prompting.
‘In a university cafe?’
‘Yes. This is the Silverton building, isn’t it? Journalism?’ Taylor said, looking around, as if hoping for some kind of sign that she was in the right place. Or maybe she was just looking for an escape.
‘Yes, it is,’ Paige reassured her.
‘Oh, OK. Good. Dylan has just started here.’
‘Isn’t he a bit old to be an undergraduate?’
‘Ha, yeah, he is a bit older than most of his peers. It was a last-minute calling. Do you study here?’
‘I teach History.’
‘Ah, a sister in arms,’ Taylor said with a slight nod, before explaining. ‘I teach Engineering.’
‘At this university?’
‘Yes, for a couple of years now. Part of my PhD contract.’
Paige attempted a smile, not quite knowing how to respond. The women stood in silence, occasionally making eye contact before smiling awkwardly and looking away. Paige stole glances at her companion when she could, making mental notes on various aspects of her appearance. She was a brunette like Paige, but a darker shade, and wore her hair much longer than Paige would have been able to tolerate. She didn’t dress like most of the lecturers Paige knew either. Most of them wore smart suits or dresses, or if they were feeling particularly daring, just smart trousers and a shirt. Taylor was wearing jeans and what looked like a band T-shirt. She didn’t appear to be wearing any make up but did have her ears pierced in multiple places.
‘How is your arm doing now?’ Taylor asked, breaking the silence.
‘Oh, much better thank you. No bandage anymore,’ Paige answered, offering her arm for inspection. Taylor’s gaze flicked up to her face, at the traces of the cut and grazes that were still discernible. She opened her mouth to speak again just as Dylan turned up.
‘Hey, Lor,’ he said, wrapping his sister up in a bear hug. ‘Dr Spencer,’ he nodded politely at Paige.
‘The formality is unnecessary,’ Paige said by way of acknowledgment. She’d spoken to Dylan at most of the climbing sessions held over the last few weeks, and ever since she’d let slip her official title, he had made a point of using it whenever he could.
‘Shall we go?’ Dylan said, turning to Taylor, barely hiding the laugh on his face.
‘You don’t want to eat here?’ she asked, confused.
‘Err, no?’ he said, gesturing sarcastically towards the packed cafeteria.
‘Right, yeah,’ she replied, as they started walking away. They’d gone about ten metres before Taylor stopped. Turning back around, but hesitating. Dylan watched her for a few seconds before rolling his eyes.
‘Paige, would you like to join us for lunch?’ he asked politely.
‘No thank you,’ she said without looking at them, still watching the swathe of students in the cafeteria. Dylan looked at his sister and gave a slight shrug, as if to say ‘Sorry, I tried’.
They were about to walk away when Paige continued, ‘If you still would like someone to show you around, I know a few places which aren't quite as... busy’ she said pointedly.
‘That’d be great! Here...’ he said, practically running back towards her, digging in his pocket. ‘Can you put your number in my phone?’
Paige took his phone and created a new contact for herself, heart-rate increasing and chest tightening. She wasn’t used to giving strange men her number.
‘There you go,’ she said, handing the phone back to him.
‘Thanks! See you soon, then, I guess?’ he said happily.
‘Sure,’ she replied, turning her attention back to the cafe. It had shown no signs of getting quieter.
Paige had let Maya get under her skin, talking about needing to make new friends and how she was at risk of becoming a hermit once Maya moved to the other side of the world. She barely knew this guy, yet here she was, agreeing to ‘show him around’. She hoped that wasn’t another double entendre she wasn’t aware of.
Paige made it back into her office with a sandwich and some crisps, but before she tucked in, she decided to call Maya.
‘Hey, lovely, what’s wrong? What’s happened?’
‘Nothing’s wrong?’
‘But you’re calling me. You never call me.’
‘Oh. Well. It appears I am trying lots of new things today then.’
‘Oh?’
‘Remember that guy at climbing I told you about? I just offered to “show him around”.’
‘That’s great, honey! Well done!’
‘Please don’t be patronising, Maya.’
‘I’m not being patronising, lovely, I’m genuinely happy for you. You’re trying something new.’
‘Well, yes, but anyway, I was hoping you could come along. I promised I would show him some places that aren’t frequented entirely by students, but I don’t want him to get the wrong idea.’
‘Hmmm...’ Maya said. Paige could hear the scroll of a mouse wheel in the background. ‘I can do Friday?’ she suggested.
‘Sure. I’ll run that past him.’
‘OK, great. Look, lovely, I’ve got to go, I was just going into a meeting when you called. Text me later?’
‘OK. B
ye,’ Paige said before hanging up. She leant back in her chair and covered her face with her hands. She really hoped she wasn’t making a mistake.
Friday came around all too quickly for Paige, who had experienced increasing levels of anxiety as the days went on. She had seen the twins at climbing in the interim and made more of an effort to be sociable with them. But at climbing, like at work, she had faith in her competence. She didn’t expect to win a history prize or become a world champion climber, but there were rules and expectations that she understood and could easily follow in both those scenarios. Spending time with a person she just met in an effort to make a new friend wasn’t something she had really done since she was a child. Maya hadn’t given her a choice in the matter; they were going to become friends whether Paige wanted to or not, so that didn't count.
Paige decided the easiest way to show Dylan around was to walk between a few of her favourite haunts. The coffee shop he already knew about as he had been there with his sister, but there was also a small cafe tucked up a side street and a pastry shop not much further along. It wasn’t the quietness of the pastry shop that warranted making it a stop on the tour, but because their bread and pastries were so good that there was often a queue out the door, even at seven in the morning. The last stop of the tour was both Maya and Paige's favourite pub. Maya was already there when Dylan and Paige walked in.
‘Hi, lovely,’ Maya said, standing up to hug her friend. Paige squeezed her back, tighter than usual, before sliding past her to sit in the corner. Paige tried watching Dylan’s reaction to see if any kind of disappointment registered on his face, but either she missed it or he did a very good job of hiding it.
‘After a wonderful evening walking around the city it seems only fair that I get the drinks in. What’ll you have?’ he said, looking at Paige.
‘A gin and tonic, please,’ she said, closing her handbag and placing it under the table.
‘And for the lovely lady?’ Dylan said, looking at Maya. Maya pointedly looked between Paige and Dylan, slightly jerking her head in his direction.
‘Oh, sorry! Dylan, this is my best friend Maya. Maya, this is Dylan, who I told you about.’
‘Should I be worried?’ Dylan said, only half joking.
‘No, you’re OK,’ Maya said. ‘I’ll just have a shandy, I’m driving,’ she explained, picking her car keys off the table and jingling them at him.
Dylan was about to go and order the drinks when Paige suggested to Maya, ‘Why don’t you stay at mine tonight? Have you got anywhere you need to be tomorrow morning?’
‘Eh... nowhere that can’t be re-arranged.’ She pondered for a few seconds. ‘Twist my arm, why don’t you. In that case, I’ll have a whiskey and coke, s’il-vous plait.’
‘Coming right up!’
Both women watched him head to the bar, making sure he was out of earshot.
‘So, he seems nice,’ Maya observed. ‘Do you like him?’
‘Yes, he seems quite jolly to have around. Sometimes it goes too far and becomes silliness, though.’
‘A bit of silliness never hurt anyone, Spence.’
‘I know a fourteenth-century -’
‘I know, I know, some historical muppet at some point in time somewhere proves you’re right and I’m wrong,’ Maya said in good humour. Paige just laughed.
The wait at the bar was longer than usual on account of it being a Friday night. There were many suits dotted around the room who had loosened their ties, or shed them all together. There were a couple of groups that looked like parents visiting their offspring; offspring who had the sense to take them somewhere off the beaten track, rather than somewhere their usual revelry might be revealed. The jukebox was humming out some sixties classic and the fire was roaring away, doing a duet with the music as it crackled and burned. Paige relaxed more into her seat, less anxious in familiar territory.
The bell above the door chimed as it opened, causing a cold draught to dart around their ankles. The person who came in was so well wrapped up that their eyes were barely visible from under the hat, scarf, and coat. They briefly scanned the room before clearly recognising someone and making a beeline for them. Paige was surprised when the person they headed towards was Dylan, and it quickly became clear, as woollen items were removed, that the cocooned figure was Taylor. Dylan and Taylor hugged, with Dylan leaving his arm around her shoulder before putting in an extra order for her drink.
‘Girlfriend?’ Maya questioned, without taking her eyes off the pair.
‘Sister,’ Paige said, causing Maya to sit up a little straighter and start peering at the woman.
‘Maya!’ Paige said, tapping her friend on the leg
‘What? Can’t a girl be curious?’
‘Sure, but at least be subtle about it!’
‘Really? You? You’re telling me to be subtle?’ Maya said, laughing.
‘Shhh! Here they come,’ Paige said, trying to arrange her face into one of nonchalance.
The twins sat down, Taylor opposite Paige and Dylan opposite Maya.
‘Maya, this is my twin sister, Taylor,’ Dylan said, waving his glass in the vague direction of his sister.
‘I always wanted to be a twin!’ Maya said. Taylor and Dylan rolled their eyes in unison.
‘So have a lot of other people,’ Dylan said. ‘Taylor was in the area so thought she’d swing by.’ He explained, and Paige thought she saw a brief shadow pass behind his eyes.
Paige melted further back into her seat, not really contributing much to the conversation. She watched as Maya flirted outrageously with Dylan and it was more than reciprocated. Maya was laughing a little too loudly, causing Paige to shuffle away slightly out of embarrassment and discomfort. She loved her friend dearly but that shrill laugh in her ear was painful.
Taylor was joining in the conversation a little, but was mainly just observing, seemingly aware that she had gatecrashed her brother’s social event. She kept fidgeting with the sleeves of her jumper, alternating between having her hands on the table and on her lap. She also seemed to not quite know where to look and flinched at any excessively loud laughter or drunken exclamation.
‘Another round?’ Maya said, standing up.
‘Sure’
‘Yup’
‘Yes please.’
‘I know Spence will have another gin and tonic, what about you guys?’
‘A lemonade would be great, thanks,’ Taylor requested.
‘Ginger beer for me!’ Dylan said jovially.
‘You can’t both be driving!’ Maya mused.
‘Haha, yeah, something like that,’ Taylor said awkwardly, while Dylan suddenly went quiet.
‘Alright then, my purse certainly isn’t complaining,’ Maya joked as she went to the bar. Dylan pulled out his phone and became engrossed in something on the screen, leaving Taylor and Paige to make small talk without the input of their more outgoing companions.
‘How long have you known Maya?’ Taylor asked.
‘Since our first week of university. She assaulted me with some boxes.’
‘What?!’ Taylor laughed. Paige’s stomach jolted. It was the first time she’d heard Taylor laugh properly and it caught her off guard. She tried to push down the butterflies in her stomach. She was there to try and make friends with Dylan, not to hit on his twin sister of all people.
‘Let’s just say her spatial awareness, or more to the point, who might be occupying those spaces, isn’t that great,’ Paige continued, her laughter contrasting with the slight blush that had crept across her face.
The rest of the night continued in much the same fashion, with the quartet staying until closing. The landlord knew Paige and Maya from their university days so let them stay until he was done with his closing up routine, giving them a few extra minutes before he had to turf them out into the cold. The four got to their feet, with Maya stumbling slightly as she did so, nearly tripping over the strap of her handbag. Dylan managed to reach out and steady her in time. Maya held on to him all the
way from the table to the door outside, with Taylor and Paige walking behind, the former replacing her scarf and hat as she went. The wool was the most brilliant turquoise, Paige noted, the kind of colour you only see at Mediterranean beaches.
The pairs separated outside, the twins going left and the best friends going right. Maya offered hugs to the siblings while Paige just gave a slight wave, before dragging her friend away before she made a fool of herself. Paige subtly interlinked their arms to ensure Maya stayed upright on the walk home. She was also grateful of the extra warmth; the cold air misted in front of their faces as a slight breeze heightened the chill that hung in the air.
‘That was fun!’ Maya said, giggling.
‘Uh huh,’ Paige said, not because she didn’t agree, but because she was concentrating so hard on keeping them both upright.
‘You don’t have to worry about that Dylan fella... he’s not into you.’
‘How do you know?’
‘Because he gave me his number!’ Maya giggled again, waving her phone in Paige’s face.
‘But he gave me his number too? That’s how we arranged this,’ Paige said, confused.
‘Not the same thing, honey,’ Maya laughed. ‘That Taylor though... you should totally try and get in her pants.’
‘They probably wouldn’t fit,’ Paige responded.
‘Not what I meant!’ Maya half yelled almost directly into Paige’s ear. ‘I meant... you should ask her out.’
‘OK, Maya,’ Paige said, humouring her.
‘What? You should! You haven’t even been on a date in aaaaaaaaages,’ Maya said, drawing out the last word in that annoyingly whiny voice that only tipsy people have.
‘Whatever you say,’ Paige said, fumbling with her keys while trying to keep Maya upright. ‘Come on, get inside.’ Paige left Maya in the living room while she dug out a spare pair of pyjamas, got her a clean toothbrush, and made sure there weren’t too many trip hazards between her room and the bathroom.
The Face of It Page 4