***
‘Hey, wait up,’ Steven called out. Caitlin’s look of bemusement as she turned to face him was priceless.
‘You startled me,’ she gasped. ‘You know, anyone would think that you’re stalking me.’
‘Definitely, I am stalking you.’ He kept his face serious and resisted the urge to smile again. ‘But, I’m also starving. So, do you fancy going to get some fish and chips from the local?’
‘In this rain?’ she sighed, forlorn.
‘We can go get an umbrella if you want?’
‘Nah, it’s just drizzle.’ She shrugged her shoulders.
‘So, you’re coming then?’
‘Why not?’
He was sure she blushed again.
In silence, they walked up to the end of the road. Steven could not understand why he was apprehensive about saying the wrong thing. No girl had ever intimidated him before. The truth was he did not even know if she was actually intimidating him. It was hard to put the feeling into words. Taken aback by his apparent stupidity, he braved it and asked the first lame question that popped into his mind.
‘Are you catered or self-catered?’
‘Self-catered, I like making my own food. What about you?’
‘Catered.’ He was relieved she had replied, and with a question of her own. It was promising.
‘Lucky you, you don’t have to cook.’
‘I don’t mind cooking. My dad recommended taking the easy option, just for the first year.’
‘And you’re still hungry, even though you already ate?’
‘I’m always hungry.’
‘Fair enough.’
He noticed she was keeping her eyes firmly on the ground, refusing to make eye contact. Of course, it could have been his imagination, and all she was doing was keeping the rain off her face. ‘What are you reading?’
‘Mathematics with Spanish.’
He could not resist. ‘That sounds intense – if a bit hard core.’
She flinched and sighed, ‘Sorry about that.’
‘I’m just jesting with you. So, do you speak Spanish then?’
‘I’m fluent.’
‘Mucho gusto de conocerte,’ he added, in his near perfect Spanish.
In shock, she stopped in her tracks and stared. ‘How do you know Spanish then?’
‘My step-mum is Spanish. But hey, it’s not that difficult to say ‘nice to meet you’ right?’
***
Caitlin found Steven’s voice melodic as he laughed in an easy-going manner. A series of butterflies flitted through her stomach and she winced at the unexpected reaction. She took a deep breath, and added, ‘Your Spanish sounds Andalusian.’
‘You’re correct.’ He raised his eyebrows, and tilted his head to the side. ‘I only know how to speak the basics, as I learnt what I know from my mum. It’s the only way I know how to say the words. She came from Torremolinos originally.’
‘I’ve been there on holiday loads of times. It’s a small world, isn’t it?’
‘Yes,’ he mused.
‘So why did you choose Law? I didn’t mean to be rude earlier. I don’t usually stereotype.’
‘It’s alright, but I don’t intend to become one of the typical blood-sucking corporate types that are only in it to get as much as they can. I just like the idea of helping people.’
‘Sounds very noble.’ She could not believe it. He was too good to be true.
‘Although,’ he added, sheepish, ‘I have a confession to make. I’m actually doing a degree in European Legal Studies. So, I am also planning to take the third year out overseas. We have something else in common, other than the fact we both speak Spanish.’
‘And swimming,’ she paused, and then gritted her teeth, ‘I mean, I think you were looking at the swimming stand.’
‘I was. I’m impressed you noticed.’
She could not believe her ears. He was impressed she noticed him. It was laughable.
In an attempt to change the conversation, she added, ‘I have no idea what I want to do in the future, other than to leave my family and start out on my own far, far away.’
‘You don’t like your family?
‘Oh, they’re okay, I guess. But, I just want a place of my own, away from my bratty sister and annoying older brother. And parents always telling me what to do,’ she rambled, ‘Sorry, you’re probably not interested in this.’
‘No, you carry on. I think I know what you mean. I’m an only child so I can only guess what it’s like to have other siblings around. I always thought it was boring to be on my own. I guess it was not such a bad thing after all.’
‘Trust me, you’re so lucky. Sharing sucks, big time.’
The sight of the chip shop made the conversation ebb. The smell of greasy chips beckoned and Caitlin’s stomach lurched. With all the excitement she had forgotten to eat at teatime.
***
Ingrid watched as the couple made their way into the fish and chip shop. It was such a British tradition. She did not see the charm in food that was deep fried and dripping in fat. The way he smiled and pressed up alongside the girl left her in no doubt. He was interested in her. How much was difficult to tell. Either way, she knew that kind of attention. She had received it often enough. It was a shame she rarely reciprocated. All of the men back home were so boring.
Head skewed to the left, she focused on his features. He had raven black hair, an athletic build and a certain way of carrying himself. Confidence, she guessed? There was something else about him. She was sure he was the boy she had stared at that morning. She vaguely remembered being intrigued by his eyes. She remembered he had looked away. Usually, they all held her gaze. For once, her charms had failed. She could not put her finger on it, but there was something about him – something familiar. The thought niggled.
‘Can we go now?’ Tomas whined, as he slouched on the back seat.
Her younger brother was a brat. If it was up to her, she would have sent him back home already.
‘Fine,’ Eilif conceded. ‘We’ll move on. Something else will turn up.’
As the car cruised past the couple, Ingrid glanced back to look at the male student again. She hoped to cross his path again. Maybe then she’d figure out what it was that bugged her.
***
‘This portion is huge, we should have shared,’ Caitlin said, unable to stop herself from tucking in. Chips made it onto her top five of guilty pleasures.
‘Oh. I don’t know. I can easily polish this off.
With a shrug of shoulder, Caitlin replied, ‘I’ll give it a go.’
‘It’s good to see a girl with an appetite,’ he added, apparently amused.
Caitlin stopped in her tracks. She placed her available hand on her hip, and pouted. ‘Do you have a stereotype for what a girl can and can’t do?’
‘No,’ he spluttered. ‘Have I annoyed you again? I don’t mean to. It’s just a lot of girls back home never seemed to eat at all, especially when I was around.’
‘Maybe you intimidated them. Did you think about that?’
‘So, does that mean I don’t intimidate you?’ His eyes had a mischievous sparkle. She could tell he enjoyed the cat and mouse game.
She avoided the question. ‘Hey, the rain has stopped.’
‘This is England. It comes and goes.’
‘It sure does,’ she mused. Steven was really annoying her now. Of course he intimidated her, there was just no way she’d let him in on that secret. Besides, she had never had to think of cutting back on food, she never gained weight.
‘I don’t mean to pry, but, where do you come from? Your accent sounds different, and you speak Spanish well, I take it?’ Steven popped another chip in his mouth.
‘I’m fluent,’ she said. A thought crossed her mind and she gave a cheeky grin of her own as she continued, determined to have some fun of her own. ‘I live in England now, but I used to live somewhere else. We moved when I was twelve. I currently live in Guildford. I bet you can’t
guess where I was born.’ she challenged.
‘You get more interesting by the minute.’
She felt her heart skip a beat; he thought she was interesting.
‘Now you’ve got me. This is probably wrong but, somewhere in North America?’ He waved his finger in the air.
‘Nope,’ she smiled. This was a good game.
‘No, you don’t have an American accent. What about Andorra? It’s Spanish and they speak French there. Do you speak French?’
‘Nope, but getting warmer,’ she smirked.
‘Somewhere in the South of Spain then?’
‘Maybe, last chance. You’re never going to get it.’
‘I am beginning to realise that,’ he rubbed his fingers against his lips as he thought hard. ‘Give me a clue, is it British?’
‘Yes.’
‘Is it a colony?’
‘Yeeees.’ She was wary now.
He chuckled aloud. ‘Well, that’s easy – it can only be Gibraltar.’
***
Caitlin’s face was legendary. Steven was beginning to have fun watching the way her expressions altered with her emotions.
‘How did you know? Most people have not even heard of the place.’
‘Like I said, my mum comes from Torremolinos. Of course, I’ve heard of it. We’ve been on day trips loads of times. I’ve even gone to the top and seen the Barbary apes.’
‘I am so glad you didn’t call them monkeys. Apes sound so much better!’ she chuckled. With a shy smile, she asked, ‘Where do you live then? You have a very pronounced accent. And I’m rubbish at guessing, so don’t even go there.’
‘I was brought up in Ilfracombe, but I went to boarding school for ten years, that’s why I have a, what did you call it? A pronounced accent.’
‘But, you’re not a snob, are you?’
Her directness was incredible.
‘Snobs are much more pompous.’
She looked mortified. ‘I didn’t mean to offend you, again. I always say aloud what I’m thinking, bad habit. Your accent does give you away though. You must have gone to a really good school.’
‘I did and I’m not ashamed of it. My parents sent me to boarding school at the age of eight, so I have to admit I’m a bit institutionalised.’
‘Well, I won’t hold it against you.’
‘Good,’ he said. Even if she did, it would not bother him.
To his dismay, he realised they were back at halls. ‘Anyway, I guess I’ll see you again sometime. It’s been nice talking to you, Caitlin.’
‘I enjoyed talking to you too, Steven,’ she replied. With a half-smile, she entered the pass code and disappeared through the door.
Steven turned around, and started to walk back. He definitely wanted to get to know her better now.
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Chapter 5
The First Day Is The Hardest
Georgina stared at the bleeping alarm clock and mustered the energy to get up. At the best of times, she had never been a morning person. Now, without her creature comforts or parents, the start to every day bordered on torturous. When she eventually got up, her head spun as though recovering from a hangover. What she was really beginning to loath with a vengeance was queuing for the shower. If there was something she wished she had asked for before arriving, it was to have an en suite. That would make her Christmas wish list.
Getting into her pink polka dot dressing gown, she opened the door by a fraction to survey the corridor. The bathroom door was open and there was no-one in sight. She rushed back in, got her things and raced back out again to find the door shut. Someone had beaten her to it for the third day in a row. Words failed her.
After sitting on the floor of the corridor for ten minutes, so as not to lose her place again, the bathroom door finally opened. Caitlin walked out with a beaming smile. In a songbird voice, she chimed out ‘good morning’ as she strolled past and got into her room. It seemed unfair. How could anyone look that perky in the morning?
Over the past few days, a thought teased and taunted her. At university, there were a lot of intelligent people who were attractive, popular and extremely charismatic. They were not as nerdy and geeky as she suspected she was. At school, she had hoped that once at university she would meet other people like her. The truth was she could not see that many. If they were there, they certainly kept to themselves, which was not a huge surprise. It was depressing to realise that even here she still felt like a nerd, an outcast.
When Georgina finally got to the kitchen to have breakfast, she found the rest of the girls chatting animatedly. Caitlin was blushing at something that Sally had said and seemed reluctant to expand on the topic of conversation.
‘Caitlin’s got a boyfriend,’ Sally blurted out, a silly smirk on her face. She had purposefully spilled the beans; it was like she relished Caitlin’s discomfort.
‘He’s not my boyfriend. We only just met,’ Caitlin gave a deep sigh, as she glared at Sally with huge eyes.
If Caitlin had been a dog, Georgina was sure she would have growled.
‘Well, there seemed to be more to your connection than conversation last night, if you catch my drift,’ Sally insinuated, as she twiddled her index fingers together.
‘It was nothing. I am allowed to have male friends.’
‘A very good male friend by the sound of it,’ Julia scoffed, scraping the last of the cereal out of the bowl. ‘I heard that you were seen playing pool together. Very cosy! What about you, Sally? Did you have any luck with that Adam bloke?’
‘It looks promising,’ she replied, as she rambled on again. She definitely liked the sound of her own voice.
Caitlin’s shoulders drooped as the tension eased. Georgina would not be surprised if Caitlin had a bust up with Sally and Julia in the near future.
With her bowl, spoon and cereal, Georgina sat down after helping herself to some milk. She was not an authority on boys, so there was no way she would join in their frivolous chat. Eyes on the bowl, she concentrated on eating. One by one, all the girls left the room. Eventually, she sat alone as she finished. Finally, she took her bowl to the sink to give it a rinse.
‘Are you coming, Georgina?’ Caitlin asked.
Georgina turned round and saw Caitlin’s face poking through the doorway. ‘No, I’m not ready yet, thanks for asking.’
‘Oh, okay,’ Caitlin said, ‘sorry I have to go or I’ll be late. I’ll see you later.’
With that, she was gone and Georgina felt a surge of anguish rush through her. She hung her head in her hands and held back the tears desperate to escape. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. Deep down, she knew all she wanted was to go home. She did not want to be at university anymore.
***
Sally strode into the lecture hall with a steady swagger. She was brimming with confidence. The first lecture of the term was on Contract Law and since she had already covered most of the material on her A-Level Law course, she was not daunted by the forthcoming lecture. Nevertheless, even for someone like her, it was amazing to walk into a room that could seat over one hundred people. It felt far removed from the largest class she had ever attended of thirty-five. Sally had attended a large state school in the outskirts of London and had already dealt with plenty of adversities during her education. However, she could not deny that the environment was intimidating.
The lecture room was large and imposing. It resembled an amphitheatre. All the seats inclined sharply, to give everyone a good vantage point, and the room had a musty old smell of aging carpets and worn furniture. It was already half full, so she made her way to one of the middle aisles. Efficiently, she removed the A4 size notepad and her favourite pen from the rucksack and waited for the start of the lecture. Whilst she waited, it occurred to her that now was as good a time as any to review the opposition.
With a discrete turn of the head, she surveyed the melee of people. At the front, a scattering of mature students intermingled with other keen students seeking to pl
ease. Others chatted, as though introducing themselves. She would normally have been one of them, but today she wanted to watch carefully to get a feel for the lay of the land.
To her right, Adam caught her attention. He was sitting a few rows ahead. She could imagine running her fingers through his tousled, brown hair. Next to him sat the dark, relatively handsome guy she had seen Caitlin with the previous night. She did not understand the attraction, if there was any. She had never found that type remotely interesting. In her experience they were usually either gay or taken, so not worth the effort.
Even though reasonably satisfied with her looks, she knew her limitations. She accepted the fact she would never look right next to someone like that. To compensate for her average features, she adopted a brash overconfident approach to get noticed. It always worked. With that thought in mind, she noticed Adam glance back and look in her direction. She took the chance, gave him a subtle smile, and a flirtatious wave. They held eye contact for a few seconds as the lecturer walked in and prompted her to look towards the front. She smiled, knowing Adam was still watching. Now, all she had to do was reel him in.
***
‘I can’t believe what I’ve let myself in for!’ Caitlin exclaimed.
‘It can’t be that bad.’ Lisa flicked her long, dark hair off her face.
‘It’s worse. I have no idea what they were talking about this morning. Most of it flew over my head.’
‘You should join me in English instead,’ Lisa suggested, as she took a sip from her tea.
‘Or History,’ Abbi threw in, putting her cup down. ‘I mean, no offence, but, the other night you seemed to think anyone studying Medicine or Law was weird. Well, Mathematics, erm, not exactly popular, is it? I’ll give you Spanish. It does sound exotic and exciting.’
‘I like maths,’ Caitlin protested. ‘At least, I did. Now, I’m not so sure. It’s too hard for me.’
‘Give it a chance; you’ve only done one day. Bet you’re a brain-box deep down,’ Lisa encouraged, as she waggled her finger.
The Evolution Trilogy: Hybrid, Complications & Return Page 4