Because You're Different ✔

19. Coffee

Charlotte seemed to have a speech prepared; I wondered how often she'd briefed other guys like this, in an almost detached way, as if she was presenting a case in court. Nineteen, from London, spent her summers in a small village called Hampton Lucy, and she aspired to work at her father's law firm. It didn't mean anything to me — was this how people dated? Throwing random facts at each other? I wasn't looking to hire her...

"So, I must confess, I was under the impression I knew every one of the faculty by now," she said, with that fantastic accent of hers. "I really don't know how I could've missed you." She blushed after realizing what she said, absentmindedly touching her necklace.

"Yeah, I don't live on campus."

She narrowed her eyes, like that was a reason to be suspicious of someone. "I didn't know you could live off-campus."

"You can. It's unusual, maybe. I lived on campus for a while, but I noticed my brother was having a hard time, so I decided to move back home."

She blinked, before breaking out in a wide, breathtaking smile. "How old is he?"

"He turned fifteen a while back."

"Seems like the age you'd need your older brother, yes."

"You have no idea."

We laughed, and I felt myself relax. This was easy. I could do this. I could talk about Sam, about the shitty things he did. And I did, recounting how I came back home from the library to find them playing "Spin the Bottle". I wished she wouldn't hold back her laughter; it was a pleasing sight to see her let go, her shoulders shaking.

"I'm glad I don't have any siblings," she said. "I wouldn't have known how to deal with a situation like that."

"I didn't know either. I just went to hide." For a second, I'd been on the verge of telling her about June, but I changed my mind; it would've been too personal on a first... meeting... date... God, June... I was thankful she couldn't see me like this, awkwardly trying to be normal — she'd have laughed at me so hard, rolling over the floor.

"Gosh, how embarrassing. If I'd been you, I'd moved back to campus the very next day."

Silence. I didn't know how to respond — the topic had bled dry, I needed to find something else, something light, but interesting. I decided to go for the obvious: "But err... why did you want to study in the US? I mean, English law is definitely different from US law. Are you planning to stay?"

It seemed I'd hit a nerve. She bit her lip, nervously turning around the rings on her fingers. "I'm aware it's different," she said carefully, "but there are multiple options to be able to work back in England as well. It'd only take me a bit longer." She hesitated, then added: "I wanted to go here to... gain some independence, as a start. Get away from my parents — they are pleasant enough, but they can be... controlling." Pleasant. I almost snickered — never heard anyone describe other people that way. "And, err... they're quite affluent. I wanted to experience normal university life, I suppose."

Normal university life. At Stanford. The idea was good, though, and I couldn't help but smile. Seemed like a thing grandma would've appreciated. "You've made a great start," I said.

She tilted her head, confused. "How so?"

"You skipped class, lured a guy into your dorm, and you're drinking coffee at Starbucks. All you need is some anxiety about your student debts."

"That might be hard to achieve."

Yeah. Probably. "Must've been difficult to move that far away from your family. I can't even imagine leaving Sam and June, and they'd only be half an hour away."