The Homecoming

Chapter 9

It was one of those crazy ideas that she was going to be both grateful for and regret because she turned out to be more awkward than she originally had planned. Leah was approaching the computer room, biting her lip without mercy. What am I going to say to him when I come in? 'Hey Andrew, just stopped by to see how you were doing...', she thought. The whole day was boring and her brain wasn't used to getting some rest lately. Or peace and quiet, which was absolutely impossible when Roxy is your roommate. But, the more she blamed the boredom for her inherent thoughts about Andrew and his freckles, the more she was convincing herself that she was falling in love, and that she was not bored at all.

It's Eudepha's fault. He was the one who somehow saw through me and saw Andrew's face in every corner of my mind. He was the one who made Andrew and I come to meet humanoid Orion and see all the wonders of the space station's research laboratory. He was the one who made me wake up all the human feelings that I had kept buried inside to slumber for years..., Leah was thinking.

Without further contemplation, she opened the door and slowly stepped inside. She immediately spotted Andrew working, without noticing that she had found her way in. Only one of the newcomers whom she didn't know turned around and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Maybe I should knock next time, she scolded herself mentally.

"Do you need something?" The dark-haired newcomer asked.

"Uhm..." She murmured, not knowing what to say. Her mind went blank.

Only after recognizing her voice did Andrew turn around to look at her.

"Leah?" He asked, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Uhm..." Leah was trying to compose a simple sentence. "I'm in the wrong room. Sorry. I was looking for my custodian's office."

Andrew raised his eyebrows. "Wrong room? I'm pretty sure you were the one who showed me where this room is in the first place."

Wow, thank you so much for not letting me get away with this, Andrew.

"Actually," Leah took a deep breath, "I was looking for you."

The newcomer just got up and left. Just like that. Leah watched in disbelief as he closed the door of the second computer lab behind him.

Leah looked back at Andrew. He was smiling, teasingly.

"What?" She asked, almost presumptuously.

"What what? You were looking for me."

Okay. Now she was furious. Why couldn't he just ask her how was her day or if she likes sushi?

"To be honest, I was bored. For some reason I thought you were working alone, so I just showed up. If you're in the middle of something, I won't bother you, I'll just watch you working." She said and felt instant relief. Being honest is much, much easier.

Andrew smiled again. "You know, you don't have to wait until you're bored to come here. I was hoping I'd see you these days, but they gave me a lot of work to do and you were nowhere to be found."

Leah gulped. He was hoping he'd see me? Maybe he's just being nice. Yeah, probably that.

"I have a tendency to completely vanish sometimes." She tried to make a joke, but it sounded funnier in her head. Idiocracy, she thought and bit her lip again as if it was going to prevent her from saying stupid stuff out loud.

Andrew took one of the chairs and carried it to his desk for Leah to sit. When he tried to circle around it to get to his chair, he stumbled.

"I'm okay." He said, before she could ask. She could see that he was getting angry at himself for appearing so embarrassing. But, she took enjoyment in the fact that he was possibly as awkward and embarrassing as her.