S2/01. Trash Talk

1.2 Retrospective: Linda West
Autumn 1994, Newcrest university

The campus was noisier than usual, and it seemed every corner and side alley was occupied with intoxicated students and other young people from the town that took the opportunity to party with cheap alcohol and other substances in abundance. The semester had just started and everyone wanted to enjoy their last days of freedom before homework, projects and practical courses would pile up.

Linda couldn't blame them. Life was so short, after all, why not enjoy the time one had while alive? It could be over faster than expected. She swallowed down the guilt that rose together with the memory of her mother's death six months ago. Her mother's psychotherapist had assured her that she could not have prevented this accident, unless she'd supervised her mother all the time which would have been more harmful than beneficial for her recovery. The doctor was very reasonable, and Linda needed to be reasonable too. Instead of repent and mourn, she wanted to show her gratitude for the life her parents made possible for her with all its opportunities by continuing to live it to the fullest. So she directed her attention back to what she enjoyed most today; the brand new publication she'd ordered had arrived this morning in the university library. She had not stopped reading since her courses were over, elated to finally get her hands on it.

Time flew, afternoon turning to evening, and before she noticed, the campus cafeteria was closing and she had to leave.

Linda navigated between the partying crowd on her way to the bus station, still reading, the subject was just too exciting to put it aside for even a minute.

A sudden obstacle interrupted her steps and forced her nose to make closer physical contact with the magazine than she'd like.

"Woah – watch it!" a voice came out of the source of her abrupt halt, while some more voices broke out in alcohol-drained laughter.

As if he could not have watched himself, Linda thought, and apologized absentmindedly while trying to ignore the pain in her nose.

"You okay?" the man asked with surprisingly more concern Linda would have expected from him. 

Probably on sports scholarships, he and his friends, she assessed after quickly examining their chiseled physiques. Unpleasant memories of encounters with people of their kind during high school sneaked back into her mind. Annihilated was the intriguing effect of his scent – similar to fresh-mowed grass – and she firmly decided against taking a second glance to confirm if his smile was as gentle as her first impression wanted to make her believe. Instead she just nodded and hurried to get away. 

Apparently he did not want to part as quickly, however. "Hey-" he called after her while they continued to walk in opposite directions, "come drink with us!" 

More laughter from his companions arose. Linda rolled her eyes. 

"Stop flirting with the nerd girls, Ben, don't you-" she could make out from the group before their voices drowned in the general party noise and they disappeared out of earshot.

Nope, no way she'd make a fool of herself again by showing interest and give those men more reason to mock her. 

Yeah, stop flirting with the nerd girls, Ben, Linda thought, it's not nice to make fun of people.

She paused her steps, this time without a physical interference.
She could stay one hour or two at the party. After all, she had promised Mae to go out and not "rot like a hermit" before her sister returned to Paris.
With the newest science publications, she'd be perfectly entertained too, she just would have to find a decently lit place.
Linda changed her direction, aiming for the center of the campus.

She found a table close to a make-shift bar, it was also close to a make-shift DJ desk including speakers, but the noise was steady and regular and certainly less distracting than tumbling students.
For a while she was absorbed in the newest scientific discoveries once more, until someone decided to interrupt her indulgence again. 

"What are you reading?" Linda could make out against the loud music, and a hand waved in front of her face.

"A magazine," she said, slightly annoyed.

"I can see that," her uninvited conversation partner said, "but what's it about?"

Linda looked up to an amused smirk and dark eyes and found herself surprisingly appeased by their handsome features.

It's probably just the hormones, she thought, it was highly unlikely there were really so many attractive men on the campus today.
She realized the last time she had any relations was more than a year ago – and they were certainly not worthy remembering.

"Genetics of Powdery Mildew Resistance in Barley," she found herself answering. "The discovery of which genes exactly mediate the resistance or, at least, strengthen the plant's defense mechanism against the fungus will be exceptionally important once we are able to modify genes at will. It would be an easy task to prevent harvest loss and the ensuing famine if these genes could be applied to other grains, and maybe vegetables too-"

Before she finished, she noticed already how the man had trouble following her. Great, she got carried away and he'd probably found her boring. No one wanted to talk to nerds - unless they were nerds themselves. He didn't even look very much like a student.

Not even a sports scholarship one.

"Fascinating, isn't it," she added weakly.

If she was lucky he'd just leave without a mean comment. Then she could finish at least the article.

He didn't leave.
Instead his smile grew wider. "You're studying to end world hunger instead of partying with everyone? That's admirable," he said, and it didn't sound like he pretended to admire her.

His hand rested on the magazine and he slowly traced the edge with his fingers.
Unusually slender for a man's hand.
"Well..." Linda mumbled.
One could say she did, it was not entirely a lie.

"Can I buy you a drink?" the man offered and lifted his hand from the magazine to rest his chin on it. His pleasantly shaped fingers led Linda's eyes back to his slightly lopsided smirk.
Which was also very pleasant.
Bothersome hormones.

"You know, I never got the chance to go to college," he continued, and Linda heard Mae' flippant voice mention something about "the softer the wit, the harder the dick-"

Very bothersome hormones, so distracting.

"...I'd love to learn more about parsley."

And finally Linda was thrown out of her besotted trance. 

"Barley!" she corrected him, indignant about his lack of attention and her naïvety at being caught in such an obvious flirt.

"Okay." He laughed. "You got me," he admitted and completely lacked the decency to look guilty, "I don't give a- I don't care about parsley. Or barley. But I'd seriously like to learn more about you."

There it was again, that slightly lopsided smirk, and he looked genuine, maybe even a little apologetic, but Linda wasn't so oblivious that she couldn't guess his true intentions.

Alas, she'd probably not be able to finish reading tonight anyway. Even if he'd leave, she'd continue to brood over his impertinence. She might as well make the best of the night and maybe solve three problems in one.
Remove a pesky distraction, calm down some pesky hormones and test Mae's assertion.
For science, of course.

"Very well," she said and put on her sweetest smile. "Would you like to accompany me to the library? The study rooms should be rather unoccupied tonight."

She caught him completely off guard. Even if it was only for the fracture of a second, she took it as a small victory.

"Lead the way", the man said, his smirk wider than before.