“Sorry, miss, I didn’t know anyone was here. I’ll come back later and clean up.”
Before he could close the door, I yelled out, “Hold up! I’m actually done, but I can’t get back to my dorm in the rain.”
“That’s putting it mildly. They just had to pull one student out of a storm drain over by the business building.”
“Out a storm drain? How the hell can someone fall down a storm drain?” I asked.
“It was one of those big ones and the wind gusts and water are so strong, it just dragged her right in.”
“Stupid bitch,” I muttered under my breath.
“What’s that?” he asked, straining an ear to hear.
“Uh, nothing. Is she okay?”
“Yeah, she’s fine.”
“Cool.” I went closer to the door. “Listen, is there anything to eat around here?”
“You mean, other than the dead frogs in the biology lab?”
I eyed the fool like I wanted to rip him a new asshole. He got the point.
“Just joking,” he added. “There’s a few vending machines in the staff lounge.”
Things were looking up. “Where’s that?”
“Second floor, behind the bank of elevators.”
“Hmph, they have the shit hidden, huh? I never knew it was there.”
He grinned. “It keeps the students out, but no one’s in there today so feel free.”
“Thanks.”
I managed to find the staff lounge. “Ain’t this a bitch!” I said when I spotted it behind the elevators. I tried the door and it was locked. “Shit!”
As I was stomping away, I heard the door open behind me and a male voice say, “Sorry, we locked it so we could study.”
I turned to face the one they called Darwin. There he was in all his nerd glory, with his bifocals on and a pocket protector sticking out of his shirt. Darwin, whose real name I never knew or cared to know, was one of the three campus geniuses whom everyone avoided at all costs. The other two were nicknamed after famous scientists as well: Newton and Einstein.
While I had seen them around campus many times, particularly in the science building where they seemed to live, I had never uttered a word to any of them. To do so would have been considered “questionable” by the other cool people like me.
I assumed when he said “we locked it so we could study” that he was referring to the rest of his crew. They acted like they were joined at the hip.
“I just wanted to get something from the vending machines,” I finally replied.
He opened the door wider. “That’s not a problem. Come on in.”
Sure enough, when I walked through the door, the other two were sitting there at a table piled up with books. They looked like they were about to pee themselves when I appeared. I didn’t care how smart they were, they were
still fucking idiots in my book.
The one they called Einstein spoke up. “Hey, Frenchie. What are you doing here?”
I was stunned. “You know my name?”
He blushed and glanced down at the table. “Everyone knows your name, Frenchie. You’re like the most popular girl on campus.”