"It sounds very exciting."
"Mostly it's trying to get people to sign petitions, trying to get lawyers interested in cases, and the occasional demonstration. I probably won't be as active while I chase my degree, but I'll still be involved. I'll head down to Denver a few weekends a month, things like that."
"Sounds good." I had no idea what to say to that, and I hoped she wouldn't expect me to join in. It was all well for a normal human to get involved. I had to stay hidden.
"Let's get you organized, then we can compare schedules. I bet we'll have a lot of the same classes, since it's our first year and all. Do you know your major yet?"
I shook my head. "You?"
"I haven't completely decided yet. Maybe journalism and political science."
"Sounds like that would be in your interests." I smiled to make sure there was no unintended insult. Victoria just nodded.
We chatted for a while, and she helped me unpack. Once we had my stuff put away, we both made her bed and helped her get settled, too.
"Let's go wander the campus and find our classes. The dining hall is open for lunch. And tonight, I know of this great pizza place. A lot of students eat there. You know about the party tomorrow, right?"
"Party? No, I hadn't heard." I wondered how long Victoria had been here if she knew all this all ready. Of course, she didn't live too far from here. Maybe she had come up to visit a few times in the summer.
"Yeah, it's a mixer for the students and teachers. Not everyone will be there, but enough that we can get to know some people. It's down in the Square. I'll show you."
"Thanks."
"Of course, Sofia. I have a feeling we're going to get along just fine."
"I do, too." I grinned, and we headed out to grab lunch and wander around campus.
∞ ∞ ∞
Victoria wasn't exaggerating when she had called the pizza place great. I stood just inside the door and took a deep breath. Marinara mingled with garlic and promised to coat the yeasty dough with exquisite taste. I hoped I wasn't drooling.
"We might have to wait for a few minutes, but it's worth it." Victoria grinned as we walked up to the hostess.
"Two?"
I nodded.
"Booth okay?"
"That's great," I answered.
"Right this way," the hostess replied.
Victoria grinned. "Wow, I had to wait a half an hour last Friday. That's great."
Holding in a smile, I shrugged. I never had to wait at restaurants. I supposed I had good timing or something.
We followed the teen through the crowded restaurant. My stomach growled, and I couldn't wait for our pizza.
She led us to a corner table. Five people could sit there if they liked each other. I slid in and Victoria sat across from me. The hostess handed us menus and told us our server would be with us shortly.
"Want to split a pizza?" I studied the menu. "I like most."
"How about this one. It's got basil, tomatoes, lots of cheese, and sausage," Victoria said. "If we get a large, we can have leftovers. Their version of large is pretty big."
"Sure. Sounds great to me." I studied the surroundings while we waited. Lights suspended from the ceiling illuminated the individual tables, and various mountain or ranch scenes decorated the walls. Classic rock filtered out of the speakers. Most of the patrons were younger, though I saw some older couples with young children at some of the booths.
A young man, probably a few years older than I was, came over to our table. "Hi, I'm Nate. What can I get you to drink?"
His friendly smile put me at ease, and we ordered drinks and our pizza since we were ready. He promised to have it right up and went off to the next table.
Victoria and I settled into a comfortable silence as we both people watched. I liked to talk well enough. I also liked this.
"Sofia!"
I groaned.
Victoria raised her eyebrows and glanced over her shoulder. "Oh, he's cute. Friend of yours?"
Sighing, I shook my head. "I dumped coffee all over him this morning."
"On accident, I'm assuming, or he probably wouldn't be so happy to see you."
I laughed. "Yeah. I wasn't paying attention and ran into him with a full cup of coffee. His name is Alex."
A big smile lit up his face and made his sapphire blue eyes sparkle when I gestured for him to join us. He threaded his way around the crowded tables, eyes locked on me.
"I just got here, I was supposed to meet some friends, but I think they're late. Mind if I join you for a little bit?"
I glanced at Victoria, and she shrugged.
"Sure. Alex, this is Victoria." Since I knew him marginally better than my roommate did, I scooted over and let him sit next to me on the end.
Our server returned with our drinks and glanced at Alex.
"Oh, I'm just waiting for friends," he said.
"You might as well get a drink while you wait," Victoria suggested.
He glanced at me, and when I shrugged, he also ordered a soft drink. The server left a menu with him. "I didn't mean to intrude or anything."
"No, it's fine." I relaxed. "I'm glad to see you." Strangely, I was. Maybe it was simply another familiar face in a new town, maybe it was something else, but I was glad he was there.
This time, our silence wasn't quite as easy. We were probably all trying to come up with something to say.
"So, I hear you like coffee." Victoria grinned after the silence stretched a little too long.
I groaned. "Really?" I muttered.
Alex laughed. "Yes, I do. Mocha usually. And Sofia likes lattes. And coffee cake."
"Oh, already have her habits figured out, do you?" Victoria grinned.
"Hope I'm not stepping on any toes," Alex replied.
She waved at me. "Nope, roommates only."
I tried
