‘God, I’m so sorry.’
I shook my head. ‘I’m fine.’
‘Okay, well, so sorry again. I’m racing around like a doofus. My mum always told me off about that as a kid. I’m Will.’ He offered me his hand.
‘Oh.’ I wasn’t prepared for an introduction. ‘Regi.’ I gave his hand a quick shake and tried not to wince at the intimacy.
‘Oh, wow, is that short for Regina?’
‘Yes, it is.’
‘So your parents saw you as a queen, did they?’
‘You know your name meanings,’ I said swiftly, looking around at the bustle of the corridor.
‘I dabbled in some onomastics prior to anthropology, sociology, and now I teach philosophy.’
‘Oh wow, that’s some resumé.’ My interest had suddenly piqued.
Will acknowledged the compliment with a smile and tilt of his head. ‘So, what do you teach?’
‘Teach? Oh no, I’m here as a student. Textiles. I’m an artist of sorts.’ I looked down at my feet.
‘Wow, well done, that’s great, a mature student – I mean, you don’t look mature mature. I just thought as the average age here is twenty-one that you were a teacher, but student, that’s cool. Really cool.’
I smiled at how he tripped over his words and half shrugged his shoulders, self-conscious of his words.
I smiled and shuffled my feet awkwardly and considered what was happening here: a male and female roughly the same age bumping into one another in a college corridor. Was this a meet-cute? Whatever it was, I could not and would not allow myself to think anything of it.
‘Anyway… Will, it was good to bump into you, but I’ve got some serious getting lost to do in this huge place, so if you would excuse me.’
‘Of course, of course. Although if you do get lost and you can’t find your way back to the main campus, you can usually find me in Room 4, just off the main hall. I could help you on your way again, or at least offer you some refreshments.’
‘Room 4, main hall. Great.’ I gave a small salute. As I walked away, I laid my hand on my chest to steady my quivering heart.
I found the library first, a great ornate section of the uni that looked as though it had been there for decades. I instantly felt calmer as I swept past the large oval reception and began to walk between the aisles of books; I felt safe amongst the words and paper.
At the end of an aisle there was a small chair, which I needed no encouragement to sit in. From here I could see people gliding past as they perused the shelves of books. I felt the weight of the day catch up on me as jittery bubbles leapt through my stomach. I had stepped into the toilet on the way to the library; once inside the cubicle I opened and locked the toilet door six times. The girl in the next cubicle asked whether I was stuck.
Now sat in the comfy chair in the library, I pulled out my notepad and pencil, hoping inspiration would flood through me after my first lesson and I could get some sketches down, but all I could feel was heaviness in my head as my eyes fluttered shut.
I jolted and sucked in a breath as my eyes opened and my heart raced. I didn’t remember closing them and if I did, I had only meant to rest them, not fall asleep. I hadn’t slept well last night, but I had presumed it had been because of the face in the utility window, but in hindsight perhaps I had been anxious about my first day. I sat there panting, trying to get to grips with my surroundings. I looked at my phone to see what time it was. I had been asleep for a matter of minutes. I looked back up, and my eyes caught sight of a black baseball cap at the end of the aisle. My mouth went dry and I grabbed my bag and coat and shot up out of the chair. I hurried to the end of the aisle where I saw the tall male in the baseball cap walking with intent towards the reception and then exit. I sped up and found I was inches away from the back of him but not knowing what I would say or do if he turned. I did not have the confidence to initiate a move. Was it him or was I doing what Mini had suggested and hallucinating? Suddenly, he stopped and bent down to pick something up. He spoke but I could barely hear his voice, but I could tell his words were aimed at a woman who had just walked past me and also past him. She stopped and turned, took two steps back and thanked him for whatever it was she had dropped. He turned towards me slightly and I could see some more of him. He had the same build and that trademark baseball cap, but immediately I could see that I was mistaken. I edged away, I didn’t know this man. I skirted around them both to get to the door and headed out of the library into the fresh air, where I inhaled big gulps of oxygen.
Instagram post: 29th April 2019
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