Chapter 2 - Falling at the wrong time

Joanna held the paper out towards him. "I'm sorry. I think I have curled your paper. I hope it is not ruined."

He took the paper from her hand, his fingers touching hers for a brief moment. Or didn't he linger for a moment, she thought. His fingers gently touching hers, as he received the piece of paper.

"I'm sure it is just fine," he said, "and your name?" He moved slightly closer towards her. She could smell a sweet scent of pine from him. It probably originated from the tree he was sitting against before.

No! Joanna shouted in her mind. This was simply too stupid! This was the second time she had forgotten to introduce herself. She tried to smile confidently and make her eyes shine the way a happy person's eyes shine. "Well, my name is Joanna Charleston. A pleasure to meet you - and save your paper of course."

Oh no! She thought. This didn't sound one bit like her usual self. And how stupid she sounded. Save your paper, she thought mockingly to herself. What a stupid thing to say!

George grinned and moved his weight from one foot to the other. "I shall be very glad if you will be there to save my papers in the future as well, Joanna." He waved the paper a little and leaned towards her. "Anything I can do to thank you for your help?"

DON'T KISS HIM! Joanna thought, panicking to herself. You can't let yourself be distracted like this! "Perhaps you would like to be my study partner?" she said, trying not to let her beating heart give her away. "If you're any good of course," she quickly added.

What a stupid thing to say! Now you have offended him, she thought to herself and wished she could hit her head towards a brick wall. Perhaps the blue brick wall of the university buildings? Yes, they would do just fine.

"If I'm any good?" he asked and laughed. "Oh, dearest. I'm not just 'very good'. I'm the best." He winked and grabbed a pen from behind his ear. "This is my number." He started writing on the piece of paper she had caught and handed it to her. "Call me anytime."

Joanna nodded in shock as she accepted the piece of paper. "I...I will."

"Now I think, you're late for your meeting," George said and pointed to something behind her shoulder.

"My meeting?" Joanna asked and turned around. "MY MEETING!" She shouted as she realised that the thirty minutes had passed and that she had to be back with her tour group on the other side of the lake. "I will text you!" she shouted over her shoulder as she started running back.

George stood still for a moment looking after her. He had never seen such a curious girl before. There was something about her. Her confidence, her deceiving smile, her stunning figure. He smiled, as he gathered his papers and books and put them in his bag. He was late for a lecture now, but he didn't really mind. He had a feeling that Joanna Charleston was worth it, even though he had met her at exactly the wrong time. He was already busy enough with lectures, classmates demanding his help, and writing reports for his classes - for though he loved his studies, he absolutely detested writing reports.

"Ah, Joanna you're back." Cameron send her a big smile and waved her over as he saw her running towards him and the rest of the group.

"Sorry, I'm late. I was..." She paused, not knowing what to say. "I was taking a walk around the lake." Should she have said something else, she wondered. They might have seen her from this side. Perhaps they had all been looking at her little encounter with George. She hoped not.

"Ah, the lake," Cameron said and spread his hands out as he gestured to the water, "isn't it beautiful?"

The freshmen of 'mixed sciences' mumbled something undefinable and Joanna joined the choir.

A loud sound broke the mumbling off, Cameron clapped his hands together eagerly and directed their attention from the lake and back to him. He was a lot like an overly enthusiastic puppy, Joanna thought and now that she had thought it, she couldn't shake the image out of her head. She saw his messy hair as the long fur of a dog, and the pupils of his eyes were as big as a coffee mug. Perhaps he would like to be patted on the head as well, he looked like he would enjoy it, she thought.

"Did you get a good look at the park?" Cameron asked the group but gave them no chance to answer. "Wonderful! We will be taking a look at the labs tomorrow when you have your first class." He smiled and his body was bouncing up and down like a bouncy ball, but his feet never left the ground. "I will not be there to guide you through your class, however." His smile quickly disappeared, before it returned an instant later. "But don't freet, you will see me at the end of the day. But for now, I want you to go home and get settled." He started to shush them away as he had done earlier, and Joanna quickly took the hint and walked away.

The clock was only ten-thirty in the morning and Joanna had set her apartment up the day before, so she had no pressing tasks to take care of before the following day. So instead of going home, she decided to investigate the university further.

Joanna looked out over the lake to the tree, where George Petersen had been sitting before, but to her disappointment, he was gone. She stopped walking, when she remembered, that he had given her his number, and quickly put it into her phone, before taking a look at the piece of paper he had written it on. Odd, she thought, wasn't this piece of paper important to him? She would have to remember to give it back to him when she saw him again. Perhaps it was an excuse for him to see her? She bit her lip slightly and felt her heart flutter by the thought.

"Focus Joanna!" she said to herself and sighed as she walked towards some of the buildings of the university, she wasn't familiar with.

On the other side of the park was a sign that read "HUMAN STUDIES". The building was similar to the building of the science faction, but the posters plastered on the walls and the doors were different. These posters advertised book clubs, theatre productions, and the likes. She pulled down a poster advertising an interesting theatre production taking place the following weekend. It looked interesting and not too expensive, Joanna thought, it could be a fun experience.

"Do you like the theatre?" a voice asked, and Joanna turned around with a smile to answer the question, but when her eyes saw the woman in front of her, the words stopped on their way out of her mouth. Joanna found that she had fallen in love for the second time in her life, and for the second time that day. Da** it.