WHO:Blossom & Nora WHEN: Mid-September WHERE: UCI campus WHAT: Blossom plays the helpful student WARNINGS: Nada STATUS: Gdoc transfer
Ren, Nora’s friend and roommate, was a student at UC: Irvine. He’d sent Nora a text, asking if she was busy, and Nora jumped at the opportunity to head to campus in plans for lunch with him. She had to take the bus, so it took her a little longer than she’d thought it would take… so she ended up missing out on lunch. She and Ren hung out for a few minutes, but then he had to go to his next class.
So Nora was free to wander. She headed in one direction, realizing after a little while walking that the library was actually… somewhere else? Okay, she was lost.
While she had time between everything, Blossom was moving things into her dorm still. During the nice days she was content to walk from the campus to the dorms and figure out what else she was going to need to bring from her own room.
In the process she was also taking some library books back, wandering through the campus and… Spotting someone looking around like she’d misplaced something. Now, Blossom wasn’t exactly pressed for time, and she really wasn’t the sort to ignore things, so with a sunny smile and what she hoped looked more helpful than manic, she turned towards the girl. “Do you need help?”
Nora jumped at the sound of the voice, and turned to look… finding another redhead. Someone around her age, someone with a smile on her face. That was a relief! “Oh! Yes! I mean if you’re not busy? I was looking for the… library. Because the cafe under the library has the best, cheapest sandwiches ever, doesn’t it?”
“It does!” Blossom wasn’t sure if she’d call them the best, but they were definitely priced for students who might not have a proper income to afford lots of food. It was something the campus was good for. “I can walk you there, I’m heading there myself.” It was lucky that she’d come across the other girl then. “It’s not too far,” although the campus could seem daunting at times.
“I’m Blossom, are you enrolling?”
Nora brightened considerably, and turned to walk with the girl. “Thank you! That’s super! I mean, as much as I love being on campus and everything… maybe I should get a map! It’s not fun at all to get lost.” They walked side by side down the cement pathway between the buildings and around the greens. “I’m Nora. Nice to meet you! Oh, no, I don’t think I could. I can’t really afford it.”
“Getting lost is just taking a longer path, it’s an adventure. Don’t feel bad, I got lost a lot in my first year.” She still had enough time to get to class usually, but it wasn’t unusual that she’d reach there a little frazzled and having been ‘the scenic route’. “But maps are super helpful if you need to cut down on time and stuff.”
No one liked being late for anything.
“Oh yeah, it’s hard to afford.” Blossom had scholarship money from high school, but she knew that her dad was more than happy to cover the rest of the costs for her, because he valued education so much and would take out the loans for her rather than cripple her under debt before she could start. “So do you just really like the campus food?” Blossom giggled a little, hoping it was clear that she was teasing good naturedly.
Maps! Maps were an excellent idea! Why hadn’t Nora thought of that? Not that she had a map, but maybe she could pull one up on the crazy phone she had hopping around in her pocket. She wasn’t all that great at using it, but she was learning more every day.
Nora laughed, too. “No, my roommate goes here. I was supposed to meet him for lunch, but I missed the bus and he had to get back to class. We only had a few minutes to hang out.” She shrugged softly. More time with Ren would be nice, but she’d see him at home later. “What are you studying?”
Roommate made sense, the timetable for things could be decidedly complex to juggle too. Blossom found that out last year when she’d taken far too many classes. “Oh, I’m sorry, busses are only marginally reliable.” Thankfully, with her own on campus dorm now, Blossom had a parking space when she needed to drive to the other side of campus, so public travel wasn’t really a problem for her.
“I’m studying biomolecular engineering, and occult studies, those are my main classes.” And to focus more, and give attention to her classes, she’d cut down on her electives. “It’s a really great course.” She liked both of her classes immensely.
“Maybe one of these days we’ll get a car, and then I won’t have to worry about using mass transportation!” Nora could dream. She sighed a little, going starry-eyed at that idea. Wouldn’t it be nice? But her eyes came back to focus on the redhead once more. Blossom seemed like a great girl, and Nora was sure they were going to be great friends. “...wow, that sounds really brainy!” It was said with a grin, and by no means insulting. Nora was really in awe. “You must be super smart!”
Blossom gave a small smile, cars were the best way to maintain a proper connection through Orange County. At least if people couldn’t fly, like she could. “Well, I guess I am.” There was really no point in pretending she wasn’t, she knew that she was brainy, she did well with classes. That was just something she was good at. “I try really hard.” Because it was not a simple thing.
The campus wasn’t too busy, so making their way to the library and the little cafe there. “If you need a map, I know someone who made them for freshmen.”