Summer Soap (Episode 6): Natalie makes a friend on first day at college

Natalie’s first day of classes had her walking under a cloudy sky, and she eyed it warily as she stepped outside, but the light shade of grey seemed to suggest a dry day ahead. At the very least, she made it to campus without incident.

The student orientation had introduced the O’Rahilly Building as the campus labyrinth, so Natalie planned to arrive half an hour early to accommodate any wrong turns.

That extra time was spent wandering the ground floor before conceding and asking reception, who kindly informed her that, unlike in the United States, the ground floor and the first floor were in fact two different things and she just needed to go up a flight of stairs.

The professors had called for an early morning meeting to give the students of their program a chance to mingle before class. After introducing herself to all of the students within earshot, she settled into conversation with a fellow student named Serena, another international student who came from Florida. They had the same professor for Economics, so they agreed to sit next to each other just in time for their professors to call the room to attention.

“I know nine o’clock is a heinous time to be up,” called one of her new professors, bringing the room to a quiet hush, “and I promise I won’t do this to you ever again.”

Natalie heard a sigh of relief and a few chuckles from her fellow students. After four years of having to be present and seated in a classroom at precisely 7.15, she had to admit the ten o’clock classes had sounded too good to be true. Her brother’s college horror stories surrounding the dreaded 8am lecture gave Natalie the impression that she’d been lucky to score such an indulgent schedule.

After their first class, Serena happily joined Natalie for a quick stop at the campus Coffee Dock before heading to her next class in Dean. After a week of bitter experimentation, Natalie had found quite a fondness for a good mocha, while Serena opted for frappucino.

“A treat for our first day,” she’d said, bringing her cup against Natalie’s in a cheer. They exchanged contact info before they parted, but Natalie had another hour before she needed to be back upstairs. She didn’t want to risk losing her way by leaving O’Rahilly to walk around campus, so she figured she’d get started on some of her homework in the common area next to her next classroom while she still remembered how to get there.

She settled down on one of the couches, tossing her notebook onto the ottoman while she dug through her bag for a pen.

“Excuse me.”

Natalie looked up to find another student with a creased brow and books tucked into his arms. They shared the statistics class this afternoon. James, if she recalled correctly.

“Oh, hello,” Natalie gave a small wave in greeting, which she came to regret as she watched the young man struggle to shift his notebooks onto one arm so he could return it. “Can I help you?”

“Do you know how I can get out of here?” he asked, brow scrunched in a way that reminded Natalie of a lost puppy

She did remember how to get outside, theoretically. She looked around, trying to remember which hallway she came from this morning. She was pretty sure she came in from the right, but then what?

After a few seconds of watching the guy’s panic grow in his eyes, she decided to switch tactics. She pointed to the door between the bathrooms. “Those stairs should take you to the Starbucks.”

It wouldn’t quite lead to the reception desk, but Natalie had seen a door in the Coffee Dock leading to an outdoor patio, so at the very least it should lead the poor guy outside. Where that’d put him on campus was anyone’s guess, but it was progress and James seemed to be glad for any direction at all as he hurried through the indicated door and rushed down the stairs.

Two class periods later, Natalie followed suit, leaving the lecture hall and making it outside with blessedly little difficulty. She was surprised to find the pavement soaked and covered with puddles. She’d heard a few raindrops while the professor went over the syllabus, sure, but by the looks of things the heavens had opened while she was inside. The sky had cleared a bit though, with patches of blue among grey clouds.

She walked to the Student Centre, carefully avoiding the dips in the pavement and wondering if wearing flats wasn’t the best idea.

She took her time in the campus bookshop, picking up all of the notebooks she needed, eyeing the sky while she waited in line. Should she go out and buy a raincoat before heading home? Natalie frowned at the thought.

She’d stayed on campus longer than she’d expected and it was well into early evening. She wasn’t even sure the shops were open past five anyway. She could make it home without much fuss.

When she was next in line, Natalie grabbed an umbrella before stepping up to the counter. It should be fine, the umbrella would keep her dry in the meantime.

Probably.