SPILLING SECRETS: First meetings - Marc POV

Marc went through the door to the cafeteria and walked on autopilot until he reached the closest vending machine. It had been less than a month since classes started, but he had already lost count of how many times he had fed on coffee and junk food. His day was going worse than usual and, on hard days like these, he couldn't help but wonder if studying veterinary was a good choice.

It was obvious getting his degree would be anything but easy, and he had already assumed he wouldn’t get too much free time if he also vounteered at the shelter. But for how long would he be able to keep going like that? What if he wasn’t up to the task? What if he ended up giving up on his dream of being a veterinarian? What the hell am I thinking? Am I really going to quit that easily? Animals had always been his passion since he was a child, and working with them, his dream job. But no one ever told him that giving up almost every hour of sleep was the price to pay to make his dream come true.

But surely his day would take a turn to the better as soon as he gulped down the coffee he held in his hands along with some carbohydrates. A caffeine shot always makes things better. Standing in front of the vending machine, he eyed its contents. What kind of poison would he choose today? He would die for some of those salty potato chips… Actually, he could literally die from eating too much of them. Welp, this is just temporary…

Biochemistry class would be starting soon so, without giving it any more thought, he pushed some money down the cash slot and waited for his snack to be dropped to the bottom of the machine. If the packet wasn’t filled with 80% air, I’d have to snort them… He grabbed the packet and turned around, in a hurry to leave the cafeteria. But then his body unexpectedly chashed into something, making him stop in his tracks.

“Hey! Watch out!”

“Oh! I... I’m sorry!”

An angry wet cat – those are the exact words Marc would use to describe the girl that now stood in front of him. Soaked to the skin, seething and ready to scratch whoever dared to get close. Still, there was something undoubtedly cute in her expression, and that managed to activate Marc’s protectiveness just like when a new stray cat arrived in the shelter.

“I’m drenched!”

His precious coffee… was now spilled all over the girl’s shirt. He should probably try to help her fix the mess he had caused, but for some reason he was unable to take his eyes off her. Was it because he was too tired? Yeah, that’s probaly why he just stood there with a dumbfounded expression on his face. Am I having a stroke? Wake up, Marc!

She was beautiful, that was undeniable. But he had never been the type of person to get infatuated with someone simply because of their looks. There was something about her, something… hypnotic. He had met many pretty girls before, but in that moment, they all became a distant and uninteresting memory.

“My clothes…” she whispered, inspecting the stain as her expression turned from anger to dejection. If she was also having a bad day, he had just made it 100 times worse.

“Follow me. Let’s go to the bathroom.”

What the hell am I saying? “Let’s go to the bathroom”? He was trying to be nice, but that just sounded like something a pervert would say. Way to go, Marc! He had to turn the situation around, or else she would always remember their first encounter as “that time some creep bumped into me and asked to go to the bathroom together”.

“You should change your clothes… I have a spare t-shirt on my backpack” he tried to explain. But for some reason, he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. “I swear it’s clean. I don’t usually carry dirty clothes around, just so you know. Well, sometimes I do. But that’s not the case right now...”

Was that a smile? Or did she just laugh at me because I’m being weird? Luckily, she was willing to accept his help. Walking next to each other, Marc couldn't help but glance at her out of the corner of his eye. Her expression had relaxed, and she no longer looked like an angry cat – in fact, she reminded him more of an adorable puppy. Questions about her started popping up in his head: How old is she? What’s her major? Does she have a boyfriend? Ugh, what are you doing, Marc? You didn’t even introduce yourself.

“My name’s Marc, by the way. And I swear pouring my coffee on other people is not my usual way of meeting girls. Or dudes. I mean, anyone. You know what I mean.”

Ugh, lame. But, surprisingly, she found his comment funny and gifted him a soft laugh that was like music to his ears.

“Don’t worry, I know you didn’t do that on purpose. I’m ______.”

“Nice to meet you.” Man, even her name is beautiful. “Well then… Here’s the bathroom. And here’s the t-shirt.”

“Thank you. I haven't had much luck making friends around here so far, so I’m happy I finally met someone nice.”

“Oh! Now you have one more friend on campus, then.”

“Friend”? Am I stupid or what? Feeling awkward, Marc smiled and scratched the back of his head, receiving a captivating smile in return. It was time to part ways but, once again, he found it hard to say anything coherent. Thankfully, she was more socially skilled than him and spoke first.

“Maybe you should save my number. We can meet up some day so I can give your t-shirt back.

“Ah! Sure... Yeah, uh, where did I put my phone…?”

It was surprising that just a handful of numbers could make him that happy. The campus grounds were huge, but now he had a way to meet her again.

“See you. Thanks again!”

“Don’t mention it. If someday you need help with something, feel free to reach out to me!”

The bathroom door closed after her, and silence filled the hallway. Meeting someone like her in such a disastrous way... Life sure was unpredictable. With a smile on his face, and a strange feeling that this encounter would change everything, Marc resumed walking to class. After all, he just found a good reason to survive the years of overwork that laid ahead of him...