Chris stared at the job postings on the cluttered corkboard and wondered how he could possibly make enough money to support his mother while he was in school.
Movement caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. A girl was walking down the hall, poking her head into every doorway. A dog trotted alongside her. Chris was surprised a dog was allowed indoors, but then he noticed the girl’s cane. Chris watched her wander down the hall toward him, intrigued by how graceful and sure her movements were. She walked delicately, like a dancer; she had glossy dark hair, flawless pale skin...and Chris’s mental track was starting to sound like a trashy teen romance novel.
She stopped at the empty Career Office and poked her head in.
"Is this the Student Services office?" Her voice was low for a girl’s, husky, made Chris’s pulse trip erratically.
His voice lodged in his throat. He panicked. "No, but I can show you where it is."
"Thank you!" She stepped out of the doorway and turned to face him, and she smiled.
Chris felt himself begin to fall; his head was swimming; he couldn’t think straight. "It's easy to get lost around here.”
The girl patted her dog on the head; it gazed up at him with big, he suspected distrustful, dark eyes.
Chris started toward the Student Services offices, then paused. "Ummm..." How would she know to follow him?
The girl smiled again, the expression sympathetic, which made Chris feel like an idiot.
"It's okay," she said. "Just keep talking. Tell me where we’re going and what you see so Dianne can lead me to the office again."
"Okay.” Chris looked down at Dianne and wondered how smart she was. He’d heard pigs were smarter than dogs. "Do you know how you got here?"
She nodded.
“Then from this door, we go left.”
As they walked, Chris described the path, noting some of the landmarks and telling stories about this statue or that hallway. He was rambling, but when he got nervous he couldn’t stop. Dianne trotted along beside them, alert, sniffing here and there.
At last, they reached the office. "And here we are."
"Thank you so much." The girl smiled, and Chris’s heart lurched again.
"No problem. It was nice to meet you..."
"Sarah," she said, and inwardly he crowed. He knew her name!
"I'm Chris," he said. A thrill shivered down his spine when their hands touched.
"Thank you again Chris. Maybe I'll 'see' you around," she said, and stepped into the office. Chris wanted to call out, ask for her phone number, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t get involved with a girl - he needed a job.
He turned away, and then he saw it, a flyer advertising a job for the Student Services Center. They needed someone who would read textbooks on tape for a vision-impaired student. Chris snatched the flyer off the wall and dashed back to his dorm room. It was perfect.
(Written by Nagi)
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