Fashionably Late

Penny was very aware, as her eyes finally met Aniva Institute, that the school term had already started. The corridors were already swarming with students. Not that she minded or anything. She just happened to be too late to be acceptably on time, and too early to pretend to be a cool, mysterious exchange student.

Perhaps it was for the best that she arrived at the institute later than the others. It meant that the courtyard was a lot emptier than it would have been a few days ago. Without thinking, she reached for her shoulder bag and- struggling to get a decent hold as she was wearing mittens- took out her phone. She snapped a few photos of the building, and put the phone back. She’d probably send them to her family at some point or something.

The scenery was quite beautiful, there was no denying that. Penny’s eyes traveled over the rooftops, gently dusted with a subtle layer of snow. It would take her a while to get used to the snow; she didn’t see a lot of it back in England. Maybe if the snow thickened, she would be able to participate in her first ever snowball fight. It was difficult to explain how much that concept excited her.

It took Penny a while to realize that she had just been standing in front of the school in deep thought. She was meant to be on her way to getting sorted by now.

Taking her phone out again, she messaged her dad to tell him that she had arrived at the school. When she put it back in her bag for the second time, she said aloud, “Well, I won’t be having another Starbucks for a long time.”

“Starbucks? Really?” Bianca blushed a little at speaking so suddenly. It didn’t matter all that much, as her cheeks were already stained pink from standing out in the cold for too long.

She had been standing there for a while. Cautiously, trying to think of a way to initiate conversation, since she had told herself she’d make at least one friend on the first week. This one had seemed lonely enough to talk to her.

“S-sorry,” she stuttered, “It’s just… Of all the things you could be thinking of, I wouldn’t have thought coffee would have come to mind.”

Penny spun around, unaware she hadn’t been alone. A few silent seconds of awkwkardness escaped her, before she pulled herself together. “I guess you’re right. But, hey, going to Starbucks every weekend has been the only consistent thing in my life for a few years.”

She thought about it for a moment. “I suppose it is kind of shallow of me. I mean, considering where I am.” She shrugged.

Slight panic. “I didn’t say it to insinuate that you were shallow,” Bianca’s voice was a slightly higher pitch than usual, “I… Well, in all honesty? I just wanted something to say to you.”

As soon as the words escaped her lips, she mentally scolded herself. Saying that kind of stuff was the reason she drove people away. Coming off as desperate was like throwing a toaster in the bathtub.

She wanted to say something to rectify her mistake, but no words came. Instead, she stood in terrified silence awaiting her response.

That put Penny off guard again. Did this girl know her from somewhere? If she did, that would be kind of embarrassing. It’s always embarrassing when someone recognises you but you have no idea who they are. On the other hand, from what she had heard of this girl, she sounded American. Penny came from England, so the chances of them having met before were slim.

Since she had a lack of decent responses, she decided the best way to go was to say something stupid.

“Why?” She smirked, wiggling her eyebrows, “Do you like me or something?”

Bianca turned beet red. “N-no! I just…” Words failed her. Her heart was beating fast, her breathing quickened; this was it, wasn’t it? The first of many rejections.

“I know. It’s fine.” Penny watched the other girl’s obvious distress with concern. “We didn’t exactly get off to the best start, did we? Want to start again?”

She stuck out her hand, “Hi, I’m Penny. Just arrived. You’re the first person I’ve met at this school.”

Calming down slightly, she shook her hand.

“Bianca. I’ve been here for a week or so. I’ve met a few people, I guess.”

“Well, Bianca, do you wanna go inside?” Penny slid her hands into her pockets. Even while wearing the embarrassingly bright pink mittens, her hands were cold. That wasn’t new though, her hands were always cold.

She looked behind her again, just in case there was someone else there. There wasn’t. She turned back to Bianca, “I’m asking mostly because I have no idea where the hell I’m meant to go.”

As they walked together to the building, Bianca said slowly, "Well... The first thing you do is go to the sorting office. To get sorted and all that. If I'm being honest with you I can't really remember where it is but most people can so you could easily ask people for directions. After you're sorted you just... Sort out your dorm room, I guess. Make sure everything's unpacked and stuff."

The door opened, and they passed through into a busy corridor. Bianca shrunk to the walls, avoiding as many people as possible. "I think that's it, really. When you're done with all the newbie stuff I guess you can just do whatever you want." She glanced at Penny, "Within reason."