I was in my 9th and final semester at university, finishing the last few courses I needed for my degree. I needed the extra semester because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do when I was in first year, and didn't take the right courses to be able to finish the major I eventually chose in the standard four years. University had been enjoyable enough, except for the lack of interest from the opposite sex that had carried over from high school. I suppose it was partly my fault, being rather shy and introverted and generally nerdy, but I wasn't like I never interacted with anyone, and while I didn't stand out physically I didn't think I was that unattractive either. A bit above average height, not really athletic but I had put on some muscle, and my high school mullet had grown out long enough to tie back. Still, other than a brief fling with a girl I met one summer that didn't go past shoving hands under clothes, my sexual experiences had been vicarious, listening to guys (and sometimes girls) relate their experiences after drinking far more beer than I did.
One of my courses was a 200-level genetics class that I couldn't fit in during my second year. The course had a brutal reputation, both for the theory and the "fly lab", where the entire semester's lab mark depended on successfully identifying and mapping a collection of mutations in fruit flies. That meant lots of going to the lab twice a day to sort and count flies, collect virgin females, and set up crosses. So far, I hadn't thought it was that bad, probably because I was used to more independent labs by then and the theory made more sense with more background in molecular biology and biochemistry.
Still, I was apprehensive when the professor walked to the front of the auditorium with a big stack of papers and I realized that the midterms had finally been marked. It was a difficult exam, but I wasn't expecting the 63% I found when it was my turn to collect my exam. Then the professor put up the statistics slide, which showed that my 63% was actually only 3% off of the highest mark, and the class average was well below 50%. Clearly, he had gone a little overboard in his attempt to make sure the average wouldn't be too high and encourage the students who weren't going to make it to drop early. He announced that the abysmal results would be "fixed" by dividing everyone's mark by 0.66, so my 63% became 95%. That worked out well for me, but there were plenty of other students who were still left with crappy marks even after the adjustment.
On Friday of that week I was in the lab counting flies when someone sat beside me. I didn't think much of it - students came and went all the time - and continued with my sorting and counting until I had finished with what was under the microscope. When I was done and looked up, I noticed that the lab wasn't very busy, and the person who sat beside me was female. She had curly medium brown hair and a pretty face, and she sat next to me when there was plenty of other space to work. That was interesting. She was in the middle of counting flies herself by then, so I grabbed my last vial and proceeded to knock the flies out with ether, then pour them out under the scope. When I finished with them, she had finished with her flies as well and had turned to look at me as if waiting to talk to me. I looked at her again and noticed she was wearing a loose plaid flannel shirt with enough buttons undone to show a hint of cleavage, but it didn't really show much of her shape otherwise. She also looked a bit older than a typical undergraduate, I guessed mid to late 20s.
"So how did you do on the exam?" She asked.
"63%," I said in a matter-of-fact manner.
"At least you passed."
"Yeah, I guess I can't complain if it is going to be counted as a 95%."
Her smile widened slightly just then. "Way to wreck the curve," she joked.
"Don't blame me, it wasn't the highest mark."
"Whatever, close enough. Anyways, we were planning to hang out at the campus pub for a while this evening, do you want to join us?"
I didn't know what she meant by "we", but I had nothing else planned for the evening and having a woman express any sort of interest in me was a rare occurrence, so I said, "Sure, what time?"
"Probably around 6:00."
"Ok, see you then."
She flashed a smile and got up to leave the lab. I noticed she was about average height with a slim figure. Not someone who would normally turn my head (it's the curvy girls that do that), but pretty enough. I wondered what exactly was going on. She hadn't exactly asked me for a date, but it seemed she had sought me out specifically. I supposed I would find out what was up later.
I went to my remaining classes and worked on assignments until 6:00, then headed over to meet ... her, as I realized that I didn't know her name. I wandered among the tables until I found her with one other woman. I stood beside their table while she introduced her friend as Cheryl and, realizing she hadn't done so before, introduced herself as Brenda.
"I'm Jeff," I replied, pulling up a chair and sitting down.