It was a chill Fall day on campus, students bustling to and fro, depending where you stand you'll get caught in the motions of the crowd. So the best thing to do is step aside on the grass, the sun, as warm as it gets in October is on your side and it feels good. This is what Adrienne did.
Adrienne just turned 23, she's feeling good just having started her program, she dyed her hair white to mark the occasion and she's losing weight. But not too much, as she likes a girl with meat on her bones and doesn't think she should be any different. She stood there amidst the chaos after the bell rang, pondering her next move. Should she go to 7-11? Should she go home and eat something? Is she even hungry? That's when she looked across from her and saw some Bible thumpers soliciting. You know them when you see them. Thank goodness they didn't have any nasty pictures with them. There were four of them, three girls and a guy who looked like he didn't want to be there. They were trying their best to get people's attention but it wasn't working. One of them in particular was a slim, pretty brunette with large eyes that stood out. She was louder than the rest and seemed tired, like she's been yelling for a long time and now yelling harder, catching her breath in between and feeling more desperate.
Adrienne went, dodging passer byers who were fewer now, and sauntered over there. She walked up to the girl, but instead of getting mad, she seemed happy, humoring the young girl like alarm bells were ticking. What followed was Adrienne playing coyly, asking questions about patriarchy and feminism. The girl, still yelling, was getting defensive. Tears came falling, and her friends even looked at her wondering what was going on. Adrienne asks the girl's name.
"Anna." She said it like she had no idea why someone would want to know.
"Well, Anna, if you need someone to talk to-" she took a notebook out of her purse, scribbled in it quickly, ripped the page out and placed it in Anna's coat pocket.
Anna looked shocked while Adrienne smiled and walked the other way. Then she fervently took it out, read it and popped it back in. She looked to her right hoping her friends weren't suspicious. She took a step back, decided she wasn't going to say any more and squatted on the grass until the rest felt they were done failing at getting anyone to talk to them.
Later that night, Anna went home to her apartment. She unexpectedly has a liberal roommate she doesn't talk to about religion, she sympathizes. Something isn't right. The pressure was building to message Adrienne, so she sat down in her gaming chair, started her desktop and went to Instagram.
Adrienne's profile pic made her look like a Hobbit. She had light brown hair then. She curiously scrolled through her pictures, she's beautiful she thought. Then came the follow, then the message.
"Hi this is Anna, I was intrigued by your offer. Message me whenever. Thanks"
On the opposite end, Adrienne was sitting in her bed avoiding her family, listening to childhood beats, not really sure if Anna was going to message or not. But alas, she got the notification and opened a new tab excited for what was to come.
They made some small-talk, ensuring each of them felt safe, before Adrienne invited her to a noodle bar. Adrienne was always looking to get in a girl's pants, but this time she really just wanted a conversation with Anna. And Anna didn't hesitate to accept, a part of her was frightened, she did notice it was technically a date. A sapphic date, in fact. Something snapped in her that made her eager to see Adrienne and eat some damn good MSG-filled food.
They agreed on a time, and Anna not so patiently hopped on a streetcar going west. She got a text from Adrienne asking if she's comfortable "picking her up" at home as it's just a few blocks from their destination, so she said sure. She got off the street car and walked, eyes looking down as she navigates with her phone. When she got to the building and stepped into the lobby she texted back letting Adrienne know she's there. Didn't take a minute for Adrienne to come down, flashing a smile.
"Hey."
