"You are hopeless." The last words Gina heard from her roommate, Grace, as she pulled the door closed. The back story was that Grace had been trying for weeks to entice Gina to go to, as she described it, the party of the year.
Gina. On the other hand, had no interest in anything involving kegs of beer, loud crowds, and guys expecting to either "Get lucky" or tell everyone what a prude you were when you refused.
When she exited the front door of the dorm, she squinted in the bright September sun. She reached for her sunglasses that were always on the top of her head when not in use. "Damn it." She said a little too loud and two girls heading inside, stared at her as they passed.
With all the unwanted nagging from Grace, she had finally grabbed a book and left the dorm room forgetting her sunglasses. Finally, she decided that sun in her eyes was better than another row with Grace, she went on towards the Coffee Bean, a local campus handout.
Gina was a second-year student from Butte, New Mexico. At times, the University of Arizona, although nearby, seemed a million miles away. She was tall, five-seven. A mid-distance runner, enjoying a full scholarship, which was only reason she was able to be there at all. She was quite a beautiful girl, slender, athletic, short blonde hair, but when she looked at herself in the mirror, she did not see this. She felt she was as plain as the desert around the scrub grass her father called a cattle ranch.
Wearing her usual outfit, snug fitting jeans, a pop band t-shirt, and the latest style of Reebok sneakers, she made her way to the outside terrace of the coffee shop, found a table at the far edge, shaded by a row of Palo Verdes trees, and settled in.
"Can I get you something?" Gina had turned a chair to the side so she could put her feet up in an adjacent one. She was just removing the bookmark, ready to continue the adventure she was reading. She looked up. A girl, likely another student, leaned in with her hands on the table's edge.
Gina thought. "Too hot for coffee." She said, not really to the server, just verbalizing.
"Ice coffee?" The girl offered.
"Oh," Gina said. "No, I think not." Gina made a face as if iced coffee could somehow be toxic.
"Lemonade?" The girl countered.
Gina wrinkled her nose. "Raspberry?" She asked.
"I'll be right back." The girl turned, headed back inside.
Gina watched, tilted her head a little. "Odd girl." She thought.
The book she was currently reading was "The Things We Left Unsaid," by Emma Kennedy. She was mid-way through and very captivated by the relationships and interactions of the characters the writer had created.
With her feet on the next chair, her knees were up and used as a bookstand. She was turning a page as the girl returned and placed the raspberry lemonade on the table. "You like Emma Kennedy?" the girl inquired.
Gina pulled her attention away from the book and looked at her. "Actually, this is the first I have read of hers." Gina watched the girl set down across from her.
"I think she is an amazing writer." The girl offered.
"I do too." Gina agreed. "How much?"
The girl tilted her head. "How much to I like her?"
Gina grinned. "How much do I owe you?"
"Oh, yeah, sure. Of course." The girl was clearly embarrassed. "$3.80." She said.
Gina placed the book face down to save her place. She fished bills from her right front pocket, placed a five on the table and said. "Thank you."
The girl nodded then slowly, she turned and walked away.
Twenty minutes passed. Gina was deep into her story. The sun was well behind the trees and a gentle breeze had arisen from out of nowhere. She heard the chair slide across the brick pavers. When she again looked over, the girl had settled in once more. This time arms crossed, and she was leaning forward, her chin resting on her flannel shirt sleeves.
Gina didn't speak, just looked at her. The girl finally spoke. "Are you gay?" She waited. Gina just sat there. "The reason I ask." The girl said. "Is I have asked three other girls today. Girls I thought I might like, and they all said no." She grinned at Gina.
"Why would you think I would answer that question any differently?" Gina said.
"The girl then went off on some story. "A few years ago, Cosmopolitan magazine had a study." She offered.
"And?" Gina asked.
"Well. They said that one in four women were either gay, interested in it or had once experienced a lesbian Encounter." The girl lifted her head. "Besides." She added
"Besides what?" Gina asked.
"Your t-shirt." She pointed. "Blackpink." She said. "I think they're great."
Gina grinned. "I do too. But I don't think they are lesbians."
"Really?" the girl seemed disappointed.
"Really." Gina said.
"Gee, you think you know things. An all-girl pop band." The girl said. "But even so, there is still Cosmopolitan, and if I can't believe Cosmo, well damn."
"I don't thing you should be making relationship choices by what a magazine says." Gina said.
"Probably right." The girl stood up. "I'm in the Harper dorm."
Gina just stared at her.
"You know, in case you change your mind." The girl explained.
She turned to walk away. Gina was offering a slight chuckle. "Well, if I do." She said, "What would I do then? Just go to your dorm and ask what room the lesbian is in?"
The girl stopped, turned around. "I'm not a slut." She was clearly upset. She could see Gina realizing what she said was mean. "Ask for Katherine Kruger." She said.
Gina nodded.
The girl waved a hand. "Wait." She shrugged her shoulders. "Everyone knows me as Kat." She walked away.
Over the next half hour, Gina tried her best to read but the conversation with the girl she now knew as Kat kept getting in the way. Finally, she closed the book and went back to her room.
