I walked into the apartment, and the first thing I did, after falling on the bed, was to sent Lydia a message. She was the only friend of mine who’d been with me through thick and thin all these years, and I had the feeling that she’d resent me if I didn’t immediately tell her about my night with Amelia.

Hannah: Ly, you awake?

It was pretty silly of me to ask, because I knew Lydia was always awake during odd hours, even if she had classes the next day.

Lydia: Sup, girl?

Hannah: I need to tell you something.

Hannah: I just had the best date of my life.

I smiled, wondering what the look on Lydia’s face would be when she read that message. Then I felt my phone vibrating. It surprised me. I checked the screen to find that Lydia was calling me. Well of course she would.

“Hello?” I spoke into the phone.

“Tell me everything!” said Lydia, excitedly. I laughed.

“All right, all right. So... remember how I got Amelia’s work address from Janis, last Sunday? I finally went there, today. Did you know Amelia’s a waitress? She works at a pub near the main square.”

“Keep going,” said Lydia.

“Well, I met her there, and she asked a friend to cover her shift for her, so she could go out with me. It was sort of an impromptu date. We took the bus to... I’m not sure where, exactly, but it was some sort of rural part of town, with a few houses and lots of cows. Then she took me to a windmill.”

“A windmill?” Lydia objected, suspicious. “Are those still a thing?”

“Yeah, and it belongs to her family, it seems,” I explained.

That didn’t sit well with Lydia. “Why would her family own a windmill?”

I chuckled. “You’re missing the point, Ly. Focus! So anyway, she took me there, and we climbed the stairs inside the windmill up to a balcony on the top. It was a charming little place. I love how you can see the stars better there than in the city. So we sat out there and talked for a long time.”

Lydia seemed unimpressed. “Sounds pretty boring, to me.”

I laughed. “Oh, stuff it. It was fun.”

“Did you at least kiss her?”

“I did, actually,” I said, smiling. “A few times.”

“Sweet! Way to go, girl,” said Lydia, cheerfully. “Hannah, congratulations, you just got your first girlfriend!”

I frowned. “Oh, about that... We’re still not officially a thing, you know. It was just the one date... But! She did ask me for a second one. So I think we’re good, for now.”

“When?” Lydia asked, eagerly. “When are you going? Tell me! I gotta do your makeup before you go.”

I was a little surprised. “You never did my makeup before my dates with Michael.”

“I didn’t like Michael,” Lydia declared, flat out. “I love Amelia, though, so I want you to go out with her looking your best. And I’m gonna help you pick your clothes, too. Are you going to ask her? To make it official and everything?”

“I’m not sure about that,” I said, feeling a little tense.

“Oh, come on, Hannah! Be assertive, for once in your life!”

“I’ll think about it, Ly.”

Lydia grunted. I had the feeling that I hadn’t seen the end of that discussion just yet. But she let it go, for now.

“So, what else did you two talk about?”

I smiled. “All sorts of things. Did you know that she’s studying pharmacy? She said that her dream for the future is to work at a lab doing vaccine research, and I think that’s pretty cool. She’s allergic to cats. She loves dogs, but can’t have any at the place she’s living right now, which is kind of a shame, I really wanted to see a photo of her with a dog, it would be so cute. She’s allergic to pineapples, too, I think that’s pretty weird. Oh, and on her spare time, she likes to go camping. I’m not sure how I feel about that, though. I’ve never gone camping, and it really feels like it would be quite a hassle. What do you think, Ly? Should I give it a go?”

I could hear Lydia laughing on the other side of the line.

“What I think... is that I’ve never heard you talk so much at once before. What did that girl do to you, Hannah?”

I bit my bottom lip, nervously. Yeah, Lydia was right, I was so... hyper. And happy, too. I don’t remember the last time I’ve been this happy.

“Are you going to uni tomorrow?” Lydia asked me.

I rolled my eyes. “I am. And before you ask, yes, I can give you a ride.”

Lydia giggled. “Thanks, Hannah. You’re a lifesaver.”

“But only if you’re here at seven o’clock, sharp. I don’t wanna be late.”

“Eeeeeh,” Lydia protested. “That’s way too early.”

I wanted to point out to Lydia that both of our classes started at the same time. I wasn’t early, she’s the one who was always late.

“Take it or leave it, Ly.”

I heard my friend sigh. “I’ll take it, of course. Seven, right?”

“Yes,” I confirmed. “And you probably should turn in now, or you’ll be late.”

Lydia chuckled. “All right, mom.”

“Don’t call me that,” I reprehended her. “I don’t remember raising any lazy daughters.”

---

Professor Werneck was a kind old lady who taught classes on 20th century far-right dictatorships. She had a warm smile, and always seemed happy to help in any way she could. I was outside her door, mentally preparing myself to hand her my essay. I shifted around, nervously, and re-read the title of my assignment for the hundredth time. “On the persecution of Romani and Slavic populations in Nazi Germany.” I had spent several nights on it, but I still wasn’t sure if it was good enough. Was I too worried? Maybe. But I’ve always considered myself a good student, and the fact that I wanted to change majors soon didn’t mean I could allow myself to slack off on my current duties.

“All right,” I whispered to myself. “Let’s go.”

I knocked at the door, and heard Professor Werneck asking me to come in.

“Hello, Professor,” I told her, walking in. She was sitting at her desk, working on some documents. “Um... I came to hand in my assignment,” I told her.

Professor Werneck nodded. She took the essay from my hands, glanced at the title through her small round glasses, and smiled.

“Oh, this looks promising,” said the Professor. She leafed through my work. “An often overlooked aspect of that regime, isn’t it?” Then she put the essay down on her desk, and turned to look me in the eyes. “So, Hannah, about that thing you came to ask me the other day, have you made up your mind yet?”

I shook my head. “Not... yet, no.” She pulled a chair for me, and I sat down, thanking her. “I was thinking journalism, maybe? Or literature.”

“Can I ask why those choices, particularly?” she inquired, gently.

“I guess it’s something I’m good at,” I admitted.

Professor Werneck nodded, slowly. “Well, that’s certainly true,” she said, glancing at my essay. “But that’s no different from where you’re at, right now. You’re one of my best students, Hannah. I like the insights you bring me, and you take your research seriously, that’s commendable. What I want to know is: What else motivates you, child? What is it about journalism or literature that makes you want to pick one of those, over political science?”

I shrugged. I didn’t know. To be fair, I had no idea why I had picked political science in the first place.

The Professor hummed. “Tea, darling?” She took a thermos flask from her desk, and started pouring us two cups of tea. I thanked her for it. She sipped it, savoring the tea slowly. “All right. Hannah, sweetheart, let me ask you this. Why are you trying to make things easy on yourself?”

I furrowed my brow, finding that question a little odd.

“I don’t think I’m doing that,” I tried to argue.

“Are you sure?” Professor Werneck asked. “Because to me it just looks like you’re trying to remain inside your comfort zone. You want to do things you’re good at, so that you don’t risk failing at something else. Ask yourself this, Hannah: Do you actually want to become a journalist? Or a literature teacher? Don’t get me wrong, those are very honorable professions, and I’m sure you could find success in either. But... if you were to miss on the chance of seeking a dream just so that you can keep playing on the safe side, what a shame it would be.” She sipped her tea again, calmly, and repeated her words. “What a shame it will be.”

I wasn’t sure how to feel about all of that.

“Thank you for the tea, Professor,” I told her, standing up.

Professor Werneck nodded. “And thank you too, child. I’ll read your essay with great interest.”

As I was leaving her room, my phone started ringing. It was probably Lydia, asking me for a ride, or my parents. Not many people called me apart from them.

I looked at the screen, and hesitated. Unknown caller. Those are usually call center folks, right? Probably hoping to sell me some sort of mobile data plan, or maybe to sign me up for a new credit card I did not want nor need.

“Hello?” I spoke.

“Hannah?”

I froze. I knew that voice, and it was way worse than any call center salesman. It was Michael.

I could feel my hands trembling, slightly. I thought I’d blocked all his numbers. Did he get a new one just to call me? Would I have to change numbers just so I could manage to avoid him? I took a deep breath, and ended the call.

I stared at the phone screen for a few seconds, and it started ringing again. “Unknown caller”. I rejected the call, and powered off my phone, for now. Then I leaned against the wall in the corridor, and took several deep breaths, to calm myself down.

That was so like Michael. He was always persistent, always unwilling to let go. It’s been just a little over a week since we’d broken up, and now that I think about it, that silence really was unusual for him, even if I made a real effort to cut contact.

I wanted to message Lydia, but I didn’t feel like turning my phone on again. Besides, she was probably in class right now. Her grades were bad enough without me asking her to cut class with me. I took to wandering around campus, trying to put my thoughts in order. I had been so caught up in my new feelings for Amelia, that I had completely overlooked Michael. It seems that just sending him a text and blocking him on every social network wasn’t enough. I would have to confront him some time. And that... that would be a problem.

I still shivered to remember the way he never accepted my attempts to break things up, in the past. It could be that he only wanted to apologize for the aggression, but I had the feeling that this wasn’t it. I was afraid he would try to talk me back into that relationship, and just that thought was enough to make me feel faint.

I hadn’t been looking where I was going. By the time I realized it, I had walked into a completely unfamiliar part of the campus. There were people walking the corridors wearing lab coats, and I felt absolutely out of place.

“Hannah?”

The voice surprised me. I turned around, and saw Amelia standing with a few other girls, looking at me.

“Um... hi,” I told her, awkwardly.

The redhead walked up to me. “What are you doing here? Are you all right? You don’t look so well.”

I pursed my lips, and averted my eyes. “I... Umm...” Breath in. Breath out. Easy, there. “It was Michael,” I admitted. “He just called me.”

I looked at Amelia, and saw concern grow on her face again.

She took my hand.

“Come on,” she said, “let’s go somewhere more reserved.”