Camie started running straight ahead but she soon realized that she had no idea where the astronomy department was. Or any department for that matter. All she knew was where the neuroscience buildings were.
She stopped running and looked it up on her phone. It was a little walk away but nothing too long. Therefore she just started walking towards the building rapidly. She walked inside and didn't see anyone at the entrance. She looked at the time and realized that most people must have been in class by that time. She walked up two fleets of stairs and forgot why she came for a second. The place was way prettier than her building. Not that her building was ugly but her entire building looked like a huge lab. Camie loved that futuristic vibe but she also loved the colorful walls of this department. Everything was pink and orange and Camie continued walking up to see what the place looked like.
She stopped only when stairs ran out and she too, the first corridor she found. She didn't need to walk for much longer before she found a little group of students sitting on benches. They weren't talking and it didn't seem like they knew each other. Camie looked at them for a second trying to figure out who she wanted to talk to. Once decided, she walked up to the young woman furthest away from her:
"Excuse me."
The stranger looked up seeing Camie's feet in front of her. She had curly purple hair and heart shaped sunglasses that she took off before taking off her headset:
"Oh, hi!"
Her headset slid down her notebook and she caught it at the last second.
"What can I do for you?
-Do you know things about black holes?"
The stranger let go of her notebook all together:
"Of course I do.
-Great! Tell me everything you know."
The other students around them seemed rather grumpy and they asked if Camie and her new friend could talk somewhere else. The stranger rolled her eyes:
"Don't pretend that you are being bothered by us. You are always talking out loud during class and you spent the last hour glued to your phones instead of studying. If someone should be interested in what will be said it's you three."
One of the people being attacked straightened up but the one who spoke prior gestured for him to stay seated:
"Don't waste your breath, you will need it for the next class."
After having said that, the stranger started picking her stuff up:
"Let's go somewhere more comfortable."
Camie followed the stranger one floor under and to a random classroom:
"Come in. This room is always empty."
They both put their stuff down and the stranger grabbed a black marker. She started filling the board with various shapes, words and numbers that didn't make any sense to Camie. Shejust stared at the board, not blinking.
"Easy, right?"
Camie needed a second:
"I have no idea what you just said."
The stranger seemed disheartened for a second but she quickly got her spirits back:
"Sorry, I didn't specialize how I rambled. Are you in astrophysics too?
-I'm in biology."
The stranger frowned:
"Oh, then why did you ask me about black holes? I thought you came up to me because you didn't understand the class from Professor Fridrick.
-No. I need to know everything possible about black holes. I need to know more than anyone else."
The stranger laughed:
"Good luck with that. But I like the ambition. I am personally not looking to work on black holes but I understand them well. Not to brag but I got the best score in Professor Fridrick's exam. I could help you if you want. You could also talk to the Professor directly but he is awfully boring. Very nice, but boring. Poor man... He is trying his best.
-That would be amazing!"
Camie grimaced at the board:
"But you would have to start at the very beginning... Would that be okay?
-Oh, don't worry about it. It will help me rehearse what I already know."
She started wiping the board:
"Did you see the documentary that came out yesterday? It was very well made.
-No.
-You should watch it. They don't elaborate on Black Holes but they do mention them. It could be a good start for you."
Camie wrote the documentary's name down.
"Okay.
-I think we should start with some basics about gravity and light first. Nothing big, don't worry. But it will be useful in the long run."
Camie sat down on a table and listened to her new professor. Now that they took a lot of steps back in the programme, Camie had no problem following and she realized that contrary to what she thought, she really liked physics. A big part of that thought must have been because her teacher was entertaining. The stranger perfectly explained very complicated ideas and somehow she could communicate her excitement in the subject. Camie was hanging on every word and she completely lost track of time.
"Was that clear?"
Camie pushed herself back on the table.
"Yes.
-Great! I would love to talk more but I have a class in two minutes. We could meet up again the day after tomorrow. I have a lot of holes in my schedule."
Camie was frustrated that they would stop there but she had to admit that it was for the better. She could feel her brain melting. The young professor took her phone out and handed it to Camie:
"Give me your number. I'll text you the details tonight. Or tomorrow morning if I forget about it and fall asleep.
-Thank you."
Camie didn't put her number in immediately and took a second to admire how colorful the stranger's phone case was. Once finished, she handed the phone back to the new professor and the latter looked at Camie's name:
"Camie? Did you forget a few letters?
-No.
-It's pretty. I thought you were called Camille and the phone auto corrected. But I like Camie better. It's new. Nice to meet you, Camie. I completely forgot that I didn't know your name. I guess I didn't tell you mine either.
-You didn't.
-My name is Violet. Some people call me Vivi but I don't like that so don't do it.
-Okay.
-Any nicknames that I should know about?"
Camie thought about it for a second.
"No.
-What pronouns do you use?
-She/her.
-I use she/they. More she than they but that could still change. I am still trying to figure it out. I'll let you know.
-Okay."
Violet nodded.
"Have a nice evening.
-You too. Thank you again."
And just like that, they parted ways. Camie walked out of the building very proudly. She felt like a genius and was really happy at the thought that she would help Théa with her powers. Camie had stopped paying attention to super heroes a few years after she found out that she didn't get any powers but she had no idea that it would be this interesting. Maybe she should have paid more attention to superheroes before.
Having realized that, Camie remembered that she promised to meet Théa after her class. She still had some time before the end so she slowly walked back to Théa's building. She found a comfortable looking bench and rushed towards it. She didn't even have time to sit down when she heard her name being called. Camie turned around and frowned seeing Firo.