The Exchange Student

The Airport

Ava and Beatrice had class in the same building that day. Beatrice had her French lesson and Ava her Portuguese one. This situation only happened on Tuesdays, and they'd make the best out of it.

Ava had insisted on taking Beatrice out on a date at the best school's cafeteria according to Beatrice's criteria. Because for Ava, the best cafeteria will forever be the one in which she first made out with Beatrice. Obviously. But this one came in close second.

There were a lot of options – it was one of the only cafeterias that offered vegetarian meals, but it came with its defaults ; it was more expensive. Ava was still pretty broke, but she knew how to treat her girl.

Beatrice opened the door for Ava, and bowed when she entered the room. "Milady," she whispered, careful to emphasise her British accent. She was very aware of how ridiculous she sounded, but she didn't care in the slightest if anyone were to see or hear her, she just smiled.

"Thank you, Bea," Ava happily said in a high-pitched voice, and Ava pushed on her hands to get the wheelchair moving. Beatrice giggled, as she approached Ava to lay a peck on her lips.

Ava could feel the widest grin hurting her cheeks, but she couldn't care less.

"So, girlfriend, what would make you happy ?" Ava asked while approaching the sandwich aisle. While also making sure to emphasise on the word 'girlfriend', her new favourite word – after the name of her beloved, that is.

"Nothing. I already am," Beatrice replied quickly and smoothly.

"That was cheesy, even for you," Ava giggled and Beatrice rolled her eyes.

Beatrice picked a salad, and Ava instructed Beatrice to get her a very specific type of pasta.

Beatrice found an empty table in the cafeteria, and invited Ava to join her. They sat side by side so Ava could hold Beatrice's hand whenever she wasn't using it to stuff unhealthy amounts of food in her mouth.

It was funny how much they were focused on each other. No one else mattered, the world around them didn't exist. They both loved observing it, yet they hadn't spent any second to contemplate it.

By the end of their meal, they still had enough time to discuss the recent matters in both their lives. Beatrice told Ava that Camila would be visiting next week, and she'd arrive this weekend. And Ava told Beatrice about yesterday. About the police station, and what they discussed when she was there.

"And now, we basically just have to wait for the CCTV footage." Ava finished to explain, almost destabilised by the fact that she was the sole centre of Beatrice's attention, and it was one of the best feelings in the world.

"Alright." Beatrice nodded, but she still seemed pretty preoccupied. She had the same frown since the beginning of the conversation, when Ava described the altercation with this woman named Chanel. The frown had evolved from a pout when Ava had mentioned how attractive the officer was. Cute Beatrice was one hell of a sight. "Can I ask you a question ?"

"Go ahead, babe," Ava smiled. She couldn't help but feel happy and light. Freed from her previous anxiety. Beatrice's presence had magical soothing effects on her, it wasn't the first time she noticed it. There had been a pretty similar situation back at the hospital, when Beatrice held her hand all the time, even while asleep. It almost cured Ava.

"What do you think JC did ?" Beatrice asked, voice softening but features still being the proof that she was deeply focused on their conversation.

And Ava's happiness dramatically decreased after the question. Beatrice was right to ask this question, but Ava hadn't had time to process her meeting at the police station yet. It was simply overwhelming. Not because of Beatrice, she didn't ask out of curiosity. She was just trying to help Ava with her thoughts and feelings. When Ava understood where her intentions came from, some of the happiness came back.