Mismatched Socks

Sophia - Chapter 26: A pig's brain

I get off the plane. For the last two months I took a job on campus. With the money I made, I could pay some of the plane ticket. My parents paid the rest. It's not for free, I will have to work until I can pay my parents back. Once I have my suitcase, I try to find my way out of the airport and manage to find a taxi. The woman behind the wheel is kind and brings me to my destination.

With my suitcase I walk to the building where Renée's staying. I have so much energy I could run a marathon. I knock on the door and Renée opens it, holding some notes she's reading. 'Hi,' I say with the biggest smile in the world. Renée looks up at me, her eyes widen in surprise. 'Sophia!' she exclaims and hugs me.

She lets me go, but holds on to my shoulders. 'I can't believe you are real,' she says and smiles. I smile and lean in to kiss her. 'Who's at the door?' a man's voice asks. I lean back in surprise. A man joins us at the doorstep. 'Amir, this is Sophia,' Renée says beaming with joy. 'Well, she is real,' Amir laughs and holds out his hand.

I let his hand hanging and take Renée's hand instead. Amir smiles awkwardly and clears his throat. 'Well, I'll leave you two then,' he says and leaves. Renée pulls me inside and takes my suitcase. She closes the door and turns to me. 'God, I have missed you,' she says before pressing her lips on mine.

With all the love I have for her, I kiss her back. Our kiss deepens and I guide her to the table behind her. Renée leans back on the table and takes a seat. Our lips never leave each other's. We keep kissing, me standing between her legs. We both yearn for each other, but oxygen is also an important thing.

Renée gently breaks our kiss and leans her forehead against mine. 'As glad as I am to see you. What are you doing here and for how long are you staying?' Maybe I should've said that I was coming, but I wanted to surprise her and see her so badly. I give her a peck on the lips before telling her how I missed her and wanted to see her, kiss her, hold her.

Renée smiles softly, but the smile doesn't reach all the way to her eyes. 'And I am staying for four days.' Renée nods. 'I wish you would've told me you were coming. I am meeting up with my research partners.' She takes my hand and looks at me with a pained expression. 'Can I come with you?' Renée thinks for a moment and starts nodding. 'Yes, I can't see why not. You could bring your books if you want to study?' I nod with a smile, although I rather take a nap. I am pretty jetlagged.

Renée packs her stuff into a bag and waits for me to gather my books and things I need to study. She's one year younger than me, but seems so mature all of a sudden. Maybe that's because she hangs out with people that are older? On our way, we stop for some snacks and drinks. 'You should try the Twizzlers, they are surprisingly good.' I just nod, looking around at the buildings. She is very lucky to be here and I am so proud of her.

We enter a lab with a lot of microscopes and death animal parts. The three other people greet Renée and she happily greets them back. 'This is Sophia,' Renée says. 'Oh my, she does exist,' a young woman says. She has a southern accent, dark brown hair that flawlessly hangs over her shoulders and big brown eyes that smile friendly.

The other two people are men. One of them is dressed like an adorable grandfather with glasses. He greets me friendly and then reads something in a science magazine. The other guy stares me up and down and then scoffs. 'She could do much better than you.' Renée rolls her eyes at him. 'Eli, be nice,' the nerdy guy says. 'It's okay, Alex,' Renée says to the guy with glasses. 'There's a table over there with some charging points. Here's the Wi-Fi password, don't tell anyone that you got it form me.'

Renée hands me over a little sticky note with the password and helps me get settled at the table. 'Seems a fun group to hang out with,' I say. Renée scoffs. 'Alex and Regina are okay. Eli is just a pain in the ass.' I chuckle. 'I heard that Renée!' Eli shouts form across the room. 'It doesn't hurt to hear it once in a while,' Regina says and puts on the light on her microscope.