The Foreigner

Chapter 4: Friends in the Making

A/N: Image above is of Chris Wood who portrays Declan

Anita scurried through the doors to her lecture room with two minutes to spare. Over the past two weeks, she had learnt how to reach most of them, and surprisingly she was early. The blonde, happy that she managed to be on time, slowed her pace, and swung the door open.

The familiar room was large. A single tinted window occupied the top half of the far wall, just above the lecturer's podium.

Anita walked down the carpeted aisle, before reaching the sixth row from the front and turned to see Declan already sitting there.

Anita had met Declan during their first lecture. The two of them had sat next to each other, where through the entire sitting, the scruffy dark haired boy had constantly whispered funny remarks to her. The blonde had found it extremely refreshing, as it took majority of her will power to not burst out laughing and be sent out of the class.

Declan was playing on his phone as she approached. He was wearing a maroon beanie along with his deep framed glasses. Anita swore he was blind without them.

She plonked down next to him, causing him to jump. He looked up, wide-eyed. His expression stiff, as he pushed his now lopsided glasses up his nose. He smiled recognising Anita's pale face.

"Afternoon." Anita finally said.

"Woah. I can't believe this. Anita Nordberg is on time. An absolute miracle. What poor animal did you have to sacrifice in order to be here today?"

He shoved his fist towards her mouth, making a make-believe microphone, but Anita couldn't respond. She just laughed, playfully shoving Declan in his seat. "You're mean." She giggled, pouting her lips.

Declan laughed alongside her. "Mean? No, I'm not mean." He laughed. "I'm flummoxed."

Anita glared at him. He was one of the few people she had met that purposely used words she didn't understand. "Okay, now you're really mean."

Declan snickered to himself, satisfied. "No, I'm the nice guy. Remember. We talked about this last time. I'm forcing you to learn new English words."

Anita shook her head in amusement, finding his antics humorous. "Fine, would you care to enlighten me as to what flummoxed means?" She inquired with a raised eyebrow.

He happily defined the word for her, just as the lecturer walked in to start. Anita pulled out her laptop and waited for the middle aged man to begin.

The seminar went quickly and Anita surprisingly found the theories rather interesting. As the scrawny girl began packing up her stuff, Declan pulled her attention. "Mhm?" She hummed, still zipping up her backpack.

The two of them stood up in unison. "Can we grab a coffee?" He asked. "I'm exhausted."

Anita reflected his tired expression. "You read my mind."

They both slung their backpacks over their shoulders and headed for the bistro near Anita's dorm room that she regularly visited. It was the only place on campus that sold decent coffee.

Declan and her seemed to head in the same direction without discussing their destination. The sky had lost it's glorious blue from earlier that day. Grey clouds were beginning to set in.

Declan and Anita walked in a comfortable silence, both preoccupied by their own thoughts, the bustling campus providing the volume. They walked past the quad and made it to the cute cafe.

The familiar musk, coffee smell filled Anita with a relaxed aura. She made her way inside to unfortunately be greeted by a long line. There was the gurgling sound of the coffee machine going, heating up the milk.