Mr. Gardner

You're Susan?

"Is this seat taken?" I look up and see a tall blonde smiling down at me. All she is holding is a salad, not even covered in dressing. 

"Uh, nope. It's just me here." I respond and she smiles and sits across from me. Great, I don't want to start conversing with this random woman, but yet I invite her to sit with me.

Are you really that fucking lonely Nathan?

"Are you the new professor?" She asks and I furrow my brows.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"You seem a little out of place is all. Most professors eat lunch in their office so they don't have to deal with students in their off time." She explains and I nod.

"So you're a student?" I ask and she laughs whilst shaking her head.

"No, I'm an adjunct professor, I'm just not here often enough to have my own office. There's always another professor in the shared office." She rolls her eyes.

"If it makes you feel any better, I don't have any office to go to." 

"You're new, if they like you, you'll eventually get your own office I'm sure." I nod, taking a bite of my sandwich as she starts shaking her salad.

"I see you like rabbit food." I point out and she shakes her head whilst smiling.

"I don't. My boyfriend made me take this today. Apparently I've been 'gaining weight'." She rolls her eyes and I furrow my brows.

"No man should ever tell his partner that. Trust me, you don't need to lose any weight." I say, not believing how cruel men could be to their girlfriends.

I guess the nice guys never truly win.

"He's just grouchy lately. I've been ranting to him about the start of the semester so he's just getting annoyed is all." She shrugs and I shake my head.

"That's not an excuse to be rude to his girlfriend." We stay silent for a moment, just eating our lunch.

"What's your name?" She asks and we both laugh, realizing we went far into the conversation without introducing ourselves.

"Nathan Gardner, I apologize for not asking your name sooner."

"It's alright. I'm Gwyneth Paltrow, it's nice to meet you Nathan." We chuckle and shake hands. My attention is suddenly drawn away when I hear a certain someone laughing loudly nearby.

~

Mila's POV

John and I got our Subway and decided to eat outside. "You know, when I was a kid, I didn't live in a city. So when people would talk about the subway, I would always think of the sandwich shop, not the underground transportation system." John explains and we both laugh.

"I could understand that. I never confused them personally but I don't think you were the only one." 

"I was a dumb child. I always thought the saying was 'let's play it be year' instead of 'ear'." I laugh.

"Everyone has their dumb moments. You know, you should be a comedian." I say and John furrows his brows.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because from just hanging out with you for a couple of hours, I could see you doing an entire stand up show just by some of the stories you've told me." I see him blush slightly.

"Thanks, I didn't think I was that funny." We sit down at a picnic table, ready to devour our subs. "So, mind if I ask why you started college late?" He starts and I become nervous again. "It's okay if you don't want to say, I'm just making conversation." He says quickly, noticing my change in behavior.