"Oh, shit!" cursed Stella. The word processor program had just crashed and shut itself down. Like an idiot she'd been working on her dissertation for five hours straight and hadn't sit Control-S even once. And now she'd lost everything.
Tears started to prickle her eyes. As if it wasn't hard enough studying for an English degree whilst also trying to keep light and limber for the dance competition on Saturday, now she had to go and do something typically blonde like this.
She pondered what to do. What she really wanted was a chocolate milkshake, but that was so many calories...and dairy took so long to digest. It would only make practice harder. Sighing, she got up and went into the communal kitchen, deciding to make some green tea instead. It was a poor substitute, but the heat would be comforting and green tea was good for detoxing.
Tea bag, hot water, leave to brew -- a comforting routine. She was so engrossed in what she was doing that, when a soft voice said "Hi," she nearly dropped the kettle.
"Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to startle you."
She turned and gave him a brief smile. "That's OK."
She really wasn't in the mood for Richard right now. It was rare that he ever emerged from his room, but when he did he always managed to make her feel uncomfortable. It wasn't that he checked her out -- Stella was very used to guys doing that. In fact, he seemed so indifferent to her that it was positively offensive. He was always polite enough to acknowledge her, but that was as far as it went. She realised now that this was probably the greatest number of words he'd ever spoken to her in one encounter.
"Don't worry about it," she said. Did he even realise how geeky he was? Standing there with his lanky figure, and his Mario Brothers T-shirt and his outgrown hair and his -- his weirdness. He even wore glasses, just to make him into even more of a stereotype.
He shrugged. "Bad day?" he asked.
Wow, he was making an effort today. "You could say that," she said.
"Anything I can do?"
Oh, go away, she thought, irritable suddenly. "Not unless you can rescue five hours' work from my computer," she said brusquely, and walked quickly out of the kitchen.
"Actually, I probably can," he said -- not desperately calling after her, but quietly, almost to himself rather than to her. In spite of herself, she stopped in her tracks and turned back to face him.
"Really?" she said.
"Really."
They looked at one another, Richard not making the offer and Stella not making the request, for some time. Richard was trying not to stare at her lustfully -- but it was difficult not to, which was why he usually went out of his way to avoid her. With her ash-blonde hair and her tiny but toned frame dressed in a floaty little summer dress, and the graceful way she moved, she was more like a fairy than a human girl -- and about as likely to be interested in him as she was to actually be one of the fey folk.
"I..." she began awkwardly. "I mean -- would you...would you give it a try?"
Actually be alone with her in her room? Richard could feel his heartbeat start to quicken. Licking his lips, which had suddenly gone very dry, he nodded. "OK."
He followed her into her room, wondering how many of the other guys on their floor would be jealous if they could see him. Stella was known as a bit of an ice maiden -- beautiful, but totally unapproachable. Apparently she'd never had as much as a date in all the time they'd been at university. Probably thinks she's too good for us mere mortals, he thought a little disdainfully. He didn't have much time for girls who thought they were God's gift to men.
He liked to think of himself as someone who had a little more depth than the average male -- someone who went for girls on the basis of their brains rather than their looks -- and this was usually true. He also tended to prefer them curvy. It made no sense at all. This was why his attraction to her troubled him so. It was as if he was starting to turn into the sort of guy who went for 'hot' chicks without caring about whether there was anything beneath the surface. Well, he thought, he'd fix her computer and get out of there as quickly as possible.
"So is there any saved version of the file?" he asked, sitting at the desk.
"Er...yes," she said, blushing. "I saved at the beginning, but after that -- I got so into what I was doing that I just, sort of...forgot."
He did not reply, but Stella thought she saw him roll his eyes, ever so slightly. Great, she thought -- now he thinks I'm a total bimbo. But hang on -- who cares what he thinks?
Nervous now, she stood up and pulled her left leg up until it was nearly at ninety degrees to the floor. Stretching always helped her relax. The move had been performed unselfconsciously and for her own benefit -- but the effect on Richard was electric. He knew it was a ridiculously predictable response, but seeing her flexibility in action was making him imagine how many other positions she could get into.
