Through the point of view of Beatrix
I'm a mess.
A nervous mess.
I run all throughout my dorm hurriedly cleaning up clothes off of the floor and moving my suitcases to the back of my closet. My kitchen is wiped down, my room cleaned and bed made.
Had I forgotten something?
I check the time on my phone and see it's 5:46, and after that I'm rushing once again to take a shower and get out of my school clothes.
The shower I take is five minutes long at the least, and I put on my lotion and contemplate on what one would wear when studying with a friend.
I want to go for a comfy look, which is accompanied by a pair of my black sleep shorts and a jurassic park t-shirt but don't want to appear too relaxed.
And I want to look studious, which would be conveyed nicely through the white leggings and plain cream colored hoodie, but I didn't want to appear like I've put too much thought into what I'm wearing.
It takes me 15 minutes to decide.
Once I'm dressed and refreshed, I put on a pair of fuzzy socks and put my braids into a low bun.
After a couple minutes of staring at my reflection in the mirror, I take my backpack to the living room and set all my things down neatly at the coffee table in the middle of the room.
Making great time, if I do say so myself.
While I wait, I put on some music and start to look through the textbook for my Spanish course. I read through some common greetings, formal and casual.
I'm about to start annotating the difference between formal, and casual before I hear a knock at the door.
Breathe .. just breathe.
I walk over to the door and once my nerves have somewhat settled, I open it slowly.
Anthony stands in the doorway, his hands holding a tray full of snacks and cups.
"Why did you get so many things? There are like six fruit tarts on this plate!" I watch as he smiles at my reaction, his expression feigning innocence as he walks into my dorm room.
"I may have went a little overboard in my selection, but at least now you have more than two options to choose from." He offers as he sets the tray down onto the coffee table.
I shut the door with an exasperated sigh as I fight the tug of my lips forming into a smile.
"You know we're not wasting any food right? You're going to eat some of this too." Anthony takes off his back pack as I sit down and he shortly joins me on the cushion next to me.
"Alright, so what did you want to go over first?" He asks, and I show him what I had written in my notes so far.
"I think I kind of get it, but the difference between formal and casual speaking is hard for me remember." I explain to him.
"Well that's a common road block for a lot of people studying Spanish. It's important to remember that that there are two ways of saying most phrases in spanish." Anthony grabs a pencil off the table and writes down two words into my notebook.
"For example, the word you. The informal phrase is tú, but the formal phrase is usted. It can be a little confusing at first, but once you know the difference it's easy." I nod, trying to absorb the information as he continues on.
"Which one you use depends on how close you are to the person you're speaking to. So you use usted, if the person is your elder or holds a position of authority like a teacher or professor.." I glance at the textbook and see the same is written down on the page.
"Inversely, you use tú when you're talking to someone close like a family member, friends or a spouse." He hands me the pencil back, and I begin to jot down the explanation he'd given.
"You explain it better than the book tries to, I think I can remember that." I finish writing the last sentence in my notebook and thank Anthony gratefully.
"Of course, and I will take one of these tarts as my payment." He plucks a strawberry tart off of the tray happily. I just chuckle to myself before going back to my reading of the textbook.
"Do you have cups? I brought some peppermint tea, it should help you sleep after." I nod and head off into my kitchen, grabbing two mugs I brought with me from home.
"Where did you buy these?" Anthony asks as I hand him a mug. I roll my eyes at his statement, and sit down on the floor this time.
"I didn't buy them, I made them. I used to make mugs for fun back home." I say pouring myself a bit of tea.
"They're really nice," He marvels, eyes sparkling like child as he continues staring at the mug like it's a fresh toy on a store shelf.
"Can you please focus? If I fail this quiz, a stupid mug will be the least of your worries." I say, drawing Anthony's attention back to me and our studying session.
I hand him the thermos, watching silently he pours himself some tea.
"What else did you need help with?" Anthony asks while taking a sip from his newly acquired mug.
I spend the rest of our time together asking for help with pronunciation, explanation on the terms in the textbook I'm not familiar with yet and any other remaining questions that Anthony is willing to answer.
He's patient, and doesn't grow frustrated with me even when I tell him that I don't understand something he's explained to me already.
Instead, he either draws it out for me to see in my notebook or give me an example that a native Spanish speaker use in a conversation.
Anthony's explanations are incredibly helpful, and by the time we've eaten half of the snacks he provided, I've got at least two full pages of Spanish notes.
"Thank you .. Anthony." I smile gratefully, looking over at him.
In return he offered me a small smile, one filled with genuineness and earnest.
"Of course .. B." He teases, making my smile fall. I crumple up a piece of paper near me and launch it at him.
Anthony ducks with a laugh and I give him a playful glare.
"I told you not to call me that." I remind him as he begins to collect the trash we made.
We both clean off the coffee table and collect our things, all while Anthony tries to figure out what nickname he thinks up best suits me.
"What about Bee? Or Trix?" I scoff at the awful nicknames, somehow not having believed it could've gotten worse.
"How about-" I'm cut off from retorting my witty snap back by the sound of a phone ringing.
Anthony answers it and I continue cleaning up as he talks to someone over the phone.
I'm putting away a trash can when I hear him scoff over the phone.
"No, I'm not having sex, I am studying. What is wrong with you?" He hisses over the phone, making my eyes widen at his words.
Who the heck was he on the phone with?
"Stop asking me stupid questions. Alright, I'm coming. I'm on my way now .. yeah, bye." I look over at Anthony and notice he's already staring at me.
"I'm so sorry, that was one of my friends. I'm supposed to be going to some stupid party tonight." Anthony explains and I assure him that's it's okay.
I walk over to the door and open it for him. Anthony walks to the doorway before stopping to look to me.
His expression is one of mischief, and I observe his lips part to speak again.
"From good to bad, how did my second impression rate on the Beatrix-Meter?" Anthony questions, making me break out into a small smile.
"Very well, in fact. She thinks she just found the perfect first friend, and study buddy." I answer, my tone surprisingly warm as I speak the words aloud.
Anthony smiles softly at my answer and leans in. Our eyes meet one another's, and I feel my breath catch in my chest at the sudden lack of space between us.
He's close.
So close I can get a faint whiff of the cologne he's wearing.
"Thank you, B. Have a good night." And as quickly as he had leaned in, Anthony pulls back with a wink before bidding me goodnight.
I watch him leave down the now dark hallways, dimly lit with candlelight at this hour. My hand goes to my chest and I feel my heart beating beneath my skin.