"Sure, let me show you how to use the washing machine."
"Washing what?"
"Come this way, I'll explain."
***
"So Jena, are you ready to see more of the wonders that represent my higher education?"
"Sure! And you know? Maybe we can find that person with the roasted nuts..."
"Mate! Mate, mate, mate, mate, mate, mate, mate..."Lana starts chanting.
"Yes, Lana! I know! I want to find him or her too!"
"MATE!" Lana answers, running circles in the back of Jena's mind.
"YES! Stop it, you silly wolf!"
"Are you still on about that? I thought it was only your hunger. Are you sure you are not pregnant?"
"Me too, Lu! But it's been nagging at me since yesterday. I think if I get a bag of those nuts, I'll get over it."
"I guess you are right. You checked the schedule like I told you yesterday?"
"Yes. I know exactly where they are. And your second learning interval is with them in the same Amphitheater Hall."
"Mathematical Analysis. I hate that! Same damn boring teacher from Algebra! I have no idea how I'm going to pass in either of those."
"Let's go!"
"Ha! That's not starting for another three hours, and you are already in a hurry. I dare you to enroll in my university, just so you learn what it means to hate waking up in the morning and going to class!"
***
"Jena, please try not to embarrass me. And stop fidgeting! It's just some nuts for fcuk sake!"
"Mate, mate, mate, mate, mate!" Lana sings happily.
"He is not here yet."
"That's because you dragged me here 10 minutes before the course actually starts! And everyone else is still outside or on their way, taking their sweet time and enjoying themselves. You know what? You are forcing me to act like a nerd! And why he? Can't girls eat roasted nuts too?"
"Matey, matey, matey, mate, mate, mate!"
"And maybe he or she won't even show up today."
"NO! Your friend is evil! He has to come today!"
"Or she. And remember Luisa still thinks it's all about a food craving."
"OK, I can understand that but mhmmmm... that smells sooo good! Pine forest! And rain! And ROASTED CHESTNUTS! He's here! He's here! He is HE-RE!" Lana tells her just as a large group enters the amphitheater.
"Calm down and let me find our mate!" Jena says to her wolf and gets out from her seat, casually heading for the exit.
"Where are you going?" Luisa asks panicking.
"Bathroom."
"Better hurry up! There is no coming in after the professor."
Her steps are slow and deliberate, inhaling as much as possible while trying to act in what these people call a 'normal' way.
She walks by the newly entered group that seems to have occupied almost a quarter of the amphitheater, taking the first four rows on the window half.
"There! Second row, window most seat! The tall guy with the handmade vest on top of the white dress shirt."
"I told you our mate was a HE! Go to him! Let him know we found each other."
Chapter 15 - Surprises
"Treceti la locurile voastre! Pauza s-a terminat," the teacher orders as he enters.
"Jena! Jena, get back here! The professor just walked in! I swear if you get me in trouble..." Luisa says and grabs Jena's hand, dragging her all the way back to where they were seated.
"But I have to meet my... I mean the person with the roasted nuts."
"Girl, I know you come from Africa, and you might have different customs there, but please don't become a weirdo over a bag of nuts. In here and in my country you don't need to stand out. It's like that whack-a-mole game, you stand out being weird and you get picked on, or at least ridiculed and avoided. And me as well for bringing you here. Are you trying to get me in trouble?"
"No. Of course not. I'm sorry!"
"So who has your nuts in a pinch?"
"Excuse me?"
"Sorry, something I always wanted to say and seemed funny to use here. I meant if you found out who you were looking for."
"Oh. Yeah. Guy in the second row, window most seat. Do you know him?"
"Not his name, but seen him around. He's like their group representative or something."
"..."
"Meaning he handles the interaction with the professors, faculty administration and student league for his group."
"You mean like a Diplomat?"
"We have things in common! We have things in common!" Lana jumps around excitedly in her mind.
"Haha, no silly. A diplomat is like a really grown up job thing to do, for like really old people. We are considered little more than kids in my country. I mean we are all around our 20s here, as we are in our second year, and while we've been legally considered adults since we turned 18, people don't take us seriously until much later."
"I see. So can you introduce me during break time?"
"Nope."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't know him. Just told you I don't even know his name. How can I introduce you if I don't know his name? If you really want those nuts, you'll have to get acquainted yourself."
"OK."
Some minutes pass until Luisa can’t take it anymore.
"Could you stop staring at the guy, Jena? I swear he started feeling your eyes on the back of his neck. He has already looked this way thrice."
"You think he's attractive?" Jena asks just as Luisa is taking a swig from her soda, making her spit it back out, half through her nose and half through her mouth, coughing all the while.
The professor continues as if nothing happened and luckily there is nobody seated directly on the row in front of them.
"Where did that come from? I thought you just wanted his nuts... um shit, no, not what I meant. But still?"
"I don't know; I was just thinking I like him."
"Already? Is this like one of those 'love at first sight' things I see in the movies?"
"There is such a thing in this world? I mean country?"
"Well, the whole world agrees there is, but it's a thing for books and movies. Never seen it happen before."
"Use it, Jena! Helps to cover anything we do from now on that these people may consider as weird."
"Like in that movie we saw yesterday where they said people in love do strange, stupid things? Smart!"
"I guess it is. I think so, yes! I'm in love at first sight," Jena says with a triumphant smile on her face.
"But how? You just saw him!"
"Isn't that what your expression refers to with 'at first sight'? And I don't know, I just am!"
"Liar! He is our soulmate! Claim him!"
"I can't tell her that! And I can't do anything like claiming him. Weren't you listening to Luisa earlier? If we do something weird, he might not even want to speak to us at all. EVER! Like an actual rejection before we even have a chance to talk! You want that?"
"No. I... I agree with you. We... we need to be careful and patient."
"Good!"
"Jena honey, I think you are a weird girl from another continent, but I'm happy for you! Not that I can understand what you see in him. OK, he is tall but too skinny for my taste; and obviously doesn't go to a gym. He isn't ugly, but definitely no model either. Look! He looked your way again! I think he knows we're talking about him though there is no way he can hear us."
"How many minutes until break time?"
"42"
"Damn it!"
About 40 minutes later and with the ringing of the bell announcing the break, the professor stops mid sentence, picks up his bag and leaves the amphitheater.
"There goes mister 'this is just a job for me, and I don't give a damn about the students', the model teacher. I wish he were more like the Topography Professor. Can't believe two people doing the same job can act so diametrically opposed."
"..."
"Common Jena, I said something smart and deep, and you should have something to say to th
at! Jena? JENA! Hey goo-goo eyes, wake up!"
"Ahm... what? Did you say something?"
"She said nothing important. Go meet Mate!" Lana answers in her mind and urges Jena to act.
"OK, I have a plan. Watch this!" She says, leaving Luisa to follow her with her eyes, praying she doesn't do anything stupid.
While 'The Guy' is picking up his stuff, Jena goes up and around the back of the room, then down again and stops by the door. In her hand is one of Luisa's books, and she pretends to be busy with it.
He finally moves, heading for the door, and Jena is confident her plan is working.
She looks up from her book, her face a happy smile, searching for his eyes.
Dark brown eyes lock onto hers, and he quirks one eyebrow, left hand going to the back of his neck, subconsciously rubbing it.
Jena blushes, her entire being heating up under the gaze of her mate. Her heart is pounding, trying to burst out of her chest as he approaches.
There is a small, almost embarrassed smile on his face, and then...
... nothing. He just steps around her and out of the room, leaving only his scent behind as if confirming his brief presence. If not for the rain, pine forest, and the damn roasted nuts aroma, she might have thought he was an illusion.
"What just happened? Did he reject us?"
"I... I don't think so."
"Then what the hell was that? Doesn't he know who we are? Doesn't he know who he is to us?"
"Well, he didn't say the words of rejection so..."
"Of course not! He didn't say ANYTHING! Because we've just been completely and totally ignored!"
"Jena? Are you OK? Wait, why are you crying?"
"I'm... I think I messed up somehow."
"What do you mean?"
"He didn't know me; he didn't know who I was! He didn't know who he was – is to me! By Calla, what am I going to do?"
"Wow, slow down girl! It's OK; we'll figure this out. Let's stop by the bathroom so you can freshen up; then we can go out, walk around and talk."
"Are you sure? But, don't you have another seminar or something?"
"It's fine; I can skip once. Come on!"
The sun is shining brightly, taking some of the bite of out of the crisp weather.
"So what exactly happened?"
"Well, he didn't recognize me!"
"Well duh! He hasn't met you before. Didn't you say this was the first time you saw him? You know with all the 'love at first sight' or some such."
"Yes, but when we find our mates, we are supposed to know each other and be together."
"Just because you believe soulmates exist, doesn't mean everyone does, Jena."
"But it was the 'love at first sight'!"
"For you maybe. I'm still having a hard time believing it, though you almost have me convinced. Obviously not for him. Or maybe he is just shy or something. Anyway, that's not how we do things here; we don't just look at each other and say 'OK, we just met; let's get married and be together forever now'. In my country we have to get to know each other first."
"So what do I do?"
"Right! I do have a few ideas. Some of them should work for you."
***
It's the fourth day since her arrival on Earth.
Jena has managed to find the person responsible for ordering and orchestrating her father's death, and confronted him, leading to his death by bus.
Yesterday she met her Mate. Or at least she thought he was her mate, but she was surprised by his lack of recognition, and now Jena isn't as sure anymore.
Excluding today, there are only two more full days for her on Earth. Her time is quickly running out.
"Maybe he isn't even our mate."
"He is! Just find him already and tell him!"
"How can you tell for sure? Did you talk to his wolf?"
"Well... no, because..."
"Because people in this world are JUST HUMAN! They don't even have an inner beast, they don't shift, and have you noticed how little respect most of them have for nature? They cover so much of their surroundings with those concrete and asphalt thingies that don't even let the earth breathe."
"But I know he is our mate! He has to be! We've waited so much time for him to come find us!"
"And he didn't! Because theoretically, he was in this world. Why would the Moons pair us with a mere human, that can't even shift, and isn't from our world? And there is only one Moon here! It looks nothing like ours! This has to be a mistake!"
"I know you are hurting Jena and you are afraid we may never have another chance, and believe me I hurt at least as much! Even if he doesn't have a wolf, and I'll never have the chance to run wild with him and love and feel him, the way you would obviously be able to, I STILL want him! I'll draw my happiness from yours, I'll have him pet me, and maybe in my true form as a wolf, I can let him ride on me so he can feel the air in his hair as I run! The connection is so strong; he must be our mate! So promise me! Promise me you won't give up! We still have two days, and however much is left from the third before we get pulled back to Calla. We have to try! You have to try!"
"OK, I'll do it. We'll do it! So hard respecting this world's customs though. Luisa said I can't follow him home since he could think I'm crazy. And I can't throw myself at him because he would think I'm a... what did she call it?"
"Slut."
"Yeah, that. Normally I would have to play hard to get, but since he isn't already interested, I have to make him be interested first."
"Stupid way to get to know your mate. These humans and their mating habits make no sense to me."
"Let's go to the University. He just started his first seminar at 12, and there is a break after that. Luisa said she talked to one of his group colleagues and he goes into the campus park for the hour-long break."
"Why couldn't we go to the seminar and at least be near him for the duration?"
"Because Luisa said seminars are not like courses, where many groups attend, and it's hard to see who is present and who's not. There are less than 20 people going to a seminar and attendance is called. We'd stick out like 'weirdos,' as she put it."
***
'The guy' is sitting by himself on a bench, in an area that looks more like a small forest with very old but widely spaced trees, where alleys are crisscrossing now and then. The bench is on the side of one of these alleys, with another bench on the opposite side.
It's the end of summer, and leaves have already started falling, but the temperatures are still high. Not for Jena though. Compared to her home in the desert oasis, this weather actually feels cool.
"There he is! Let's go meet him, Jena!"
"OK, I'm going, I'm going. Do I look OK? I wish I had a portable mirror like Luisa does!"
"Stop fretting; you look fine! Just say something!"
"Like what?"
"I don't know, something smart."
"Hi!"
"Yeah, real smart, Jena!"
"Buna! I mean hi! You must be that foreign girl, right?"
"He knows who we aa-are! He knows who we are!"
"Yes, I'm Jena. Nice to meet you! Mind if I join you? I'm waiting for my friend, and it will be a while."
"Sure, take a seat anywhere," he says and Jena looks at the available options: on his bench looking left so she can talk – it's closer, but it would be easy for him to look away and to look at each other by turning their bodies so much for too long might be weird or even worse, she might do something stupid like touching him or...
"Touching our mate is not stupid! These humans are corrupting you!"
"Luisa said that if a guy is not a 'womanizing man-whore' he will not appreciate a woman just touching him out of the blue, so shush!"
... or on the opposite bench in front of him. Easy to keep eye contact, comfortable distance – so that's where she sits.
"I wanted to apologize for staring at you the other day and..."
"Yeah, I found that a little creepy too."
"It's just... well, I'm not
from around here."
"Obviously. So where are you really from?"
"Somewhere so far, it may as well be another world. It's very hot where I'm from. Water is scarce and hard to come by."
"If I didn't know it's impossible, I'd think you come from Arrakis. There are no giant worms where you live, right?" He asks with a grin.
"What kind of stupid question is that? Who asks something like that?"
"Come on Jena, maybe it was one of those Earth jokes Luisa talked about."
"What? No, no giant worms."
"Sorry. So it must be something like Africa right? You know: far away, dry, hot, hard to find water?"
"Yeah, something like that."
"So what made you pick this country to come visit?"
"I had some business to terminate."
"You mean unfinished business."
"Jena, maybe telling him you came to here to kill someone, even if justified, is not exactly the smartest thing to do. Don't correct him."
"But while here, I discovered one more, very important thing that I have to do."
"Take him as our mate. Easier said than done, though."
"I'm... aaa... looking to study abroad."
"Really? And this," he says and gestures around him, "was your first choice?"
"Riiight... and he just believes that? Nicely done then!"
"Well, since I was already here for that unfinished business and my friend Luisa was attending this university, I thought it would be smart to check it out."
"Yeah, I can understand your reasoning."
"You're smarter than you look!"
"You realize you just told him he looks stupid, right?"
"It's how these humans talk. They like poking and prodding at each other."
"Yeah, well good luck telling a wolf that. You'll be lucky to find just one finger missing."
"But he's not a wolf, is he?"
"No..." Lana answers and lies down, head on her front paws.
"Hey, as long as I am smarter than the average bear, fine by me."
"See Lana, he just made fun of himself comparing with an animal they have here."
"I know. It's sad. When we mate, we have to teach him to be proud. No wolf will respect him if he doesn't respect himself first."
Rise of an Alpha Female (Two Moons Book 1) Page 17
