~Tesla University, women’s dorms~

Sarah woke up early and continued her efforts to find something useful on Mimi and Megan.

She hacked into their PCs and looked at content that is there. Sarah found few photos of them partying… looks like they are drinking, but it is nothing major. They are of legal age to drink. Sarah decided to make copies of photos, just in case.

From their student records at University, Sarah found out their high school name. Mimi and Megan went to the same high school. Sarah hacked into their high school database and found their records… again, nothing major. Even in high school two of them didn’t stir up any trouble or achieved anything. ‘Oh, these two are just so plain…’, Sarah thought.

She decided to give up for now and focus on project she got from Aiden.

For several hours she was working on it until her hunger told her it’s time to stop and get some food. It was lunch time. Sarah agreed to meet with Vivian at cafeteria for lunch.

~Tesla University, cafeteria~

Vivian was super-curious to find out more about Sarah’s lunch yesterday.

“Tell me, from the beginning, and don’t be stingy on details”, Vivian said while her eyes brimmed with expectation.

“First, we had lunch, then went to arcade, after that he got groceries on the way to his apartment where he made diner. We talked about project, and then he dropped me back. I didn’t miss anything”, Sarah was content with her explanation.

Vivian was staring at her. “There are absolutely no details in your story, but give me few minutes to process what you just said”.

After a minute, Vivian talked again, “I see, it was not just lunch, it was a full date! Now tell me about lunch”.

Sarah frowned at the ‘date’ comment. “Downtown, Italian restaurant. I forgot the name. He got us a private room and ordered food for both of us. Food is really good… we should go sometimes.”

“OK. What was next?”, Vivian asked.

“Arcade. It was fun, I played many games. It took several hours.”, Sarah said.

‘It seems this is the most level of details I can get out of this girl, but I will bear with it’, Vivian rolled her eyes. “And after that…?”

“On the way to his apartment he got groceries. Then he made dinner while I was reading a document. We had dinner… he is a good cook.” Sarah skipped the part how good he looks while cooking in the apron. “We talked about the project and finalized requirements. It was getting late, and he dropped me back.”

“It seems he is putting an effort for you”, Vivian mumbled.

Sarah didn’t like the sound of what Vivian said, and got defensive. “It’s not just him doing the work. I did the dishes, and I wanted to help with dinner, but he said that he will handle it.”

 “That was not my point.”, Vivian shook her head and latched onto one detail: “He has an apartment? I thought he stays on campus”.

Sarah confirmed that he stays on campus and added: “He goes to his apartment when he wants some peace”.

Vivian looked at Sarah. “And how would you describe your relationship now?”

“Good friends.”

Vivian was amused and continued probing: “Imagine I don’t know who Aiden is. Describe him to me.”

Sarah thought for few seconds. “He smells nice.”

“That is your description for a man?”, Vivian laughed. “OK. Let’s try this: how do you describe relationship between boyfriend and a girlfriend?”

Sarah got into serious thoughts for few minutes. Vivian almost lost her patience when Sarah started talking: “Well, they spend time with each other, and take care of each other, and do things for each other, and notice small things about each other.”

“Anything physical?”, Vivian asked.

“Hmm, it depends. I believe that all couples hold hands, touch each other, and kiss”, Sarah responded.

“From all the things you mentioned, did you do any of them with Aiden?” Vivian was slowly getting to the point.

Sarah blushed when she remembered hand holding at arcade. Even if it was accidental and nothing important for him, she still liked the feeling and could not stop herself from thinking about it. At that moment, she felt that his touch still lingered on her palm.

Vivian noticed Sarah’s reaction and grinned waiting for Sarah to speak.

Sarah cleared her throat and started poking her chicken piece with fork, refusing to answer.

Vivian realized that Sarah will not talk anymore and said: “You don’t need to answer my question but think about it when you get a chance. From my point of view, relationship between two of you is not so innocent how you describe it.” After a brief silence, Vivian added, “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t see this as anything bad. But I worry that things might go wrong way, and you will regret if you keep ignoring what is in front of you.”

They ate in silence for a while before Vivian spoke again: “What about Mimi and Megan. Did anything happen?”

“No. I looked them up, but nothing stands up. I found some photos of them partying, but it’s nothing major.”, Sarah responded.

“Did you mention this to Aiden? All this mess is because of him.”, Vivian said with cold voice.

Sarah remembered their conversation. “Actually… He mentioned it. I asked him to stay out of it.”

“Why?”, Vivian was surprised.

“Because it’s my problem. Two of them made it my problem. Even if he does something it will not get them away from me, it will just make them more zealous.”

“Looks to me that he wants to take care of you”, Vivian made a comment trying to remind Sarah that she described girlfriend and boyfriend with ‘take care of each other’.

Sarah missed Vivian’s point. “He should try to take care of it, since he is the cause of it. But in reality, I don’t need his help. I will handle it.”

Vivian could not let it go, “And you really found nothing that can be used against them?”

“Nothing, absolutely nothing. Like they are so blah and average that hurts.”

“Maybe the fact that there is nothing to find is the clue…”, Vivian added thoughtfully.

“What do you mean?”

Vivian thought for a second before explaining, “They are in their early 20-ies. Unless they lived under a rock until now, what is the possibility that there is nothing noticeable in a bad or in a good way? How can such a person exist? They are both from influential families. What if whatever they did got erased?”

Sarah thought about it. “What you said sounds right. I will look into it…”

Sarah changed the topic: “How are things with Gabriel?”

Vivian frowned, “No progress at all”

Sarah felt sorry for Vivian. “You know, besides greetings, Gabriel does not interact with me. But when Mimi and Megan bullied me, Gabriel showed up to save me. How I see it, he is a guy who will save a damsel in distress. I think this is something you can work with.”

Vivian laughed. “You are so smart, except when it’s something about you, then you are so dense.”

“What is that supposed to mean? I’m giving you precious tips, and you are insulting me?” Sarah sulked.

“Sorry, sorry. Forget I said anything…”, Vivian was still laughing.

They chatted a bit more, before Sarah went back to her room.

~Tesla University, women’s dorms~

Sarah looked through photos she previously found of Mimi and Megan partying, and picked few with a clear view of their faces. To those she also added profile photos from their student files. She used all selected photos to run facial recognition across the web. The program ran in the background, it will take at least few hours, maybe even days before getting results, if any. Sarah switched to work on the project.

She decided not to go out for dinner. She had snacks in the room, so she will just have them.

Before calling it a night, she checked in her work into cloud and sent code review requests to Aiden.

She got ready to sleep and thought about Christmas and her family. She remembered that she still didn’t buy any presents. Sarah checked her schedule for next few days and took a note that her Tuesday afternoon is free. She can use that time to go and pick presents. She was drifting into sleep as her thoughts wandered: ‘It would be nice to go, and pick presents with Aiden.’

~Tesla University, men’s dorms~

In the evening, Aiden came from the cafeteria in a bad mood. He was hoping to see Sarah, but she didn’t show up. ‘I knew that I was supposed to call her first. It was unreasonable to believe that she will be there… Sunday evening, she probably went somewhere out for dinner.’

Aiden’s phone rang, and his heart skipped a beat, ‘It’s Sarah!’ He was disappointed to see that it’s Jeff.

“Last night you called about the Christmas party… that is settled.”, Jeff said as soon as Aiden picked up.

“Thanks” Aiden smiled. This is good news.

Aiden’s mood got worse with Jeff’s question: “Any progress on your side?”

Aiden sighed. He knows that his brother will give him a hard time, but he can’t lie. “Nothing yet.”

“Why is it taking so long? You just need to check her skills. If she is not good, come back.”

“It’s not that simple…”, Aiden stopped mid-sentence. He didn’t know how to explain, why is it taking so long?

After few seconds silence, Jeff spoke: “Did you fall for her?”

Aiden held his breath. Did he fall in love with Sarah? Is this falling in love?

Seeing that Aiden is not responding, Jeff spoke again: “Even if you did, it’s your business. Don’t forget why you went back to the University. Finish your task and come back. You being there is costing us money, projects are being delayed.”

“I will work from here.”, Aiden said after a brief pause.

“Show me how much you can do between courses… and courting a girl.” Jeff was obviously mocking his brother.

“Anything else?” Aiden was not able to hide his frustration.

 “I look forward to see your results.” Jeff hanged up, not giving Aiden a chance to respond.

Aiden thought about the phone call for few seconds, and then his thoughts went back to the dinner time in cafeteria. ‘Why Sarah didn’t come to cafeteria for dinner?’ He thought of calling or texting her but gave up on that idea.. He will see her tomorrow… and he does not want to appear to be too clingy.