Page 38 of June

She looked great, wearing a pair of loose-fitting jeans with holes in the knees and a T-shirt with the school’s logo on it, making her look a little younger than her twenty-four years. Her blonde hair was pulled back, and she had a piece of it just in front of her ear. Caroline wanted to push it back for her but resisted the impulse. They’ve not said that this was a date. She had only suggested they come to the dining hall and have waffles, which they would make themselves, and they could eat as many as they wanted with only one swipe of the meal card.

“Hey,” she replied, smiling wide. “So, you’re a fan of waffles?”

“Yes, I’m only here for the waffles, obviously,” Enid joked.

Caroline laughed and said, “I’ll just swipe my card, and we can go make them.”

“Okay,” Enid agreed.

Caroline walked over to the register, where she handed her meal card to the student manning the swiper, who took it, swiped it, then eyed Enid, who was waiting close by, and handed the card back without saying anything. Caroline was grateful forthat. She turned around and motioned for Enid to join her at the table where there were bottles of the pre-mixed batter. All they had to do was pour some in one of the two available waffle makers and wait for two minutes for the timer to go off. Then, they could add syrup or strawberries and whipped cream or whatever else they wanted.

“Do you want strawberries?” she asked Enid when the waffles were done, and they each had one on their plate.

“Sure,” Enid replied, and Caroline passed her the ladle she’d just used herself.

They made their waffles with a whole lot of extra toppings, and she knew she would have to thank Viv later because this really was a good idea. Enid sat down at a table, and Caroline got them both something to drink before returning and sitting down across from her.

“So, do you do this waffle thing a lot?” Enid asked.

“No, but I should. They’re good. I do it maybe once a month or so. Jodie isn’t a huge fan of them, and I don’t really go to breakfast myself.”

“Why not?”

“Because that would require me to get up at a reasonable hour, not just for class, and I have snacks in my room. I even have my own personal coffee maker in there that makes one cup at a time.”

“And what’shername?” Enid asked as she cut into her waffle.

“How do you know that she’s a she?”

“Just a hunch.”

Caroline smiled at her and said, “She’s Chloe, the coffee maker. She’s friends with Miranda.”

“Miranda has friends?” Enid joked and took her first bite.

“Believe it or not, yes.”

“Well, I’m glad about that. I’d hate for her to be in your room with all those otherpeopleand have no friends. Are they people?” Enid asked.

Caroline laughed and said, “We really don’t have to keep talking about how I name my appliances.”

“Sorry.” Enid laughed, too. “What doyouwant to talk about?”

“I don’t know. What are you doing after this?”

“After? Nothing. I have plans tonight, but I might end up at my friend’s bar after that. I sometimes go there to hang out.”

“Your friend has a bar?”

“My friend Rory has a friend named Candace. Candace has the bar. I know Candace, too, but Rory is closer to her. It just opened last month. I usually drink for cheap or free. Do you want to go?”

“Uh…” Caroline looked down at her waffle. “I’ve got another couple of weeks before I can get in. If she doesn’t card at the door, I can sit there with you. I just won’t be able to order anything unless she’s okay with me being underage.”

Enid seemed to consider this and said, “I don’t always go.” She shrugged a shoulder and took a drink of her coffee. “What are you doing today?”

“I was thinking about going to the mini-golf place. They have an arcade, apparently.”

“Apparently?”

---