Barbara could not help but notice her. The tall dark stranger (of course at 5’3 almost everyone was tall). She couldn’t ignore her. Her presence was like that of a stationary boulder in the middle of a flowing stream. She blew past Barbara without a sign of acknowledgement. She shook her head abruptly; she felt disoriented. She continued on her way, wondering why her stomach hurt so badly.

                That afternoon she went to the dining hall with a large group of people (only being familiar with a few of them). As she ate her lunch, participating in the small talk that nervous freshman discuss, she secretly searched the room for her tall dark stranger.  She did not know whether to be disappointed or relieved when she couldn’t find her. She had two more classes that day, so she decided to focus on those. This, of course proved very difficult. All she could think about was this tall girl with the prominent presence.

                Barbara decided to sleep through breakfast the next day, or at least she told people it was voluntary. She hustled into her English lecture just as the clock struck 9:03 am. Seven minutes to spare. She was congratulating herself when something jerked her attention towards the front of the room. There was the girl with her long legs stretched in front of her, one ropey arm draped over the back of her chair, her other hand tapping a pen on her desk. It may have been her leisurely position, or simply an illusion due to her broad shoulders, but she looked too big for her seat. Barbara sat several seats behind her, though there was one open right next to her. She couldn’t help but stare at this girl for the entire class. ‘I’ll just ask her what her name is.’ she thought ‘she won’t think that’s strange. I’m sure she’s trying to meet new people, too.’ However when the professor dismissed them, she hurried out of the room and back to her dorm. There was nothing during orientation about this.

                She was on constant alert for the rest of the day, but there was no other sign of her tall dark stranger. She quivered and decided that English was her new favorite subject.

                That night she and a few others decided to go into town to see a movie to celebrate the completion of their first week of college. To her surprise her stranger was there. It turned out she was the roommate of her roommate’s best friend’s new friend’s acquaintance from high school. What a coincidence. She came over and introduced herself to Barbara.

                “Hey, what’s up. I’m Dusty.”

                “I’m Barbara.”

The presence was now familiar and warming. It was the most peculiar thing. Barbara glanced and her ringing cell-phone. The caller I.D. read “DEREK”. She let it continue ringing unanswered.