Encounter at the Zurich University

Stéphane managed to find a relatively cosy corner in the giant atrium. The University center was teeming with students who were studying, chatting, sipping coffee, socializing. Not really sure what to do with himself, Stéphane pulled out a tattered paperback from his overflowing backpack, and turned to page 36, where he’d left off.

By page 42, Stéphane’s bottom began to feel numb from the cold stone. He groaned silently and looked up as he shifted uncomfortably. His eyes involuntarily followed the girl with the cigarette. At first he thought it was because of the oddity of someone with a cigarette inside the atrium, but the he realized his eyes were attached to the brown hair flowing over a perfectly fitted black coat. The girl placed the roll of cancer lightly between her lips, as if to challenge it with their beauty. She strolled casually toward the sliding doors and suddenly Stéphane’s eyes couldn’t follow her anymore. It was almost fortunate, for he had never finished shifting his sitting pose, and now his left hand was numb and beneath his buttocks.

Stéphane looked down at the text staring up at him but he couldn’t tell what the black stuff on the paper was. With a sudden and violent inspiration Stéphane stood up and almost fell over. Gathering himself along with his things, he headed toward the sliding doors that led to her path.
The first bite of cold pierced Stéphane’s cheeks as the sliding doors opened and for a moment he forgot what he was doing. Out of inertia he stepped outside, and reached into his pocket. The familiar cigarette carton lent some comfort to his shivering hand, and he lit up. At that moment, the corner of his eye reminded him of why he had dared to brave the Swiss winter. He was very careful not to spin around suddenly, but rather paced around for a few seconds till he was just 10 feet away from her. He summoned the courage to look at her face again.

She was huddled between the smokers’ outpost and the wall, breathing out three times the volume of smoke that she took in. Stéphane, not wanting to stare, immediately looked away, puffing on his cigarette. She was trying, unsuccessfully, to read the top of a sheaf of paper that her non-smoking hand carried. Not wanting to be the only idle smoker, Stéphane held up page 42 again – the cold was clearing his senses and he started reading. His eyes saw words, but his mind kept dreaming of the girl commenting on him reading Dostoevsky - a conversation starting with that offhand remark but budding into an engaging camaraderie which led to her showing him around Zurich University – he was only in town for a single night after all.

At page 44 Stéphane looked up, but she was gone.