Danni with an "i"

I climb the stairs back to my room. Yes, it’s on the sixth floor, but right now, the elevator’s all tied up with families moving in; and besides, I need the time to think. Actually, what I need is dinner. It’s been a crazy day, and the only thing I’ve had to eat since Dad left is Alyssa. Enjoyable, but not sustaining.

When I reach my floor, I start complaining to myself about my tired legs; then I pull myself up short. I need to fix my attitude, I tell myself. I’m not going to get anywhere in life complaining, especially about little things. I’m going to show myself who’s boss—I’m going to take the stairs every day. I start running through the benefits in my mind:

• The exercise will strengthen my legs and help strengthen my core

• It will make me leaner, and thus more attractive

• It will help me attract clients

• It will give me more stamina to satisfy them

When I walk past 619 again, the door is still open, and the brown-haired girl is still sitting there reading. I decide to introduce myself. I knock on the open door and lean against the doorframe, but she doesn’t notice. I knock again, louder, and say, “Hi.” That catches her attention; she looks up, startled, from her book. “Hi,” I say again. Recognition sets in, and she blushes again.

“Umm,” she says in a soft, sweet voice, “c-can I help you?”

“Just wanted to introduce myself,” I say. “I’m Andrew Lane; I’m in 624, just down the hall. I’m a freshman this year, thinking of majoring in history. What’s your name?” After a moment, what I’ve just said sinks in, and I feel silly. “You know, I think I just managed to sound like a total geek. It’s like I’m channeling my mother.” I manage a fair imitation of her tone as I say, “Just go up and introduce yourself to people, dear. It’s not hard.”

She laughs. “It’s Danni, with an ‘i.’ You’ll have to tell your mom it worked. I’m a freshman, too. I’m rooming with my best friend, Sonya, but she’s not here yet. I’m planning to major in English. I think she said she was going for a theatre major; but even if she isn’t, drama is definitely her style.”

Apparently, my geekfest introduction and self-effacing humor have relieved at least some of the tension of her first, indirect, experience of me. “Well, Danni with an ‘i,’ I’m starving. I haven’t eaten much today and moving in is hard work. Would you join me at the cafeteria? I’ve got some ridiculous number of meals on my plan and would be glad of the company.”

The look on Danni’s face tells me she’s unsure enough of me to be uneasy about my offer. The screams that rang down the hallway from my room earlier clearly made a negative impression on her that will take a while to fade (if it does at all). Still, as she looks around her room, she nods. “Nothing to do here at the moment, really. My boxes are unpacked, I have the wi-fi set up but nothing I need to do with it, and it’s not like I need to be reading anything for class yet.”

“Let me grab my student ID and I’ll be right back,” I call over my shoulder, already headed to my room on that errand. I’ll have to play it slow with Danni, I think. She’s really cute, with a heart-shaped face and a nicely curvy body; I think she may really be stacked, though I can’t tell yet. She’s also completely skittish around me, and I can’t blame her. I need to be a perfect gentleman for a while.

Dinner is at the the Roger E. Schnalz, Jr. Memorial Cafeteria, which is commonly just called “the Schnalz” and almost deserves it. We talk about everything and nothing, and are still sitting together enjoying each other’s company when the ten-minute warning comes over the speakers. Danni and I have similarly wide interests, and we’ve enjoyed a lot of the same books. She’s an independent thinker with an original angle on a lot of things (original in my experience, anyway) and a neat way of expressing herself. Her sense of humor is easy to set off, and I find her laughs and giggles both infectious and refreshing.

It’s an astonishingly nice part of my day. I can’t say it’s quite as nice as my first look at a real pussy, freshly shaven and live, or getting to go down on Alyssa, which is at least one wet dream checked off of my list; but that’s comparing apples and dragons anyway. In its own way, it’s a wonderful time. We finish a mediocre meal but start a real connection, then enjoy a leisurely walk and talk back to the dorm.

I take the stairs, so Danni does too. I walk her to her room, then smile and thank her for joining me for dinner. “Tomorrow? Same time, same place?” I ask hopefully.

“Who knows?” Danni replies. “But stop by on your way over, and I’ll tell you.”

“What a day,” I mutter to myself as I unpack my shower stuff and climb in; “what a day.” I try to relax a whole day’s worth of tension under the hot water as I scrub away the day’s accumulated grime. Finally clean, I wrap a towel around my waist, stumble to my bed, and fall quickly into a deep sleep.