You run into a cute guy from high school.

You spend the next few hours shopping for everything you need. Though you only have a few hundred from your X-Change stipend available immediately, you managed to keep a little bit in your bank account so you can splurge for now. You go from shop to shop, picking up a few new outfits and a few odds and ends to decorate your dorm. Eventually, your arms are fatigued from carrying your bags and your legs are exhausted from carrying you around all afternoon. You make a stop in the mall food court and set your bags down for now at a table.

You look around, then settle and approach the counter for a burger chain. The line is short, but you still get a few minutes to check out the menu. Your turn approaches, and you think you have your order figured out. But the clerk surprises you.

"It's Samantha, right? What can I get for you today?"

"H-huh?' You look down from the menu at the oddly familiar guy standing in front of the cash register. After a few seconds of awkward staring, you recognize him as someone from your high school. But that's all you can remember. In your concentration, you nearly forget your order. "The, uh, number three please. With no pickles."

"You got it." He punches a few buttons on the register, then follows up. "That'll be $6.35, please." You flash your debit card, and he plugs it into the kiosk.

Since you're the last person in line, he takes his time after your order goes through. "Are you starting at Central too? I just moved here a few days ago."

"Yeah..." You answer. He hands you your receipt, and you check to make sure it's good, and to spot his name. Andy, hmm. You search your memory, and you remember an obnoxious kid from one of your science courses making a mess of the chemistry lab. You think it's him, though it's hard to tell with the paper hat he's wearing. If it was him, he seems a lot more down to earth now than he did back in highschool.

He hands you a stand with your order number and you sit down at your table. To pass the time, you pull out your phone and start browsing. You end up looking up the X-Change company. You're surprised to see that they're a pretty huge deal given that you hadn't even heard of them before. Within a few minutes, Andy slides a tray in front of you with your food. He lingers awkwardly for a moment, then sits down diagonal from you.

"So," he starts, "think there will be anyone else from highschool we'll see at Central?" You have a mouth full of your burger right now, so you just shrug at him. It's kind of weird he's acting all friendly with you when you never talked with him before. You guess he's just glad to recognize someone after moving to a new city; you kind of feel the same, to be honest. "Anyway, you're going to the orientation session for freshmen tonight, right? I can give you a lift back to campus if you want."

Shit. You check the time on your phone. You could make it if you take the next bus back to campus, but having some time to breathe and put your purchases in your room would help. You swallow down your food and answer Andy. "I'll take you up on that, if you're okay with it."

"Sure. It's no problem. I'm off in a few minutes so hang around here." With that, he stands back up and goes back to his restaurant's counter. You finish your food quickly, and just in time, Andy finds you loitering in the food court. He leads you out to his car in the parking lot. You're normally wary of getting in stranger's cars, but you think he seems pretty genuine, so you put your bags in the back seat and hop in the copilot seat.