The sun was resting low in the sky by the time Zinnia had reached the campus where Nicolette and Wentworth worked.
Zinnia had walked at a brisk pace the entire way to her destination. Panting, she spied an empty bench under an old gnarled tree, and collapsed upon the bench, crossing her ankles and gazing blankly ahead of her.
There was hardly anyone out and about at this hour. A handful of students slowly wandered down a path away from Zinnia, and one professor was seated at a metal framed table, smoking a pipe. Zinnia took a deep breath. The campus grounds were quiet, aside from a gentle breeze bobbing the boughs of the branches above her and driving leaves into tiny tornadoes at her feet.
The campus had spacious gardens, with paths snaking throughout, and tall trees towering between the old brick buildings. Zinnia scratched her cheek pensively. Hadn’t her brother told her what Nicolette taught? History, maybe? Zinnia stretched, squeezing her eyes shut as she did so. She didn’t know which building to check out first, but one thing was certain; she wouldn’t find Nicolette or Wentworth by staying glued to this bench.
She sprang to her feet and continued down a path that lead straight ahead to the tallest building on campus. The fence to her left that encircled the campus changed from wire spikes to a short brick wall, with a flat top perfect for sitting. There’s probably a lot of students who sit on this fence to study, Zinnia mused, trying to keep her mind busy as she walked along. Or lovers making plans for the evening. Or…
“Well, well. Look who it is, eh?”
The voice sliced through Zinnia’s thoughts like a thunderbolt, and she skidded to a halt. To her left, leaning against the brick wall, were two professors. They stared at Zinnia with almost bored expressions, their heads tilted to the side. Zinnia stared back. She had seen these two before only a handful of times, and it was because of Cornelius running into her store to pick up deliveries; these two professors had been with him some of those days, but had always waited outside her shop.
“Hi,” she finally choked out, recognizing Wentworth and Nicolette immediately. Wentworth with a judgmental smirk on his face, and Nicolette with a cigarette hanging from her lips. Zinnia blinked.
“Wentworth. Nicolette,” she said slowly, nodding to each professor as she spoke their names. She focused her gaze on the spot between their heads. It was easier than looking at either of them directly. “Pleasant evening, isn’t it?”
Nicolette exhaled, a long sigh that caused a giant smoke cloud to waft around them. Her gaze raked up-and-down Zinnia, and she finally responded. “Hmm. Pleasant enough, I suppose.”
Wentworth, grinning, snorted. “What are you doing here? You’re pretty far away from your little flower shop, aren’t you?”
“It’s not that far,” Zinnia chirped, her voice sounding more forced than what she wanted it to. She cleared her throat. “I was actually wanting to run into you two tonight.”
“Really?” Nicolette’s voice bore no hint of curiosity or surprise. “How quaint! We were just discussing you. Cornelius talks a lot about you, you know.”
Uh-huh, sure. Zinnia snorted, shaking her head. She knew her brother well enough to know that she was probably the last thing he talked about with anybody. She cleared her throat once more, remembering why she wanted to find Wentworth and Nicolette in the first place.
“That’s just it,” she stated slowly, realizing that Nicolette had provided her with a good way to ask her question. “Cornelius spends quite a bit of time with you both. He sees you two as friends. And as close as Cornelius and I are, he hasn’t really told me much about either of you.”
Nicolette smiled at Wentworth, but for some reason her expression looked utterly bored. She glanced at Zinnia. Zinnia continued, “And I’d love to get to know the folks that my brother sees as friends. Would either of you care to have lunch tomorrow with me? It can be here on the campus, if that’s easier for you both.”
Wentworth and Nicolette kept staring at Zinnia. She added hastily, “Maybe Cornelius could join us, too.”
After several silent seconds, Nicolette shrugged, shaking the ashes from her cigarette onto a clump of small ferns.
“Very well,” she sighed lightly. “But we might as well make the most of it. There’s a café right across the street from the campus, called Chip’s. You know of it?”
“We’ll meet there,” Nicolette finished, nodding her head. She stood up at her full height, towering over Zinnia. Nicolette smiled down at her, her gaze boring into Zinnia.
Zinnia glanced away, rubbing one arm and stammering, “Swell. I’ll see you both tomorrow at Chip’s, then.”
Wentworth and Nicolette exchanged wide smiles, their teeth gleaming in the dusk sunlight. Nicolette cooed, “Oh, how fun. We’ll finally get to spend some time with Cornelius’ beloved twin, won’t we, Went?”
“Mm-hmm,” Wentworth murmured, nodding.
Both Wentworth and Nicolette stared down at Zinnia again, staring at her like two giant owls assessing a trembling mouse. Zinnia felt a restlessness stirring in her stomach, and her body seemingly acted on its own accord. She waved farewell to the professors, then spun around, hurrying back down the path and away from the campus. She felt the gazes of the professors hot on her back like fire, and knew at once that she didn’t care at all for either of them. She just couldn’t put her finger on why though.
