The Girl Before Eve (3 page)

Their first day on campus had the butterflies on edge for every new student. Lily and Adam were no different. First day nerves were a certainty. But the excitement was what got the adrenalin pumping. This was the start of life as an adult; the first day of the rest of their lives.

“I can’t believe we’re finally here, Adders!” Lily twirled around, arms spread, and head back with her long chocolate waves following like streamers, as they took in the centre quadrangle of the Old College. They had been taking the self-guided tour of the campus and had stopped on the grass to take a break and grab a quick drink of water. The sun was surprisingly warm for the time of year, and its presence, hung low in the autumn sky, cast a golden glow over everything, giving an ethereal quality to the old architecture.

“Yup, it’s pretty spectacular, eh?” Adam laughed watching his best friend collapse dizzily in a heap next to him. “Bit of a change from high school that’s for sure.”

Lily stood again. “You’re not kidding. I’m looking forward to being treated like an adult,” she stated as she began to spin around again with her eyes closed.

Adam burst out laughing. “Yeah…because that’s what you are, eh? An adult!”

Lily stuck her tongue out at him and plopped herself down beside him again. “Durrr, I’m officially over eighteen, so yes. Are you happy you decided to live in halls for the first year?” They had several options, from renting a place, to driving in every day, to living in halls. They had both chosen the latter.

“Yeah. I think it will be much better to get the whole university experience,” Adam replied thoughtfully, pulling at blades of grass and throwing them at her.

“Yeah right, that’s the reason.” Lily rolled her eyes. “I think what you mean is that we’re out from under our parents scrutinising gaze, and what they don’t know can’t hurt them.” She pulled a chunk of grass, and threw it back at Adam in retaliation.

He laughed heartily. “Oh yeah, that’s what I meant. Seriously though, I think it’ll be cool.”

“I reckon so. And we’re close enough by so that if you need me for anything—”

“If I need
you
for anything? Don’t you mean that the other way around? You’re the one who’s always forgetting shit. I can see it now.
Ooh Adders, I’ve run out of coffee…ooh Adders, I can’t find my textbook on the Principals and Practises of Investigative Journalism… Oooh Adders, my boyfriend has dumped me because I’m still in love with Chris Cornell from Soundgarden
. If
I
need
you
, pah!”

She hit him playfully with her satchel. “Bloody cheek. The only part of that likely to come true is the last part. I only have eyes for Chris Cornell. God, he’s
so
sexy.” She threw herself backwards onto the grass swooning and feigning a black out.

He smirked. “Yeah, well you ain’t likely to bump into him here, so get over it…Cheesy.”

At that, she sat bolt upright and pursed her lips. He readied himself in case she decided to launch another attack, but instead she stood up, huffed and stormed off.

“Oy! Lil! Come back, you muppet!” He ran after her. And so was laid the foundation of their time at university…

♥♥♥

October 2000 – Edinburgh University

The first two years at university had Lily and Adam forging many new friendships and making the most of the social aspects of the wonderful city of Edinburgh. Both had found part time jobs in local bars and still managed to spend time together in between. Summers and Christmas holidays were spent at home with their families, and two years on, half way through their respective courses, things were going well. The summer of 2000 had seen a group holiday to the Spanish resort of Magaluf, where they had over indulged in alcohol and raising hell like normal twenty-years-olds. But as always, the time was coming around for uni to be back in session again.

The two friends had moved into a shared house after their first year in halls, and they arrived back just before their next term was due to start. The first week of lectures came around quickly. They had met up to walk in together, and had made plans to meet for lunch so they could regale each other with tales of their first encounters with new lecturers. Lily had talked non-stop about the fact that one of her lecturers for this year had worked all over the world for
The Times
and she was so excited to meet him.

The refectory was buzzing with the hum of myriad conversations going on simultaneously. Adam arrived first and grabbed himself a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich and a coffee. He bought a coffee for Lily, knowing she would no doubt be too excited to eat—as was usually the case when she was enthusiastic about something. He found an empty table, and whilst he waited, he went over his notes from his first lecture of the day. He had thoroughly enjoyed listening to Marcus Foreman, his knowledgeable tutor, and knew from the start this was going to be his favourite lesson of the academic year. He glanced up just as Lily approached his table. A big, mischievous grin spread over her face. He knew that look all too well. She was closely followed by someone he couldn’t quite see, as whomever it was hung back.

Lily was finding something very amusing. “Adders! You’re not going to believe this!” She pulled the person who had been walking with her around to her side. “Adam…this is Eve! Ha ha! Adam and Eve.” She playfully gestured back and forth between the two.

He smirked as his gaze moved up to meet the person in question. He swallowed hard and stared. Just stared. Eventually when he snapped out of his stupor he realised the girl, whom he had been informed was called
Eve
, was blushing profusely.

“Sorry…sorry…I…I was just eating my sandwich.”
Smooth, Adam, very smooth.
He stood, wiped his hand down his jeans, and held it toward her. The whole situation had seemed to take forever, and he felt very,
very
stupid. “Ahem…I’m Adam… Oh, but Lil already said that.” His cheeks heated as the girl took his hand to shake it.

“Hi, Adam. I’m Eve…obviously.” She giggled. “For some reason that’s a sentence I never thought I would be saying.”

He decided then and there that she had the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. Her hair was long, thick, and golden blonde, and her eyes were a vivid sky blue. She had a lovely figure, curvy like a girl should be, not skinny. Her skin was flawless. He lost the ability to speak again and had reverted back to staring.

“Good grief, Adders, put your tongue away.” Lily snorted derisively.

Realising he had been staring again, he sat. “Are you girls going to join me? Lil, I got you a coffee.”

Eve nodded and sat in the seat next to him. “Thanks Adam, that’d be great. I’ve only just transferred in, and it’s all a bit strange right now. Lily is the first person I’ve really spoken to.”

Lily grabbed her coffee from him. “Cheers, Adders.” She slumped into the seat next to Eve.

“It’s a nice friendly place, so you should find you settle in quickly,” he reassured Eve. She smiled warmly and nodded. “So what brings you to Forrest Hill?”

“Oh, I was studying down in England, but my Dad has been ill, and so I applied for a transfer nearer to home. I can get back easier from here…not easy…but easier, at least.”

“Oh right… Sorry, I must seem really nosey.” His cheeks heated.

“No, no that’s fine.” She smiled.

They chatted through lunch about their respective courses and the lecturers they had all experienced that morning. It turned out they were all free for the rest of the afternoon, which pleased Adam to no end. “Hey, Lil, seeing as she missed it, we could take Eve on the tour that we did when we started here,” Adam suggested eagerly.

Lily shook her head. “Oh, I can’t…I have to…go…and get some books… Yes, there’s a book I need, and I need to go get it today.”

Eve turned to Lily. “Isn’t there a book shop on campus? I’m sure I saw a sign—”

“Oh yes,” Lily interrupted. “I’ve tried there. I really need to go into town to Blackwell’s. You two go on the tour though.”

“Nah, we’ll go when you get back. It’s fine,” Adam said.

“No, don’t be daft. You should go. Show Eve the delights of Forrest Hill.” She smiled. Adam knew there was no way Lily could have missed his reaction to their new friend. She appeared to be giving him an opportunity to get to know Eve alone. He’d have to thank her later. Seriously, he owed her one for this.

“Okay, great. What do you say, Eve?”

A blush spread from Eve’s neck up to her cheeks, and she nodded shyly. “Thanks, Adam. That would be great.” His heart swelled in his chest. She was so sweet.

♥♥♥

After waving Lily off, Adam and Eve set off on the tour. Adam thought Lily had seemed distracted by something. Perhaps her concerns about not finding the right book were playing on her mind. He would make a point of chatting to her about it later.

“So, where are you from, Eve?” he asked as they strolled around the large campus, weaving in and out of the other students.

“I’m from Skye. I was born and brought up in a village north of Portree.”

“Oh it’s a beautiful place, Skye. I went there on holiday with my parents and my brother when I was little.”

“Yes it’s stunning. It’s completely different to here though. I’ve been living down in England for two academic years, but even after all this time living away from home, I still feel a little like a fish out of water when I come back to uni…a country girl in the big city and all that.” A wistful look washed over her face. “The views from home are stunning. I can see the tops of the Old Man of Storr from my bedroom if I stand on my tiptoes. I kind of miss that already.”

“Oh yes, I remember that place. It’s quite spectacular. Out of interest, why is it called the
Old Man
of Storr?”

She smiled. “It’s simply because people think that the rock formation looks like an old man.” She giggled.

“Really? Oh, I’d never really thought about that to be honest. I’ll have to look it up and see.”

She looked down to her feet. “I feel quite homesick… Well, I did until I met Lily and you.” She tucked a golden strand of hair behind her ear and the pink hue rose in her cheeks again.

“I think it’s hard moving away from home as it is, but…well, if your Dad is ill it must be compounded for you. I only moved up from Jedburgh, but even now, a couple of years on, I still miss my mum’s cooking, right from the first week back after summer.” He chuckled.

“I’ve never been to Jedburgh. What’s it like?”

“It’s not a huge place. But we do get a bit of tourism. Mainly people stopping off on their way to Highland though. There’s an abbey and an old jail. Oh and it’s where Mary Queen of Scots stayed, too. Lots of history for a wee town.”

She smiled as he spoke. “I’d like to visit, maybe one day.”

“Yeah, well one day is probably all you’d need.” He laughed. “Nah, it’s a lovely town. I lived there all my life until I moved here to halls.” A comfortable silence settled on the pair as they strolled the campus. She glanced up and around as he watched her from the corner of his eye.

He turned so that he was walking backwards right in front of the gorgeous blonde girl. “So, Eve, what’s your ambition for when we’re done at this place?”

Eve pursed her lips and glanced skyward again. “Hmmm, I’d like to maybe go into reporting. You know interviews with celebs, reporting on all the gossip. Maybe have my own column one day.”

He cringed. “Wow…my ambition kind of pales into insignificance against that.”

She giggled. “I doubt that. What is it you want to do?”

He grinned. “You’ll probably think I’m mad.”

She stopped in her tracks. “Go on?”

He took a deep breath before he admitted his seemingly small dreams. “I really want to teach English at high school level.” His words came out in a rush.

She laughed. “Why do you think that pales? I think teaching is a wonderful and very noble thing. I just couldn’t cope with someone else’s kids all day.”

He loved the musical sound of her laughter. “Well, yeah…I understand that.”

“What made you decide on that career path, then?”

“I helped out during my last summer at the high school I used to attend. They were doing a summer school and I was working with some of the younger kids. I was helping some of the kids with learning difficulties and some of the kids who are…how do I put it? A little disaffected. They responded well to how I taught them and I just loved it. The feeling of…oh I don’t know…pride…was immense…It pretty much cemented in my mind what I wanted to do. Does that sound pathetic and corny?”

She shook her head vigorously. “No…no, not at all... Wow, when you put it like that it sounds really fulfilling. I’m full of admiration for anyone who chooses teaching. I’m sure it’s very hard work.”

“I’m sure it will be, too, but rewarding all the same.”

♥♥♥

The pair talked easily as they walked around the impressive campus, with its arched windows and chiselled stonework.  The multitude of windows, set into the aged buildings, glistened as the autumn sun bounced from their surfaces.  The imposing domed foyer of the old college appeared almost cathedral-like in its austerity, giving an appearance of old world grandeur to the place where so many learned scholars had studied in years past.  Every so often, Adam pointed out the features he and Lily had noticed when they’d done the same tour, the ornate balustrades, the carvings above the entrances, the slate placards with faded inscriptions.  The afternoon flew by. They arrived back at the block where Eve was staying. She had been allocated a room in halls until she found a place to share.

“Well, thank you Adam for a lovely afternoon. It feels good to actually have a couple of friends now.” She smiled warmly at him. He felt like he could fall into her eyes and drown. He shook his head to dislodge the errant thought.
Too soon, Adam. You’ll scare the poor girl off!

“Yeah, it has been lovely. It was really good to spend some time getting to know you.” He took a deep breath to muster up a little courage. “I…I don’t suppose you fancy going out with me sometime?”

That familiar pink glow made an appearance again, making Adam’s heart do somersaults. “You mean like…a date?” She averted her gaze and he found her shyness very sweet.