Quinn on Exchange

Quinn on Exchange

University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Commonwealth of Australia

Monday, 23 February 2004

10:30 am, AEDT (Australian Eastern Daylight Time)

Quinn Morgendorffer looked at the residential college that was going to be her home for the next 9 months as she stepped out of the taxi cab that had brought her there from the local airport.

“Mary White College,” she said, reading the sign on the building. She then went to help the driver lift her baggage out of the trunk. ‘No, Boot,’ she thought, recalling the Australian term that her sister, Daria, had told her when she was leaving Lawndale the day after Christmas.

Quinn entered the Dining Hall where the ‘Freshers’, as the Aussies called new arrivals at a university, were signing into the college. ‘Although I am certainly a junior,’ Quinn thought.

“Name?” asked a lady who looked about 10 years older than Quinn, with freckles and pixie short hair a few shades darker.

“Morgendorffer, Quinn.”

The lady, who’s nametag read ‘Peta’ looked on the room sheets in front of her. “Morgendorffer, Quinn. Block 2, Room 16,” she said.

“Ok,” Quinn said, thinking of the paperwork that she had been sent. Block 2 was in the middle of the college.

“Chris, would you show Quinn to her room?” Peta said.

“Sure, Peta,” a cute-looking male said. He had midlength shaggy/curly light brown hair and blue eyes behind a pair of glasses.

Chris picked up 2 of Quinn’s bags from where the taxi driver had left them in front of the College Office. Quinn picked up the remaining bag.

“What is your major, Chris?” Quinn asked as they turned out of the office into the corridor towards Block 2.

“Zoology, I think. I have done almost everything in the sciences, except geology,” Chris Fardell said.

“So, you are studying Animals. They can be so cute!” Quinn said.

Chris stopped as they passed a couple of vending machines. “Not this semester, Quinn. I am studying Parasitology,” he said.

Quinn caught Chris’s meaning. “Eeeewww!” she shouted.

“I agree, but I would still like to learn about them. Besides, I did Vertebrate Zoology last semester.” He decided not to mention to Quinn that he had dissected a pigeon and a shark, amongst other animals.

“That’s cool, what else are you doing?” Quinn asked.

“Fungi, Plants and the Environment, about the role of Fungi in the environment, and Biological Chemistry, an advanced level Organic Chemistry unit,”

“That’s all?” Quinn asked.

“I have a three-quarter study load. So, what are you studying, Quinn?” Chris asked. He was also contemplating how to bring her bags up the flight of stairs in front of them, that lead to the portico in front of the door of Block 2.

“I am doing an Economics-Computer Science double major,” Quinn said. She could see that Chris was looking at the stairs. “You can take them up one at a time,” she added.

“Cool!” Chris dropped one of the bags carefully and then took the other up the flight of steps. “That must be quite difficult. Quite a lot of maths,” Chris said. He reached the top of the stairs and carefully dropped the bag there.

“Oh, it’s not that hard at all. I am quite good at maths. In my senior year of High School I decided to do a course that I could enjoy and that would use mathematics,” Quinn said, as she retrieved a Diet Coke from one of the vending machines and Chris came back down the stairs, “Hence the economics. Once at college I also found computer science interesting. It is completely different from my sister’s majors of English and History, we are definitely opposites,” Quinn said.

“Cool!” Chris said.

“Am I boring you?” Quinn asked.

“Not at all,” Chris said as he led her up the stairs.

“Here it is, room 16,” Chris said, after they had passed through one corridor, through a foyer and into another corridor. Quinn inserted the keys and unlocked the door. “It is bigger than the rooms I had back at Pepperhill, although it is smaller than my room at my Parent’s house in Lawndale. Definitely bigger than the room I had in Texas,” she said. Chris put the bags he was carrying on the bed.

“Lawndale? I suppose it isn’t in Texas?” Chris asked.

“Oh no! It’s a Marylander suburban town. My parents wanted to get as far away from the Texan town that we were in as possible!” Quinn said.

“I come from a city 6 hours away from here, to the south-west,” Chris said.

“Cool!” Quinn said.

“My room is upstairs, in this block. Number 25,” Chris said. “I’ll see you at lunch?” he continued.

“You don’t want to help me unpack?” Quinn asked. Something in her tone made Chris reconsider.

‘Sure, why not?’ he thought.