Chapter 8

My third year of college started off fairly well. I was amused at all the 'political activists' who were trying to get students organized for rallies, and registered to vote. Ok, I admit it. I didn't really follow politics too seriously. While I did know who the president was, his particular politics were a mystery to me.

This is not to say I was apathetic! Far from it. I was into my own local politics, intensely. But national politics were an animal of a different sort. It was during this period that I met my girlfriend.

The only reason I started getting interested in politics, was because of her. She was with a group trying to get out the student vote for the current sitting president. He had always struck me as a weenie, to tell you the truth. He did everything he could to dodge the draft when he was younger, but expected people to obey his orders.

I was registered, as the law required. But I had no plans to join the military, unless they called me up. The law did NOT require active military service at this time. If the draft was activated, I planned on joining right away. A draft meant the nation might be in serious trouble, and I loved the United States.

Local politics were pretty much a simple thing. But the higher you went in the political world, the more complicated and convoluted it became. Eventually, you reached the international political level, which was where the executive branch of governments plays their deadly little games.

While the House and the Senate might rear their ugly heads occasionally, it was really the president who set policy for the country. I was looking at a flyer that had been posted on the bulletin board outside the library. It was extolling the virtues of a particular candidate.

"Are you registered to vote?" I heard from behind me.

I turned around to answer, and was stunned. The most lovely vision of femaleness stood and waited for my an answer. She had a wholesomeness and a quiet beauty that while hard to define, was 'in your face'.

"Uh..." I answered wittily.

She grinned at me. It lit her face and it made you want to be around her forever.

"It was a simple question. Are you registered to vote? They are doing a voter's registration drive in the student union right now, if you aren't," she said in a voice that fitted her perfectly.

I still had not answered. She lost her smile. It was replaced with a frown that was almost as cute as her smile. Still, I did not want her frowning at ME!

"Uh, yeah... I mean... yes, I am registered, thank you. I already know who is going to win, though," I answered, opening my mouth and inserting my foot.

She raised her eyebrows at this statement. "And how would you know that?" she asked.

"Simple. I ran a model of all known facts: the polls, past voting results, the economy, etc. Then I plugged in a percentage for the 'unknown' factor, and input it to my computer. The results were that the current seated president will win," I told her.

She shook her head. "If only it were that easy," she said with a heavy sigh.

I took a risk and told her what the result of the election was going to be. I even told her what my computer model had said the final numbers would be. She just looked at me scornfully. At that time, a small group came and swept her up into itself. She was gone, just that quickly!

I sighed. Everything about her had been perfect: blond hair escaping out of her cap, her cheeks and nose red from the cold, her blue eyes, her smile... even her frown had been perfect.

Levy and John had worked on a mathematical model for predicting events. Since I was a programmer (or learning to be one, at least), they gave me their model to work on. The result was a program that gave you the shivers, with its accuracy.

We each had a copy of the result of that collaboration. Levy and John were absolute geniuses when it came to math. While I was no slouch, I could never have come up with what these two gave me to program.

I kept an eye open, hoping I would run into 'my' mystery girl again. I had to see her, but I was not going to allow thoughts of her to interfere with my classes, or my life... or so I thought.

For the next week I could not get her out of my mind. I finally caved on Saturday. I bundled up and went out into the very cold morning. I walked back to where I had met my mystery girl. I 'back timed it', until I found her. I started following her. It took several hours. My hands and feet, as well as my face and ears were numb; but I found out where she lived!

The place was several blocks off campus, in a residential area with new apartments. It had gone up a couple years ago. They were out of most college kid's league, but this is where she lived. I was glad to stop 'back timing' it, while walking around in the 'now'. It was tiring, and I had a tendency to run into people.

I had turned to walk back to the campus, when I spotted a coffee shop tucked between two apartment buildings, a little further down the block. I headed for it and went in. It was an older one-story building that had been there a long, long time. It reminded me of some older movies I had seen about the 50's and 60's. Booths lined one side along the left wall as you entered. Tables were in the middle, and on the right. A long counter, with stools that spun, was at the back in front of the kitchen. Very old fashioned, indeed.

I went to the counter and sat down, picking a menu out of the condiment holder in front of me. There was nothing old fashioned about the prices! I took off my gloves and coat, and lay them on the seat beside me, along with my hat.

An elderly lady came over and asked me what I wanted. I was about to ask for coffee when I saw the cocoa advertisement. I ordered that, plus a hamburger with the works. Fries and a coke would be served with my meal. In the meantime, I wanted that hot cocoa, and lots of it.

Twenty minutes later I pushed my plate and coke glass away and motioned for a refill of cocoa. While it was not the busiest place I had been too, it was doing all right. It had averaged about 15 customers while I was there, but could hold many more, easily. I asked the waitress about level of business.

She said that Friday and Saturday evenings were the busiest, and that every morning produced a good breakfast rush. They were closed on Sundays. I nodded. It sounded as though they were lucky. But then, she said this diner had been here since the late 50's.

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