The Foreigner

Chapter 6: The Trigger

A/N: Image above is of Penn Badgley who portrays Thomas

The day dragged on. Anita had received a text from Natalie, telling her that she was not going to be back for a while. It was early in the afternoon when Anita finally decided to leave her dorm room.

Her hunger getting the best of her.

There was a light drizzle coming down outside, so she wrapped herself in a cosy black rain-jacket and pulled on her wellies she had brought with her from Sweden.

As Anita strolled through the campus, she had shoved her hands into her pockets. It was colder than she had expected. Autumn was beginning to set in.

She had no idea where she was going, but when she arrived at DeDe's Diner, she was thrilled to smell the aroma of coffee. The diner was buzzing. Most leather cladded booths were taken, so Anita found herself a seat at the counter.

Soon a waitress had approached her and she had placed her order. Her food didn't take long, and within minutes, Anita was eating away at her burger.

While Anita was in the diner, she could see out the windows quite clearly. The rain had worsened, it was getting heavier and heavier the longer she sat there. Anita contemplated shoving the remainder of her burger into her mouth and making a dash back to campus before it got too bad, but seeing a familiar face stopped her.

"Sidney." Anita called from across the diner.

The brunette's head had perked up. "Anita." She smiled, taking a seat next to her cross country friend. "I feel like I haven't seen you in ages."

Anita laughed. "Well considering this is the first weekend without training, I can see how it has felt like an eternity." Sidney giggled, joining her friend.

Sidney ordered herself an omelette but it was past 1 o'clock, so the waiter told her that the diner no longer served it.

"Oh." Sidney said, slightly saddened. "I'm sorry- It's just that- the last time I was here, my dad- my dad." She paused, taking a deep breath. "We got omelettes and he-he went into surgery last night, and I don't know if he's going to come out." She cried. "I'm sorry, I'll order something else."

The waiter looked down at her, pity laced in his eyes. "Oh don't worry, I'm sure we can work something out."

Sidney sniffed. "Thank you." The waiter smiled and walked away.

The Swedish born stared at her friend in shock. "Oh my god Sidney. I am so sorry. What happened? Are you oka-" Anita paused, realising that Sidney's parents lived in Boston. "Wait a second."

Sidney raised her head from her lap, a smile etched on her face. "Yes?" She asked, innocently.

Anita couldn't help but laugh. "Your dad has never taken you here before! I can't believe you did that."

Sidney laughed. "What can I say?"

The omelette came in record time.

"So why are your hands so dirty?" Anita asked her friend, while taking a sip of her coffee.

Sidney stared at her hands, as if only noticing the filth. "Oh I didn't even realise. I just came from Art. We were sketching a nude model."

That caught Anita's attention. "Boy or girl?"

"Boy."

"Hot?"

"Hot."

"Ooo! I'm jealous!" Sidney smiled at her friend.

The two girls enjoyed the rest of their meal and were waiting for a lull in the rain to head back to the university. "Should we just go?" Sidney suggested, not really caring whether they got drenched or not anymore.