Serendipity

Raveena sighed and tried not to yell out in frustration as she watched the Starbucks barista flirting with her co-worker instead of making Raveena’s drink. Raveena normally didn’t go to Starbucks but she’d been up until 4 am doing homework so a heavily caffeinated drink was in order. If the barista didn’t hurry up though Raveena was going to be late to her first class.

“Venti skinny latte,” The barista called out and Raveena quickly grabbed the drink from the counter.

Raveena took sips of her drink as she pulled her planner out of her purse so she could look over everything she had to do for the day. She was so wrapped up in planning her day that it took her a few seconds before she realized her drink was no longer in her hands and hot liquid was dripping down her chest.

“Shit! I am so sorry. I was texting and wasn’t paying attention…”

Raveena looked up at the brown haired boy who was still rambling on with his apology.

“It’s fine. I should have been paying attention also,” Raveena cut him off as she began to dab at her coffee-soaked shirt with napkins.

“Well, at least let me buy you a new shirt or something,” the boy said as he handed Raveena more napkins

Raveena shook her head. “Seriously, it’s fine. I’m late anyway.”

Before the boy could get another word out Raveena was already out the door, in her car, and headed to class leaving him wonderstruck and kicking himself for not getting her name.



“Eric, would you please stop talking about coffee girl?” John groaned as he and his best friend walked through the grocery store buying food for their apartment.

“John, you don’t understand. This girl was gorgeous; I’ve never seen anyone like her before. I’ve been into Starbucks at the same time for the past two weeks hoping to run into her but no such luck,” Eric said.

“Maybe it’s better that you haven’t seen her again. I mean you did make a jackass of yourself by spilling the girl’s coffee on her,” John smirked.

“Fuck you. I’m going to go get the milk,” Eric grumbled as he walked off towards the dairy section of the store.

John laughed as he turned to go down another aisle. As he started down the aisle he noticed a familiar dark haired girl looking at the cereals, trying to decide which one to buy.

“Raveena?” John asked as he got closer.

Raveena looked up at him and smiled, “John, hey! How’re you?”

“I’m good, busy with the band. How’re you?”

“I’m good too. Busy with school which is a lot less exciting than your band.”

“Please Vee, school is probably a breeze for you. You’re a genius,” John laughed as Raveena rolled her eyes.

“Here’s the milk, John. Now are you going to stop making fun of me because it’s getting…” Eric said but he stopped short when he saw the girl standing next to his best friend.

“Eric, this is Raveena. I used to play baseball with her brother. Raveena, this is Eric. He’s my best friend and roommate,” John said as he introduced the two. Raveena smiled at Eric while he just stood there shell-shocked.

“I don’t want to sound weird but you look really familiar,” Raveena said as she began thinking. “I know! You’re the guy who spilled coffee on me at Starbucks a few weeks ago.”

Eric immediately began blushing while John tried to hold in his laughter. “Yeah, I’m really sorry about that. Are you sure I can’t buy you a new shirt or something?”

“It’s fine, seriously. I was able to get the coffee out once I got home,” Raveena reassured him.

“Oh, that’s good.”

“Well I better get going. It was good to see you, John, and nice meeting you, Eric,” Raveena gave the boys one last smile before walking out of the aisle.

Eric waited a few seconds to make sure Raveena was out of earshot before turning to John. “You know coffee girl? Why didn’t you tell me?!”

John laughed. “I didn’t know Raveena was coffee girl.”

“How do you know her?”

“Like I said, her brother and I played baseball together from elementary to high school.”

“Well this is perfect. You can help me get her,” Eric said hopefully.

“Bro, I hate to break it to you but your chances with her are slim. Her parents are really into academics and have drilled that into their kids’ heads. Her oldest brother Robby is in his residency right now at some hospital in Colorado and her other brother Ricky is in his second year of med school. Raveena’s in her final year at ASU this year and she wants to go on to nursing school.”

“Well I can still try,” Eric said, not wanting to give up.



“Hey Vee, it’s John again. Listen, we’re having a party tonight and I was wondering if you would like to come,” John said from the other end of the phone about a week later.

“John, this is the third time you’ve invited me somewhere since we ran into each other at the grocery store. What’s going on?” Raveena questioned.

“Nothing. It was just nice seeing you at the store and I just think we should hang out more.”

“Okay,” Raveena said, not quite convinced. “Well I was just going to do homework tonight but that’s pretty lame since it’s Friday so I guess I can take a break and go.”

“Awesome, see you in a little bit,” John said before hanging up.

Raveena put her books to the side and changed her clothes. She wasn’t sure why she had agreed to go to John’s party but it’d rude to just not show up. Raveena finished getting ready and drove to John’s apartment.

Raveena walked into John’s apartment and looked around as a nervous feeling settled in her stomach. She barely knew any of the people at the party and she looked like a loser just standing by the door by herself.

“Vee, you made it! Why don’t you go into the kitchen and get yourself something to drink?” John said as he noticed Raveena standing by the door.

Raveena fought through the crowd and finally made it into the kitchen. She sighed in relief at the much quieter kitchen. There was only other person in there with her. When he turned around she noticed that it was the guy from Starbucks and the grocery store.

“Hhhhi,” the boy stammered.

“Hi. Eric, right?” Raveena smiled.

“Yeah…ummm yeah. So I didn’t know you were coming tonight,” Eric said.

Raveena shrugged. “I wasn’t going to but then John called and invited me. I didn’t have any other plans for tonight so I figured why not?”

“Well, I’m glad you came,” Eric blushed. “Do you want anything to drink?”

“That’d be great. So tell me about yourself, Eric,” Raveena said as she watched Eric mix a drink for her.

“Well, my name’s Eric James Halvorsen. Some people call me Halvo. I play bass in a band called A Rocket To The Moon. I love that because it lets me make a career out of my love for music and lets me travel. Let’s see…what else? I have two tattoos, I like riding my bike, my favorite animal is a dog, I usually just hang out with my friends acting like a fool, and I can’t dance. So, what about you?”

“You are far more interesting than me but I’m currently a senior at ASU studying nursing. I have obsessions with Harry Potter and How I Met Your Mother. I’m not in a band, I don’t have tattoos but I do enjoy acting like a fool with my friends,” Raveena smiled.

“You still sound interesting to me,” Eric said. “I mean, you want to be a nurse. That’s really cool.”

Raveena looked warily at Eric for a couple seconds. Most people didn’t seem very interested in her wanting to be a nurse but Eric seemed sincere. “Thanks. Nursing’s extremely tough but I love it. I really want to work as a pediatric nurse in a children’s hospital.”

“Really? That’s neat. What made you want to be a nurse?”

“Honestly, it’s almost expected of me. My dad’s a surgeon and both my brothers are in med school. I knew I didn’t want to be a doctor so I kind of rebelled and said I didn’t want to major in anything medical related but the summer before my freshman year in college I volunteered at the Arizona children’s hospital and changed my mind. Seeing those kids with so much joy and happiness even though many of them have life threatening diseases showed me that I want to do all I can to make sure they live. My dad would rather I be a doctor but this is my life and being a nurse is what I want to do,” Raveena said as surprise washed over her. Not many people knew why she wanted to be a nurse or the fact that her dad would rather her be a doctor yet here she was telling all this to Eric Halvorsen, a boy she barely knew.

“You’re going to be a wonderful nurse.”

“I hope so,” Raveena softly said.

“Believe me, you will. You’re so passionate about it and all those kids you help will love you,” Halvo said as he looked her straight in the eyes.

“Thanks Eric.”

Raveena spent the rest of the night in the kitchen talking to Eric. There was something about him that made it easy for her to talk to him. He was easy going and constantly made her laugh. It sounded cheesy but she felt as if she’d known him for much longer.

“So, Raveena it was nice hanging out with you tonight and I was just wondering if you’d want….do you….would you like to go out with me?” Eric finally got out.

As Raveena looked at the nervous boy she could feel her heart break. “Eric, I really like you but I can’t.”

“Do you have a boyfriend or something?”

“No.”

“Then why can’t you go out with me?”

“You don’t fit in with my plans. I know that sounds stupid but it’s true. I have my life planned out so I make sure I reach my goals and having a boyfriend will just mess them up. I’m really sorry,” Raveena sighed before making her way out the door.

Eric stood there dumbfounded as he watched her walk away. He’d had plenty of girls reject him before but none like Raveena just had. John walked up and Eric knew he’d heard the whole thing.

“I told you Raveena’s a hard catch. She’s so focused on her goals and refuses to change her plan,” John said as he put a comforting hand on Eric’s shoulder.

“I’m not giving up,” Eric said. “I’ll show Raveena that sometimes you need to change your plans.”



“I’m about to go crazy!” Raveena groaned as she put her head in her hands. It was the middle of October which for most girls meant it was time to pick out what slutty costume they would wear on Halloween but for Raveena and the rest of the nursing students it meant time for midterms. On top of midterms Raveena still had a few nursing school applications she needed to finish and send off. The stress was definitely getting to her.

“You’ll be fine,” Gabby, Raveena’s best friend and fellow nursing student, reassured her. “You’ll ace all your finals and get into every nursing school you apply to.”

“I hope so. If not then my plan will be messed up,”

“And you can’t change your plan,” Gabby finished as he rolled her eyes.

“Exactly,” Raveena said as she went back to studying but she was soon distracted by the buzzing of her phone. She looked down and saw that she had a new message from Eric. She and Eric had been talking and texting ever since John’s party. He kept trying to convince her to go on a date with her but she stood firm in her refusal.

Hey Vee. What’s up? – Eric

Nothing, just studying for midterms at the ASU library. – Raveena

ASU has a library?! – Eric

Yeah, it’s a college and colleges have libraries. – Raveena

Raveena chuckled at Eric’s texts before turning back to her books but she couldn’t keep the smile off her face.

“What’s got you smiling that big?” Gabby asked.

“Oh nothing, just Eric,” Raveena shrugged.

“Eric? As in a boy?”

“Yeah, we’re just friends though.”

“Mm-hm. That’s what they all say."

Raveena rolled her eyes and decided to ignore her best friend’s comment. About ten minutes later she heard footsteps by her table and she looked up to see that familiar brown haired boy standing there smirking down at her.

“Wow, stalker much?” Raveena joked.

“Oh you know, I was just in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by,” Eric said. “Actually it was kind of hard to find the library since I didn’t know it was here.”

“Didn’t you go to ASU for a year?”

“Yeah.”

“Then how the hell did you not know we had a library?”

“Do I look like the type of guy that would know where the library is?” Eric joked and Raveena laughed.

“Good point.”

“So, since I’m here we should go grab something to eat,” Eric suggested.

“I don’t know, Eric. I have a ton of stuff to do.”

“Raveena, you haven’t eaten all day,” Gabby cut in.

“Listen to her,” Eric said. “You need to eat. Anyway, I still owe you a coffee for the one I spilled.”

Raveena groaned. “Fine, let’s go. It’s not a date though.”

“Whatever you say, Vee,” Eric complied he led them out of the library and towards the diner that was close to campus.

“So what’s up with you and your plan?” Eric asked after they had ordered.

“What do you mean?”

“Well you keep talking about how you can’t deviate or change your plan so I’m just confused. Do you not believe in spontaneity?”

Raveena sighed. “Do you remember when we were younger and our teachers told us to have a big goal with little goals as stepping stones to reach it?”

“Yes…” Eric said unsure of where this was headed.

“Well I have a big goal of working as a pediatric nurse and I’m afraid if I change any of my smaller goals I’ll never reach it.”

“But what if there’s something better out there and you’re missing out? What if you’re supposed to change your plan?” Eric argued.

“I’m not supposed to change it. It’s fine how it is.”

“You’re potentially missing out on so much.”

“I guess we’ll just agree to disagree,” Raveena said.

The two moved on to lighter topics after that but the words they had each said stuck in the other’s heads. For the first time Raveena wondered if her plan was too strict. Changing her plan terrified her though. She was going to go to nursing school, become a nurse, meet some guy, marry him, and then have children. Eric didn’t fit into her plan and she had to accept that.

Eric was saddened by Raveena’s stubbornness. He thought she could experience so much more if she’d just veer off from her plans a bit. She didn’t have to completely change them, she just needed to modify them. He knew her fear of the unknown was holding her back though.

The two finished their dinners and Eric walked Raveena back to the library.

“Thanks for making me take a study break and getting me dinner,” Raveena said.

“See, sometimes a change of plans is just what you need,” Eric smirked.

Raveena rolled her eyes and turned around but Eric quickly grabbed her arm to spin her back around so he could give her a quick kiss. Raveena was shocked and was about to scold Eric for making this seem like a date but he had already walked off. She could tell he was happy with himself though by the way he walked.

Raveena walked back to the table where Gabby was sitting with a smile on her face.

“Thanks for bringing back food for me to eat, bitch,” Gabby said before she noticed the look on Raveena’s face. “What’s got you so happy?”

“What? Oh, nothing.”

“You better watch out for this Eric boy. He might just make you change your plans.”



After that night at the diner Eric and Raveena’s relationship turned into an actual relationship. Raveena tried to fight it but Eric was persistent and she finally had to admit that she wanted to be with him. She felt like a different person around him and she noticed that around him she was the happiest she’d been in a while. In the back of her mind she knew that the perfection couldn’t last and the reality hit her hard once the letters arrived in the mail.

“So have you made your decision yet?” Eric asked Raveena as they sat on his couch watching reruns of How I Met Your Mother.

“Yeah, I have,” Raveena softly said.

It was the night before Raveena had to decide which nursing school she wanted to go to. The envelopes with the acceptance letters to her top two choices had been sitting on her kitchen table all semester, just staring at her almost as if they were mocking her for having to make the decision. Before Eric the decision would have been easy but he’d come in and changed things which had been exactly what she was afraid of.

Raveena’s two choices were go to John Hopkins which was the number one nursing school in the nation but out east or stay at ASU which would allow her to stay close to Eric but, while they still had a strong nursing program, it wasn’t as good as John Hopkins.

“So what did you decide?”

“John Hopkins.”

“That’s great, Vee. I’m so proud of you. I mean, yeah it sucks that you’ll be all the way out east but Nick lives out east so I can visit you when I go out there to work on Rocket stuff.”

Raveena shook her head. “Eric, I’m not staying with you.”

“What?” Eric asked, taken aback.

“I’m breaking up with you since I’m going to John Hopkins instead of ASU. I can’t do a long distance relationship.”

“So your choices were go to ASU and be with me or go to John Hopkins and break up with me?

“Yeah. It was a tough decision but John Hopkins has been my plan since my freshman year of college.”

“That’s bullshit Raveena. Complete and utter bullshit.” Eric said as his anger began to surface. “Why can’t you just change your fucking plan for once? Life happens, Raveena. Things change. Plans change. You plan was supposed to change when you met me. Did you plan on running into me that day at Starbucks? No, you didn’t. You admit that you almost never go to Starbucks but for some reason you did on that day. We were supposed to meet. I’m supposed to be the reason you change your plan but you’re too damn stubborn to admit it. I hate that about you, I really do. You think you have life figured out but really, you don’t know anything. I hate how you walk around so engrossed in your plan that you can’t even fucking change it. I hate that you wouldn’t let me be enough for you.”

“Eric, I…” Raveena started but Eric quickly cut her off.

“Go, just go. I honestly don’t want to see you anymore. Why prolong this? I wasn’t part of your plan so the sooner you get rid of me the better.”

Raveena nodded as tears brimmed in her eyes. There were so many things she wanted to tell Eric but she knew they couldn’t change anything and he didn’t want to listen so instead she just stayed silent.

Raveena didn’t see Eric for the rest of the summer. She was busy getting ready to move out east and he was busy avoiding her. Her parents were so excited for Raveena to be going to John Hopkins they didn’t realize the change in her, they didn’t realize their daughter no longer wanted to go there.

If Raveena had been honest with herself she wouldn’t have gone to John Hopkins. She would have admitted that her heart was no longer in it. Admitting that though would involve changing her plans and she refused to do that so instead she found herself out east attending classes at John Hopkins. She was miserable there though and constantly thought of the Arizona boy who forced her to see that changing your plans could be a good thing.

By the time fall break came around Raveena knew she couldn’t stay another minute at John Hopkins she packed up everything and made the trip home. Her parents tried to reason with her but she ignored them. For once she was doing what she wanted and she’d be damned if anyone stopped her. Even though she knew deep down this was what she wanted, changing her plan still scared the hell out of her.

As soon as Raveena got back home she went to ASU and was relieved to find the nursing school there would still accept her. She knew there was one more thing she needed to do though and that’d be the hardest.

Raveena knocked on Eric’s door and took a deep breath as she waited for him to answer.

“What do you want?” Eric snapped when he saw her figure standing there.

“Back in the summer when you were telling me everything you hated about me you never gave me chance to tell you what I hated about you and that’s not fair.”

Raveena stopped to take a deep breath before continuing, “I hate that you only breathe through your mouth. I hate that your hair is always a mess. I hate that you just take life as it comes. Make a damn plan once in a while. But most of all I hate that you made me want to change my plans. I’ve wanted to go to John Hopkins for years but that changed because of you and I hate you for that. I hate you because you’re the reason that I transferred from John Hopkins to ASU. I hate you because I changed my plans and that fucking scares me.”

Eric’s face slowly softened. “You’re going to ASU…because of me?”

“Yeah, I am.”

Eric immediately pulled Raveena into a hug. They both noticed how well they fit together and how much they had missed that these past months.

“Why’d you finally decide to change your plans though?” Eric asked.

Raveena looked up at him and smiled, “I wasn’t looking for you that day I walked into Starbucks. I was looking to finish my undergrad at ASU and get into John Hopkins for nursing school but instead I found you. You were never in my plan but I realized I needed to change that because you’re exactly what I need.”

Eric smiled at Raveena and leaned down to kiss her. “You’re exactly what I need, too. Thank you for changing your plans.”

In that moment Raveena realized that life happens, plans do change, and sometimes you just have to let serendipity lead you to what you need and where you need to be, even if that means changing your plans.